MPES Previous Initiatives

MPES/MEAP Previous events/initiatives

On Earth Day MPES hosted a fair centered around this year’s Earth Day theme.  Campus clubs and organizations tabled with eco-friendly games and activities. 

Students tabling at Spring Fest

Students interested in green jobs participated in a resume writing workshop at the UMaine Career Center. Students received help on their resumes from career professionals and meet others in the green jobs field.

Green Employers from across Maine came to campus to share green job opportunities with students.

Window insert build volunteers stretching plastic over a window insert frame.

MPES partnered with WindowDressers to build more than 500 insulating window inserts for households in the Greater Bangor area. The first build took place at the Bangor Mall and the second build took place at the Unitarian Universalist church in Bangor. Over 75 volunteers helped make these builds a huge success!

cartoon of an energy efficient city

Black Bears and community members tested their energy efficiency knowledge at our Energized! Trivia night. The event at The Family Dog – Orono featured great questions, food, and prizes.

Americorps Volunteer Christine presenting on energy efficiency

Community members joined MPES to learn simple, low-cost ways to save energy and lower monthly utility bills. MPES Americorps volunteer, Christine Seibert, gave a presentation on how to reduce your home energy use.  This was followed by a panel discussion of home efficiency experts who shared resources for home energy projects.

UMaine’s Office of Sustainability, UMA-Bangor’s Office of Student Life, and Transportation for All threw an Earth Day Festival as part of Earth Week! This zero-waste event featured fun and educational activities for everyone from kids to adults. Experts in the energy field taught participants about energy efficiency and clean energy in Maine.

UMaine’s Office of Sustainability and UMA-Bangor’s Office of Student Life held a Green Jobs Forum. Employers talked to interested job seekers about job and internship opportunities in green industries. Employers included ReVision Energy, Maine Energy Marketers, One Lupine, and many more!

Certified Green Space sticker for Green Office Certification program participants

Over 40 offices became Green Office Certified as part of our Black Bears Have Green Rooms campaign. Participants completed a green office checklist that showed them how to make their offices more sustainable and energy efficient. Upon verification, they received a Green Office Certification badge and sustainability related prizes.

This campaign was so successful, we decided to make it an ongoing Office of Sustainability initiative. You can learn more about the office certification program and how to participate on the Green Office Certification page!

This workshop taught students and other community members how to build solar cellphone chargers. Workshops attendees learned about alternative energy solutions and got to take home their own solar charger.

Student shows off her homemade solar cellphone charger
Students built solar cell phone chargers in an MPES event.
Students lined up at the Energy and Sustainability Trivia Night

Over 50 UMaine students came together to answer energy and sustainability related trivia questions. Energy-saving LED light bulbs, pizza, and other prizes were given to the participants.

MPES partnered with WindowDressers, Dr. Sharon Klein of the UMaine School of Economics, and UMaine students to build more than 200 insulating window inserts for households in the Greater Bangor area. The build took place at the Unitarian Universalist church in Bangor. These window inserts can save a household up to hundreds of dollars per year on their heating bills by increasing the thermal efficiency of windows.

MPES Americorps members participating in the Window Insert Build
Local employers tabling at the Green Jobs Fair

Representatives from local green organizations shared their knowledge on energy efficiency and sustainability with UMaine students and the community. Attendees learned how to increase energy-associated cost savings and how to reduce their carbon footprints.


Office of Sustainability
312-314 Corbett Hall
Orono, Maine 04469-5774
Tel: 207.581.1571
sustainability@maine.edu

Button to donate to the Office of Sustainability