It is official.  The Bagley Outdoor Classroom building was certified at the highest level in the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program: Platinum.

Sustainable features include:

• Extreme energy efficiency
• Water conservation
• A green roof
• Solar passive heating design
• Solar photovoltaics for electricity production
• Reclaimed and recycled-content materials
  

An online Virtual Tour of the building is available on the Bagley Outdoor Classroom Building page of the UMD Sustainability website, and you can watch a trailer for the soon-to-be-released Bagley Classroom Documentary film.  

Congratulations to the UMD Facilities Management crews who built this innovative and unique building, and congratulations to UMD for showing leadership in sustainable construction of campus buildings.

Learn more about green buildings on the UMD Campus on the UMD Green Buildings page.

Freshman starting at UMD this fall will be greeted with a message of sustainability.  The UMD Office of Sustainability greeted students with a banner in the Kirby Student Center stairway with easy tips to going green on campus.  The message?  Choose actions that fit your lifestyle to help UMD reduce our energy use, minimize waste, and reduce our carbon footprint:   

• Use a power strip
• Turn off lights
• Power down your computer
• Smart Laundry: cold water, full loads
• Take shorter showers
• Carpool
• Use your U-Pass
• Keep windows closed in winter
  
• Get outside and explore
• Litter Not
• BYO mug & bag
• RECYCLE!
• Eat healthy & local
• Share this list with your friends

On Friday night, a Planet Earth Marathon was sponsored by UMD Sustainability, complete with organic cookies (and non-organic, but yummy goldfish crackers for the Oceans movie!) 

Some of the BWW meals will be low-waste events: 

• Thursday Hot Dogs on Griggs Beach:  no plates or utensils will be given out- hot dogs are served in paper wrappers.
• All meals in the Dining Center are low waste: the DC practices low waste every day by using ceramic plates and recycling food waste.  Learn more at the UMD Auxiliary Services Green Page.   
• The Kirby Lounge meal on Sunday will be a composting/recycling event with zero trash.  Please observe the composting bin signs- all plates, cups, napkins and food waste belong in the compost bin.  Thanks to UMD Facilities Management Custodial Staff for arranging for the composting bins!

Incoming students will be able to attend two workshops on Sustainability:  one on Saturday (Maroon and Gold Goes Green, Mindy Granley) and one on Monday (Sustainable Freshman 15, by Nate Levendoski).  Sustainability Office staff will have informational displays and chances to sign the UMD Energy Pledge and learn more about various commuting options.   Watch for Sustainability info and staff during Duluth Rocks and the Maroon Parking Pass sale too!

On Sunday evening, freshman can play Bingo for energy and waste-saving prizes.  UMD Sustainability provided power strips, reusable shopping bags, recycled-paper flash drives, and gift certificates to local green merchants.  Come early and play for awhile to win a prize!

Photo:  UMD student Rock Stars wear eco-friendly backpack bags, sponsored by the Office of Sustainability.  They are 100% recyclable and reusable polypropylene material.

With the recent opening of UMD's new LEED gold level certified Civil Engineering Building, it's important to remember that a building's footprint goes way beyond its construction.

Which is why the new building uses floor scrubbers with ec H₂O technology.

The concept is simple, an electrical current is applied to oxygenated water.  The current breaks the water into its basic parts, creating a solution with both alkaline and acidic components.  This solution is highly effective at lifting dirt from the floor and suspending it in the solution, which is then picked back up by the scrubber.

What makes this process so sustainable and environmentally friendly is that it uses only tap water, no harsh chemicals are required!

This is important because it dramatically reduces water and energy consumption as well as pollution.  The only waste created by the floor scrubbers is the water and dirt that is collected.

This type of technology is useful for more than just floors, UMD Facilities Management also uses ActiveIon spray bottles that utilize a similar electrolysis process.  ActiveIon bottles also induce an electric field to the ion solution that kills 99.9% of germs.

These technologies are just as effective at cleaning as conventional chemicals and are a safe, reliable and convenient alternative.

It’s evidence that supports the notion that going green doesn’t necessarily require sacrifices, just a bit of innovation.

The sun is an enormous fusion reactor.  One that’s about 93 million miles away from us, holds the majority of the mass of our solar system and has an output of 3.8*1033 W.  It’s the origin of most of the energy that we consume, from hydroelectricity and wind power, to fossil fuels and biofuels.

And then there are the ways in which we actively utilize sunlight to meet our energy needs, such as photovoltaic cells, passive solar heating and using natural lighting.  These are all energy harnessing methods that are being employed across the UMD campus.

The new Bagley Nature Center, which opened in June, was built to utilize the sun’s energy to its fullest potential.  A roof-mounted solar  array was designed to meet 90% of the energy needs of the building.  And with the long summer days and sunlight’s low angle of incidence this time of year, the building is receiving its fullest potential of energy.  The building also requires little to no lighting during the day, as it was constructed with large windows and solar tubes that allow for an abundance of natural lighting.

A 5.8 KW photovoltaic array can also be found atop of Malosky Stadium.  The live output for the array can be found online at the Solar Research Project website.

Found throughout campus are the BigBelly trash compactor units. These units rely on solar power for their compaction process, reducing the number of pick ups and overall emissions.

Keeping an eye out for ways to conserve energy is a responsibility that we all share.  But we also need to look towards the future and where we obtain our energy from.

A future powered by solar energy could definitely be a brighter one.

With the addition of a new compressed air pump on campus, biking at UMD has never been as convenient.

There are plenty of biking resources available to students, faculty and staff who choose to bike to UMD, as well as some for the larger Duluth Community.

The newest of these resources is the compressed air pump beneath the Dining Center, installed by UMD Facilities Management earlier this month.  The unit will be available year round to fill deflated tires, as the compressor is stored inside the building, while the hose is run outside through a wall.

Continental Ski & Bike representative and UMD Sustainability Office intern David Rosen also gives free bike tune-ups during the weekly farmer’s market.  The Market Day in the Plaza takes place every Wednesday from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m at the Kirby Plaza.

Other biking resources include bike racks around campus and six year-round bike lockers, located adjacent to the new air compressor.

Biking is not only a healthy choice, but also a sustainable one.  Approximately one pound of CO2  is emitted for every mile driven.  Biking is a great way to reduce your carbon footprint, and there’s no better time than now to enjoy Duluth’s gorgeous scenery with a relaxing ride around town.