UNBC celebrates 10th annual Green Day

UNBC students and staff celebrated the school’s 10th annual Green Day today. The Winter Garden and the NUSC Event Space were filled with students and booths promoting the school’s forestry groups, biology programs, and other organisations.

Third-year biology student Johnathon Bauder was manning one of the many booths in the hallway. He and his peers were handing out free small herbs and plants, like chamomile, mint, and basil to promote healthy benefits of having plants and the importance of living sustainably.

“A lot of people have gardens now and try to plant their own stuff, so I think this is a first step to get more people into that kind of work.”

Also celebrating is University President Daniel Weeks. Among the many reasons to go green, he says it’s financially responsible to do so.

“Most of the projects we are able to do here, we recoup the money later in the savings that we see from energy consumption, so it’s good business.”

For example, the greener LED street lights installed on campus in 2015 are cutting the school’s electricity bills by more than $20,000 per year. Through a funding policy, 80% of all money saved on energy-efficient projects pay back the installation loan. Therefore, $16,000 saved pays back that loan and $4,000 goes into UNBC’s pocket.

Another reason for going green, and possibly a more obvious one, is the positive effects it has on the environment and our ways of life.

“It’s a good steward of our resources, it’s good social policy, it’s good for our students to learn about the connection we have with the land here and think about their own futures when they leave and it becomes a part of their own lives, wherever they may live.”

UNBC’s Green Day started in 2008 when the Green University Planning Committee endorsed Professors Drs. Ken Wilkening and Art Fredeen idea to have their environmental studies class celebrate UNBC’s sustainability commitments and the school’s branding as Canada’s Green university.