The Blog

Today is America Recycles Day, and what better way to celebrate than by acknowledging a local school's commitment to recycling. The Community Charter School received an award from the Buffalo Recycling Alliance for its new and improved recycling program that cuts waste down by 50 percent. The Buffalo Recycling Alliance wants this award to inspire others to think about their recycling habits and look to the Community Charter School as an example.

 

I recently got the chance to chat with SUNY Fredonia’s Sustainability Committee Chair, Sarah Laurie (SL). As a recent graduate of Ithaca College, I was excited to talk about what Fredonia is doing to be greener. Sarah was able to shed some insight on the importance of green initiatives on college campuses. Today’s college students are much more in tune with environmental issues, and their college choices often reflect this. If a college isn’t practicing sustainable habits, it may be a con on the student’s list of university choices. So how is SUNY Fredonia bringing sustainability down to a personal level? Read on to find out!

GrowWNY is taking sustainability reporting to a new level. As you may have noticed, many companies are hiring a sustainability officer to manage their “environmental” programs. We are interviewing local leaders charged with sustainability in their organization. Stay tuned over the next few months to hear more about some of the innovative solutions they are developing to create a better and more sustainable future for Western New York. If you want us to talk to someone in particular, email us at info@growwny.org.

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I recently sat down with Aliesa Adelman (AA), a Sustainable Design Coordinator at Wendel Companies, a full service architecture and engineering firm in Western New York. This discussion led to some insight on how planning a new building involves many green components, and how sustainable organizational culture needs to be both internal and external.

 

The Education Committee of the Sierra Club/Niagara Group invites all Western New York teachers, grades 9-12, to participate in the Environmental Science Competition. This competition is designed to highlight the important work that is already going on in your classroom or give you the opportunity to try something new. Environmental education is vital for the protection of our environment. We hope to promote understanding of environmental issues, motivate young people to take action on an environmental issue and demonstrate that they can make a larger impact on protecting our environment.