Sustainability Week Becomes a Month

04/11/2013 

Having taken root on the SUNY Cortland campus, the annual Sustainability Week celebration this year has grown into a month-long series of events that reaches across the local community.

Now named Sustainability Month, the exciting schedule of lectures, tours, presentations and events kicked off April 8 and will run through Sunday, April 28. Organizers plan the creation of a campus community garden near Neubig Hall, tours of an area solar project and an “earthship” home made from recycled material, participation in the annual Cortland Blooms Festival and the launch of a campus tree-labeling project.

“Sustainability is one of SUNY Cortland’s primary institutional priorities, so it’s fitting that we highlight environmental ideas and innovations for three weeks instead of one,” College President Erik J. Bitterbaum said. “As awareness and understanding of our need to think differently about energy, climate and food continues to grow, so does our annual event. Our goal is to make every day a day for appreciating sustainability.”

The month-long celebration is sponsored by the College, the Auxiliary Services Corporation and Sustainable Cortland, a community-based environmental organization.

Below is a partial list of Sustainability Month events. All are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted:

Energy Week: April 8-14

Thursday, April 11

Sustainability Lecture: “Wind Energy,” by Brice Smith, associate professor of physics, Main Street SUNY Cortland, 9 Main St., Room 202, 7 p.m.

 Thursday, April 11

Sustainability Lecture: “Climate Change through a Meteorological Perspective,” by Dave Eichorn, Syracuse meteorologist, Sperry Center, Room 204, 7 p.m. Sponsored by the SUNY Cortland Geology Department and the Geology Club. 

Saturday, April 13

Sustainability Event: “Home Conservation for Changing Times,” about composting, rainwater conservation and programs and services for home energy conservation, New York State Grange, Cortland, 9 a.m.-noon.

Climate Week: April 15-21

Wednesday, April 17

Tour of the Freeville Earthship, Freeville, N.Y., 3:30 p.m. Members of the campus community interested in visiting this truly unique, completely recycled dwelling must register by Friday, April 12. Send email to sustainablecortland@gmail.com or call 607-232-1618.

Thursday, April 18

Sustainability Lecture: Presented by Mark Hertsgaard, an independent environmental journalist and the author of Hot: Living Through the Next Fifty Years on Earth, Brockway Hall Jacobus Lounge, 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

Friday, April 19

Sustainability Panel Presentation: “Weather or Not? Effects of Changing Weather on Local Agriculture,” by Distinguished Teaching Professor R. Lawrence Klotz, Biological Sciences Department at SUNY Cortland; Meteorologist Dave Eichorn, meteorology instructor at SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry; and David Wolfe, professor of horticulture at Cornell University; with brief remarks by local farmers. New York State Grange, 122 Clinton Ave., Cortland, 9 a.m.-noon; registration and breakfast from 8-9 a.m.

Sunday, April 21

Cortland Blooms Festival: annual Earth Day Festival at the Cortland Corset Building and at the County Office Building, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. This day of exhibits, music, art, local food, children’s activities and environmental education is Cortland’s annual Earth Day celebration. The two venues will be connected by an art and bike trail closed to vehicle traffic. For more information, visit the Sustainable Cortland website.

Food Week April 22-28

Monday, April 22   (Earth Day)

Idea Wall: Share your thoughts on how to live more sustainably by posting an idea on the board set up on the second floor of Corey Union.

Monday, April 22

Workshop: Students for Local Food host cooking demonstration and tasting focused on food from the Cortland area. It is the final workshop in the Get Fresh! series. Blue Frog Café, 64 Main St., Cortland, 5-6 p.m.

Tuesday, April 23

Campus Garden Work Day: Learn about raised garden beds and help build the college community garden in front of Neubig Hall, 3-5 p.m. Rain date is Thursday, April 25.

Tuesday, April 23

Sustainability Lecture: “Local Food and Its Impact,” by Allan Gandelman of Main Street Farms, which uses aquaponics to raise vegetables and fish in an interconnected system. Brockway Hall Jacobus Lounge, 7 p.m.

Friday, April 26

Arbor Day Celebration: President Bitterbaum will officially launch a campus tree-naming project that will eventually result in trees throughout campus being labeled with QR-code links to online information about each species. The first tree will be one of the campus’ impressive elm trees. Outside the Northwest corner of the Miller Building, 10 a.m.