April is Earth Month, and as part of that, Southern Illinois University delivered their sustainability awards.
The monetary awards come from the student Green Fund which students pay into $10 per semester.
This year there were 29 proposals to help make SIU greener and nearly $90,000 in grants were presented.
Receiving grants this year are:
- Sustainable Eco-Recreation – $30,388 for year 2 of a project to facilitate recreational activities for the enjoyment of users while enhancing the water quality of Campus Lake and the health of its aquatic ecosystem.
- Developing a Land Management Plan for Touch of Nature Environmental Center – $20,000 (partial funding) for Phase II of a project to enable a graduate student to map all vegetation and recreational resources at the experiential learning center to enable further research.
- High Tunnel Repair - $14,151 to replace the polyethylene film at the Student Sustainable Farm’s high tunnel, which will add thermal mass to allow the farm to produce all year. The grant also includes partial funding for a graduate student and fall/spring student workers for the farm.
- Lincoln Drive Bike Lanes - $10,500 to create new bike lanes or shared lanes around campus.
- Destined for Digital - $7,232.63 to partially fund a project to help the SIU Community Dental Center to purchase a digital sensor and portable x-ray unit so the facility can move toward a paperless operation.
- Rain Garden Renewal - $1,500 for a student volunteer service day to revitalize a campus rain garden.
- Wildlife and Pollinator Enhancement - $1,300 to partially fund the planting of native trees and shrubs to increase pollination success.
- Occupancy Motion Sensing Lights in Engineering Computer Lab - $1,250 to replace the lighting in the lab with energy-saving motion lighting.
- Parkinson Hall Room 202 Window Films - $1,000 to install window film in the room in order to reduce heat and save energy.
- Promoting Paper and Printer Ink Waste Reduction in the Office Work Environment: $950 to implement electronic signature pads for academic advisers thereby reducing the use of paper.
- Sustainable Coffee Sleeves - $828 for educational coffee sleeves to be used in the coffee shop at Morris Library to increase sustainability awareness.
- Materials Reuse Library – $305.70 to create a reuse and recycle station in Quigley Hall.
The Green Fund was started in 2009 and has collected about $2.2 million dollars and has funded 182 projects.
