Resource Efficiency Program Orientation, 2006-2007
Table of Contents
I. II. III. IV. V. VI. VII. VIII. IX. X. XI.
Orientation Meeting Agenda Rough Campaign Schedule General Guidelines and Expectations REP Qualities Social Marketing: Behavior Change Principles Websites to Check Out Recycling FAQ Bios of Steering Group Members Contacts of Other REPs From your peers: Advice on making the most of REP Getting started as a REP
Welcome To REP! FAS Resource Efficiency Program, 2007-2008 September 27, 2007 4:00 – 8:00 PM Orientation Agenda 4:00 PM 4:20 PM 4:30 PM 4:35 PM 4:55 PM 5:05 PM 5:15 PM 5:25 PM 5:35 PM 5:50 PM 6:00 PM 6:10 PM 6:20 PM 6:30 PM Welcome, REP Bingo Introductions Agenda Overview Recycling & Student Activism @ Harvard HGCI – An overview Energy Conservation @ FAS Questions & Short Break Getting to know you FAS Greenhouse Gas Reduction Business Plan Environmental Action Committee Overview of REP Campaigns HUDS Food Literacy Project Meet your area REPs Group Discussion Rebecca Compton, REP Yard Captain Leith Sharp, Director of HGCI Mitch Hunter & Amy Heinzerling, EAC Co-chairs Rebecca Compton, REP Yard Captain & Jeremy Tchou, REP Captain Jess Zdeb, Food Literacy Program Coordinator Philip Kreycik, REP Coordinator Rob Gogan, Director of Harvard Recycling & Waste Management Mike Crowley, Assistant Director of Harvard Green Campus Initiative (HGCI) Gosia Sklodowska, Coordinator of FAS Campus Energy Reduction Program
6:40 PM 6:50 PM 7:05 PM 7:15 PM 7:25 PM 7:35 PM 7:40 PM 7:45 PM
Dinner Break New Semester’s Resolutions Green Cup REP as a job Getting started as a REP Questions Group Photo Paperwork Philip Kreycik, REP Coordinator Hayley Fink, REP Captain Philip Kreycik, REP Coordinator Hayley Fink, REP Captain
Rough Campaign Schedule:
Fall 9/27 – 10/1 – 10/2 – 10/4 – 10/6 – 10/8 – 10/15 – 10/29 -11/9 – 11/12 – 11/15 – 11/22 – 11/26 – 12/10 – Orientation, 4-8pm REP Campaign #1 – Recycling & Laundry Freshman Eco-Rep Intro Meeting Steam Plant tour, 2-3pm Boston Green Building Tours Columbus Day, FCR field trip REP Campaign #2 – Waste (bottled water taste tests), food waste REP Campaign #3 -- Heating & Electricity, Sustainability Pledge REP Waste Audit REP Campaign #4 – Eco-Projects, Sustainability Pledge Mount Trashmore Thanksgiving REP Campaign #5 -- Water Conservation, Eco-Projects, Studybreaks REP Campaign #6 – Studybreaks (cont…), Green Holidays, Sealing up rooms for winter break
Spring February: REP Spring Orientation Valentine‘s Day Drive Field trip to the Harvard Surplus warehouse Green Cup/Eco-project recruitment RecycleMania CERtoon cartoon competition Paper waste Reduction/ Anti-Door-drop campaign March:
Dishware Recovery Eco-project facilitation Independent Projects Food Waste Audit Studybreaks: Green Cup, CERtoon Voting Displays
April:
Clothing/Belonging Swaps Eco-Projects House Finalist Nominations Independent Projects April 21: Earth Day Special recycling (computers/cell phones)
May:
Independent Project wrap up, Dishware recovery, Green Move-Out/ Stuff Sale donations Farewell BBQ for REPs (TBA)
General Guidelines and Expectations
Attendance at Regular Resource Efficiency Program Meetings Attendance at the bi-weekly meetings is mandatory. There are very few meetings, and we need you there at all of them. If you do miss a meeting, it is your responsibility to schedule a make-up session with one of the captains. If you miss two, pending the circumstances, this may result in loss of employment. Punctuality Reps are expected to be punctual for REP meetings and for meetings with staff and officers of the university. REP time is on-time, and lateness reflects poorly on the program! Time Reporting Reps will report hours worked before Friday, 5pm, of the current work week. Instructions will be provided. Checklists Reps are expected to complete the bi-weekly checklists providing information on what they accomplished, what difficulties they encountered and any feedback for future campaigns. Conditions for Termination of Employment, Pending Discussion of the Circumstances Two unexcused absences from bi-weekly REP meetings Chronic lateness Failure to complete assignments on a timely basis Unacceptably unprofessional behavior while representing the program
Modeling Behavior All Reps are expected to model the positive behavior changes they promote. As Rep, your habits will be more visible and you will be under greater scrutiny from your peers. Don‘t give them too many chances to give you a hard time. Sharing Feedback An open and honest two-way dialog is essential between the Reps and the Captains and Coordinator. If something is not working, tell us! Likewise, constructive feedback when properly dispensed can be an invaluable resource to your fellow Reps. Documentation Please document your work. This will help create better institutional memory, allowing future REPs to pick up right where you left off. Archive posters, final documents, reports, publicity, photos, interesting/routine e-mails, positive feedback, etc. Keep everything organized so that other people looking through it (on your computer or on paper) would know what is there. We‘ll arrange to collect the material a few times throughout the year. For posters, emails, and other tools that you‘d like to be a resource for other REPs, for now, please forward them to REPcaptains@gmail.com. We‘ll compile them and send them out. To share ideas directly with other Reps, you may email rep-list@hcs.harvard.edu .
Contact Management On an Excel spreadsheet, keep track of helpful people you correspond with, who gives you info, etc., so that we can add them to our contact database. Also add a note if you have some good info on them (i.e., this person is a proponent of X, or is difficult, or they started the such and such program).
Office Supplies We practice ―Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle,‖ to set an example both for ourselves and for others. Please try your best to use both sides of paper, and double-side pages when you bring copies to meetings. Paper that has print on one side is great scrap paper for meeting notes, or can be put through the printer again to use the other side. Remember, the Resource Efficiency Program sets an example to the whole Harvard community. Expenses Related to Supplies Reps often make arrangements with their House (dorm) offices to use their copier for free. If you need any other supplies, check with Philip to see if the program already has them (construction paper, etc., for Eco-Boards). If not, go ahead with any expenses up to $10. You MUST save your receipt to be reimbursed – turn in the receipt ASAP to Philip. There is a 60 day limit to turn in a receipt, so Philip must receive it with enough time to get the receipt into Harvard. Once you reach expenses above $10, check with Philip for approval. A Rep is … An educator … friendly …
encouraging … focused on our goals … sympathetic to time limitations of dorm/residence staff …
A Rep is not … responsible for taking everyone‘s recycling to the recycling depot for them … dictatorial … insensitive to other viewpoints … A Rep within the dorm/residence … Understands what neighbors/students want and expect from their living situation Treats fellow students like partners rather than adversaries Works to be accessible for fellow students Tailors their remarks to the individual with whom they are speaking Encourages feedback Identifies benefits to other students of resource efficiency Identifies and works to remove barriers to conservation Looks for opportunities to use prompts to encourage people to engage in positive behaviors Gives vivid, personal, and concrete information Takes advantage of opportunities to gain a commitment from other students or dorm/residence affiliates. (―So, you‘re going to start recycling bottles, papers, and newspaper yourself, and you‘ll encourage your roommates to also recycle?‖) Takes advantage of opportunities to create new advocates for resource efficiency Acts as a positive role model in the dorm/residence to show that resource conservation is easy and worthwhile Responds to dorm/residence problems Follows through when he doesn‘t know the answer to a student‘s question immediately.
Social Marketing
Changing Behavior: Insights and Applications Summary: Key Behavior Change Principles by Annette Frahm (project manager), Dave Galvin, Gail Gensler, Gail Savina, and Anne Moser PROG-4(12/95) The bottom line:
Just providing information has a limited effect on behavior. There is no clear causal relationship between providing information and changing behavior.
The approach: 1. Learn about your customer or audience. What do they know? Care about? Think about? Who influences them? 2. Address the barriers to changing behavior. Barriers may be external (it costs too much, technology isn't available, laws are conflicting) or personal (the person doesn't recognize the problem, doesn't know what to do, doesn't consider it a priority, thinks it's too hard). Key insights: 1. Getting involved is the first step to making a commitment, and making a commitment makes people more likely to act. Small commitments lead to big ones. Start by getting the shop owner involved in a visit. Then ask them to sign a form stating changes they will make. 2. Feedback and follow-up are important. Feedback gives people cues about the impacts of their behavior changes. Additional contact is also very important in motivating people to stick with a task. 3. People will listen first to their friends or relatives, or others they see as credible. What they hear at a dinner party will have more weight than a comprehensive data summary. 4. Change agents and role models are important. A few people in a group will typically adopt innovative ideas and behaviors first, and spread them through the group. Find these people and help them successfully adopt a new behavior. 5. Changing attitudes may not change behavior. There is no strong, direct or consistent relationship between attitudes and subsequent action. 6. Incentives may help change short-term, but probably not long-term, behavior. People may respond to incentives by changing their behavior, but when the reward is removed, they generally revert to their original behavior. 7. If you need to provide information, present it effectively. People are more likely to pay attention to information that is: o Vivid: Use language that conjures up a vivid and memorable image, or provide a demonstration that will stick in someone's mind. o Personal: Make statistical data personally relevant. Talk about personal consequences or refer to a group with which the person identifies. o Specific and concrete: Tell them how to do the behavior you want them to do. o Stated in terms of loss rather than gain: Focus on showing people or businesses how much they are losing every month or year by not doing a specific behavior. o Told as a story: Use success stories as a motivating example. o Emotional: People tend to be persuaded more by emotional messages than logical ones From: http://www.govlink.org/hazwaste/tool_box/print_version.cfm King County Water Pollution Control Division (Washington State)
Websites to check out:
Internal Harvard Harvard Resource Efficiency Program: http://www.greencampus.harvard.edu/rep http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/rep (internal REP file-sharing repository) HUDS Food Literacy Project http://www.dining.harvard.edu/flp/ Harvard Recycling: http://www.uos.harvard.edu/information/dep_fac_sol.shtml Utilities Usage Reports: http://www.uos.harvard.edu/reports/uti.shtml Ecological Footprint:
http://www.earthday.net/footprint/index.asp
Additional Related links (courtesy of the Graduate Green Living Program): http://www.greencampus.harvard.edu/greenliving-hres/links.php http://www.greencampus.harvard.edu/greenliving-hres/resources.php http://www.greencampus.harvard.edu/greenliving-hres/lifestyle.php External Tools of Change http://www.toolsofchange.com/english/toolsofchange.asp Proven principles of behavior change. Community Based Social Marketing http://www.cbsm.com/ You‘ll need to become a member (no fees). Quick Reference: http://www.cbsm.com/Reports/CBSM.pdf Campus Ecology Network: Find out about greening projects around the country. http://www.nwf.org/campusecology/
Recycling FAQ
1. What do I do with bottle caps? Before tossing your bottle into the recycling bin, REMOVE the cap, then put both into the bin. The reason for this is that while capped bottles retain residual liquid, uncapped bottles will allow evaporation. Extra liquid causes a number of problems: it adds weight, which adds to the energy (and fossil fuel emissions) necessary to transport the recyclables; it creates a mess and causes injuries in the recycling plant. 2. Can I recycle envelopes with the plastic windows? What about staples? And spiral notebooks? Glossy advertisements? Post-its? You’ll like the answer to this one; all of these items are fine to toss into the "Paper" recycling bin. In the recycling process, all paper, even the glossy, is converted to pulp, and all non-natural fibers such as metal will be “strained” out. So don’t waste your time removing staples, spiral bindings, or plastic windows! 3. Can I recycle paper with tape on it? It’s OK to leave tape on paper; however, it does “gum” up machines and reduce the efficiency of recycling. Try to remove obvious tape from papers and posters before recycling … but again, don’t waste your time scraping tape off of paper! 4. Why can’t I recycle pizza boxes? The actual cardboard of the pizza boxes IS recyclable; it is the food residue that is almost doubtlessly seeped into the cardboard that the recycling company doesn’t want. When recycling collectors see a food-soaked item in a cardboard recycling bin, they may assume that the entire bin is “contaminated;” they can’t take the time to sort out the good and the bad cardboard. We have to provide them with clean, ready-to-recycle products! 5. Can I recycle ANY plastic that has a recycling sign and number on it? Yes, if it is a container of some sort. Be sure it is free of food contamination. Plastic bags and Styrofoam cannot be recycled, even though they have a recycling sign and number. 6. Do I have to separate glass, plastic, and aluminum? No. You can put anything that you call a BOTTLE or CAN into the same “Bottles and Cans” recycling bin. We are so clever with those names … 7. Do I have to worry about labels? No. You can leave labels on bottles and cans! 8. What if I don’t have a recycling bin? Most importantly, you don’t need a “recycling” bin to recycle. Any container at all will work … get a small trash can, a box, a paper bag for paper … be creative! However, keep in mind that here at Harvard we may be able to get you a bin; let your REP know. By the end of October/middle of November, each suite should also be outfitted with brand new recycling bins! 9. How important is it that I prepare recyclables correctly? Doesn’t this take a really long time? It is extremely important to prepare items correctly before placing them in recycling bins. This means: Flatten boxes. If you don’t, they will probably be thrown away. Clean out obvious food residue from plastics (such as a yogurt container). You DO NOT have to rinse out drink bottles; sugary soda residue is acceptable! Remove bottle caps (so that residue can evaporate and not add weight and mess). Custodians cannot take the time to separate dirty containers, remove pizza boxes, or flatten boxes. Just take the few extra seconds; if any food residue gets into a recycling bin, custodians will often trash the entire thing. If you have an extra 15 seconds, moving any items inappropriately in the recycling to the trash would earn you major points from the recycling fairy! 10. How does recycling help me as a Harvard student? There are a number of benefits you receive:
The university saves money. This can translate into more money for student needs, such as space, housing improvements, etc. A possible ice cream party … and other Green Cup prizes. Recycling is part of the Green Cup competition! School pride: we also enter a national competition with other schools for per-capita recycling rates. Our football team did well last year … continue the tradition in the realm of recycling! Most importantly, you’re forming habits that will benefit you in the future. Municipalities are increasingly using financial incentives for recycling. If you teach yourself to recycle now, you’ll save yourself money in the future. On a larger scale, your world will be cleaner and healthier the fewer resources you use now. Think in the aggregate.
11.
Is recycling required by law in Cambridge/Massachusetts? Funny you should ask. As a matter of fact, it IS. Check out this excerpt from Harvard’s Handbook for Students: “Recycling is mandatory in Cambridge. Students must bring all trash and recyclables to the designated area in each House or dormitory. Materials should be sorted into trash, mixed paper, and commingled container receptacles.”
12.
New York City isn't recycling anymore; why do I have to? In NYC, levels of bottle and can recycling were so low that it was economically inefficient to continue the plastic and glass portions of the program. The City is, however, still recycling paper, which composes 70% of its recycling by weight. This part of the program is still very effective.
13.
Can I recycle batteries? Why should I? You should recycle batteries because they contain toxic chemicals; if placed in a landfill, they could contaminate groundwater and soil. You can absolutely recycle them here. There should be a battery receptacle in each super's office and in Yard recycling rooms. If you’re not sure where to find a receptacle, speak to your REP.
14.
Should I buy rechargeable batteries? Rechargeables contain even more toxic materials (heavy metals) than standard batteries, so if you use them, make 100% sure you dispose of them properly- NOT in the trash. A lot of batteries you use from day to day like your cell phone battery, laptop battery, and rechargeable appliances like phone or Dustbuster are rechargables, so when you are done with those products, don't just throw them in the trash. Recycle them!!
15.
What do I do with plastic bags? There is no universal system for plastic bag recycling; that’s why you should really make an effort to prevent the production and use of bags by carrying a re-usable bag or backpack. However, with those bags you do have, try to reuse them. They make great small trash can liners! If your bags are grocery bags from a store with a bag recycling program, you can take them back to the store from which they came.
16.
What happens to furniture and other stuff I leave in my room at the end of the year? If you label unwanted furniture “Habitat for Humanity,” it will be collected and stored for the fall. In September, Harvard Habitat organizes the sale of these items and each year makes thousands of dollars while greatly reducing unnecessary waste!
17.
What should I do with my laundry detergent bottle? Recycle it! Just take the cap off!
18.
How can I compost on campus? Food waste left on dining hall trays is sent to a compost facility. Thus leaving organic waste on your tray will, most likely, mean it is composted!
19.
How can I get rid of junk mail once and for all? Call 1 888 5 OPT OUT to stop credit card offers.
For unwanted contribution pleas and catalogues, make a few simple phone calls or emails and ask to be taken off of mailing lists. To limit your exposure, write "Please do not rent or sell my name" or "No mailing lists" next to your name whenever you order product by mail, enter a contest, subscribe to a magazine, send in a warranty card, or otherwise give your name and address to a company or organization. (Also consider not sending in the warranty card for a new product - it's usually not required.) One effective way to remove your name from national mailing lists is to write the Direct Marketing Association and register with their Mail Preference Service - an indication that you do not want to be contacted by solicitors. In a letter or 3 1/2 x 5" postcard, include the date, your name, address and signature, and write "Please register my name with the Mail Preference Service." (The term "Mail Preference Service" may sound confusing, but rest assured, registration with MPS is what you do to get you off the mailing lists.) This actually works. Marketers do not want to waste their efforts on people who have explicitly stated they are not interested. Mail to: MAIL PREFERENCE SERVICE, ATTN: DEPT: 6386627 DIRECT MARKETING ASSOCIATION P.O. BOX 282 CARMEL, NY 10512 20. What can I do with packing peanuts? Call the Peanut Hotline at 1-800-828-2214 for a list of area businesses such as the UPS Store/Mailboxes Etc. which accept plastic loose fill or packaging peanuts for reuse. 21. Can I recycle my computer/printer at Harvard? Yes! First see if the manufacturer or store from which you purchased your equipment participates in take-back or trade-in programs. If not, you can call 5-3042, arrange for pick-up, and box or set out neatly the computer and other components you wish to recycle. Harvard makes sure that recycled computers are not sent overseas where disposal regulations are not as strict, but rather are taken apart and disposed of responsibly. See www.greencampus.harvard.edu/CERP for more information. 22. Where do Harvard’s recycling and trash go? Harvard’s trash is transported all the way to South Carolina … which uses quite a fair bit of fossil fuel, as you can imagine! Recycling, however, goes to nearby Charlestown, where it is processed to be reused. Thus in addition to saving the energy used to create new material from fossil fuels, at Harvard, recycling also saves transportation emissions! 23. How do I buy recycled? The key to buying recycled products is reading labels. You must look for the trademark arrows of the recycling symbol, but that doesn’t always mean the product is made FROM recycled material; it may simply mean the product is technically recyclable (sometimes, only if the product is returned in perfect condition to the manufacturer!). What you really must check is the ingredient list: you want to see the percent of post-consumer content. Many paper products promote themselves as recycled, but come from industrial surplus (called pre-consumer) that would be recycled anyway. Post-consumer means that another person has already used the material and it is being recycled to you. So that you can use and then recycle it, of course! 24. Harvard? --Reuse and recycle your paper. Currently, more paper is thrown away at Harvard than recovered in recycling. --Don't buy things you don't really need and buy in bulk to reduce packaging. Per day, the average Harvardian (student, staff & faculty average) generates about 1.58 lbs of trash and .79 lbs recycling. Think about carrying that around for a day! --Recycle all year round, not just at the end of the semester. What are the top three simple steps I can take to reduce landfilled waste and improve recycling at
REP Steering Group Bios
Rob Gogan, Director of Harvard Recycling Rob Gogan has overseen recycling at Harvard since 1990 and has promoted sustainability on campus since starting at the School of Education in 1985. Rob also runs Harvard‘s Surplus Distribution program, which in 2003 donated over $1 million in furniture, clothing, books, computers and other reusables to non-profit groups, neighbors and the needy. Rob helped start the Resource Efficiency Program, which saved Harvard over $125,000 in energy and waste disposal costs in undergraduate residences in FY 2003. Over 10,000 readers get Rob‘s monthly Harvard Recycling Update, which includes news of Harvard‘s recycling and surplus programs plus the Campus Nature Watch, a compendium of flora and fauna sighted on Harvard‘s grounds. Rob‘s immediate goals are to recover half of Harvard's waste for recycling by 2005, reduce the University's waste stream to below 500 pounds per capita in 2004, and to beat Yale in the 2004 Recycle Mania campus recycling contest. Rob lives with his wife Frann and sons Josh and Zach in Acton, MA. He commutes to Harvard via bicycle, commuter rail, walking, and – snow permitting – on cross-country skis. He and his family sail Boston Harbor and Cape Cod bays in a Micro cruiser. Bob Leandro is a Project Manager for Harvard University Dining Services. He was a green champion in the summer 2002 renovation of the Cabot, Currier, and Pforzheimer kitchens, incorporating energy- and water-efficient machines into the renovation. Bob was also the lead Project Manager on the summer 2004 Quincy House dining hall renovation and incorporated a number of green successes into his work there. Jessica Zdeb joined Harvard University Dining Services (HUDS) in 2005 as the Food Literacy Project (FLP) Coordinator. Zdeb has helped bring the FLP from idea to reality through a number of initiatives including the Farmers' Market at Harvard, internal education at HUDS, and increased information about food sources. As a 2004 graduate of Harvard College, she provides unique insight into educating students about food. Zdeb also brings a strong liberal arts research background and love of food to the Project. Jim McCarthy, as professor of Biological Oceanography, is REP‘s faculty advisor. He holds faculty appointments in the Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology and the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, and he is the Head Tutor for degrees in Environmental Science and Public Policy. He received his undergraduate degree in biology from Gonzaga University, and his Ph.D. from Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
Jay Phillips, Director, FAS Office of Physical Resources
Jay Phillips has been with Harvard University and the Faculty of Arts and Sciences since 1990 serving in various operations roles. In his current position as Director of Building Maintenance and Operations within the Department of Physical Resources, Jay has the privilege of working with Students, Faculty and Staff in promoting resource conservation and sustainable design initiatives. As a certified Energy Engineer, Jay participates in many initiatives that focus on energy and resource conservation including the Harvard Green Campus Initiative, The Green Campus Loan Fund Committee, the Resource Efficiency Program, and the University Building Systems Committee. Jay also works closely with project teams in the design development of new facilities focusing on achieving the delicate balance between functionality and efficient design. Jay lives in Wakefield, MA with his wife and two daughters and enjoys spending quality family time and enjoys weight training, golf and motorcycling.
Leith Sharp, Director, Harvard Green Campus Initiative Leith Sharp directs the Harvard Green Campus Initiative, an interfaculty effort that works to establish an integrated commitment to environmental sustainability throughout Harvard by becoming a ‗learning organization‘ and a living laboratory for the pursuit of campus environmental sustainability - www.greencampus.harvard.edu. Leith is also coinstructor of a course offered through the Harvard Extension School, Sustainability – The Challenge of Changing Our Institutions. Leith is an Australian environmental engineer who has worked with universities over the last 10 years to achieve organizational change in the pursuit of environmental sustainability. Leith recently finished her Master of Education in human development and psychology at Harvard University. In 1998 Leith was awarded Young Australian of the Year, NSW Environment Category, for her work in promoting environmental management within Australian Universities. In 1999 she was awarded a Churchill Fellowship to research best practice in university environmental management throughout Europe and the USA. In 2002, Leith was awarded most outstanding paper for her contribution to the International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education.
Mike Crowley, HGCI Assistant Director Mike Crowley joined the HGCI in 2002 to become the coordinator of Green Campus Building Service. Mike earned a B.A. in Environmental Studies from the University of Vermont in 1998, and an MSc. in Holistic Science from Schumacher College/ University of Plymouth in England in 2001. Prior to joining the HGCI, Mr. Crowley was the Department of Energy Clean Cities Coordinator for the State of Vermont, and worked as a public policy consultant for Richard Watts and Associates in Burlington, Vermont. Since joining the HGCI in June of 2002, Mr. Crowley has been the Building Management Resources Coordinator in the Green Campus Building Service Program. He has written the Harvard High Performance Building Management Toolkit, and the Harvard High Performance Building Methodology. Gosia Sklodowska, Campus Energy Reduction Program Coordinator Gosia has been with HGCI since 2005. Gosia worked first as the Special Projects Assistant, assisting HGCI with a variety of projects, such as the Harvard Vision 2020 sustainability conference, Harvard's greenhouse gas emissions inventory or the Health & Productivity study - a joined research project of HGCI and HSPH. Gosia graduated from the Warsaw University with a degree in French Literature (2002) and from EHESS in France with a degree in Sociology of Religion/Gender Studies (2003). While studying, Gosia worked with a number of non-profit and student organizations, coordinating their educational programs and special events. Looking for something closer to her interests and more "down-to-Earth", she started studying Environmental Management at the Harvard Extension School. The 2nd class that she took in the program was run by HGCI and inspired her to become a sustainability practitioner herself. When not at work, Gosia can be found traveling through South Asia, sailing on the Charles or having coffee at Peet's. Meryl Brott, Graduate Green Living Program Coordinator Meryl Brott is the coordinator of the Graduate Green Living Program. Meryl has been keen on promoting eco-friendly behaviors since college when she stepped in to rejuvenate the recycling program and coordinate the environmental committee. Since 2001 she has been creating ―Earthwise When‖ drawings that show characters engaging in eco-friendly behaviors (www.earthwisewhen.com). Prior to joining the HGCI, Meryl worked at The Environmental Careers Organization in Boston as Alumni & Donor Services Coordinator. Before moving to the Boston area in 1998, she worked for two environmental education programs, one in Ohio and one in Pennsylvania, in both instructional and administrative capacities. ―I am really excited about this opportunity, and can‘t wait to help graduate students at Harvard make a difference for the environment through their everyday actions,‖ shares Meryl. Meryl graduated from Kenyon College with an A.B. degree in Anthropology/Sociology in 1991.
Environmental Action Committee Co-Chairs (and REP Steering Group members): Mitch Hunter Amy Heinzerling
2007-2008 House Resource Efficiency Program Roster
Adams – Rachel Mak, 2010 Email – rmak@fas
Lowell – Susan DeWolf, 2010 Email – sedewolf@fas
NO PICTURE AVAILABLE YET
Cabot – Tom Benson, 2009 Email – tbenson@fas
Mather – Darryl Cooper, 2008 Email – dcooper@fas
Currier – Kai Itameri-Kinter, 2009 Email – itameri@fas
Pforzheimer – Nicole Hughes, 2009 Email – nhughes@fas
DeWolfe – Elizabeth Shope, 2009 Email – eshope@fas
Winthrop – Jonathan Steinman, 2010 Email – Steinman@fas
2007-2008 House Resource Efficiency Program Roster
Dunster – Katherine Sancken, 2009 Email – ksancken@fas
Annenberg – Rebecca Compton, 2009 Email – compton@fas
Eliot – Zach Arnold, 2010 Email – eshope@fas
REP Captain (Kirkland) – Jeremy Tchou, 2008 Email – tchou@fas
Quincy – Eleanor Conover, 2010 Email – econover@fas
REP Captain (Cabot) – Hayley Fink, 2008 Email – hjfink@fas
Leverett – Allie Rosene-Mirvis, 2009 Email – rrosene@fas
Kirkland – Firth McEachern, 2008 Email – fmmceach@fas
2007-2008 House Resource Efficiency Program Roster (First-Years)
Sam Novey Email – sbnovey@fas
Kurt Tsuo Email – ktsuo@fas
NO PICTURE AVAILABLE YET
Molly Strauss Email – mstrauss@fas
Gabriel Unger Email – gunger@fas
From your peers: Advice on making the most of REP
We asked last year‘s REPs to provide some tips based upon their own experience and from feedback they collected from their House-mates. Here are some helpful excerpts from what they said. GENERAL ADVICE
For future REPs on the job, what 3 most important pieces of advice would you impart for being more effective?
Don‘t do it alone—find partners and collaborators so that you can achieve more, have more initial buy-in, and gain varied perspectives. Also, anybody helping to run the campaign is clearly being well-influenced by REP‘s mission! Be consistent and on top of campaigns or you‘ll end up frantic and stressing the house to meet a deadline (which will lose a lot of participation) Have fun with it and try to take a totally new direction with the position to make it your own and shake things up!
Stay on top of things. Focus on the checklist Pick an independent project that‘s interesting to you and go with it. Continue to check in with house administrators about what REP is doing and ask them for feedback. Try and set a day of the week when you send out an email and make them weekly. Recruit friends and other REPs to table with you.
PUBLICITY / COMMUNICATION METHODS
Did you develop a general rule of thumb as to what is most effective publicity for a specific type of campaign: Open-lists, House Office or Master e-mails, posters, Yard Bulletin/House newsletters, personal e-mails, personal contact….? Personal contact is very important, emails can be effective depending on how much lists are flooded, posters work best for events and house-specific campaigns. Most importantly, though, I found that I was most successful in gaining participation when I used a larger combination of publicity media and even a combination of voices/advocates (by encouraging others to work with me… like the dhall manager requesting dishes or other students leading parts of a campaign/eco-project/going door to door with me). You can ask to be put on the house Announce list which every member of the house is on. I used that most of the time and then for smaller things I used the House-List. Creative, personal house open-list emails. A colorful and up-to-date REP board with freebie giveaways. Personal emails are always great. What did people think was the most effective mode of communication? The least? Was there much consensus about this? There were widely variant responses, which showed that you really have to employ the whole gamut of publicity tools.
Eco-Board Advice
For next year: some people requested that I post some upcoming enviro. events on the board— listing a few from the HUCE calendar in easy-to-see format could accomplish that! Single out House characters as eco-citizens. Frequent updates are important! (as is a visible location—talk to the House office to try moving to a bigger, better space if possible/relevant) Keeping the board house-specific makes it more interesting to the house community. Advice on emailing your house These were incredibly useful at some points of the year, and got a lot of personal feedback and questions from students and tutors. At one point, a house master even replied to comment on how great REP was for raising house spirit… and to say she‘d started turning off the water while brushing her teeth.
Throwing in unusual facts and tips to catch people‘s attention (like advocating use of revolving doors as an enviro action) is also useful. Keep the tone natural, and respect the time of day and House-list traffic so that people don‘t just delete all emails from your account. Advice on using personal emails for REP work Very useful for reminders, following up on questions and thanking volunteers, and encouraging participation among students (and the community at large). A lot of the time, people will only reply to personal emails, rather than requests sent over large lists—especially when it is a directive or volunteer participation solicitation. I worked directly with the house masters, house office, house manager, dining hall staff, and others on campus, and personal emails made it all possible. Personal Conversations SO important. You can never focus enough on this element. Tabling It turns out that was one of the actions that had a really big impact on a couple of people I got feedback from at the end of the year. A well-organized table can not only educate students and gain participation on pledges and such, but can also serve as a way to get more people involved. Every time I tabled, several people ended up sitting down with me and helping out, from calling friends and passers-by to learn about the materials on the table to asking me questions about the campaign and learning a lot themselves. Particularly effective applications were the food waste audit (at which I sat near the tray return)
GREEN CUP ADVICE
What suggestions do you have for engaging your house in Green Cup?
Match causes with people‘s own interest and motivation, Don‘t force (or guilt) participation, Don‘t wait until the last minute and rush people, make it fun. Start early and try and get HoCo involved. Start early. …the House list isn‘t enough. It‘s ok to invest some time in supporting projects by providing information or even assistance. Given the chance and support, a lot of people will come up with so many ideas that would never occur to a REP just by taking a different approach and not being entrenched in the same motivations/disposition.
What suggestions do you have for engaging your house in Eco Projects? Again start early and try and get tutors to do Eco Projects with their entry ways. This is definitely all about one-to-one conversations. Especially helpful if you already have an idea in mind and say ―Hey, would you like to do (this)?‖ Rather than expecting them to come up with an idea.
I think that REP should ask each house master to have an eco project, or some eco friendly house sponsored activity. Getting House Involvement in General: I was so impressed to see how many students took charge, whether on an individual eco-project, a HoCo effort, or just to help in REP campaigns as volunteers. At times I wanted to publicize their efforts more, but then I realized some of them really didn‘t want the publicity—they just wanted to help behind the scenes. Getting people to help with tabling in dining halls, staffing house green events, recycling after HoCo events, et c. gave them a chance to do just that… help out on their terms.
USING HOCO
The HoCo is a central group of motivated, active students in the House and if we can mobilize them toward environmental actions, that is fantastic! Our HoCo now realizes how much money they can save by considering sustainability, and a lot of the initial projects we started 2 years ago are seamlessly integrated into HoCo activities. This could happen in every house if the right approach is taken in each one!
USING THE REP STEERING COMMITTEE
This was so useful in Mather this year—from the sponsorship of the lightbulb swaps to the white roof renovations and Bob Leandro‘s help with green dining. The steering group are so helpful to REP campaigns as well as day-to-day efforts. I found myself emailing them directly over the course of the year, which was particularly helpful. I would contact Rob and Bob directly from time to time with questions and suggestions.
GENERAL REP ADVICE Time Management
REP is hard because it is so flexible/self-motivated. It really comes down to setting deadlines for yourself or planning chunks of time to devote to REP. Using the Checklist …Some of the most effective actions I took in the house (according to end-of-the-year feedback) were the ones I took in reaction to House dynamics and current events, and the partnerships I built outside of checklists. Be sure to customize your efforts to whatever seems to work best in your house, and let Philip and the captains know if you‘re finding different approaches to the job more effective in your house than what the checklist says to do. Collecting Personal Feedback on REP Work There were actions I took that I didn‘t really think about, which turned out to be people‘s favorite elements. Talk to people about what works and doesn‘t throughout the year to make sure you‘re directing your energy where it‘s most useful.
Getting Started as a REP
1. Meet with last year‘s REP if s/he has not graduated. (See attached list of names and emails of former REPs). Ask your REP about their contacts in the house, how to approach them, and what they were excited about, etc. Also ask REPs about where their eco-board was, what did and did not work well in the house, and project ideas they had for last year that they didn‘t get the chance to carry out. 2. Meet with your house administration and introduce yourself as the new REP. Set up meetings with your: a) House Master: Introduce yourself, ask them what they would like to see REP accomplish in the house this year, brainstorm ideas for greening your house, ask for house master‘s help in pumping up house for Green Cup; try to get them to perhaps do an eco-project themselves (or recruit students for their own eco-project idea) b) Superintendant: Introduce yourself, brainstorm ideas for greening the house with your superintendent c) House Office: See if they will send out important emails over the House Announce List for you (probably reserve this for the most important of REP emails, unless your house assistant is super enthused) d) Dining Hall Manager: Introduce yourself, ask what the dining hall is doing to be more green, ask what the Dining Hall manager would like REP‘s help with this year, brainstorm ideas with your dining hall manager e) Tutors: Try to recruit a tutor (or a couple) to be an official sustainability tutor to host green study breaks and events, help with eco-projects, etc f) Hoco: Attend HoCo meetings, introduce yourself, tell HoCo about the Green HoCo component of Green Cup (and the $1000 Green Cup prize); Provide list of example Green Hoco projects from last year to get HoCo thinking on the right track from the beginning. 3. Send a brief introductory email to your House. Please feel free to customize it as you see fit and adapt it to your house, or write your own! Explain REP, your role, and how people can get involved! 4. Set up your Eco-Board. Make sure it is prominently located and that you clearly demarcate a space. Check out our tips for a successful eco-board below! 5. Check Recycling centers to see if appropriate official signage is up; Should be stickers on the bins, and a laminated sign with detailed recycling instructions (to be provided by REP) Put up new recycling posters in trash areas (to be provided by REP). Find Battery Recycling and email house to tell them where it is—this is often a little known fact in the houses Put a poster on proper CFL disposal in each recycling and trash room (to be provided by REP) Send an email to house with cool recycling facts—this can include where battery recycling is, how they can get blue recycling bins for their room if they don‘t have them, to take CFLs to the super‘s office to dispose of them, that printer cartridges
can be recycled at Staples to receive a $3 coupon for your next printer cartridge purchase, that solo cups and all other #1-7 plastics can be recycled, and pretty much whatever else you find interesting about recycling! 6. Table to introduce yourself, give out freebies (CFLs, lightswitch stickers, water conservation clings), recruit volunteers to be on your House‘s Green Action Team (make it like an intramural sports team) to help with campaigns, plan eco-projects, forge a house greening strategy.
Tips for eco-boards
Location -Place your eco-board in a high traffic area. Near the front of the dining hall is an ideal example. --Try to find out where last year‘s REP had their eco-board. --Talk to your house master about helping you find an effective place for your ecoboard—Get their approval if needed. Mark out your “territory.” --Clearly label your Eco-board (Ie Cabot Eco-Board). --Make a border for your eco board or some kind of background so people know it‘s off limits for them to poster over it. (I put recycled newspaper all over my bulletin board to stake out my space) --Poster Protection. If someone posters over it, remove the poster as soon as you notice it. Otherwise, other people will see that poster and assume it‘s ok for them to do the same. Make it flashy --Be creative, and use bright colors --People notice bright colors and artsy designs—for example, Meredith recycled Sierra club calendar pages to brighten hers up. --3-Dimensional displays attract attention—try to give it depth (I tacked/taped a solo cup to mine to show that solo cups are recyclable) Make it Interactive --Attach freebies (I stapled an index card to my board around 3 sides to make a pouch that I could stick the green light switch stickers in.) --Publicize house successes, goals, Green Cup status/rankings etc. Use Recycled Materials --People like to point out when the REP uses non-recycled paper—do so whenever possible!! Put your picture and contact information on it so people know who their REP is and how to reach you!