The Green Fund is doing all it can to provide projects that enhance sustainability throughout the campus.

Because of the fund, SIU is now on the list of Princeton Review’s “Guide to 332 Green Colleges” for three of the last five years.

Kris Schachel, the sustainability coordinator, said the fund is helping the university’s sustainability efforts by making funding available to support initiatives that faculty, staff and students create.

“When students led the campaign to create the Green Fee, their vision was that this was a way the university could commit ongoing financial support to ideas that save energy, conserve resources and improve our campus,” she said.

Leslie Duram, director of the environmental studies program, said sustainability is based on three pillars: environmental, social and economic sustainability. When these systems work in unison to take action now, sustainability will be ensured in the future.

“[The Green Fund] provides a unified effort to look at environmental sustainability and take actions that aren’t easily funded or initiated in other ways,” she said. “So instead of just one department or Registered Student Organization wanting to do something but not being able to fund it, if they provide a good proposal, they can get money to do something.”

The fund’s website includes an online tour called the Green Tour and features an online list of select sustainability features on campus.

“Some of the projects that Green Fund has supported, research for example, do not physically exist on campus so a map is not the best way to convey it,” Schachel said. “We are working to solve that dilemma also.”

Drew Foxx, chair of the sustainability council, said the Green Fund provides educational experiences for students on the SIU campus.

“The projects are making [students] more aware of sustainable practices being implemented on campus,” he said. “Making students more aware of sustainable practices can also help to encourage students to become more aware of their everyday actions and how they can go about getting involved with sustainable practices in different ways.”

Foxx said the fund is important for progressing sustainability on campus throughout the student body as well as providing educational experiences for faculty to introduce to their students.

Schachel said some recent projects she is hearing the most about are the solar dock and solar table charging stations.

The dock is near the bus stop in front of student center and the table is located north of the agriculture greenhouses.

She said some projects funded by the fund have a targeted benefit including the conversion to digital record keeping and x-ray system for the dental hygiene program.

“They provide more real-world training experience for the students in that program,” Schachel said.

The latest project will be the installation of seven bike fix-it stations.

“These will allow those who bike to SIU an opportunity to do small repairs if needed,” she said.

Because of the wide variety of projects the fund has supported, Schachel said she is unable to say exactly how much the university has saved thanks to the Green Fund.