The Sustainability Council is now accepting applications for the 2014 Green Fund awards as part of a continuing effort to have SIU “Go Green.”

The awards focus on proposals involving research about education and development of renewable energy and research on how to make the campus more energy efficient.

Applicants are graded based on a specialized rubric, which lists outreach, education, leadership, fundraising, student engagement and other criteria as factors of approval. The rubric can be found on the Sustainability Council’s website.

The council was formed in 2009 when the SIU Board of Trustees passed a bill for a $10 per semester green fee. The board approved the fee after 73 percent of students voted to make campus a “greener place,” making this one of the few fees students actively voted for.

More than $150,000 will be awarded this year, and any staff, student, faculty member or RSO is eligible to participate. A workshop for writing a proposal is available Friday in the Sustainability Office, located on the first floor of the Student Center.

The deadline for proposals is March 21. Applicants will be notified on April 22 if they win the award.

Kia Smith can be reached at [email protected]