The nation-wide event, Sustainability Day, will be recognized at SIU Wednesday to show off how the university has taken part in becoming environmentally green.

In recognition of this day, SIU will host a sustainability fair from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the south end of the Student Center.

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Janet Donoghue, assistant to the sustainability coordinator said this is the first year SIU will have Sustainable Saluki Green Tours as a part of the fair. Each tour is approximately an hour long across campus showing SIU’s green efforts.

“Really, it’s a great opportunity to get out around campus and see some of the great projects that have been funded and some of the good things that are being done for sustainability at SIU,” Donoghue said.

One way SIU shows off green efforts is by having students in the dorms participate in recycling. On every floor of the dorms, there are three metal cans for recycling. Not only does this cut down on trash in the dorms, it also helps students create a habit of recycling so they will be more likely to do so when living on their own.

“One of the most recent projects funded is the conversion of the dental hygiene program to all digital record keeping and x-ray systems,” Kris Schachel, the SIU sustainability coordinator, said. “We’re very pleased that we could support that.”

The student green fee made the conversion to digital possible, and it helps the program save on papers and filing.

Leslie Duram, professor and Environmental Studies Program Director said undergraduate students decided years ago it is important to have a green fee.

She said the students got signatures and put the fee to a vote, which created the $10 per semester, per student fee listed as a green fee, which started in 2009. Each fall and spring, that fee creates the funding for SIU to give the awards for these projects.

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She said the digital hygiene records were just one of the multiple awards that have been issued for sustainability, and they average about 14 project proposals per term.

Donoghue also said being a green school is something potential students look for.

“It’s becoming really clear that it’s more and more important to students who are choosing colleges that sustainability is seen – that they know the university they’re going to really embraces that,” Donoghue said. “Because it’s directly connected to our future.”

SIU was among other universities that have been highlighted in the Princeton Review for being a green school. This year is the second year SIU has appeared in the Princeton Review green colleges guide. The guide refers to SIU as “professional when it comes to going green.” The review goes on to list different initiatives on campus, such as the vermicomposting facility, which is heated by a clean-burning oil furnace, uses campus vehicle motor oil and is insulated with a soy-based foam product.

Schachel said sustainability has become important to SIU students because they realize everyone shares the same world, and so we must take care of it.

This December will be the 9th round of green fee awards for projects from the student fee. Based on the quantity and quality of proposals submitted, the sustainability committee will decided where the awards go.

The application is available online at sustainability.siu.edu and copies are available in the sustainability office in the Student Center. Schachel said anyone can apply for these awards. The deadline to submit a proposal is Wednesday.

Jordan Vandeveer can be reached at [email protected] 

or 536-3311 ext. 252.