In 2008-09, Meredith focused on one of the most pressing matters of our time: the environment. Throughout the academic year, class work, campus activities and service-learning opportunities have all related to the environmental campus theme.

We believe that learning is a lifelong endeavor – which is one reason our whole campus plays a part in exploring the campus theme. It’s also an effective way of cultivating the strong sense of community that is a defining characteristic of the College.

Here are just some of the ways our community came together over the past year as we studied, discussed, read about, performed, served, listened, recycled and created around our environmental campus theme:

• Learned from environmentally-related speakers
  
• Welcomed our first Sustainability Coordinator, Laura Fieselman
  
• Participated in RecycleMania for the second year. The campus community collected 9,272 total pounds of recycling, including aluminum, glass, paper and plastic during the three month competition. We have also taken significant steps to make it easier to recycle across campus.
  
• Formed the “Green Team,” a college-wide action committee that’s developing new and innovative ways to make Meredith a greener campus
  
• Developed the “Think Green” logo, which is used to signify sustainable choices
  
• Presented research projects with a sustainable focus in this year’s Celebrating Student Achievement Day
  
• Began to formulate the “Meredith College Greenprint,” a comprehensive campus sustainability plan
  
• Implemented environmental tips throughout the year, which were compiled by Angels for the Environment (A4E)
  
• Built new apartment-style housing in an environmentally-friendly manner and will pursue LEED certification for the building
  
• Won a 2009 City of Raleigh Environmental Award for our on-campus composting program
  
• Read and discussed Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth” through the Summer Reading Program

Next year’s campus theme is “Catalysts for Change.” Although our focus is shifting somewhat with the new theme, Meredith will continue its sustainability efforts. For more information about how you can “think green” at Meredith, please visit our sustainability web site, or contact Laura Fieselman, Meredith’s sustainability coordinator.