April 16, 2024

UMW Makes Princeton Review’s Green Colleges List

If you’ve enjoyed the pollinator gardens and no-mow zones on campus or taken part in events like the Tree Festival or Eco-Carnival on Earth Day, you’ve already experienced some of the University of Mary Washington’s commitment to the environment. The Princeton Review has recognized that commitment as well, including UMW in the 2023 Guide to […]

UMW’s Commitment to Going Green Wins Gold

Formal sustainability committee? Check. Environmentally focused degrees? Check. LEED-certified buildings? Check. A host of Earth-friendly initiatives has earned the University of Mary Washington a spot among the nation’s most environmentally responsible schools in the 2022 Guide to Green Colleges, published last week by The Princeton Review. “UMW offers excellent academics and demonstrates a commitment to […]

Marketing Course Puts Food Waste on the Menu

Becca Winicour stands on her tiptoes to snag a soy yogurt off the top shelf, as Maggie Ellis, grocery scanner in hand, consults another classmate. “I found three blueberry ones,” she said, “but they’re not even a month old.” These University of Mary Washington seniors are enrolled in a new course called Alleviating Food Waste, […]

UMW Gets Down to Earth With Sustainability Coordinator Position

By summer, the University of Mary Washington plans to have its own Sustainability Coordinator. The announcement of the new full-time position by UMW President Troy Paino in last week’s Board of Visitors meeting comes just in time for Earth Day and on the heels of Gov. Ralph Northam’s executive order to reduce Virginia’s reliance on […]

UMW Tree Festival, Thursday, October 3

UMW Sustainability & UMW Adopta are hosting a UMW Tree Festival on October 3rd from 3-5pm on Ball Circle!

All UMW and Fredericksburg community welcome! Join us in learning about the importance of trees, what our community is doing to protect them and our Tree Campus USA. Tables will be around Ball Circle filled with amazing local environmental organizations and UMW Clubs excited to inform the community about their mission and how you can get involved. There will also be tree climbing demos for participants to learn how to climb trees without hurting them, lead by Bartlett Tree Experts. It’s going to be fun, so mark your calendars for October 3rd!

To stay up to date on the event and learn more details check out our Facebook event page HERE .

Thank you,

UMW Sustainability & UMW Adopta

UMW Board Establishes Fossil Fuel Investment Guideline

The University of Mary Washington Board of Visitors has requested that the Board of the UMW Foundation revise its investment policy to limit discretionary fossil fuel investments to a range of two to four percent. This move comes on the heels of a comprehensive study conducted by a special subcommittee of The President’s Council on […]

UMW Hosts Shred Event for RecycleMania 2015

Demonstrating a continuous commitment to sustainability, the University of Mary Washington will host a community shred event for confidential document disposal as part of RecycleMania 2015 on Tuesday, March 3.   12_bell tower (4)The recycling event is open to local businesses and area residents in addition to UMW faculty, staff and students. Community members may deliver their materials to the William Street parking lot on Tuesday, March 3 beginning at 10 a.m. Materials will be accepted until 1 p.m. or when shredding capacity has been reached. There is a five box limit per vehicle. The shred event is a part of UMW’s participation in RecycleMania 2015, an annual eight-week tournament during which colleges and universities across the country compete to reduce, reuse and recycle on-campus waste. More than 390 schools will participate this year, representing 48 states, the District of Columbia and Canada. “You can make a difference with small actions,” said Joni Wilson, director of landscape and grounds. “The significance of waste reduction is often overlooked, but when you see statistics like ‘one-third of food produced for consumption is wasted each year,’ you see how it’s an important effort.” UMW currently ranks sixth in the international per capita competition with 6.27 pounds of recycled material per person, placing first in Virginia for the past two years. In 2014, UMW finished fourth nationally, collecting 244,944 total pounds of recycled material that placed the school 74th out of 336 schools for the gross weight of recyclables. For more information about the shred event and UMW’s sustainability efforts, visit sustainability.umw.edu/policies-and-practices/recycling9/recyclemania/annual-shred-event/ or contact Joni Wilson at jwilson@umw.edu.

2015 UMW RecycleMania Shred Event

recycle mania logoRecycling is an essential component of UMW’s commitment to sustainability. On Tuesday, March 3, as a part of RecycleMania 2015, we will host a Community Shred Event for confidential document disposal, from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m., in the William Street lot. Access complete instructions and pick-up schedule at:

http://sustainability.umw.edu/initiatives/waste-reduction/recycling9/recyclemania/annual-shred-event/

Important dates for UMW:

Wednesday, Feb. 25          Submit a Work Request for pick-up by 4 p.m. The Work Request must include:

  1. Material amounts (estimated number of boxes or bags)
  2. Location
  3. Responsible person: Person on site to verify the correct materials, we will not pick-up materials without             verification

Monday, March 2            Landscape and Grounds staff will provide pick-up of materials according to schedule. RM-3                                                        Records Destruction form must be taped to materials.

Materials:Materials must be in boxes or bags, boxes will not be returned.

ACCEPTED: office paper-based material, small metal fasteners such as paperclips and staples

REMOVE: 3-ring binders, hardcover books, newspapers, magazines, plastic objects, metal objects or electronic media such as CDs and DVDs.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           FREDERICKSBURG COMMUNITY:

The UMW Shred Event is open to local businesses and area residents. They may deliver their materials to the William Street lot on Tuesday, March 3. There is a 5 box limit per vehicle. Materials will be accepted between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. or the truck is full whichever occurs first.

Questions about the event can be directed to Joni Wilson, Director Landscape and Grounds at jwilson@umw.edu

UMW Places Fourth in International “RecycleMania”

The University of Mary Washington finished fourth nationally and, for the second consecutive year, placed first in Virginia in the annual RecyleMania competition. The top-10 finish came among 330 schools in the “per capita” category that measures the percentage of recyclables per person.

Students and faculty  used 2-liter plastic bottles to create a community garden greenhouse. Photo courtesy of the UMW Ecology Club.

Students and faculty used 2-liter plastic bottles to create a community garden greenhouse. Photo courtesy of the UMW Ecology Club.

The annual eight-week RecycleMania Tournament raises awareness of the importance of recycling and waste reduction at colleges and universities across the U.S. and Canada with a competition based on how much recycling, trash and food waste schools collect. A total of 461 schools participated this year, representing more than 5.3 million students from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Canada.

UMW also participated in the “gorilla” category, which measures the gross weight of combined recyclables, and ranked 74th out of 336 schools with 244,944 total pounds recycled.

UMW’s recycling efforts resulted in a greenhouse gas reduction of 343 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, or 67 cars removed from the road, or the energy consumption of 30 households, according to UMW Director of Landscape and Grounds Joni Wilson.

“UMW students, faculty and staff should be very proud of their part,” Wilson said. “It takes a lot of work from volunteers and staff to not only collect the 244,944 pounds of recycling but to report and track the statistics as well.”

The complete results for all 11 categories can be found on http://recyclemania.org, including a breakdown of how schools performed by athletic conference, institution size and state.

2014 UMW RecycleMania Shred Event

Recycling is an essential component of UMW’s commitment to sustainability.  On Tuesday, March 4, as a part of RecycleMania 2014, we will host a Community Shred Event for confidential document disposal, from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. in the William Street lot.  To access complete instructions and pick-up schedule, go to http://sustainability.umw.edu/initiatives/waste-reduction/recycling9/recyclemania/annual-shred-event. The date for the Shred Event has changed from March 6, which is now a UMW holiday.

Please note these important dates:

Friday, Feb. 28   A work request must be submitted by 4 p.m. and include:

  1. Material amounts (estimated number of boxes or bags)
  2. Location
  3. Responsible person: Person on site to verify the correct materials, we will not pick-up materials without  verification

Monday, March 3   Landscape and Grounds staff will pick up materials according to schedule.
RM-3 Records Destruction form must be taped to materials.

Materials must be in boxes or bags, boxes will not be returned.

Items accepted include:  Office paper-based material, small metal fasteners such as paperclips and staples

Please remove 3-ring binders, hardcover books, newspapers, magazines, plastic objects, metal objects or electronic media such as CDs and DVDs.

The UMW Shred Event also is open to local businesses and area residents who may deliver their materials to the William Street lot on Tuesday, March 4. There is a 5-box limit per vehicle. Materials will be accepted between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m., or until the truck is full, whichever occurs first.

If you have questions about the event, contact Joni Wilson, director of Landscape and Grounds at jwilson@umw.edu.