March 28, 2024

Ranking Highlights UMW’s Commitment to Sustainability

The University of Mary Washington’s commitment to sustainability has earned it a spot on the The Princeton Review’s Guide to Green Colleges for 2021.

The University of Mary Washington’s commitment to sustainability has earned it a spot on the The Princeton Review’s Guide to Green Colleges for 2021.

The University of Mary Washington has earned a spot on a list of the nation’s most environmentally conscious schools. The ranking appears in the 2021 edition of The Princeton Review’s Guide to Green Colleges, which profiled 416 U.S. schools demonstrating a commitment to sustainability, based on student academic offerings and career preparation, as well as campus policies, initiatives and activities.

“We strongly recommend the University of Mary Washington to students who want to study and live at a green college,” said Rob Franek, The Princeton Review’s editor-in-chief.

In the last decade, the publication has seen a tremendous increase in interest in green practices, programs and offerings from prospective students and their parents, Franek noted. Two-thirds of teens and their families said they’d weigh a college’s commitment to the environment in their decision to apply to or attend a school, according to a survey by The Princeton Review of nearly 13,000 participants.

In 2009, UMW created the President’s Council on Sustainability to inform and advise the University’s leadership on how to manage resources to meet the present needs of the campus community while also reducing its environmental impact for future generations of Eagles.

Mary Washington has since undertaken many green initiatives, including participating in the international RecycleMania competition, hosting an annual Earth Day celebration and holding a “Summer Shred” event to dispose of old documents in a sustainable manner. UMW also works with local non-profit groups like Tree Fredericksburg to help replant trees in the city, and was recognized by the Arbor Day Foundation as a 2017 Tree Campus USA for its commitment to effective urban forest management. And the efforts don’t stop there. Read more.

Chichester Discusses UMW Landscaping with Total Landscape Care

Holly Chichester, UMW’s landscape and grounds manager, recently spoke with Total Landscape Care about how she and her team are keeping the Mary Washington campus looking beautiful in the midst of the coronavirus threat and social distancing guidelines.

Chichester says the team is now working in groups of no more than three people in shifts throughout the week to help cut down on close-quarters interaction with each other. During this time, each worker will be assigned a mower for the day that only he/she will use, and once the work is completed, he/she will hose off and sanitize the mower.

“It’s very fluid and we take it as we can,” Chichester says. “We’re doing the best that we can. The rules still apply; we’re just being as flexible as possible.” Read more.

Richard Blair: Oh, no. Snow!

On blustery days when flurries are in the forecast, students – and, yes, even faculty and staff – find themselves getting excited about a possible snow day. That’s when UMW’s new director of landscape and grounds, Richard Blair, gets to work.

[Read more…]