Residential Communities and Colleges
College in the Woods
CIW residential community is currently refashioning it's signature theme to "environmental action community." A club surrounding this theme is being created, beginning with the creation of five leadership positions:
- Community Engagement Director (in CIW and with the committees below)
- Outreach Coordinator (for collaboration with other BU and community partners)
- Chair, Food Recovery and Dining Hall committee
- Chair, Recycling and Sustainable Practices in CIW committee
- Chair, Wildlife and Natural Areas Conservation committee
Other sustainability initiatives:
- Refillable water drinking stations that calculate plastic bottles saved
- Yearly move-out donation program
- A food recovery program offered through dining services
Contact: Area Director Adam Palmatier (apalmati@binghamton.edu)
Newing College
Following reconstruction, Newing College re-opened in 2011 with a focus on green living. Some of it's sustainability programs and features include:
- World Peace Day (Annual Newing Global Engagement Program) - Last year, 10 resident assistants worked with our professional staff and collegiate professor to celebrate world peace day and educate residents in our community about sustaining our planet through a nonviolent lifestyle. Tables were set up where residents could learn about the impacts of war on the planet, the economy, and various cultures, our partners in Newman House discussed the benefits of spiritual and social health for the world, study abroad discussed opportunities to expand their worldview by taking advantage of their many programs, and several student groups came to discuss their passions about sustainability and philosophies of non-violence.
- Earth Day (Annual Newing Global Engagement Program) - Last year, 25+ Resident Assistants banded together to celebrate Earth Day and educate residents about living a more sustainable lifestyle. Leading up to the event, they posted 10 different flyers with facts about sustainability and climate change around the area. The event had several tables discussing various aspects of sustainability including: the fashion industry's problematic practices and ways to have a more sustainable wardrobe (with a learn-to-mend holes station and free sewing kits), right to repair and the technology industry's relationship to sustainability (where students signed a right to repair petition), the food industry and the environmental impact of adopting a vegan/vegetarian lifestyle (with vegan chocolate chip cookies), plant parenthood (plant and propagate your own herbs/succulents), and more. If students visited all the tables, they qualified to pick up a prize at our final table (where we had reusable straws, coffee mugs, bee's wrap, reusable ziplock bags, reusable dining hall takeout containers and cutlery, and much more.
- Structurally - our buildings were brought up just eight years ago, and have many environmentally-friendly aspects including: automatic lights, filtered water refill machines, carpets that can be replaced by tile rather than the entire floor, and much more.
- Volunteering - Newing prides itself on educating the global leaders of tomorrow, and takes a global approach to educating our residents. Residents are encouraged to volunteer for events and activities within our area, around campus, and in the greater Binghamton community. A great opportunity to learn more about this is through Ryan Roosa's Leadership class, CDC395 - https://forms.gle/QGSQ1aHCNn7h1nir8 where students learn about leadership and are required to engage in community service and volunteer opportunities in Newing.
- Departmental Move Out Donation Program - Newing is proud to participate in our campus wide move out donation program every year!
Hinman Community
Dickinson Community
- Dickinson Community adopted sustainability as its signature theme, offering an educational program that explores the balance between economic development, social equity and environmental management.
- During the reconstruction of our Dickinson Community and Newing College residential halls as well as the Chenango Champlain Collegiate Center that serves both facilities, the University installed:
- Hallway lighting with dual-timers that reduce power by 50% at night.
- Motion-sensitive lighting in rooms.
- Bottle-filling water fountains to reduce water waste.
- Dual-flush toilets to reduce water waste.
