Green teams dedicate themselves to ensuring an environmentally friendly area of campus with sustainable practices. PHOTO CREDIT: Maddie Bataille | Photo Editor
University of Rhode Island staff and faculty are committing to environmentally conscious behaviors on campus with green spaces.
The University has a Green Team program, which is where a Green Ambassador, someone who decides to create a Green Team in their office and serves as their team’s leader in sustainable practices, commits to trying to make their area, whether it be a department, a floor, a lab or a building, more sustainable.
According to the URI sustainability website, being part of a Green Team has no commitment requirements for members other than trying to be more environmentally conscious.
Chandu Dondeti, manager of the College of the Environment and Life Sciences computing and information technology office and a Green Ambassador, said that he attempts to live sustainably in his home life, so this initiative was easy to incorporate into his work life.
“My family is always trying to have less consumption or like trying to avoid plastic as much as possible,” Dondeti said. “And I’m just trying to implement the same rules at work.”
Donna Hayden, administrative staff for the Writing and Rhetoric department and Green Ambassador, takes a more naturalistic approach to make the floor greener.
Hayden said that a green space to her is a peaceful space, somewhere with plants, natural light and even natural sounds, like the bird noises she often plays in the office.
Hayden said that her personal life is also surrounded by nature, so it’s been important both mentally and physically in making the campus more green.
“Wherever I’ve worked, I’ve created green spaces,” Hayden said. “If you come to the department on the third floor of Roosevelt Hall, you just see plants in the alcoves and other offices and our main office as well army office and other faculty offices and that creates a green space and a welcoming space and a happy space and I think that’s really important.”
Hayden said that along with the physical green changes made to the floor she’s encouraged more environmentally sustainable practices as well.
“We’re using a lot less paper as a department, that’s for sure,” Hayden said. “And we definitely, you know, use digital writing as well, so a lot of faculty as not copy as much, they’re not handing out papers.”
Dondeti said that it’s been difficult to get a lot of people involved because of a lack of motivation. He tried encouraging people in his building to go digital, to print fewer unnecessary documents and turn off computers when they went home every day.
Dondeti said he thinks enacting green policies at the University requires stricter involvement in recycling, reducing paper waste and turning off devices that aren’t being used.
“Sometimes you have to make it a policy rather than just asking people,” Dondeti said. “Because it’s a cultural shift from the way they’re doing things.”
He also said that more education on campus about recycling, reducing carbon footprints and green practices could help change the culture.
“A lot of people don’t do it because they have no idea, they don’t understand it,” Dondeti said. “And I think a big aspect is numbers, numbers are really impactful.”