Students and professionals shared ideas for making their schools greener Monday at the eighth annual Northeast Campus Sustainability Consortium Conference. The conference was held at the Sheraton University Hotel and Conference Center.

Rick Martin, principal sustainability analyst at the Energy Systems and Sustainability Management department at Syracuse University and an event organizer, said the purpose of the conference is to promote sustainability on college campuses in the Northeast.

‘It’s in many ways a regional working session for campus sustainability coordinators across the Northeast,’ Martin said.

The event officially began Monday at noon with a president’s panel after optional tours of the Syracuse Center of Excellence, Carmelo K. Anthony Basketball Center, the Hotel Skyler and State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry.

Both professionals and students involved in promoting sustainability on their campuses listened to speakers from nearby schools, such as the Rochester Institute of Technology.

The keynote speaker of the event was Onondaga Chief Jake Edwards, as the previous speaker could not make it. In his speech, Edwards emphasized the connection between people and their environment. He said that in Onondaga, people are very connected to the environment.

Edwards discussed the shared responsibility all people have for protecting the environment.

‘It is not my Mother Earth,’ Edwards said. ‘It is our Mother Earth. We all share the responsibility of stewardship.’

Edwards also stressed the importance of considering future generations.

‘Earth can be a place that will be comfortable and pure for future generations if we do our part today,’ he said.

Hannah Morgan, an ESF alumnus, said she thought Edwards’ speech had great themes.

‘I think his most important point was getting rid of the disconnect between people and the environment,’ Morgan said.

After the first panel, attendees participated in various other panels about recycling and managing waste.

About 25 students from schools all over the East Coast are currently attending the conference, said Brooke Wears, a public relations coordinator and project manager in the Energy Systems and Sustainability Management department.

‘I think that the significance of this program is having so many different colleges and universities and professionals all in one area to brainstorm ways to solve problems schools are having promoting sustainability,’ Wears said.

She said one of the challenges of the panel was making sure as many speakers as possible were able to share their ideas about promoting sustainability.

‘We had so many good proposals,’ Wears said. ‘There are also a lot of sessions that are really great for promoting different perspectives.’

She said there are roughly 80 to 100 different schools attending the conference.

The entire conference lasts until Wednesday. Participants who registered by March 23 were able to stay at the Sheraton for all three days of the event. The conference concludes at noon Wednesday with closing remarks by Sherburne Abbott, vice president for sustainability initiatives at SU.

Wears said students who are interested in attending other days of the conference are still welcome to sign up at a registration desk on the second floor of the Sheraton if they send her an email stating their interest in advance. Students are welcome to listen to the speakers for free but will not be provided with meals.

Zachary Goldberg, a sophomore international relations major, said he thought the first day of the conference was interesting and would recommend others attend.

Said Goldberg: ‘I think it shows how we are taking sustainability into our own hands.’

smhazlit@syr.edu 

Published on April 2, 2012 at 12:00 pm

Contact Shannon: smhazlit@syr.edu