Good to be Green
Walk past the marquee in The Commons, and you’ll see some new words on the board…. “The hero UMBC deserves. The one it needs. GREEN MAN.” This new mascot is recycling his way through campus, earning popularity, admiration and even respect from students. But the question everyone’s dying to know who is he?
“He’s just like any mascot,” said Donna Anderson, manager of landscape and grounds in Facilities Management. “He can’t speak with you directly, and his identity will remain a secret until the end of the competition.”
Green Man is helping get the word out about the 2010 Recyclemania challenge, which began in January, and he’s not the only change with this year’s recycling initiative. Student organizations from all across campus are getting involved.
“Several organizations have committed to sponsoring activities throughout the eight weeks of the competition, and our team hopes to see everyone participate in those events,” said Anderson.
One of those activities is capturing Green Man’s presence on campus. If you spot him on campus, take a picture and send it to recycle@umbc.edu. A winner is chosen weekly, and that name will be entered to win a grand prize on March 27, the final day of Recyclemania.
UMBC has had successful Recyclemania competitions in the past, and Green Man – and his team – are hoping to make this year the best yet. In 2009, the campus captured two second-place awards and was also among the six universities with improved scores with a nine-percent increase in recycled goods from 2007.
“Recycling is so important to this campus, because it helps to keep the campus clean, green and spend less money than if we send to the landfill,” said Anderson. “Recyclemania is a perfect opportunity to really stress the importance of this across campus.”
On Wednesday, March 10, Green Man and fellow students, faculty and staff marched in a parade in honor of Recyclemania. President Freeman Hrabowski marched along the parade route, which went from Albin O. Kuhn Library to the Retriever Activities Center. To see pictures from the event, visit the Sustainability Web site’s Flickr stream.
For more information on the competition, visit www.recyclemania.org.
(2/19/2010)
