 Beautiful U Day
Beautiful U Day is an annual initiative celebrating the University of Minnesota’s natural resources, buildings, and grounds. A tradition since 1997, Beautiful U Day combines hands-on beautification efforts with academic forums to celebrate the Twin Cities campus and acknowledge our responsibility to maintain our physical and natural resources. Beautiful U Day has supported many projects and events over the past 10 years in the interest of sustainability. These include:
Planting a New Kind of Bulb (2008)
• To celebrate the 10th Anniversary of Beautiful U Day, volunteers distributed 10,000 compact florescent light bulbs across campus. When put to use, the bulbs will save 738,900 kilowatt hours of electricity each year.
The Road to Renewable Energy: Careers for Everyone (2007)
• This forum, hosted by the Initiative for Renewable Energy, was designed to help students learn more about renewable energy careers. Forum topics included the
types of renewable energy careers that exist today, what kind of skills and knowledge they require, and how students can go about preparing for these careers.
Campus Sustainability Workshop (2003)
• Panelists included administrators and faculty who have been instrumental in campus sustainability efforts. In addition to a policy discussion, the workshop
explored various sustainability initiatives across the University. A final report was developed by the Campus Sustainability Network and presented to the president’s office. A smaller Sustainability Forum was offered in 2004.
Building Clean Out Program (1997-present)
• Campus building occupants are given the opportunity to remove items from attics, basements and storerooms, and Facilities Management will dispose of them appropriately. The program, which collected more than 790 tons of unwanted material from campus buildings in each year 1997-1999, was a great success. In an effort to continue the successful program and to accommodate the high volume, the program is now scheduled for specific buildings and areas of campus at different times during the year.
Storm Drain Stenciling (2004)
• More than 40 volunteers spread out across the St. Paul campus to stencil warnings near all storm drains that materials dumped into these drains empty into the Sarita Wetlands. Stencil artist Scott Stulen’s design evokes the natural rhythms of the Sarita wetland, and features ducks and grasses.
Paint-the-Bridge (2004)
• A donation from The Sherwin-Williams Paint Company allowed nearly 300 volunteers to paint the Washington Avenue Bridge with recycled paint.
http://www.buday.umn.edu/
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