A greener OCSS makes a greener UMBC

Hi everyone! My name is Alexa White. I am the new Sustainable Living & Transportation Outreach Intern. I am a senior and have spent most of my time at UMBC with sustainability groups like Students for Environmental Awareness and Geography & Environmental Systems Council of Majors. Being involved with these groups has given me the opportunity to raise awareness about environmental issues through events and engage in building a strong community around our campuses sustainability.

UMBC's sustainability culture and initiatives have come a long way since I was a freshman. We have more composting, bike sharing, and an improved transit system. We have a community garden being built as we speak and every semester there are mass events/conferences students participate in, like Conference for the Chesapeake Bay, Eco-fest, and Powershift. I could go on about all the awesome sustainable efforts being made, but then you'd be reading a novel.

This semester, my goal is to continue promoting environmental awareness with OCSS events like Carpool Socials and Sustainable Living Off-Campus. I want to inspire off-campus students to adopt a love for sustainability through OCSS' efforts to be environmentally conscious.

Our first event is this Monday, 9/22! Monday is World Car-free Day: a day dedicated to avoiding our heavy reliance on cars. In light of that, OCSS is hosting a Carpool Social with free lunch to engage our commuter students in the Casual Carpooling program. This program is a great way for students to save money, parking time, and gas. Less stress on the environment and you. It's a win-win!

We don't want World Car-free Day to be just one day! Click on the link below to learn more about Monday's Carpool Social and explore the Casual Carpooling group to learn more about your options of going car-free: http://my.umbc.edu/groups/casualcarpooling/events/25799 

Little actions matter! Enjoy your semester!