Written By: Rachel Johnson
The University of Florida Office of Sustainability is now offering a revitalized competition for Greek houses to compete to become the most sustainable house on campus.
The Greek Eco Challenge, which began on Feb. 7, 2016, and extends through April 2, aims to make Greek houses more aware of the resources they are using and how they can make a difference in creating a more sustainable campus.
Allison Vitt, the Outreach and Communications Coordinator for the University of Florida Office of Sustainability, said there will be weekly opportunities for Greek houses to compete against each other to win points. The points can be won through attending events or participating in a number of sustainable programs. The house with the most points at the end wins the Greek Eco Challenge award.
“The challenge is targeted at Greek houses to try to encourage them to reduce things like energy use, water use, and reducing the amount of waste that they are generating at their different houses,” Vitt said.
Greeks Going Green, a supporting organization of the Greek Eco Challenge, is a student-run group aiming to help these Greek houses become more involved in the challenge. The group encourages representatives from all Greek houses to attend their meetings to learn about new opportunities for their houses to become even more sustainable.
“Greek life is such a big influential network with a willingness to get involved,” said Rachel Reiss, the president of Greeks Going Green. “We are really serving as a pilot to enact change elsewhere.”
Reiss, who joined the organization as a freshman in 2013 and was elected president two years ago, said the Greek community really has a shared interest in not only expanding their social circles, but getting involved in their community.
“We can really serve as a model for things that can be enforced on a larger scale,” Reiss said.
The Greek Eco Challenge initiative began in 2013 as a sorority-based competition on reducing water usage and has since expanded to include waste reduction and energy usage. Today, it is led by Office of Sustainability intern and Greeks Going Green Vice President Layne Marshall.
“I never saw any Greek people getting involved in sustainability and it made me mad,” Marshall said. “Greek life is a very untapped resource for the Office of Sustainability.”
Marshall has set out to fix this problem. Working with Reiss and the Office of Sustainability, Marshall helped revive this initiative to get the Greek community involved in creating a greener campus.
“I really want to try to expand this idea of eco-friendliness to as many people as possible,” Marshall said.
To find out more information on the Greek Eco Challenge and how your sorority or fraternity can get involved, go to the UF Office of Sustainability website or reach out to Greeks Going Green on Facebook.
The University of Florida Office of Sustainability is now offering a revitalized competition for Greek houses to compete to become the most sustainable house on campus.
The Greek Eco Challenge, which began on Feb. 7, 2016, and extends through April 2, aims to make Greek houses more aware of the resources they are using and how they can make a difference in creating a more sustainable campus.
Allison Vitt, the Outreach and Communications Coordinator for the University of Florida Office of Sustainability, said there will be weekly opportunities for Greek houses to compete against each other to win points. The points can be won through attending events or participating in a number of sustainable programs. The house with the most points at the end wins the Greek Eco Challenge award.
“The challenge is targeted at Greek houses to try to encourage them to reduce things like energy use, water use, and reducing the amount of waste that they are generating at their different houses,” Vitt said.
Greeks Going Green, a supporting organization of the Greek Eco Challenge, is a student-run group aiming to help these Greek houses become more involved in the challenge. The group encourages representatives from all Greek houses to attend their meetings to learn about new opportunities for their houses to become even more sustainable.
“Greek life is such a big influential network with a willingness to get involved,” said Rachel Reiss, the president of Greeks Going Green. “We are really serving as a pilot to enact change elsewhere.”
Reiss, who joined the organization as a freshman in 2013 and was elected president two years ago, said the Greek community really has a shared interest in not only expanding their social circles, but getting involved in their community.
“We can really serve as a model for things that can be enforced on a larger scale,” Reiss said.
The Greek Eco Challenge initiative began in 2013 as a sorority-based competition on reducing water usage and has since expanded to include waste reduction and energy usage. Today, it is led by Office of Sustainability intern and Greeks Going Green Vice President Layne Marshall.
“I never saw any Greek people getting involved in sustainability and it made me mad,” Marshall said. “Greek life is a very untapped resource for the Office of Sustainability.”
Marshall has set out to fix this problem. Working with Reiss and the Office of Sustainability, Marshall helped revive this initiative to get the Greek community involved in creating a greener campus.
“I really want to try to expand this idea of eco-friendliness to as many people as possible,” Marshall said.
To find out more information on the Greek Eco Challenge and how your sorority or fraternity can get involved, go to the UF Office of Sustainability website or reach out to Greeks Going Green on Facebook.