Washington and Lee University
IN-50: Innovation D

This event was debuted last year as W&L's first marquee Earth Month event. While Earth Month events are not uncommon, we feel this one was distinctive in its mission to bring students, faculty and staff together for a comprehensive picture of all the ways the campus community is engaged in sustainability work. The Office of Sustainability, the Student Environmental Action League, faculty members from deprtments with sustainability-related offerings were all represented, but so were sanitation workers, grounds workers, dining service workers, university store managers and others who have staff positions absolutely critical to the implementation of campus sustainability initiatives, but seldom directly involved in broad engagement events. The goal was to create opportunities for direct dialogue between stakeholders. Visitors to the event could sample appetizers and desserts prepared by W&L catering with ingredients from the campus garden, tour a mechanical room with the University Engineer, compete in a waste sorting event, and brush up on energy conservation tips, but they could also talk with the director of operations and maintenance about their questions on leaf blowers, and engage with custodians on challenges to recycling. It was a highly successful event and we look forward to hostng annually, both as a means of celebrating our efforts, and of keeping the conversation going.