Yale University
EN-5: Outreach Campaign

Let’s Sort it Out was an undergraduate outreach campaign in which peer influencers helped their fellow Yalies properly sort their waste in the 14 residential college courtyards. In each college courtyard, there were 4 streams for materials management, including: Blue recycling bins, Green compost bins, Black trash bins, & Clear reusable ware-return bins. This effort ran from Monday, October 19th- Friday, October 23rd 2020. Sustainability Liaisons within the Office of Sustainability assigned 30-minute shifts to themselves, their Green Team Members, or other student sustainability champions to monitor the disposal stations from 12-2pm during these weekdays.

Providing meals in disposable containers was essential to supporting the health of the students during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, but resulted in an uptick of dining waste, particularly coming from the To-Go bag materials. As a result of the Let’s Sort it Out student-led campaign, there was a reduction in enormous piles of trash. The diversion of these materials from the waste stream inspired feelings of empowerment among the student body for affecting change.

The Yale Trail outreach campaign was a six-week wellness challenge that engaged the entire Yale community, including students, staff, and faculty alike, by encouraging walking and/or biking daily, with distance traveled the determinant of points received, incentivizing sustainable transportation and overall health and well-being. Yale community members joined teams and completed weekly wellness challenges, many of which related to sustainability and one of which encouraged spending at least 10 minutes out in nature. The Office of Sustainability participated in the challenged and formed a team called the Tree Huggers.

There were 1881 registered participants and 213 official teams. Throughout the challenge, participants got a virtual tour of some of the university’s most amazing landmarks by recording daily health behaviors which included exercise minutes or steps, active listening and no sugar-sweetened beverages. The Yale Trail goal was to log 25+ points per week over six weeks for a total of 150 points per week, plus weekly bonus points. Participants also got to answer fun trivia questions and learn interesting facts about each location. Positive sustainability-related outcomes include: more time spent in nature/green space, which directly supports our development of a green space strategy under Landscape Management and Use goal; physical and mental health benefits from increased activity and healthy living, supporting our Sustainability, Health and Well-Being goal; and increased walking and biking instead of driving, supporting our Sustainable Commuting goal (all within the Yale Sustainability Plan 2025).