Ole Miss Goes Green (print)

The University of Mississippi hosted its fourth annual Green Week on April 18-22, 2011. The faculty in the Office of Campus Sustainability created this week to build awareness and knowledge of how to increase sustainability.

Green Week 2011 consisted of things like a gardening workshop with Felder Rushing, a Green Home Tour throughout Oxford, a “Go Local” food panel with experts from the Oxford area, the Sustainability Fair in front of the Student Union, the Sustainability Leadership Awards, and other events on campus and around Oxford. In an interview with Jim Morrison of the Office of Campus Sustainability, he named these as some of the very well attended events of the week.

Green Week, which is now working with the Oxford’s Mayor Office, is planning to expand the activities and the programs that they hold so that they occur more frequently throughout the year, according to Morrison. This annual event is gaining popularity and effectiveness with every year that they continue to hold it.

Morrison believes that they are making a lasting impact every year with the Green Week events. “A key factor in changing our social culture will be driven by either a crisis (food, water, etc.) or by the market as new environmental friendly products and technology become more affordable,” Morrison said. This week of activities and events is an effective way to make sustainability a more desirable and accessible lifestyle.

Many students who would not normally participate in events like this found themselves paying attention to the interesting ways that they could contribute to this cause. “Green Week allows students to learn easy ways to live a more sustainable lifestyle in ways that they can relate to,” said Courtney Hudspeth, a student who observed and participated in a few of the Green Week activities.

Morrison also suggested some easy ways for students to easily contribute to this goal of improving sustainability. “It’s important to take small steps by setting a few goals each year,” he said. For example, students can recycle in their apartments, walk, ride a bicycle, take the OUT bus occasionally, and turn off lights when they leave a room, their house, or their apartment. Another suggestion was to observe “Meatless Mondays” in order to cut down on the water and gas used to transport the meat. These are all very simple methods of conservation and improving sustainability that students and other people with limited budgets and resources can easily observe.

-Katherine Waits