Happy October everyone! We hope you all are looking forward to fall and the cooler weather as much as we are! We have so many fun things going on this month, including our first river cleanup of the year and the Sustainable Spooktacular! Keep scrolling to learn more about our your impact on local water, events on campus, and more!
We want to congratulate @radgirljsd on her question being selected as the October Burning Question! We are extra excited about this one because it matches this month's theme of water. Jami asks: “Is using a bidet more sustainable than using toilet paper? (Seriously, tho!)” Excellent question Jami! Turns out that YES using a bidet is more sustainable than toilet paper! It takes 37 gallons of water just to make one roll of toilet paper; a bidet only uses 1/8 of a gallon. Additionally, installing and using a bidet in the house can reduce your household spending on toilet by 75%. Not only are you going to be saving water and money, you will also be saving trees! It takes about 384 trees to make the toilet paper that the average person uses in their life. Thank you Jami for the instigation - double up on bidets and toilet paper to reduce your footprint!
We want to answer your inquires about making campus more sustainable, as well as leading a more eco friendly life. We encourage all of you to submit questions you may have about the environment and sustainable living. You can submit them by DMing us on any form of social media, or emailing us at scp_contact@ahec.edu. At the end of each month we will reveal which question was selected by the staff and address it in the upcoming newsletter!
This past Friday, staff and students from across the campus met with us at the Cherry Creek river to pick up waste and cleanup the waterway as well as the bank. At the end of four hours, within four city blocks, we gathered over 760 pounds of trash! That's about the size of two fully grown lions! We would like to give special thanks to Hope Bartlett and our amazing friends at OWOW, Dr. Richard Wagner for his generous donation of trash pickers and buckets, and Joshua McGrath for the waders that kept everyone so safe! Finally, we would like to thank every single volunteer that came out and dedicated their time and energy - we would not have been able to make such a difference without you! Click here or the video above to find out more.
Come volunteer with us for our November Bike Count! We're going to go out twice in once day to collect data on how many bikes are in and around campus. This helps us gather information about how many people are using alternative transportation to reduce their carbon footprint. Meet at Tivoli 267 (10am and/or 2pm) and join our staff member for this super fun opportunity! Click the photo above to go to our sign up sheet!
Come see YOUR student fees put to work by helping us measure the positive impacts of the newly-added compost bin through a waste audit. We need help collecting this data, so come get messy with some fellow trash fans and compost connoisseurs! Join us by signing up for a shift between 11:30am - 1:30pm on November 3rd in the ASCP Office (Tivoli 267). Click the photo above to go to our sign up sheet!
Join us at our first annual Sustainable Spooktacular! Swing by the ASCP Office (Tivoli 267) to see our staff in costumes; take our survey, learn some tricks about having an eco-friendly Halloween and leave with some treats! This is an open house event, so stop by anytime between 10am to 2pm on Monday, October 25th.
Help reduce your spooky carbon footprint this season by composting your pumpkin. Bring untreated (bleached or equivalent) pumpkins by so the organic material can live another life as healthy soil. Food-safe paint welcome. We will be taking pumpkins during the weekday between the hours of 9am and 4pm. All community members are encouraged to drop off their pumpkin waste for sustainable disposal!
Come learn about the issues of food insecurity and homelessness in the Denver area, what is being done to resolve these problems, and the resources available to Auraria students and community members. We will discuss how to find resources yourself AND how to support the loved ones you know who may be experiencing food insecurity or homelessness. We will have mobile food pantries/ food hand outs, a clothing swap, single stop benefit sign ups, community partners, educational opportunities, blanket making community service project, and MUCH MORE! Join us from Monday 11/8 through Thursday 11/11 from 10:00-2:00 each day. There will be virtual and in person programming so there's something for everyone's comfort level!
Say “hello” to our wonderful staff from left to right and top to bottom:
Connor Weber
Girija Kulkarni
Kait Kostelnik
Rylee McCone
Veronica Minster
Evan Pierpont
Cassy Cadwallader
Chris Herr
Interested in learning more about how we all help to reduce the ecological impact and dependence on fossil fuels? Check out our team page!
Come one, come all—events are in full swing! We're excited to announce upcoming volunteer activities, educational workshops, and opportunities to connect with our greater campus community. Come help the ASCP and our partner organizations support things like the campus' zero waste vision, transition to alternative transportation, and survey student sustainability interests. Register for events by clicking the links below or contacting scp_contact@ahec.edu.
Metro Water Recovery - Fish Survey
October 25th (Monday) @ 8:00am
Contact Jordan Parman at JParman@mwrd.dst.co.us if you have any questions or if you are interested.
