Celebrating Earth Month w/ BGSU: Supporting sustainability to get to carbon-neutral future

TOLEDO, Ohio (WTVG) - April is Earth Month and Bowling Green State University is celebrating by holding events all month long, engaging students in its university’s mission for sustainability.

BGSU issued a Climate Action Plan back in 2015 and its main goals with this plan are to reduce emissions, reduce waste and conserve resources, as well as to educate and engage students.

The university pledged to reduce emissions to carbon-neutral or net-zero by 2040. Right now, BGSU gets 40% of its electricity from renewable sources and it plans to continue to expand.

“As an institution, we are also collaborating with the city. They recently announced a solar field that is going to be on BGSU land that is going to supply electricity to the entire city of Bowling Green’s electric grid. We are incorporating more renewable energy into our overall power footprint,” says Zachary Hayes, who is the BGSU Sustainability Coordinator.

Throughout the month of April, the university is holding several events to engage students in these goals, such as campus tree plantings, an eco-fair and a campus clean-up of campus water bodies.

“The people that came were very dedicated. Getting down in the water and pulling out things such as kids’ bicycles. We found an entire mailbox. There was industrial debris like construction waste,” says Hayes.

April Earth Month Events

Outside of the month of April, BGSU’s sustainability office holds events all year long that have a big focus on waste management and recycling when it comes to campus move-ins and move-outs, as well as recycling efforts during athletic events.

To find out more information on the university’s sustainability goals and ways to get involved, you can visit www.bgsu.edu/campus-sustainability.html.

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