COLLEGE PARK — A shift in student and faculty culture has led to wider participation in sustainable activities and lower waste-emitting rates, according to this university’s annual Sustainability Progress Report released Monday.
“The amount of progress that we have made as a university has been incredible,” said Ori Gutin, a junior environmental science and policy major and director of the Student Government Association’s
Sustainability Committee. “So much of the culture has changed and there are behavioral changes on campus, too.”
The shift began with Dining Services’ effort to make recycling a simple priority for students, said Allison Lilly, Dining Services’ sustainability and wellness coordinator.
About 15 percent of food served in the dining halls in 2013 was sustainable, meaning it met fair trade regulations, was local, produced humanely or was ecologically sound.
The debut of the Green Tidings food truck and Terp Farm last year also made a splash in sustainability, Lilly said, with the truck serving fresh food to 11,740 customers.
“The Terp Farm has really become a cornerstone for our initiatives and gives students an opportunity to understand what local and ecologically sound food means,” Lilly said.
The culture of sustainability transcended Dining Services and affected education models. Professors revised 151 courses from 63 disciplines to include material about sustainable action, according to the report.
“A lot of professors are trying to infuse sustainability throughout their courses,” said Robb Krehbiel, academic advisor for the sustainability studies minor.
In the sustainability major’s second year, 252 students from 58 majors enrolled in it, making it the largest minor on the campus, according to the report.
“A lot of people who are interested in applying the concepts of sustainability in their majors, in their careers and to enhance their lives, enroll in the minor,” Krehbiel said.
Creating awareness through the Dining Services’ guidance and