Are you cool enough to help TRU win the BC Cool Campus Challenge?
If so, stop by a Cool Challenge pop-up booth on campus throughout February to complete a pledge, committing you to at least one of five actions:
• Turn the heat down (between 1 and 3 degrees)
• Layer up in warm clothing
• Take shorter showers
• Wash laundry in cold water
• Commit to climate change action and/or awareness in the form of:_______.
This is the second year for the Cool Campus Challenge, which came about after the provincial government announced in the fall of 2018 that British Columbia was facing a serious natural gas shortage. James Gordon of TRU’s sustainability office was attending a conference with other sustainability professionals when the shortage was announced, and the group brainstormed the Challenge.
“This challenge is a way of starting a conversation around energy dependency and resiliency,” said Gordon. “Natural gas is a limited and uncertain, non-renewable resource, and we need to asking, ‘How can we engage in energy-saving practises in addition to seeking renewable energy resources?’ This is an opportunity to discuss that.”
The contest involves BC colleges and universities. The winning school will secure the highest percentage of pledges from their total population of students, faculty and staff.
Double the pledges, free hot chocolate
Last year TRU finished third with about 250 pledges. Gordon would like to double that in 2020, and aims to reach 1,000. Sustainability staff and volunteers will be on campus promoting the initiative.
As a bonus, everyone who stops by the table with a reusable mug can fill it with free hot chocolate.
Pop-up tables around campus
Find the sustainability reps between 10 a.m. to noon. on:
Thursday, Feb. 6 on the first floor of the Campus Activity Centre
Tuesday, Feb. 11 on the first floor of House of Learning
Tuesday, Feb. 25 in Student Street in Old Main
More information
James Gordon
jgordon@tru.ca
