Brianna Marshall

Contributing Writer

Environmental sustainability is an area of concern today, with increasing pressure to find solutions to human impact on the environment. While initiatives on a global scale are the focus of widespread media attention, the University community is actively participating in the discussion of responsible care for the environment and its many resources. Leading the movement is Dina El-Mogazi, director of the Campus Greening Initiative.

The Campus Greening Initiative has been instituted to improve the environmental sustainability of the University campus by involving students, faculty and staff in educational and innovational pursuits. Projects such as obtaining Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification for new buildings on campus and promoting recycling on residence halls are accomplishments made by 75 individuals involved in the Campus Greening council.

Sustainability extends beyond issues of pollution and recycling to factors that are more student-focused, such as food waste. The Campus Greening Initiative is responsible for sponsoring a food audit where wasted food from cafeteria plates is weighed and assessed. It is El-Mogazi who is most in touch with the environmental issues of the “Bucknell bubble.”

El-Mogazi describes her work with students as being extremely important to the success of the Campus Greening Initiative. The Environmental Connections requirement within the College Core Curriculum is evidence of the involved work that has been conducted to involve students with the issues of environment and sustainability. Additionally, student eco-reps have been instituted to promote involvement and campus knowledge about the campus commitment to environmentally friendly solutions.

“The projects I enjoy the most are what I call SEED projects (Sustainable Energy and Ecological Design),” El-Mogazi said. “These are educational demonstration scale projects that involve student and faculty research and also provide models of good environmental practices on campus. Some of the SEED projects I’ve worked on include the native plants garden at the Environmental Center, the green roof on Dana Engineering, the new wind turbine adjacent to the water tower and the new rain garden at the Environmental Center. Work on these projects is particularly rewarding because I get to help students leave a sustainable legacy on the campus.”