Welcome back to the red, black…and green! The year 2011 marks the beginning of new partnerships for NIU in the realm of the environment, sustainability and energy.

A new student group hit the ground running in the spring, building services started testing out a recycling facelift and a new major was approved.

In May, the Green Paws Environmental Alliance (Green PEAs) was recognized as an official student group. This student organization aims to inspire environmental action in the NIU student body by raising awareness about local and global issues. They have a series of events planned for the semester in which students are encouraged to participate. The Green PEAs are best reached by contacting the group’s President, Eric Sterling, or by joining their Facebook group.

This summer, NIU’s Building Services started to update its recycling program with new containers, labeling standards, and a new logo. The pilot program containers are currently in the public areas of Adams Hall, the Music Building and Grant Towers North. Select offices on campus have also received new containers and feedback has been overwhelmingly positive so far.

Key to the success of this pilot program is changing the way we view our trash and our awareness of where it is headed once put into a container. Landfill waste is sent to the landfill and recycling waste is sent to a sorting facility for eventual recycling.

The new logo (Campus Recycling: Sustainability…your university, your world) can be viewed on the recycling blog maintained by Ryan Read, the Building Services graduate assistant tasked with updating the campus recycling program. The NIU 3R Recycling webpage has also been updated and redesigned to feature the current recycling pilot program, campus groups such as the Green PEAs and general efforts in campus-wide recycling.

The Illinois Board of Higher Education approved NIU’s newest interdisciplinary major in Environmental Studies on August 16th. The Environmental Studies program is the degree-granting arm of the larger Institute for the Study of the Environment, Sustainability, and Energy. Faculty from across the university with the interest in collaborative research and interdisciplinary education put in countless hours to design this dynamic BA and BS program. Students majoring in Environmental Studies are expected to complete a set of six core classes providing them with the holistic knowledge base needed to best understand and address environmental issues. They will specialize in one of six emphasis areas: biodiversity and environmental restoration; energy studies; environmental policy; water studies; the human experience; or non-governmental organizations (a partnership with NIU’s other new interdisciplinary major in Non-Governmental Organization Leadership and Development). More information about the new Environmental Studies program is available online on NIU’s Environmental Studies website. You can also email or visit the offices on the 3rd floor of the Health Services Building.

There are several environmental activities planned for this semester, so be sure to keep up with the events by visiting the events page on NIU’s Environmental Studies website. This page will be kept up-to-date with environmentally related events on campus and in the community.