Sustainable Bates

Donate your items to clean sweep in the designated area in your dorms before the end of short term! Learn more about clean sweep on the website linked in bio!

Eco Service day is this Friday, May 17th!

Eco-Service day is a great opportunity for students and faculty to get involved in sustainability projects right here at Bates!

Come join us and get a donut :)

This Wednesday you CANNOT miss Bates’ Earth Day celebration! Well, literally, because we will be right outside of Commons celebrating from 4-7 pm so we expect to see you! Join us for a BBQ, live music, tabling, activities and to learn more about Sustainability at Bates. 🌱☁️☀️

The 2024 Eco-reps at their most recent meeting after planting asparagus in the PLOT (Bates’ garden!!!).

This year’s final approved Green Grant was proposed by Caroline Mayer and Sarah Smith. Using the grant, they worked on educational posters to put around Page Hall to help educate Bates students about how to reduce contamination in recycling. Read more above!

Our next Green Grant proposal was written by Liza Bell. This grant was created in order to help the green bike program here at Bates, where students can rent out a bike for free in order to help sustainable transportation more possible at Bates. Liza’s Grant goes towards new materials and improvements for the program! Learn more by reading the information above!

Our next featured Green Grant was proposed by Alan Wang. Read more about Alan’s plan to create a better bus stop for Bates and why it is important in reducing Bates’ GHG emissions!

Green Grant Proposal written by Gianluca! Learn about Gianluca’s proposal to help the birds on the Bates campus!

Do you want to borrow a bike during Short term? The Bates EcoReps and the library have teamed up to create a Bates bike library! You can now check out a bike for a week, on a first-come, first-served basis, similar to checking out a book.

The Ladd front desk will be able to set you up with a bike by issuing you a key which matches one of the bikes outside the entrance. The Bike ID on the keychain will let you know which bike you have.

⭐️Treat the bikes nicely, and please return them in time so others can use them as well. We suggest wearing a helmet.⭐️

Learn more and find more resources in the link in our Bio!🚴🏽‍♀️

Congratulations to our Green Grant winners! This year grants written by five students were accepted by the Bates Committee for Environmental Responsibility. Each grant received between $200-$2000 to bring their sustainability project to life. Thank you to everyone who applied to make an important impact!

Did you know one of the Ecoreps is a youth representative in the Maine Climate Council? That means he works directly with the state’s climate action plan! Join him tomorrow for the second installment of the Youth Representative-led climate conversation series!

Are you a young Mainer interested to learn about Maine’s climate strategies? Want to provide your perspectives that will be brought back to the Maine Climate Council? This is for you! Head to the link in ‘s bio to register on Zoom.

Presenting the heart of Bates’ sustainable energy initiative: The Bates Solar Array. Fueling our campus with renewable energy and supplying 75% of our campus’ power needs, this solar array reflects our commitment to a greener future.

If you live in Frye Street you can win breakfast for you and your housemates only by… recycling correctly! We will leave more information in the link in our Bio. ♻️ May the least polluting win! ♻️

Share your thoughts on sustainability at Bates by filling out this quick survey from the Princeton Review. As a thank you for your feedback, you’ll also be entered to win a $25 gift card to Forage Market!

Check out this month’s newsletter up on stalls around campus!

Happy break, bobcats! Before leaving for break, leave your room at high-efficiency by doing these simple actions! Please remind your friends and those who live in your dorm. Enjoy your holidays!

Did you already take a look at the Ecoreps’ November newsletter distributed around campus? Reading the monthly newsletter allows you to discover the latest updates on Bates sustainability, exciting events, and much more. You can find physical copies in the stalls of every academic building. 🌅

Did you know about Bates’ partnership with GOMAINE carpool? 🚘 Check the link in our bio to find out more about this exciting project!

You can both support your community homeless population while also giving a new caring home to your winter clothes. Remember that there is no sustainability possible without environmental justice, and that includes helping our communities!

Happy break, Bobcats! Don’t forget to check out the items in this list before leaving for home 🪟🔌🌡️

More pictures from yesterday! We want to remind folk that if you missed this event, you can still participate in the Trashion Show this Wednesday after the Harvest Dinner in the Gray Cage!

Photos by: Gianluca Yornet.

Thanks to all of you who came to our EcoService Day yesterday. It was a day of collaborative work, cider, donuts, and lots of leaves! The garden is now ready for winter. ❄️🍂🍁❄️

We hope to see everyone at our amazing annual Trashion Show event on November the 15th at 6pm— right after Harvest Dinner!

Voting day is today 🗳️One way to care about sustainability is by making your voice heard. See you there, bobcats!

Guess what? Tomorrow is election day! Find some information about registering and where to vote on this post.

Every semester, the EcoReps organize an Eco-Service Day to provide opportunities for students and faculty to get involved in sustainability projects right here at Bates. This year’s Eco-Service Day will be on November 12th at 11am. You can help out by working in the PLOT, where we will put the garden to bed for the winter using leaves collected on campus. Bring your friends, get outside, and help further sustainability efforts on campus! You can either sign up on the link in bio or just show up!

Green Innovation Grants is a program at Bates that helps the community get involved in sustainability work on campus! The application for the 2023 Academic Year is open now.

Here’s how it works:

1) Identify a problem or something you’d like to see the college change in the sustainability realm.

2) Come up with an innovative solution to the problem.

3) Submit your solution via Google Form (link in bio!)

4) The Bates Committee for Environmental Responsibility, made up of faculty, students and staff will award the most creative and impactful solutions money to make their project happen. The funding range per project is roughly $200-$2000.

Applications are due November 20th. Projects must be completed or autonomous by: May (Date TBD)
If awarded money, project leads become managers of the project – that is, they get to implement the project themselves!- coordinating events, purchasing of items, etc., with support from the Sustainability Office.

If you have questions, please email Tom Twist at [email protected] or send questions to our DM!

Do you want to borrow a bike? The Bates EcoReps and the library have teamed up to create a Bates bike library! You can now check out a bike for a week, first-come first-served, similar to checking out a book.

The Ladd front desk will be able to set you up with a bike by issuing you a key which matches one of the bikes outside the entrance. The Bike ID on the keychain will let you know which bike you have :)

Treat the bikes nicely, and please return them in time so others can use them as well. We suggest wearing a helmet.

The Green Bike program will hold open shop hours at the bike garage (10 Frye St.) for general maintenance issues. Students can learn how to fix a flat tire, tighten brakes, and other basic bike maintenance skills.

Dm us with any questions and find more resources in the link in our Bio!

No waste November is approaching soon! That’s why we will be tabling this Thursday outside of Commons to help you sign up for the month-long challenge. The most exciting part is that you could win a prize for all your efforts, and create healthy long-term zero-waste habits. Link in bio w more info!

Do you enjoy being creative AND have a passion for sustainability? Then sign up for the 2023 Trashion Show!!

The Trashion Show is a student-modeled and designed fashion show showcasing outfits made of recycled material or trash. It will be happening in conjunction with this year’s 🍁🍂Harvest Dinner🍁🍂, November 15th!!

Feel free to sign up as a group, pair, or individual. In the past, sports teams and other groups have also made outfits for one of their members to model. If you have a designer and are looking for a model, or are a model looking for a designer, sign up and we can pair you with someone great!

Plus, the winners of the show (decided by a panel of judges made up of Bates staff and professors) win some sweet gift cards!

Here is the link to sign up: https://forms.gle/gqcsd1pSkatXAWg29, and it will be up on our bio too!

Please reach out to [email protected], or [email protected] with any questions, and check out some examples from last year’s show, including an amazing video.

We can’t wait to see what you come up with this year!