The London Summer Olympics may still be a few months away, but Dal鈥檚 residences are primed for a showdown of a more sustainable sort.
This week marks the kickoff of the Ecolympics, a yearly competition between residences聽 to determine which house can reduce its energy and water consumption the most over a two-week period.
Melanie Gillis, who lives in Howe Hall and is the Residence Sustainability Representative, explains that Dal鈥檚 Office of Sustainability conducted a baseline assessment of all residences last week. Now it鈥檚 up to each house to see how much lower they can push their consumption, with bragging rights and trophy privileges up for grabs.
鈥淭wo years ago, Gerard Hall took home the prize, but last year it was Howe Hall,鈥� she adds. 鈥淪o it鈥檚 really anyone鈥檚 game.鈥�
Community Events
In addition to the challenge itself, her team on the Green Residence Forum is organizing a series of events to help students learn more about their personal carbon footprint and what steps they can take to reduce it. There's a 鈥淪pring Into Action!鈥� afternoon at Dal鈥檚 community garden, and an evening screening of the film Urbanized. Thursday, students will be hosting a 鈥淭ap Water Challenge鈥� in campus dining halls to mark World Water Day, with a blind taste test between bottled and tap water.
Other events include a game of campus flashlight tag and three evenings of 鈥減hantom power鈥� workshops next week, where students can learn just how much energy their electronic devices emit, even when they鈥檙e turned 鈥渙ff.鈥� And the week will close with events to mark Earth Hour on March 31, including coffee houses in Shirreff, Gerard and Risley and an early evening film screening in Howe.
鈥淭he challenge is to make people feel a sense of ownership over where they live,鈥� says Ms. Gillis. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not just about sustainability, but community 鈥� a chance to be a part of something bigger.鈥�
Being smart to save
It鈥檚 also about bringing people together in common spaces to share energy use. As for what students can do on their own, Ms. Gillis recommends that residents who want to help their house win the competition should take shorter showers, make sure the taps are turned all the way off, keep their electronic devices unplugged when not in use, and make sure to turn off the light when they鈥檙e leaving the room.
鈥淵ou can be powerful working together as a house鈥攁s a team鈥攁nd hopefully that message sticks with students when they leave residence.鈥�
For a full list of events, visit the or join the .