PLAYgreen

No Trees Were Harmed...

Our event guide for the PLAYgreen Festival is 100% digital this year which means that no trees were harmed! The PLAYgreen Festival Guide guide is jam-packed with up-to-date listings of the day's programs and events. 

See you at the PLAYgreen Festival!

Learn why by checking out this link:

Facts about paper

Learn from the Environmental Defense Fund on smart paper choices with the paper calculator.

How Green is Your Love?

 

Worried that you're not eco-friendly enough for your sweetie? Take this quiz from the Sierra Club to see just how green you're being this Valentine's Day

Traditional Gift: A dozen roses

Eco-alternative: A dozen organic roses

Go organic with a bunch from Organic Bouquet, or one of the local Berkeley flower shops. If you’d rather go the creative (and longer-lasting) route, try making flowers from recycled paper; you might feel like you’re back at summer camp, but the display will last longer than any fresh bouquet.

Traditional Gift: A box of candy

Eco-alternative: Fair trade chocolate bars

Boxes of chocolate look nice on the outside, but inside they’re a different story: a hit-or-miss collection of treats that get eaten within minutes of breaking off that red ribbon (like coconut-filled dark chocolate or mocha truffles) paired with the ones that get left for days (like strawberry mousse and chocolate-covered cherries). Cut out the risk with a collection of Fair Trade chocolate bars in his or her favorite flavor from companies like Green & Black or Global Exchange. Try out local chocolate makers such as Alegio or Chocolatier Blue.

Traditional Gift: Jewels and Gems

Eco-alternative: Recycled or Fair Trade gems

Jewelry is a go-to gift for Valentine’s Day. Put a little thought into it by tracking down handmade pieces formed from recycled metal and paired with natural stones and gems, like the conflict-free pieces from Kirsten Muenster, recycled stainless-steel from Tarma Designs, reused magazine earrings from BtheNV Designs, or classic diamonds from Green Karat. For guys: check out these in cuff links fashioned from obsolete subway tokens.

Source: "Valentine's Day Gifts: Green Love for Everyone", Treehugger, viewed February 10, 2009

Be My Green Valentine

Woo your sweetheart on Valentine's Day with one of these green date ideas....

1. Get a tandem!  Not only does riding your bike get you out and about, it'll get the blood flowing for any physical activity you have planned for later on V-Day.  And of course, there's the added green karma for zero emissions transportation.
2. Have a candlelit dinner...at home.  According to a recent survey of UK restaurants, eating out has a significantly higher carbon footprint than eating with locally sourced ingredients.  Not only does eating in mean you can choose where you get your ingredients, it means you skip the vehicle transport to the restaurant. Plus, cooking together is just fun!
3. Watch the sunset.  Okay, so it might be a little cliche, but who doesn't love a good sunset?  The Berkeley Hills are full of great views. And if sunsets aren't your thing, there's always star gazing.
4. Take a Hike. Tilden is practically in UC Berkeley's backyard -- you don't even need to drive. AC Transit bus #67 will get you there. Nothing says I love you more than gettin' some exercise with your sweetie. 
5. Get a table for two at an organic restaurant.  There are plenty of restaurants that serve organic and local food in Berkeley!  

Source: "Low Impact Valentine's Day Dates", Huddler, viewed February 10, 2009

Tips to green your football tailgater!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Good eats, great friends, and college football (Go Bears!), what more do you need? Tailgate parties are rituals to many fans, and although they're a great way to celebrate and show team support, they can end up creating a ton of waste. This season take some steps to making your gameday bash greener.

 

1. Buy food locally and try to avoid excessive convenience foods. Prepackaged food like dips and salads come with a ton of plastic waste. Try eliminating this waste and make your own salads and snacks, and bring them in reusable containers.
2. When you can't buy locally, buy organic. It's best to find sustainable foods grown close to home, but when they're not available, organic is always better for your body and the environment.
3. Bring recycled bags and make sure you recycle everything you can to produce as little waste as possible.  Create a compost bag for all of your left over veggies and fruit.
4. Plan what you’re going to serve ahead of time and buy accordingly. This will help you avoid the pitfall of throwing away food at the end of the game.
5. Wear vintage game gear. There’s no reason you should buy new gear every season. Save your football gear in a safe place when the season is over.  Don't have gear? Go to local garage sales and thrift stores, or even dig in friends and families closets and reuse those great shirts from back in the day.

The Local - Fresh Food, Good Prices, & Great Cause

 

UC Berkeley has it's very own farmer's market, right on campus. STEAM, a group formed by ASUC, has created the first ever UCB student cooperative featuring an organic fruit and vegetable stand in Sproul Plaza, "The Local". At the stand, you can purchase locally-grown, organic produce at wholesale prices, helping support small bay area farmers. It is a great opportunity for students and campus members to get fresh produce, meet new friends, and learn about our local food chain and campus sustainability efforts.

The Local is open every Wednesday from 11:00am - 3:00pm in Upper Sprowl Plaza. Come by and enjoy fresh produce, a great group of people, and a very green cause. For further information on Steam events or campus participation visit them at http://sustainability.asuc.org/TheLocal.html.

Caltopia VI is greener than ever!

Caltopia VI, recognized as the largest experiential College Lifestyle Festival in the nation, will be held on Sunday, August 24 and Monday, August 25, 2008 at the award-winning Recreational Sports Facility right here on campus! This year Caltopia is greener than ever, and we want to share our plan with you! Check out the 10 ways we plan on greening the event and let us know what you think!

Zero Waste: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

1. Reduce - Cal Rec Sports will offer paperless promotional methods to all exhibitors and sponsors via our partners, Kadoink and CampusMint.

2. Reuse - We're going paperless wherever possible, but when we can't go paperless, we are making efforts to use recycled paper and soy-based ink.

3. Recycle - Caltopia will be outfitted with a minimum of 14 recycling stations, including trash, compost, and recycling bins, throughout the event. Signage will be strategically placed near each recycling station and throughout the facility.

Sustainable Transportation

4. No Idling Rule - During load-in/out, trucks and cars will have designated parking at specified times to avoid idling and promote cleaner air.

5. Public Transportation - The link to 511.org's Trip Planner will be provided on the event website, for attendees to find the best method of public transportation to get them to the event.

Good Eats at Caltopia - The natural, organic and sustainable way!

6. Compost - All sampling stations and restaurants are encouraged to use compostable materials to distribute their product whenever possible. Compost bins will be easily accessible both for participating restaurants and attendees.

7. Biodegradable - All utensils, containers and napkins for Caltopia's Chow Down and Restaurant Row will be biodegradable.

8. Styrofoam Free - Caltopia will be a Styrofoam Free event!

Reducing Caltopia's Climate Footprint

9. Travel Climate Neutral - Cal Rec Sports encourages attendees traveling from out of town to offset their carbon emissions by purchasing Cool Tags which can offset about 300 miles of travel.

10. Support the locals - In order to support the Buy Local Berkeley campaign, we are inviting locally owned and operated businesses to be a part of Caltopia!

Earth Week at UC Berkeley

UC Berkeley's student group, Steam (The ASUC Sustainability Team) hosts the campus wide Earthweek celebrations throughout the week of April 21 - 25. With participation from over 40 on-campus organizations and 30 off-campus organizations, Earthweek is a whirlwind of guest lectures, panel discussions, film showings, art shows, outdoor performances and Sproul tabling all geared toward educating Cal about environmental and sustainability issues.

It's not too late to get involved! Check out the schedule of events here.

Sustainable Eats at your next event

As athletes, health gurus and avid workout fanatics, it can be hard to keep your social life in line with your health and fitness. Don't fret, we've found a few ways to make your next event a little bit healthier, for you and the environment.

#1 Promote buying local by serving locally purchased or grown fruits and vegetables. For a large event, hire a local caterer that supports local farmers and food. For small events, buy your food at a local Farmer's Market.

#2 Use compostable and biodegradable utensils, plates, napkins and to go containers. Try Treecycle or Excellent Packaging for eco-friendly products.

#3 Offer healthy options for the main course such as certified organic and sustainably raised poultry, fish, or seafood that are roasted, baked, broiled, or grilled instead of fried.

Take Cal Recreational Sports for example. On Wednesday, April 30th we're hosting the Fourth Annual Taste and Sounds of Berkeley, a fantastic event opportunity for Berkeley restaurants and caterers to promote their services, and adding an eco-friendly twist. At the event, we're promoting local restaurants (less distance to travel), making all of our materials, menus and promotions available online instead of in print and we're handing out compostable to go containers to all of our attendees to reduce waste and allow them to share the delicious samples.

Fifth Annual UC Berkeley Sustainability Summit

Sustainability is the ability to meet the needs of the present while living within the carrying capacity of supporting ecosystems without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

This year's Annual UC Berkeley Sustainability Summit is larger than ever before. It will be held on Monday, April 21st located in Pauley Ballroom from 8am-1:30pm. This year's summit will recognize staff, faculty, and students addressing sustainability issues on campus and provide information at breakout sessions about various related issues and personal choices we can make as individuals and a campus community to help reduce our environmental footprint.

Be sure to stop by MLK to be a part of this campus wide event. For more info click here.

Source: Sustainability at the University of California, Berkeley, viewed April 20

March Madness Celebration

Our March Madness Celebration, the second in our series of green events, will be held March 10-13! Held at the RSF, the four day event celebrates the countdown to the NCAA March Madness Tournament and your Spring Break.

Stop by the RSF during the event and enter our "How will you PLAYgreen this Spring Break?" Sweepstakes for a chance to win a Travel Gear Package from KIVA Designs. Enter at the event or on our Cal Rec Sports – RSF Facebook group.

We look forward to seeing you there!