University interest in environment drives GreenFest success

A girl in an elaborate, homemade hyena costume stood on Locust Walk on Friday. Her message? Go green.

College freshman Deirdre Bullard donned her Halloween costume a day early to promote Penn Environmental Group’s annual GreenFest on College Green. The event brought together both student and non-student groups that share the common purpose of encouraging green lifestyles and spreading environmental awareness.

Students who attended the fair had the opportunity to sign up for clubs, learn about green community projects or simply tie-dye a t-shirt. This year, more groups came out than ever before, according to College sophomore Abby Waldorf, who, along with fellow PEG members and College sophomores Ashima Sukhdev, Anna Caffry, was responsible for GreenFest this year.

This year, PEG aimed to get as many groups involved in GreenFest as possible, according to Sukhdev and Caffry. The increased participation this weekend reflected Penn’s increased interest in environmental issues, they added.

At the event, PEG debuted a new program that gives local food, retail and business establishments “green” certification for meeting certain pollution and conservation standards: Green Acorn Business Certification. Program director and College sophomore Doug Miller said the program will help students utilize more environmentally conscious businesses in their daily lives.

Green Campus Partnership, an umbrella organization that addresses sustainability and policies at Penn, was also featured prominently at the event. The partnership, along with Community Energy — a company that markets and supplies clean energy — has worked hard to make Penn’s energy use as sustainable as possible.

Due to their combined efforts, 40 percent of the university’s energy load is offset by wind power, making Penn the number one school nationwide in use of wind energy.

But Friday, increasing awareness involved more than just informing students. The Penn Vegan Society fed participants vegan cakes and cookies that — as College sophomore and group president and co-founder Victor Galli explained to surprised students — contained no milk, dairy or eggs.

Meanwhile, the Penn Outdoors Club provided s’mores.

Other local groups and businesses were present to promote their work, including PhillyCarShare, University City Green and Penn Transit.

In the end, the hyena said it best.

“People want to learn how to be more green all around.”

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