Helping Lesley make the World a Greener Place

You too can make a difference!

There are many ways that individuals can get involved in the move towards a more sustainable society. The first step is to learn more about what's being done and how you can make a difference. The following resources will help get you started!

Lesley Eco-Reps

What is an Eco-Rep? Learn more about this group of Lesley volunteers.

Traveling Green Made Easier

• ZipCar - Lesley University has established a relationship with ZipCar for faculty, staff and students for only $25.00/year.  

  Drive a Zipcar by the hour or day.  Just reserve online, walk a block, let yourself in with your Zipcard and drive.  It is like owning a car without the headaches and costs.  Choose from MINI’s, hybrids, pickups and more – for $9.00/hour and $68.00/day, includes gas, parking and even insurance. Individual application fees will be waived for Lesley Community members.

  Learn more or find cars near you at To learn more or find cars near you please visit zipcar.com/lesley
• Goloco.org -   Interested in finding someone to commute to work with, or head to an athletic events with, or do a shopping adventure with, etc?  GoLoco is a service that helps people and communities create their own personal public transportation network. Your cars, your friends, your trips, your expenses -- GoLoco puts them all together for a seamless way to share travel and expenses. JOIN NOW and turn your social networks into travel networks.  No membership costs or monthly fees.  To find out if goloco fits your lifestyle, check out http://goloco.org today!
  

Tips for a Greener Community

Starting on Thursday September 25, 2008 -we will be holding a Sustainability brown bag lunch discussion - choices for sustainable living. This is a 7 week discussion course created by Northwest Earth Institute. Email Paige Manning for more detail. pmanning@lesley.edu

Million Monitor Drive

The Million Monitor Drive is a national ENERGY STAR campaign that has addressed monitor power management on 1 million monitors nationwide last year. Find out the best practices behind shutting your monitor and computer off.

Visit Lesley's University Technology site for instructions for how to set your monitor to sleep when idle.

Additional Resources & Green Links

Local Sustainable Agriculture

• Bon Appetit Management Company is committed to offering you dietary choices that fit your goals and values. Our Circle of Responsibility program is designed to give you information about our kitchen principles and how they affect your environment, community and well being. Go to http://www.circleofresponsibility.com/ and take a look at what Bon Appetit has to offer.
• Since 1991, The Food Project has built a national model of engaging young people in personal and social change through sustainable agriculture. Each year, they work with over a hundred teens and thousands of volunteers to farm on 31 acres in rural Lincoln, MA and on several lots in urban Boston. This site links you to their work and mission, while also providing chances to get involved through volunteering and purchasing their food.
• Northeast Organic Farming Association [NOFA] acts a resource and outreach center for people interested in sustainable organic agriculture. They provide information about farming practices and techniques, land conservation and farmers utilizing organic practices. This site can be used to learn about all of the above, as well as local farmers’ markets where you can buy organic produce.
• Newton Conservators is a local non-profit that works to sustain open spaces in Newton. This site provides information about parks and wetland conservation within Newton, as well as links to sustainable farms in their "links" section.

Resources about campus sustainability

• Western Michigan's Campus Sustainability Assessment Program [CSAP] provides a huge amount of links that inform about sustainable practices on campuses all over the world. Click on the many links on this page to access information from Australia to New Jersey and beyond.
• North American Alliance for Green Education is a non-profit consortium, founded by students, that is comprised of educational institutions and organizations with a commitment to environmental studies programs, located in diverse bioregions. Click the link above to explore sustainable practices, measure your ecological footprint and find many resources for sustainable living and education.
• The Associated Colleges of the South Environmental Resource Page is great place to start for those interested in environmental activism. This site is the environmental clearinghouse from ACS. Links from this site include Earth Day information, lessons on "Green" voting, and ways to get involved in Public Interest advocacy.
• Harvard Green Campus Organization provides information on campus sustainability initiatives happening right here in Cambridge. The site contains many links to campus sustainability efforts around the country.
• If you're looking to link up with an organization with a proven history of training civic and environmental leaders, you’ve found it. Campus Compact provides students with opportunities to get involved in civic initiatives that help to build sustainable communities.

Sustainability Organizations

• Campaign Earth offers simple solutions that address today's most pressing environmental issues with an emphasis on global warming. Knowing a busy lifestyle is as American as apple pie, they've created straightforward actions that enable us all to make a difference, one step at a time.
• www.life.ca This site provides accessible information about living a sustainable life. Click here to find resources for sustainable play, work, health care, eating and home heating.
• Planet Friendly provides people with a forum for posting and reading ideas about sustainable living and the science behind it. Click to see what people around the world are writing about peace and justice, global warming and community activism.
• Earth Easy provides links to sustainable shopping, working and living. Click here to find current information about simple practices to incorporate sustainability into your everyday routine.
• The E.F. Schumacher Society is named for the author of the legendary treatise on sustainable economics, Small is Beautiful. Carrying on Schumacher’s legacy, the society provides information about living in small, self-supporting communities. This site also provides listings of events and lectures occurring at the Schumacher Center in Western Massachusetts.
• The Compass Network is an organization dedicated to creating and improving sustainability communications around the world. Members can share best practices for sustainable living and become inspired to create further innovations through the resources and examples of creative approaches to sustainability offered on the site.
• DriveNeutral is a website designed to educate and effect change in the area of greenhouse gas emissions. It provides helpful tips on how to reduce these harmful emissions and develop best practices to lessen our impact on global climate change.