The University of New Mexico

NEWS RELEASE

Media Contact: Benson Hendrix (505) 277-1816
bhendrix@unm.edu

UNM to Host First Sustainability Expo on Earth Day

UNM will host its First Annual Sustainability Expo on Wednesday, April 22. The event will be held on Cornell Mall from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and will feature Parking and Transportation Services’ Alternative Transportation Fair, Sustainability Studies’ Lobo Grower’s Market, and displays from other forward thinking campus organizations like Lobo Energy and the Physical Plant Division.

“Sustainability at the university has made great progress this year,” said Mary Vosevich, director, Physical Plant Division. “An event such as this will not only show what UNM has accomplished but will also promote awareness and encourage involvement.”

Fair-goers can expect to see everything from locally-grown organic vegetables and hand-made candles to Segways, electric cars, a UNM Police Department Bike Auction, and demonstrations of current sustainability initiatives from UNM departments and community members.

“The Expo will place all the various sustainability initiatives inside of one overarching context, give people a chance to see what UNM is doing with regard to environmental impact, and also provide them with options so that they can make life choices that help, rather than hurt, our community,” said Cynthia Martin, program planning manager, UNM Parking and Transportation Services and Expo coordinator.

The Expo is the result of collaboration between Parking and Transportation Services (PATS), Sustainability Studies, and the Physical Plant Division (PPD). In previous year’s PATS hosted a large alternative transportation event on Earth Day; this year PATS saw the interest in the fair expand beyond transportation.

The UNM Lobo Grower’s Market is also an established campus event participating in the Sustainability Expo.

“Visitors will rediscover the joy of seasonal eating while connecting to a thriving community that stretches beyond the campus border into New Mexico’s urban and rural foodshed,” said Bruce Milne, Director of Sustainability Studies.

The Lobo Grower’s Market was designed to educate students, staff, faculty, and the community about locally grown, nutritious food and alternative solutions. The market is a student-led initiative.

“By hosting the market, UNM students are fighting climate change and growing the green economy,” Milne said.

Also, more than 50 fourth-graders from Navajo Elementary School and Monte Vista Elementary School will visit the university. The UNM Parking and Transportation Services has arranged a special program for the students, called SustainABILITY, to increase the educational value of their visit.

The hour-long program, set for 10 a.m. in the Willard Room of Zimmerman Library, includes presentations from Lobo Energy on energy conservation, the City of Albuquerque Bicycle Safety Education Program on bike safety, and a presentation on local foods from UNM Sustainability Studies. A SustainABILITY workbook designed specifically for the program will be given to each student for additional use in the classroom or at home.

###