Take the Stairs Competition

The “Take the Stairs” competition is part of a campaign aimed at improving human health by getting people to take the stairs more often, and reducing our environmental impact by using the elevator less, and thereby using less energy. Because the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) has a special connection to people and research in Tanzania, the EcoOpportunity Team created the competition around the theme of climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro.

Mt. Kilimanjaro is located in northeastern Tanzania and is the highest peak in Africa at 19,330 ft. The mountain is an inactive volcano that has three volcanic cones, Kibo, Mawenzi, and Shira, and is one of the largest stratovolcanoes in the world. There are several routes of varying difficulty by which to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro. Unfortunately, at HSPH there are more limited routes by which to climb up and down the stairs. In order to promote making the extra effort to locate and take the stairs, the EcoOpportunity Team is making special efforts to beautify the stairwell during the competition.

Using the paperless online, PIN-enabled system, teams of up to four individuals can register for the competition through the EcoOpportunity Team website from April 1st – 21st. The competition will begin on Earth Day, April 22nd, and run through May 22nd. During that time, participants will be able to log onto the registration and tracking website in order to report the number of flights of stairs climbed (on the honor system of course), which may be entered as often as participants like. While only the first three teams to reach the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro (as tracked on the website) will receive prices, all participants will receive a special gift in recognition of their participation.

This spring’s competition was spearheaded by HSPH’s EcoOpportunity Team, a group of environmentally-conscious HSPH staff, students, and researchers who are committed to lessening their environmental impact here at HSPH. The group seeks leadership and representation from all HSPH departments in order to highlight departmental sustainability successes, share best practices, and promote School-wide campaigns and competitions like "Take the Stairs." Please participate in other EcoOpportunity Team events and campaigns throughout the year!