Outdoors

Harvard Medical School now has two new hybrid Zipcars, the Prius “Pirrello” and Altima “Alley.” They are located in the Palace Parking lot between 180 and 164 Longwood Avenue. Harvard faculty, staff, students, post-docs and others working in the Longwood area are eligible to receive a discount on Zipcar memberships by signing up at zipcar.com/masco.

Engineering and Utilities (E&U) has signed a long-term agreement with First Wind, a Massachusetts based renewable energy company, to buy 10% of the power consumed on the Cambridge and Allston campuses from a wind farm in northern Maine. According to the EPA, this agreement will make Harvard the largest purchaser of wind energy by a college or university in New England!

On a dreary March afternoon, Roy Lauridsen, Harvard Divinity School’s Facilities Manager, stopped me outside of his office. A group of students, he told me, had gotten the idea of putting in a garden somewhere on the grounds of Harvard Divinity School–but most had never done any gardening. Would I be willing to help? I accepted without hesitation.

Harvard Yard, the organically managed centerpiece of the University, got a little greener with the installation of new recycling containers in the Yard. The receptacles were installed next to five new Big Belly solar-powered trash compactors.

Since 1907, the Harvard Forest’s mission has been to further research and education in the fields of ecology, forest biology, conservation, and climate change. The Forest’s interest in climate change has recently transcended the realm of science and research and has led to efforts to reduce the Forest’s own carbon footprint.

The Kennedy School green team is greening the Malkin Penthouse balcony with a community garden! See all the pictures...

On May 12, a ribbon cutting ceremony was held at the new bike shelter near the Divinity School. Transportation Services Director John Nolan, Associate Vice President for Facilities and Environmental Services Tom Vautin, Manager of CommuterChoice Kris Locke and others gathered for the event. The shelter, on Francis Street, encourages bicycling by providing a covered area for up to 74 bikes.

The Working Forest, a new piece covering David Foster and the Harvard Forest, was recently published in The New York Times Magazine's Green Issue. Foster helped develop Wildlands and Woodlands, a new method for conserving forested land.

Harvard Facilities Maintenance Operations (FMO) is sharing in the promising results of the recent Harvard Yard Soils Restoration Project. This pilot effort, which started last spring, clearly demonstrated that plant health could be significantly improved even in a highly traveled urban landscape using only natural methods…no chemicals or synthetic fertilizers!

In August 2007, FAS installed an 10.8 kW building integrated photovoltaic system on the Science Center roof. The system's performance is available online.