It’s good to be green

[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/ACT_CChallenge_06.jpg” caption=”Battle of the Paddles! ACT coordinators Daryl Bender and Jen Dawson celebrate their June 8 ‘canoote to campus’ with a bit of good natured jousting outside the Commuter Challenge tent.Photo credit: Jordan Fysh”]McMaster showed its colour again this year – green. Members of our campus community demonstrated their respect for the environment, when 930 participants signed up to take part in clean air commuting during National Environment Week (June 4 – 10).

Sixty percent of the participants who stated that they normally drive to work, made a change to their commuting behaviour at least one day during the week. McMaster's efforts saved 19.1 tons of pollution (mainly carbon dioxide) from being pumped into the atmosphere.

Thousands of Canadians from nearly 150 communities walked, biked, took transit, carpooled or worked from home as part of the National Commuter Challenge in June. Communities, workplaces and individuals took steps towards better health and cleaner air – literally.

Go For Green, organizers of the national challenge, acknowledged McMaster's efforts in achieving the highest percentage of participation among colleges and universities across Canada, with the first ever Commuter Challenge Post-Secondary Institution Award.

McMaster's numbers defeated those of the City of Hamilton and Hamilton Health Sciences Corporation in the very first three-way challenge proposed by citywide Commuter Challenge organizer, Thom Oommen. However, all three organizations plus Dofasco made it into the top ten of our size category (5,000 – 9,999) across the country. The only organization in our size category that surpassed McMaster was Statistics Canada, which had a 30 per cent participation rate with 1514 challengers.

“Once again physics and astronomy showed amazing commitment to the challenge with a whopping 72 members of the department taking part,” says Jennifer Dawson, Alternative Commuting & Transportation (ACT) coordinator. “But the Department of Biology challenged that number with a close second of 71 participants. It will be interesting to see which area comes out on top next year.”

“Actually, we're really pleased to see representation from all areas across campus,” says Daryl Bender, ACT coordinator. “Hopefully next year's numbers will show an even bigger interest in 'doing our part' for the environment at McMaster.”

This year's winner of the VIA Rail Tickets for Two pass is Lori Moulden '06, Alumni Officer. Moulden may travel to anywhere in the Quebec city-Windsor corridor within the next year. “It is the second year I've participated in the challenge,” says Moulden. “I never win anything, so it was exciting to hear I was the one who won.”

Moulden graduated this spring from McMaster with an Honours B.A. in Commerce and recently joined the Alumni Association, working in the President's Residence along side last year's VIA Rail winner, Marisa Loduca. “I've walked to school every day for four years and now I walk here to work. During Commuter Challenge week I also roller bladed to the grocery store and carpooled with friends for any trips I had to take.”

What will she do with the tickets? “I haven't decided yet,” she says. “But it would be cool to go the Montreal Jazz Festival next summer.”

With the 2006 Commuter Challenge wrapped up, it concludes Jen Dawson's four years of working for the ACT office. “I'm going to miss Mac, but am looking forward to whatever new adventures lie around the corner,” says Dawson.

Do you have suggestions for next year's challenge? Daryl Bender will be at the helm once again to steer McMaster toward a greener approach to travel and he'd love to hear from you. Or, if you are interested in becoming a departmental coordinator for next year's challenge, you can contact him at ACT@mcmaster.ca.

“That's the biggest part of our success,” says Bender. “Having representatives in each area or department to encourage folks to get involved in the commuter challenge for their own health and the health of the environment.”