Get Involved in the Florida Green Fee Campaign!

Campaigns • Sep 28

Florida Green Fee Breakout Session at the 2009 YES Summit

We attended the Youth, Energy & Sustainability (YES) Summit at UF this weekend and are so excited to get the green fee campaign back on track!

Our ultimate goal is to get the Green Fee passed in the Florida legislature in spring 2010. To do that, we have established 3 secondary goals:

Get a referendum on student ballots in 11 Florida universities by
spring 2010.
Get co-sponsorship in the House. Get two parallel bills in Congress
by spring 2010.
Get Senator Lynn’s support in Volusia County.

What is the green fee, anyway?

The green fee campaign is an effort to pass small tuition fees at Florida universities to contribute to renewable energy and efficiency initiatives on campus.

At UF in spring 2007, we placed the first ever green fee referendum on the student ballot, and 78 percent of voting students said YES to a 50-cent per credit tuition fee “to support renewable energy projects on campus, invest in energy efficiency projects on campus, and buy campus power from renewable energy providers.”

We got to meet a bunch of awesome student activists this weekend at the YES Summit, and we are looking forward to working together to pass the green fee at our schools this spring!

To learn more and get involved, join the Google Group for the Florida Green Fee Campaign.

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Student Green Energy Fund

The Student Green Energy Fund is a grassroots, student-led initiative to give students in Florida's public universities the option to create a fund for energy efficiency and clean energy improvements on campus.

After passing a referendum on the student ballot by 78 percent in 2007, University President Machen has supported the Green Fund and the Board of Trustees has approved it as well. We are currently working with students at UCF, FSU, FAMU, USF, FIU and FGCU to pass a bill in the state legislature that would permit individual universities to implement Student Green Energy Funds. Learn more on the Student Green Energy Fund website.

Sustainability Outreach

GSC gives campus-wide sustainability presentations that consist of a PowerPoint and Q & A, covering questions such as "What is sustainability?", "What are we doing to promote it?" and "What can I do to help?"

Greening Local Schools

Parents at J.J. Finley Elementary were concerned about waste at the school, so they've asked for our help to develop a recycling plan and a more sustainable lunch program. The school hopes to serve as a model for other public schools in Alachua County.

The Green Team

The Green Team leads the Tail-Gator Recycling Program, a volunteer-oriented mission to provide recycling services to on- and off-campus tailgates at all home football games.

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Help us campaign to raise awareness about the impact our consumption habits have on the planet.

Recycling

GSC participates in the annual RecycleMania, challenging schools around the country in a competition to increase on-campus recycling.

Food Systems

Our Food Systems task force works to raise awareness about local and organic food issues. We maintain an organic garden plot at the UF Organic Garden Co-op.