Columban College Olongapo City

The Columbanites' Way of Greening Their Campus [e. matriano]

 One of the major problems we are facing today is global climate change. The earth is increasingly warming because of the presence of the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and continuous deforestation. This results to greater disasters such as drought during summer and floods during rainy season. Other chain effects would be decreased food production, fish kills, diseases and even death among the populace. 

Could we afford to live on a “dying” Earth? Certainly, not.

 Our challenge? To help turn our planet into a greener and more blissful place.To turn our homes as well as our campus into a clean and green place. Whether we are environmentalists or just concerned citizens, the little things we do in our home or inside  the campus can play a significant part in making the world a better place to live in. In every action we take, we must reflect whether we are doing more harm than good to our environment.As the saying goes, “A healthy house makes a happy home.” Similarly, a clean and green environment makes a better world.

Here is a checklist of some Earth-saving measures that a Columbanite can do in greening our campus:
___ Segregating and putting wastes into their proper place
___ Does not use a screensaver in the computer/cell phone
___ Shuts down the computer or laptop when not in use
___ Turns-off the lights and air-conditioning unit if possible
___ Opens the windows during night classes instead of using the air-conditioners
___ Maximizes the use of natural light/daylight
___ Reports/fixes leaky faucets
___ Avoids printing unnecessary documents or reports
___ Uses a handkerchief rather than disposable napkins
___ Uses real dishes and utensils instead of plastic in the canteen
___ Drinks from a mug or glass rather than a plastic cup
___ Avoids buying items like juice and water in tetra-pack, sachet or small containers
___ Does not use Styrofoam/plastic for food packaging
___ Reuses scrap paper and uses both sides of a paper
___ Thinks before buying to avoid purchasing non-essential items and to lessen potential waste
___ Brings a reusable shopping bag
___ Joins school organizations (or their projects) that advocates the care for the environment
___ Participates in the greening project of the school.

We must check our lifestyle, and let us promote an environmentally-friendly lifestyle.

The mountains of garbage collected regularly can be reduced if we start segregating garbage in our campus. Please take note of the three distinct colored trash bins within our campus (effective September 2010):

RED – Plastic bottles, Tetra pack, glass and metal containers only
BLUE – Paper wastes only
GREEN – Other wastes such as Styrofoam, candy wrappers, plastic cellophane, leftover foods, dried leaves, etc.

Recycle and reuse as much as we can. Each non-biodegradable object we reuse or recycle is one object saved from piling up slowly in a landfill. While biodegradable products such as dried leaves, leftover food, vegetables and fruit peelings can be combined with yard waste in a compost bin. This can be used to fertilize our plants.

If a glass container or a plastic bottle is already empty, give the container a new life, instead of tossing it away. Use it as a container of salt, sugar, cotton swabs etc. or making it as display materials by putting some designs or decorations. But basically, it is safer to use glass as storage container for food and drinks than plastics.

Simple things like turning the lights off or not leaving the computer idle for a long time says a lot about your commitment to live green. Do not turn on lights or the aircon as long as you can – open the windows and enjoy the daylight and fresh air in the morning. Remember that a light bulb emits heat in an enclosed space while an average computer left on all day uses nearly 1,000 kW-hour of electricity a year. It is advisable that we should eliminate the screen saver function but instead use the sleep mode.

Refuse disposable bags when you buy small items at the canteen. Bring your own reusable bags. Ask for a mug, metallic spoon and fork, ceramic plate instead of paper cups, plastic spoon and fork, Styrofoam and paper plates.

Think before you buy. Shop smart and buy only what you need. Check the label if it is good for your health and good for the environment. Buy items made up of recycled/reused materials or made up from biodegradable materials.

It is also important that we participate in different projects of school-based and community-based organizations that promote caring and protection of Mother Earth like tree planting activities, clean-up drive, waste segregation campaign, among others. Through this, we could be able to influence other individuals to think green and to act green.

Living a green lifestyle is choosing to act responsibly towards ourselves, our fellowmen and the environment we live in. It is never too late to adapt these green practices into our lifestyle and there is no better time to begin than NOW!!!