What’s green, has two wheels, and is used around campus?

EDITORS: Color print available on request. ANN ARBOR—If you are affiliated with the University of Michigan’s School of Natural Resources and Environment (SNRE), that green two-wheeler is a recycled bicycle that provides transportation for faculty, staff, students and administrators at the School between their temporary headquarters and their permanent home which is under renovation. These bikes are green in more than color. Each comes from Recycle Ann Arbor’s Re-Use program where materials of all kinds are donated, reconditioned and sold to be re-used. SNRE worked with the recycling program to make necessary repairs to the bicycles, paint them green and to add to the fleet. Each is outfitted with baskets for transporting files and essential records. Helmets are made available for riders as are locks for the bikes and designated locations at each building where they can be parked. Since their favorite color is “green,” the renovation work being done on U-M’s 100-year-old Dana Building, is designed to make it “green” also. Much is being done in large and small ways to apply environmental principles. While the outside of the building will look just about the same, the inside will have 20 percent more useable space and the entire building will use approximately half the energy of an average building its size and function. Solar-powered electricity will be generated from cells on the south side of the roof. Students and faculty reclaimed more than 5,000 brick pavers discovered under concrete slabs and will use them later in the building’s landscaping. The University has worked with contractors to ensure that wood products originated in forests that are sustainably managed. They made arrangements so that a crane used for roof reconstruction was positioned so it didn’t endanger mature trees or a garden of native plants. The renovation also maximizes natural light with skylights, and the installation of fluorescent lamps with electronic ballasts, and daylight and occupancy sensors in common spaces.

School of Natural Resources and EnvironmentU-M News and Information ServicesUniversity of Michigan