Last week, WashU celebrated Earth Day on the School of Medicine campus. An estimated 200 people attended the WashU Earth Day Festival to learn about sustainable initiatives from a variety of WashU programs and organizations from the St. Louis area. Operations and Facilities Management Department, which houses sustainability staff at the Medical Campus, had a large presence at the event, with tables featuring Facilities Engineering, Custodial, Mail and Receiving Services, the Lactation Room and Menstrual Product Program, and of course, School of Medicine Sustainability and the Green Lab Program.
There were a few new WashU departments featured this year, all with exciting stories to tell. The McDonnell Genome Institute promoted DNA Day and the impacts that genetics can play in studying biological diversity. Representatives from the Department of Anesthesiology talked to festival attendees about their work on reducing emissions associated with anesthetic gases and the proper protocols for sharps disposal in the operating room. Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology (MIR) had their iodine contrast recycling program on display, along with information on how to reduce energy consumption from radiological equipment.
The festival took place in tandem with the weekly farmers market and a free bike tune-up for the campus community performed by Vanimal. Additional vendors included:
Focal Pointe, FedEx, Supplier Diversity, My Way to Health, Live Near Your Work, Environmental Health & Safety, Office of Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion, Bon Appetit, Office of Sustainability, EarthWays Center/Missouri Botanical Gardens, Office Essentials, New Earth Farm, Saint Louis Zoo, Metro, Citizens for Modern Transit, Great Rivers Greenway, and Trailnet.