In honor of Earth Day, from April 16–30 Engstrom Hall and Adams Hall will compete to see which freshman dorm can conserve the most water. A recent water-use monitoring system installed in these living areas allows those in the Environmental Stewardship department to track the students’ water usage. The data collected is converted into the number of gallons used by students each day, and all 555 students are given access to this information via the Internet throughout the event.
“This competition is a way to teach students that to be green means not to waste,” said Toney Snyder, assistant director of environmental stewardship. “Jesus cared about the planet and we as believers have a responsibility to be aware of our resource usage and to conserve. Our goal is to train students to develop better conservation habits.” Students were given practical tips on how to save water, such as turning off the faucet while they brush their teeth, and adjusting shower heads to reduce water pressure.
The conservation competition adds to the list of many efforts made by the department to assist APU with being good stewards of resources. The university has completed many conservation projects since 2006, including replacing light bulbs around campus with energy saving ones, the development of recycling programs, and installing low-flow shower heads. The light bulb project alone saves the university $125,000 in electricity costs annually.