Green Game Days

Division of Athletics
Office of Environmental Policy
EcoHusky Student Group

Game days are excellent venues to spread environmental awareness by encouraging fans to do their part in reducing the footprint of UConn Athletic events. The Office of Environmental Policy and the EcoHusky student group have been collaborating with the UConn Divsion of Athletics since 2008 to host Green Game Days at a variety of athletic venues.

Green Awareness Day at Rentschler Field on September 16, 2011 On Friday, September 16th, the Office of Environmental Policy and UConn Athletics combined forces under the lights at the UConn-Iowa State football game to put on Green Game Day. This event promoted environmental stewardship while contributing to the festive atmosphere of a college football game. Thirty volunteers walked around the tailgating areas with reusable green shopping bags emblazoned with the UConn Husky, EcoHusky and EcoHouse logos. They used these bags to collect recyclables from tailgaters and bring the bottles and cans to one of the centralized recycling bins. For the most part, our student volunteers were warmly greeted by fans and even cheered on by some tailgaters as they made their rounds. At FanFest outside of Gate C at the stadium, the Office of Environmental Policy had a student-run booth, featuring our new 7' x 5' portable display, which pictures and describes many of our campus sustainability initiatives and proudly exhibits our 2011 Sierra Club ranking as the 16th greenest college in the country. Equipped with free giveaways, students encouraged fans to recycle and educated them about the importance of reducing waste while also highlighting some of our school's newest green activities. Thank you to everyone who helped out!

Green Awareness Day at Rentschler Field on September 11, 2010 Rentschler Field held its second annual Green Awareness Day on September 11, 2010. The day coincided with UConn's game against the Texas Southern University Tigers, which the Huskies won by a score of 62-3. Over thirty students from EcoHusky and EcoHouse arrived at the stadium before 8 a.m. to promote recycling to tailgaters and to fans within the stadium. An estimated eight tons of garbage is produced at each Husky home game, much of which can be recycled. The Department of Athletics has been very receptive to the idea of making their program more sustainable. Students were stationed at waste containers encouraging fans to use the adjacent recycling bins for bottles and cans. Some students also spread awareness by passing out information on recycling e-waste. For the first time, a "Caught Green-Handed" program was held. A few random recyclers who were caught in the act were given free t-shirts that further encouraged recycling. Participating students helped gather recyclables from full bins later in the day and ultimately got to go home after the game, eight hours after they had begun their day. View more photos from the 2010 Green Awareness Day at Rentschler Field

 

Green Game Days at Gampel Pavilion and The XL Center: February 6th and 22nd, 2010 On February 6th, 2010 a group of volunteer EcoHusky and EcoHouse students manned the can at Gampel Pavilion as the UConn men's basketball team took on DePaul University. In order to aid in EcoHusky's annual Sneaker Recycling Drive, collection bins for old sneakers were placed at each entrance as well. Over 400 pairs of sneakers were collected and were made a part of EcoHusky's Mt. Sneaker when the collection drive ended in April. All the collected sneakers are donated to the Nike Reuse-a-Shoe program and will be turned into athletic and playground surfaces. In late February, the volunteers travelled to the XL Center in Hartford for the first ever "Green Game Day" at this venue. While the Huskies took on the West Virginia Mountaineers, volunteers were on hand to help educate UConn basketball fans of proper recycling techniques at the XL Center. View more photos from the 2010 "Green Game Days" at Gampel Pavilion and the XL Center UConn Athletics Press Release: "'Sneaker Drive' to be held at Saturday's Basketball Game", February 5, 2010

 

Green Game Day at Rentschler Field: September 26, 2009 On September 26, 2009 EcoHusky students and residents of EcoHouse volunteered at UConn's first "Green Awareness Day" at Rentschler Field. As cars entered the parking lots before the Huskies took to the field, volunteers handed out recycling bags to promote recycling within the tailgating areas. Inside the stadium, new recycling bins were in place on the concourse to also encourage proper recycling. All food waste from concessions was composted by Global Environmental Services and "Grease Guys" recycled the waste cooking oil generated at the event. During the game, volunteers also "manned the can" within the Rent, encouraging UConn football fans young and old to dispose of their recyclables properly. View more photos from the 2009 "Green Awareness Day" UConn Athletics Press Release: "Saturday is 'Green Awareness Day' at Rentschler Field", September 25, 2009 "UConn Going Green at the Rent", The Hartford Courant, September 11, 2009

 

1st Annual Green Game Day: February 2009 During the 1st Annual Green Game Day, EcoHusky volunteers educated UConn Men's Basketball fans about proper recycling practices at Gampel Pavilion. Volunteers "manned the cans" and made sure all recyclables were placed in proper receptacles. At the end of the game, EcoHuskies walked around the stands, making sure that the last of the recyclables were taken care of.

 

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Recycling & Waste Reduction Workgroup Webpage