Class of 1957 Green Fund

The Class of 1957 Fund was established by the Class of 1957 to provide funding for initiatives designed to enhance sustainable practices at Wellesley, to reduce Wellesley's environmental impact, and to raise awareness about environmental issues on campus. Anyone can apply for a grant if they have an idea for a sustainable initiative. To apply, please click on this link.

Past projects include:

• The installation of "low flow" shower heads in Stone/Davis Hall emerged from a class project that investigated six different shower heads to determine which ones would be best to install on campus (based on how much water they conserved and how appealing they were to the users, etc.) This project fits into our goal of reducing water consumption by an additional 25% by the year 2013.
• Over Wintersession 2011, we replaced a portion of the existing metal halide lights with double amp fluorescents as a test to ensure that the light quality of the new lights would be comparable to that of the old. These new lights will result in approximately a 60% reduction of electrical consumption (which should provide the equivalent of reducing over 200,000 lbs of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere each year). This project is important to our goal of reducing campus energy consumption.
• Four Dyson Airblades, two in a Ladies' Room and two in a Men's Room in the campus center, were installed. The Dyson Airblade is one of the more energy efficient and powerful hand dryers that wipes hands dry with a high velocity blade of air. Installing the Airblades would result in a reduction in waste and litter and an improvement of hygiene.
• Forty copies of The Low Carbon Diet by David Gershon were purchased to be read by members of an administrative group and then shared more widely on campus. The distribution of the book would be followed by survey instruments measuring whether, through reading the book, there was increased awareness that resulted in any changes in behavior.
• The Alumnae Office submitted a proposal to advance its stated goal of improving the sustainability efforts of reunion –in support of overall institutional priorities and at the request of our alumnae. The proposal requested funds to cover the incremental cost of printing the reunion program, which each attendee received, on 100% reusable paper with non-petroleum-based inks.
• A student submitted a proposal to fund an initiative to increase duplex printing and paper conservation by faculty and staff. The student will receive a modest stipend (based on hours worked) to develop a website and collaborate with Information Services and with the Wellesley College environmental group, WEED, to assess current printer usage and to develop programs to encourage the use of duplex printing and paper conservation.
• The Outing Club was awarded a Class of 1957 Green Fund grant for the Bike Share Program on campus. It will continue to expand, and is now very popular amongst the community.
• The college obtained another Big Belly solar trash compactor with attached recycling bins on campus that was installed next to the Sports Center in 2011. We are hoping that this receptacle will create awareness among the community and encourage people to properly dispose of waste.