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East Carolina University (ECU) prepares students to work and live in today’s world. The institution allows its students to compete in the 21st century. They are ready to provide solutions to the next generation. The students and educators take part in cutting-edge research. They have made discoveries that have improved lives in the community. They have also solved existing problems through various programs. One such program is the Sustain ECU service, which is environment-based. It is focused on green policies and conservation.
The university has a large population. There are more than 7,000 individuals in the institution. This includes faculty, students, and staff. With such numbers, the region requires great resources. These go a long way in helping to open the university’s doors. The community is actively involved in eliminating wasteful practices. They aim to improve productivity at all points.
East Carolina University implemented its first recycling initiative in 1990. This lay the foundation for environmental sustainability. The campus went through many initiatives before the first Sustainability Committee. The committee was formed in 2010. That same year, ECU installed a project for permeable pavement. This was the first project of its kind in the university.
The first energy Manager was hired in 2011. The next year, the campus made a fruit and vegetable garden. The location of the garden was at Rivers Building. A Chief Sustainability Officer was named in 2013. They also appointed representatives to the UNC Sustainability Alliance.
Chad Carwein transferred from the state of Indiana. He has a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Psychology. He started in his position in March of 2016. He is the first manager in the position at East Carolina University. He has put in effort towards making the university’s sustainability plans better. Carwein has partnered with many groups in the community. They build partnerships to improve environmental stewardship. These efforts are focused on the City of Greenville. They also help in border regions of Pitt County.
He was a specialist for the Sustainability Program. This was before he joined ECU. The program was at the University of North Carolina in Greensboro. He served in that position for two and a half years. He worked as an intern. This was at a department in the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government.
Chad likes working at ECU because it involves the outdoors. He enjoys nature and prefers North Carolina to Indiana. His favorite North Carolina features are the mountains and the coast.
Of every three bites of food, one is pollinated by a bee. This is the driving force behind East Carolina University’s bee farming. There is a global problem of bee colonies drastically reducing. The project is ECU’s response to this issue.
In the last ten years, almost 50% of bee colonies have collapsed. The University installed two beehives. They are of the western honey bee species. The hives were installed near Lake Laupus. The bees were transported on May 20 by;
· Will Johnson from New Bern. He works for the All American Bee Company
· Karen Mulcahy. She is a teaching associate professor of geography
· Dale Aycock. He is a retired East Carolina University staff member
The University has also planted plants of native species. The plants are advantageous to the bees as pollinators. They provide a habitat for the pollinators. They also require little irrigation since they are drought tolerant.
East Carolina University has a number of research opportunities in its facilities. Students are required to take part in research as part of their curriculum. They are to choose a research topic relevant to the department their class is in. The following are departments in the institution that are engaged in sustainability research;
1. Academic Library Services
2. Biology
3. Brody School of Medicine
4. Cardiovascular Sciences
5. Construction Management
6. Department of Technology Systems
7. Engineering
8. Family Medicine
9. Foreign Languages and Literatures
10. Geography, Planning and Environment
11. Geological Sciences
12. Health Education and Promotion
13. History
14. Human Development and Family Science
15. Integrated Coastal Programs
16. Management
17. Marketing and Supply Chain Management
18. Nutrition Science
19. Physiology
20. Political Science
21. Public Health
22. Radiation Oncology
23. Recreation and Leisure Studies
24. School of Art and Design
25. School of Hospitality Leadership
As part of the Earth Week celebration, Sustain ECU is in partnership with Love a Sea Turtle. The latter is a nonprofit organization. They hosted a screening of a Netflix film called Chasing Coral. The film screening took place at the ECU campus.
Chasing Coral was produced by Exposure Labs. It teaches about coral reefs. It exposes how they are vanishing at increased rates. It shows a number of problems facing coral reefs in our waters. The film also sheds the light on coral bleaching and how much of a problem it is. It makes use of professional divers, scientists, and camera crew. These work together to bring a thrilling documentary on underwater life.
After the activities of Earth Week were done, ECU made a submission to the Making Waves Contest. They came out as winners of the contest. Due to this, Zack ago visited ECU and Greenville at large.
Zack Rago gave a combined guest lecture to ECU students. The film's themes merge into various academic disciplines at East Carolina University. Some of the students involved in the guest lecture were from these departments;
· Anthropology
· Biology
· Communication
· Geography
· Health Education
· History
· Public Affairs
East Carolina University seeks to lower greenhouse gas emissions. The institution has put strategies in place to help fight climate change on a global scale. This is all to understand and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The university is concerned with environmental issues and is doing something about it. It has strategically placed its students in research programs. These spark new ideas towards combating climate change. They are involved in both little and big things. They set up relevant movie nights and host thousands of bees in the facilities.
After getting accepted to ECU, I started looking for things to do in and around Greenville, NC. However, my searches kept taking me to places in South Carolina! There must be things to do around ECU, so I started asking other students. They kept telling me to graduate and move away! This inspired me to begin exploring eastern North Carolina and build this website as a showcase of the places to go, sights to see, and things to do all over eastern NC. I have fallen in love with this region and started taking up roots here. After graduating, I didn't move away - I bought a house here and continue to explore eastern North Carolina.
