A group of UHM faculty, staff and students have formed the Friends of the Sustainability Courtyard, an informal organization that will help to guide the ongoing development of the campus' popular and successful model of environmentally conscious practices.

The Sustainability Courtyard is a beautiful outdoor gathering place that demonstrates Earth- and people-friendly principles.  It offers the campus community a cool, green setting in which to relax, study or meet, with delicious, nutritious food choices that can be enjoyed while sitting at recycled-plastic picnic tables surrounded by culturally significant gardens.  It has recycling bins, wireless internet access, a nearby bicycle parking lot with prototype racks, and a traditional Hawaiian stacked-rock-and-earthen stage.  Twice a year, it is the venue for campus-wide "green" educational celebrations, the Earth Day Fair in April and Campus Sustainability Week in October, which connect students, faculty and staff with each other and with those outside the university engaged in sustainability-related activities.

Future plans for the Sustainability Courtyard include:

• A drinking fountain/art sculpture that will serve as the focal point for an educational program to discourage the purchase of bottled water
• A biodiesel generator to power the Courtyard's two existing food kiosks, and possibly additional food kiosks, evening lighting, and sound equipment and lighting for entertainment (the generator would be the campus' first renewable-energy demonstration project)
• A Free Store, a reusable-goods station that illustrates respect for resources already spent and an alternative to the economic engine fueled by the unnecessary consumption of new products
• Fundraising activities to support more improvements, such as managing the Courtyard's recycling and collecting the HI-5 redemption money, or selling polycarbonate water bottles to fill from the Courtyard's drinking fountain

A UH Foundation account is being established to fund future projects and events.

The Friends' first meeting was held in the Courtyard on Wednesday, May 3, and was attended by the following: Alan Huxley, Bruce Miller, Gay Garland Reed, Kathie Kane, Laxmi Walsh, Linda Day, Mary Tiles, Matthew Murai, Nancie Hulbirt, Nancy Sack, Richard Pender, Roxanne Adams and Steve Businger.  Many others were interested in participating in the organization, but were away on travel or otherwise unable to attend. 

Anyone interested in joining the Friends of the Sustainability Courtyard is welcome to do so by calling Bruce Miller at 956-8645 or emailing bmiller@hawaii.edu.