Join us in greening the UUA and entering our staff for raffle prizes! The UUA is joining Green Streets Initiative‘s Walk/Ride Day Corporate Challenge. All UUA Staff have to do is go to their website on the last Friday of the month and log their commute that day (as long as it was not a single person driving in a car to work). Be sure to include that you work for the UUA and log in with your uua.org email address. Options for alternative transportation commuting are:
Walk
Ride a Bicycle
Take the Bus
Ride the Train
Jog
Car Pool
They also include kayak and canoe on their list, but I’m not sure that applies… let me know if it does for you!
Photographs of Genzyme Headquarters at 500 Kendall Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts. The UUA’s Green Initiatives Staff Team organized a visit and tour for UUA staff on February 15, 2012 of the Genzyme offices, which were certified LEED Platinum in 2005.
A group of UUA staff went over to Genzyme in Kendall Square to see what a really green office building looks like. We also wanted to imagine what our headquarters might incorporate sustainability-wise and this was a chance to open our minds to different possibilities.
Genzyme is a LEED platinum certified office building. You can go to their website to see other recognitions it has received, and more information.
So many details of the building planning were interesting and innovative. Fountains with running water in the atrium deadened the sound, making acoustics of other people’s conversations not much of a problem for people working close by; it was very quiet and peaceful. The lighting system involved a complex series of roof mirrors and ceiling mirrors and prism chandeliers to give off the right amount of diffuse light, moving light when possible to give a calming effect. They were controlled by an automatic weather system to adjust to different lighting levels depending on the day (sunny or cloudy- angles of mirrors would adjust differently). Through this system they achieved an 80% natural light to 20% artificial light ratio in their work spaces. The average work space is the reverse.
We came equipped with questions and had some things we would have wanted to do differently- but it was a great learning experience. I’ll ask the other tour attendees to add comments to this post with things that stood out to them and what they learned. I’ll ask anyone else to comment what they would like to see the UUA incorporate further into our building, whether we stay here or find another space to work in- what green aspects would you strive for us to operate with?
If anyone missed the tour but will be in the area and wants to check it out there is some information available in Genzyme’s lobby and you can get an idea of the space:
Individual Viewing of Genzyme Center: Individual visitors and the general public may view Genzyme Center from the public space on the first and second floors Monday through Friday, 7am-7pm. You do not need to register to view the building during these times.
Interactive Kiosks & Brochures: There are two touch-screen interactive kiosks in the public viewing space. These kiosks host a virtual tour that highlights the different architectural and environmental features of the building. In addition, brochures about the building are located on a display stand in the lobby and at the reception desk.
[Taken From Beacon Broadside] On November 6, Beacon Press editor Alexis Rizzuto was part of the Tar Sands Action protest in Washington, DC. She sat down with our blog editor to discuss the protest and its impact.
Beacon Press editor Alexis Rizzuto
What was the protest about?
It was to tell Obama not to approve the Keystone XL pipeline in Alberta, Canada, proposed by TransCanada corporation to run from Canada to Texas. They are cutting down the boreal forest in Alberta and turning it into a toxic wasteland to get at the oil up there. Which is a hugely intensive use of energy—you have to burn a lot of carbon to get the oil out, read more »
Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, MA is a hot spot for migratory birds and those who watch them, and the stars of the bird show this spring have been the owlets. In late April, the two great horned owl chicks appeared in the nest in the thorny honey locust tree, as small and fluffy as kittens with little muppet faces. At first, they mostly leaned against each other and napped. As the weeks went by, they gained more feathers, started stretching read more »
Last spring, on the second floor of 41 Mt. Vernon, I heard a chirping outside the bathroom window. The window opens up into a shaft of about 40 feet from the bottom (outside the window) to the top. I figured if it was an adult bird it would find its way out, so I’d wait and see. If it were a baby, it would still be there later, and I’d try to help it. But someone from the upper floors also heard it, and had stuck her head into the shaft and seen that it WAS a juvenile in need of help. So she came down to our floor, and people directed her to me, the resident bird-nerd. read more »
Earth Day is approaching and we would like all UUA staff to take part in the celebration. We’d like to take this opportunity for the UUA as an institution to make our workplaces friendlier to the environment and help people most adversely affected by environmental degradation.
We’re kicking off a 40 day commitment challenge on Wednesday, April 27th, where staff will engage in small and large daily actions to support and celebrate our life-giving planet. We’re focusing our actions on water justice, but a multitude of social justice issues impact water, from food to energy to immigration, so we encourage you to be creative in what you might do! read more »
We in the Green Initiatives Staff team have been reading books about ethical, sustainable, healthy food, watching Food Inc and discussing all these great choices we can make regarding food.
map of over 6,000 farmers markets in the US
Next step: where to find it. We’re all going to our local Copley Square farmers market on Friday May 20th. Join us if you can, and if not check out these resources.
We were so inspired by Rob’s latest blog entry that we decided to have a staff potluck next Monday, April 4. If you’re a UUA staff person I hope you’ll be able to join us. If you are not, or are away from Boston, please try this at home or at your own place of work! Bonus points if you try for local and organic, but meatless is our goal this week. If you’re planning to attend and bring something, please note it in a comment! If you want more information or recipe suggestions, check out Meatless Monday.
We’re kicking off a 40 day commitment challenge on Wednesday, April 27th, where staff will engage in small and large daily actions to support and celebrate our life-giving planet. We’re focusing our actions on water justice, but a multitude of social justice issues impact water, from food to energy to immigration, so we encourage you to be creative in what you might do! 
