The Residence Life Green Team [1] at the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) in Newark, New Jersey, is a student committee devoted to reducing the environmental impact of the university’s residence halls. The Green Team puts on various programs with the goal of educating the residence hall community, thereby reducing energy consumption in the halls and promoting campus recycling efforts.

On October 13, the Green Team joined forces with Project Porchlight to educate NJIT students on the energy savings offered by compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs. Sixteen volunteers helped Project Porchlight distribute a total of 314 CFL bulbs throughout Drew Hall. The CFL bulb distribution was part of Project Porchlight New Jersey’s campaign to distribute energy-efficient light bulbs to residents across the state. Project Porchlight is an initiative of One Change [2], and the campaign is made possible thanks to funding by the state Board of Public Utilities (BPU) [3] and New Jersey’s Clean Energy Program (NJCEP) [4].

“The bulb distribution went really well,” says NJIT residence coordinator Mark Bullock. “We started with the event training, which was really energetic and I think that set a good mood and tone for the distribution. The most common feedback we got from the students receiving the CFL bulbs was, ‘Thank you, this is awesome!’

“The distribution was a really great experience for the Green Team volunteers,” continues Mark. “They got a chance to go out in the field and actually do something. A lot of people talk about helping the environment, but the Green Team actually got a chance to do something about it.”

When it comes to protecting our environment, simple actions matter. Even something as simple as changing a light bulb can really make a difference. “If more people realize what a large impact this one little thing can have, I think we’ll see more and more people make the switch,” says Mark.

“We are working with students, and our role in resident life is not only to educate them in class, but teach them how to be responsible citizens in their communities. Hopefully they can bring along the things that we do in the halls when they move out into the real world,” he says. “So if we teach them how to make responsible choices in terms of energy, maybe that’s something they can do when they leave here, and that can help make a larger impact in their communities.

“Doing things like this is important,” adds Mark. “Project Porchlight re-energizes people to think about and care for the environment.”