Photo Blog

Holy Cross employees collect used furniture for donation to Institutional Recycling Network (IRN).

The furniture will be sent to schools and clinics in the Dominican Republic.

Joan Anderson, purchasing  manager at Holy Cross, and Joel Bradford, of IRN, stand behind the loading truck. The program was a coordinated effort between Anderson, Thad Whitcher, inventory, and Brian Griffin, assistant director for environmental services and sustainability. Physical Plant staff helped load the truck.

Photography by Darien Henry ’14

Old chairs that were replaced with new ones in Kimball Dining Hall didn’t end up in a landfill. Shipped through Food For the Poor, 114 of the chairs went to Haiti, while another 110 went to El Salvador. Environmental and Dining staff loaded the chairs on to a truck. From left, Lauren Manilla (Dining Services), Nicole King (Environmental Services), Mike Carenzo (Environmental Services),  Cathi Gallant (Dining Services) and Brian McCann (Environmental Services).

College of the Holy Cross students Zach Burdeau ’13 (left) and Dave Cardaropoli ’13 (right) carry a tree to a Worcester resident’s car on Sept. 24, during the College’s free tree giveaway with the Worcester Tree Initiative, a nonprofit organization dedicated to restoring the region’s urban trees which have been lost to insects and other forces.

Hundreds of people attended the event—including Worcester Mayor Joseph O’Brien and Holy Cross President Michael McFarland, S.J., —to pick up a free tree and receive instructions on how to plant and care for them. Representatives of the SADER (Student Ambassadors Developing External Relationships) Good Neighbor Committee volunteered to help transport trees to residents’ cars.

Photograph by Matt Kennis

For six weeks this summer Holy Cross has operated a Middle School Success program with 21 students from Worcester’s Sullivan Middle School. The program has been led by six Holy Cross students and is funded by a grant from the Massachusetts Commonwealth Corps and the College.  The middle school students have participated in several service projects, including working with the Worcester Tree Initiative, a private, non-profit effort to reforest the city of Worcester and surrounding communities. On Aug. 2, Worcester mayor Joseph C. O’Brien joined the middle school students for a ceremonial planting of a cherry tree near Elm Park Community School.

Photography by Matt Kennis

Hannah McCormick ’14, left, and Kelly Dyer ’14 are surrounded with leftover items that students left behind after moving out of the residence halls for the summer. McCormick and Dyer are members of Eco-Action, a student-run environmental group at Holy Cross, which is holding its annual “Trash or Treasure” drive in which all unwanted belongings are collected and redistributed to Worcester-area organizations including the Salvation Army and Plumley Village.

A staffer tosses a bag of gently used clothing that was collected through “Trash or Treasure” into the Salvation Army truck. Last year, the discarded items filled up over three Salvation Army trucks and other smaller vehicles.

Photography by Nick Markantonatos

The Loyola Fitness Studio in the basement of Loyola Hall has been used more than 850 times since it opened earlier in the week. The studio features 21 pieces of cardiovascular machines, in addition to a 17-piece Nautilus system.

Photography by Nick Markantonatos

An environmentally-friendly water cooler and bubbler combination unit in the new Loyola Fitness Studio offers filtered water. The fountain eliminates the need for students to purchase bottled water, and reduces plastic bottle waste. The unit includes an electronic sensor for no-touch activation.

A green ticker shows that the unit has eliminated the equivalent of 766 disposable plastic water bottles in less than one week of use.

A Physical Plant employee hangs a plaque in the newly constructed Park B. and Linda Smith Laboratories signifying the Integrated Science Complex as environmentally sustainable. The U.S. Green Building Council awarded the construction of the science complex, which opened last January, with a LEED Gold certification. LEED, which stands for “Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design,” serves as a third-party evaluation of the sustainability of construction projects. Learn more about the science complex’s LEED Gold certification here, and about Holy Cross’ sustainability efforts here.

Photography by Nick Markantonatos

A solar powered parking lot light recently went up behind the Hogan Campus Center. The zero-carbon light uses no electricity, and remains illuminated even through several days of inclement weather. Learn more about Holy Cross’ sustainability efforts.

Photography by Nick Markantonatos

Holy Cross’ Presidential Task Force on the Environment will host an Energy Saving Lighting Fair, in which students, faculty and staff can purchase a variety of high-quality energy-efficient lighting products at deep discounts from an Energy Star certified vendor. Here, students view a sample display of the lights in the Swords Atrium a week before the fair.

Photograph by Sean Hager ’11