If things look a little greener around here this April, there's a good reason. Our editorial staff is busy expanding the ideals of Earth Day into a month-long celebration of energy conservation, alternative transportation, recycling tips and about a million ways you can be a better friend to the planet. Welcome to Green Month, Milwaukee.

MADISON -- Many college students worry about the environment.

Maggie Galloway and Annie D'Amato, both juniors on the Wisconsin women's rowing team, are doing something about it.

"During my freshman year, I was putting something in the recycling bin and one of my coaches said that all of the recycling bin materials just get thrown in the trash because there wasn't a pick up," Galloway said.

"That sort of peeved me, so I made a phone call. It took about two seconds and I set up a recycling pick-up for the boathouse once a week.

"Different team members took turns and we would just gather up the recycling from the different bins once a week and take it outside to the drop. We did that for a couple of months and then after a little while, we got it incorporated into the custodial staff's jobs so we aren't actually physically picking it up anymore, but it is getting put in the right place."

Sometimes it is as simple as making a phone call to get a problem solved, and other times it can take years of work and persistence to reach a payoff.

That has been the next step for Galloway and D'Amato.
REthink Wisconsin came together with the help of UW Gaylord Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies professor Jack Kloppenburg. He teaches a popular course on campus called Introduction to Environmental Studies 112.

"Independently, three sets of students came to me," said Kloppenburg.

"One of groups included women on the rowing team. They said, 'You know, we don't recycle anything over there and we would like to get that going. We've talked about it with our coach and it seems like there is a good possibility here.' Then I had your typical greens in the course who are from WISPIRG and they said we would like to do something on recycling. I also had a couple of people from the Greek community, from a fraternity, who came in. I thought, 'Wow, this is cool.' Here I've got the Greeks, the Greens and the Jocks all interested in what we could do to clean up the campus and get things recycled.

"We got all them together and they jointly formed a group called REthink Wisconsin -- students for reducing, reusing and recycling."

According to its Web site, "The coalition works to educate the public about the benefits of reducing, reusing and recycling waste, takes action to help people implement sustainable waste management practices, and promotes the adoption of strong sustainable waste management policies across campus. REthink Wisconsin welcomes the support and participation of individuals and organizations committed to a more sustainable UW."

The group is working with campus dorms, fraternities and sororities to start and improve recycling practices there and with the entire campus community.

Then there is athletics, where the short-term goal has become recycling at Wisconsin home football games in the fall, thanks in large part to Galloway and D'Amato.

"I can't say enough about Maggie and Annie," said Kloppenburg. "The whole women's rowing team has taken real leadership on this and is recruiting people from elsewhere and from other teams. What they are doing is working through SAAC (Student-Athlete Advisory Committee) to encourage other teams to begin the sorts of initiatives that they are doing. One of those initiatives involves recycling at the Fetzer Center similarly to how they did it at Porter Boathouse."

If the goal of recycling at football games becomes reality, thanks will be due to the two junior rowers, but also a host of other people.

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