EUGENE, Ore. – (April 9, 2012) – The University of Oregon ECOchallenge will celebrate Earth Week, April 16 to April 22, with hundreds of individual actions by community and campus  members who are pledging sustainable changes for the week.

In the ECOchallenge’s second year, the UO, area non-profit organizations, and KLCC public radio partnered to expand beyond campus and include community member participation.

During the ECOchallenge, participants will commit to earth-friendly behaviors, such as using alternative modes of transportation, being vegetarian for the week, or reducing junk mail.

It takes just minutes to register and select from dozens of possible actions to take during Earth Week.

By committing to an ECOchallenge, Steve Mital, UO’s director of sustainability, hopes participants will consider how to reduce individual impact, create lasting new habits, and open dialogues about sustainability with their family and friends.

“In the first year of the ECOchallenge, 200 members of the UO community participated and demonstrated the collective impact of small, individual changes,” said Mital. “Earth Week is a wonderful opportunity to try new things that can improve the quality of life for everyone, and I hope hundreds of community members will join us.”

Participants are encouraged to return to the webpage during Earth Week to post brief updates about the ECOchallenge activities and see how others are succeeding.

Mital’s goal is for 500 individuals to participate this year.

MEDIA CONTACT: Julie Brown, UO media relations, 541-346-3185, julbrown@uoregon.edu

SOURCE: Steve Mital, UO sustainability, 541-346-0709, smital@uoregon.edu

LINK: http://uoecochallenge.org/

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