News and Events
"Stars Fell on Montevallo" Earthfest a Smashing Success!
Left: Dr. Stewart examines the sun through the JWSO Solarscope.
Right: UM Art faculty Collin Williams makes a beverage with Jones Valley Urban Farms' "smoothie bike."
The "Stars Fell on Montevallo" Earthfest promotional event for the James Wylie Shepherd Observatory was sponsored by the UM Green Fund, and coordinated by ES student and UM Environmental Club member Brandy Holt. The Earthfest was a celebration of different sustainability initiatives in our community, and included special guests ValloCycle: the Montevallo Bike Share, the UM Yarn Club, Jones Valley Urban Farm, the UM Student Art Association, and UAB's Anthropology Club. In addition to featuring free food and live music from local bands Them Natives and Love Bunny, the festival also offered interactive art activities, an educational booth about Mountaintop Removal, and UM Environmental Club's clothing trade table. Festival-goers also gazed at the sun through the JWSO's solarscope and toured the newly installed solar panels at the facility, as well as the construction underway on the Command Center.
UM Green Fund to Finance Sculptural Bike Racks for the UM Campus
Green Fund monies awarded to the ValloCycle program by the UM Sustainability Committee will finance the creation of 5 sculptural bike racks to be permanently installed on the University of Montevallo campus. Students in Ted Metz’ public art class will design and create unique bike racks that not only promote physical activity and environmental responsibility, but also help further beautify the already unique campus. Each bike rack will reflect the uniqueness of the specific site at which it will be installed. A sculptural bike rack will be installed at the following campus locations: McChesney Student Activities Center; Carmichael Library; Harman Hall; Bloch Hall; and adjacent to the Pedestrian Promenade planned for North Boundary Street, which will reconfigure the existing street to a pedestrian- and bicyclist-friendly path, with two lanes still reserved for automobile traffic.
Click here to see images of all 5 sculptural bike rack models.
Green Fund Solar Shades Installed in Carmichael Library
In order to significantly reduce heat gain on the west side of the library, the library used a Green Fund grant to purchase solar shades to reduce the heat gain by at least 97%. Uncontrolled solar heat gain is a major cause of energy consumption for cooling in the hot Alabama summer climate.
Heat gain often accounts for 50% of the air-conditioning load in the summertime. Most summer overheating is caused by windows facing the south and west. The 48 windows on the west side of the library are a major energy hog. Our friends at Carmichael Library have already reported that they notice a huge difference in how much cooler the building is with their new solar shades!
For more information contact ES Coordinators Lee Rozelle or Jill Wicknick
Lee Rozelle
UM Department of English and Foreign Languages
Station 6420
Montevallo, AL 35115
Jill Wicknick
UM Department of Biology, Chemistry, and Mathematics
Harman Hall, Station 6480
University of Montevallo
Montevallo, AL 35115
