Whether you’ve attended a Climate Action Fair, participated in Project Zero Waste in Morgan Dining and the Campus Center Food Court, or given your wardrobe a refresh thanks to free pop-up thrift store events, we know you’ve seen the hoofprints around campus.
It's WPI’s Green Team, and it's all about adding a little green to WPI’s crimson and gray.
“We’re the main environmental organization on campus,” says PR chair Paige Agostini ’25, who's been part of Green Team (established in 2009) since her first term at WPI in August 2021. She originally joined to meet likeminded peers and to continue the work she did in high school. Her passion only grew from there.
“It’s given me a sense of purpose at WPI,” she says. “Anyone in Green Team can step into a role as a leader in our many subcommittees, and create impactful solutions to sustainability problems on campus. It’s given me so much agency over my major and my career, and has opened countless doors for my future.”
Green Team’s work varies across terms and academic years, but their projects, meetings, and events are structured around three core values: sustainability, action, and justice, all with the goal of creating a greener, more sustainable WPI—and world.
Meetings feature segments on climate news and info sessions on various sustainability-related topics before members break into their subcommittee groups. There’s much that goes into creating sustainable environments, and Green Team’s subcommittees reflect exactly that. Topics range from waste management and auditing and action to solar ambassadors and the implementation of a community garden on campus.
With so many events happening regularly around campus, it could be difficult to zero in on a favorite, but for Agostini, the answer is simple (and twofold): 2022’s Climate Action Fair, followed by the DivestWPI rally. “It was so great to interact with new people who are interested in sustainability, and discuss environmental injustice in Worcester,” she says, adding that it was especially empowering to hear WPI staff and community members discuss the importance of divesting from fossil fuels.
The importance of sustainability isn’t slowing down, and neither is Green Team. D-Term events include a sustainability networking night, a free clothing swap event, a climate fair on Earth Day, and the grand opening of the team’s community garden.
Looking for ways to get involved in the meantime? General meetings are held on Tuesdays from 5 to 6pm in Unity Hall. Email the club for more details; stop by Project Zero Waste on Wednesdays between 11am and 2pm in Morgan Dining; or spend some time exploring nature at Wachusett Mountain (Agostini’s personal choice for the best outdoor area around Worcester).
