To keep UCF’s campus beautiful, the university is seeking help from student organizations.
Since the Adopt-A-Pond and Adopt-A-Road programs began at UCF in Spring 2008, 15 organizations have collected nearly 200 bags of trash and 150 bags of recyclable materials. They’ve dedicated more than 200 hours to cleaning up nine campus roads and six ponds.
What they’ve removed has sometimes been surprising: grills, aluminum siding, chairs – and even tiki torches.
“Students do an excellent job of removing all types of debris,” says Alaina Bernard, assistant director of Landscape and Natural Resources. “We greatly appreciate their help in keeping our campus beautiful and safe.”
Landscape and Natural Resources sponsors the program to encourage students to support environmental stewardship on campus. The department provides all of the necessary supplies, including trash pickers, bags and gloves. UCF disposes of the trash and recycles other materials collected.
There are currently five ponds and two roads available for organizations to adopt.
The UCF chapter of the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity is the student organization that has volunteered with the program for the longest time. The fraternity regularly cleans a retention pond close to Lake Claire.
Other participating organizations are Delta Phi Lambda, Delta Tau Delta, Future Technical Communicators, IDEAS, Lambda Theta Alpha, McNair Scholars, NORML, Phi Alpha Delta, Pre-med AMSA, Pre-Professional Medical Society, Sigma Lambda Beta, Society of Environmental Engineers and Theta Chi.
To reward participating student organizations, UCF places signs on campus acknowledging their support.
For more information, or to learn how organizations can adopt a pond or road, visit the UCF Landscape and Natural Resources Web site.