College President Dr. Billy Greer volunteers his time with elementary students to share two avid interests he’s passionate about – reading and the environment.
By Megan Z. Shearin | April 29, 2010
For Virginia Wesleyan College President Dr. Billy Greer, there’s nothing better than an opportunity to combine his strong interest in reading and his passion for the environment to educate a future generation of leaders.
This week, Greer read Michael Recycle Meets Litterbug Doug to a first grade class at Little Creek Elementary School as part of Green Reader Month. The program is a community partnership between Keep Norfolk Beautiful, Norfolk Public Library and Norfolk Public Schools where volunteers, like Greer, share environmental literature with local elementary school students. Adult readers also engage students in a discussion about the book, its theme, and issues such as litter prevention, the importance of keeping Norfolk clean, and participating in litter clean-ups.
“I love children, and value education and the chance to teach them about sustainability,” said Greer, who has participated in the program for the past three years. “I had a great time reading to the students and sharing my passion for going green.”
In 2006, Greer launched a campus-wide initiative, Marlins Go Green, to improve environmental sustainability at Virginia Wesleyan. The President's Environmental Issues Council (PEIC) was also established to promote a strong environmental ethic and cultivate sustainable policies, practices and curricula throughout Virginia Wesleyan College.
Green practices at Virginia Wesleyan have included the installation of a green roof and building of test plots; construction of new dorm room accessories from 40-year-old furniture; campus participation in the national recycling competition, Recyclemania; creation of berms around the College perimeter using remaining soil from construction; and growth of an organic garden with a student-led Organic Garden Club.
In addition, a $2,500 annual Environmental Challenge Grant was established to challenge Virginia Wesleyan students, faculty and staff to implement a proposed green and sustainable concept at the College. Recipients have included Grounds Supervisor Kathy Bartkus for the installation of Bollards (vertical posts) to restrict vehicle access to the campus trails network and Professor of Art Phil Guilfoyle for the creation of a solar thermal heat exchanger to heat the ceramics lab.
Diane Hotaling contributed to this article.