Being green is quickly becoming the new trend in Blacksburg as events are underway this week for Sustainability Week. From Oct. 20-25, Virginia Tech, Sustainable Blacksburg and The Town of Blacksburg will host a series of tours, presentations, live speakers, and exhibits promoting the welfare of a greener economy.

Spanning from building your own compost or finding ways to conserve food, sustainability is more than just a word, but a way of living. In 2007, Blacksburg celebrated its first ever Green Innovation Award for “The Most Sustainable Community Program” by the Virginia Sustainable Building Network (VSBN).

Consider doing your part to make your community more efficient. Events will begin all day everyday and are listed online at the Sustainable Blacksburg Web site.

From Wednesday to Saturday there is going to be a Painted Rain Barrel silent auction. Those interested in viewing what a simple water supplier can do, you are invited to place bids at 300 South Main St.

A Campus Sustainability Fair on Wednesday will show people all the different sustaining options that are available. Local and student organizations will show off their unique ideas and building measures for sustainability from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Old Dominion Ballroom, located in Squires Student Center.

Special guest, Anthony Flaccavento, no stranger to sustaining the environment, will speak at 4 p.m. at the Old Dominion Ballroom. Flaccavento, executive director of Appalachian Sustainable Development, has been recognized as a leader in southwest Virginia for his hard work and commitment to agriculture and the environment.

In 2004 he was chosen as an award recipient by Leadership for a Changing World. Much of his job allows him to get local farmers, miners, and businessmen to cooperate to better suit the environment they are obliged to maintain.

A Compost/Food Waste Diversion Workshop on Thursday will highlight the importance of recycling and use for excess food. Sponsored by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), there will be a tour of Poplar Manor Enterprises newest commercial compost center in Riner.

Special guests and speakers have been invited to shed light on the enormous benefits that composting and food conservation can do for Blacksburg. Though this is by invitation only, locals will be allowed to tour the large-scale compost facility from 2:30-5 p.m. Thursday.

Newly released film, Flow: For Love of Water, will be shown daily and nightly at the Lyric Theatre. Focusing on the importance of water the world uses, this film shows the immoral behavior a few corporations are performing while stealing water and selling it.

On Friday, the VSBN will be holding their Third Annual Greening Virginia Universities and Colleges Conference at The Inn at Virginia Tech from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Many of the speakers invited will converse on topics such as Green Curricula, High-Performance Buildings, and Sustainable Campus Policies.

The Sustainability Program Operator for Virginia Tech, Denny Cochrane, will be available for questions and comments during the meeting. Cochrane has also been a main figure in organizing many of the events during Sustainability Week.

On the final day, Saturday Oct. 25, a Home and Sustainability Transport Fair will be held at the Kent Square Lobby and Municipal Building parking lot on Washington Street. From 10 a.m.-2 p.m. students and families are encouraged to learn more of what an individual household can do to remain sustainable.

Being more sustainable can help cut electric and water costs in your home and make you more aware of the need to do your part. Helping yourself can only be good for the future of the environment and economy. Games, prizes, and giveaways are offered, and Rudy’s Reptiles will be on hand for children to get close with native reptiles.

The grand finale of the week will end with a sneak peak at the new Blacksburg Motor Company building. The newly restored facility interweaves preservation with innovation, and is the only building in the area that is certified by the LEED Green Building Rating System.

Located at 400 South Main St., the building’s water supply will now be operated by a geothermal water heat pump. This pump uses the ground’s temperature, which has little fluctuation over the year, to heat or cool water running inside.

Curious how Virginia Tech ranks nationally with other schools in sustainability? Recently, The College Sustainability Report Card published their grades for hundreds of universities throughout America. VT remained on the honor roll list with a B-. Other state schools received similar grades, with the University of Virginia receiving a B, the best in the state. Virginia Commonwealth University obtained a B-, the University of Richmond trailed with a C+. Virginia Military Institute came in with a D.

Only 15 schools in the nation received A’s. With the grading strategy similar to professors at Harvard, impressing this group requires much more than a campus garden.

Taking the initiative in being more green, takes a change in perspective to how we see change. Economically and environmentally it is wisely being stated that starting sustainability projects and green building codes now will leave a greener future for tomorrow.

Wheatley Stefan is an intern for the New River Voice.