PSU officially reopened Mary Lyon residence hall in mid-October after a $15 million, year-long renovation. How is it different? A 90 year-old building that was looking and feeling its age has been transformed into a beautiful, energy efficient home to 250 students that’s 40 to 50% more energy efficient than “Old Mary Lyon.”
A newly formed committee is meeting regularly to further the University’s green initiative and reduce it’s carbon footprint. This 18 member committee, including faculty, staff and students, is discussing both short-and long term methods of becoming more environmentally conscious.
What do they have to report, so far? The University is recycling 150 tons of material annually and producing all of it’s own electricity on- campus. We have built the first LEEDS gold-certified residence hall in N.H., Langdon Woods, attracting national recognition. We have refurbished historic Mary Lyon Hall and made it energy-efficient, saving hundreds of thousands of dollars in future heating and cooling costs, not to mention the reuse of materials that makes it even more eco-friendly. There’s more to come, and the most exciting aspect of this effort is that so many people believe in it. Students, staff and faculty are engaged in making this campus environmentally sound.
