On May 4, 20 staff members made a green imprint on the Alexandria, Va., waterfront. WEF staff volunteers participated in the Spring for Alexandria Community Service Day event organized by Volunteer Alexandria in partnership with the City of Alexandria. Dressed in matching event shirts and equipped with gloves, trash bags, wheelbarrows, rakes, shovels, and various other cleaning tools, the volunteers picked up litter and wood debris along the Potomac River waterfront.
WEF staff show support for the WATER’S WORTH IT message by wearing campaign shirts. WEF photo/Grace Hulse. Click for larger image.
WEF staff also celebrated the 42nd anniversary of Earth Day. On April 24, WEF staff donned their WATER’S WORTH IT shirts and attended a meeting to learn about the World Water Monitoring Challenge. Staff members were encouraged to take home test kits to monitor water in their communities and enter results online. World Water Monitoring Challenge participants worldwide can upload their results to an international database.
And throughout April, 13 WEF staff members rose to the commuter challenge by tracking their use of “green” transportation. For the 1st Annual City of Alexandria Commuter Challenge, participants were encouraged to walk, bike, carpool, bus, or take the train to work, or even telecommute. Participants registered through their companies and were asked to log their commutes each week.
“Every company did amazing throughout the competition,” said Andrea Ostrander, City of Alexandria business development manager. WEF staff were able to reduce about 2 days a week of driving through alternative modes of transportation “and reduced the vehicle miles traveled by 1157 miles [1862 km],” Ostrander said.
— Jennifer Fulcher, WEF Highlights
June 2, 2012
Achievements