A Better Way to K

Join the Kalamazoo College Community on Wednesday, May 29th, for the second-annual “A Better Way to K” celebration – a day dedicated to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by traveling to and from campus without a car.

What’s the purpose?

It can be tricky enough to get to campus as it is, braving Michigan winters and Kalamazoo’s infinite one-way streets. But at the heart of the Kalamazoo College community is a commitment to sustainability – and in our climate action plan is a commitment to achieving carbon neutrality. Finding alternative transportation to campus, without using a car, can have a large impact on both of those values. For one, it decreases our campus’s overall carbon emissions, moving us one step closer to becoming carbon neutral. It also promotes a healthy lifestyle of walking, running, and biking. Most importantly, finding A Better Way to K shows that a sustainable lifestyle is not only possible, but valued and encouraged in our community.

We hope you will join us in finding A Better Way to K!

When is it happening?

A Better Way to K will take place during Week 9 on Wednesday, 29th. We encourage you to participate throughout the entire day!

Who can participate?

Students, faculty, and staff are all welcome to join!



How to Participate

  • Walk or run to campus. Consider asking friends and neighbors to create a group!
  • Utilize public transportation, like the Kalamazoo Metro. More info can be found here.
    • If you want to learn how to use the Metro, Richard Amundson (our associate bookstore director) is a great resource. You can email him at Richard.Amundson@kzoo.edu.
  • Ride your bike, skateboard, scooter, or other alternative transport!
  • Carpool with friends and neighbors! Less cars is better than more cars.
  • Share your experience with us, with the drop-down below!



Frequently Asked Questions

  • I live off campus – how can I participate?
    • Many off-campus houses in the Vine, Douglas, and Stuart neighborhoods are within walking and biking distance to campus! Grab some friends or roommates and walk/run/bike to K.
  • How can I utilize the Kalamazoo Metro system?
    • Richard Amundson, our associate bookstore director, is a great resource to learn about the Kzoo public transport system. He can help with navigating routes and getting bus tokens. You can email him at Richard.Amundson@kzoo.edu.

  • If I walk or bike to campus, do we have access to showers?
    • Showers and lockers are available at the Fitness & Wellness Center which is open from 6:30am-10:30pm. A limited number of lockers are available for daily use (not overnight). Towels are not provided, please bring your own!
  • I live on campus, and either don’t have a car or don’t use my car to get to classes – how can I participate?
    • Living on campus is, by default, emitting less transportation-induced greenhouse gases. By walking to class, you’re already participating! Feel free to share that experience with us, or help by spreading the word to other students!
  • I use my car to get to off-campus jobs or other activities – what should I do?
    • Utilizing public transportation, carpooling, or walking/biking off campus are great alternatives.
  • How much of a difference does commuting to K by car really make?
    • Based on current car count data from K’s Environmental Stewardship Center, over 500 cars are on campus every day – that’s over 1/3 of the student population. By decreasing that number, even slightly, we dramatically decrease the CO2 emitted from passenger vehicles each year.



Share Your Experience!

A Better Way to K

Name(Required)
Feel free to share information about your grade, major, field, or position at K College.
Did you participate in A Better Way to K?
What motivated you to participate in finding A Better Way to K? What was your ultimate mode of transportation? What did that journey look like for you? If you did not participate, let us know why.
What elements of the day/event went well? What did you enjoy about it?
Were there barriers that prevented you from taking part at all, or barriers within the journey itself? What do you think could be done about those in the future?
Would you like to see more events like this in the future? Are there aspects of the day that you would keep, or aspects you would want changed?
Do you have pictures or other media from the day that you’d like to share with us? Feel free to upload it here!
Drop files here or
Accepted file types: jpg, jpeg, png, pdf, docx, doc, ppt, Max. file size: 5 MB, Max. files: 5.



    Join a Transportation Group!

    Are you looking to join other folks in the K Community who are participating in A Better Way to K? Contact these neighborhood leaders!

    West Main Hill Neighborhood: Binney Girdler

    binney.girdler@kzoo.edu

    Westnedge Hill Neighborhood: Elizabeth Manwell

    elizabeth.manwell@kzoo.edu

    Winchell Neighborhood: Amelia Katanski

    amelia.katanski@kzoo.edu

    Anywhere else: Andy Brown

    andrew.brown@kzoo.edu

    How members of the K-College community are participating:

    Mia Pierce, Sophomore

    How I am participating: I participate every day, because I live on campus and don’t have a vehicle! Even though this is my daily life, I plan to raise awareness for the cause and encourage people I know to walk/run/bike, too!

    Emerson Wesselhoff, Junior

    How I am participating: I am going to participate by walking to campus from my house in a nearby neighborhood! It’s a 10 minute walk, which makes participation easy – I am planning to encourage my roommates and friends to join in, and have a fun walking group that day.