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
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.