It’s graduation season! And for those who will be leaving the NYU community, we wanted to send you off with some tips for living sustainably in your post-NYU years.
The NYU Office of Sustainability welcomes alumni to continue to work with us in advancing environmental initiatives at NYU. Help inform the initiatives of our office and stay up-to-date on what’s going on in our community by signing up for our newsletter. Read more
Green Apple Move Out is NYU’s annual initiative to reduce the waste generated during spring move out! Live in an NYU residence hall? You can drop textiles and certain room essentials in the designated area in your building. Learn more about what’s acceptable.
This guide provides tips and resources for how to have a sustainable move out.
Biking is core to the NYU community. In 2019, we asked our community how they get to, from, and around campus. This survey showed a 627% increase in bike ridership over the last decade! Now, we’ve been awarded Silver-level Bicycle Friendly University and Business status for our efforts to support affordable, sustainable, and healthy transportation.
In the last two years, NYU has nearly doubled bike parking in areas within or adjacent to NYU buildings and facilities. This effort required the collaboration and support of many campus partners, demonstrating the importance of supporting an ever-increasing bike community at NYU. We have also coordinated helmet giveaways, group rides, bike education, and much more.
by Sophia Gumbs
Wangari Maathai
In her 2004 acceptance of the Nobel Peace Prize, Professor Maathai commented that “protecting and restoring the environment contributes to peace; it is peace work. . . . I always felt that our work was not simply about planting trees. It was about inspiring people to take charge of their environment, the system that governed them, their lives, and their future.”
Professor Wangari Maathai (1940-2011) was a well-known enviromental activist, professor, author, and feminist from Nyeri, Kenya. She was a professor of Veterinary Anatomy and was the chair of the department at the University of Nairobi. She wrote several books, including The Green Belt Movement: Sharing the Approach and the Experience, Unbowed: A Memoir, The Challenge for Africa, and Replenishing the Earth: Spiritual Values for Healing Ourselves and the World. She was chair of the National Council of Women of Kenya (1981-1987), at which point the seed was planted– pun intended ;)– which would lead to the founding of her eco-feminist organization for community-based planting of trees to combat poverty and promote environmental health: the Green Belt Movement. Read more
I recently attended The Countdown: Exploring the Future of Plant-Centric Food Systems, which featured a session with Tracye McQuirter, a public health nutritionist, plant-based activist, author, and speaker. During the session, McQuirter described how she was moved by Dick Gregory’s speech about the health of African American women over 30 years ago.
Here are some resources to learn more about Tracye McQuirter’s work and trailblazers in the Black vegan movements:
This book by Tracye McQuirter was a national best-seller that was cited by The New York Times as a key reason for the popular rise of veganism among African Americans during the last decade.
Tracye McQuirter’s second book is a memoir-style cookbook that she wrote with her mother to mark 30 years of their veganism.
3. 10 Million Black Vegan Women
Tracye McQuirter’s organization aims to help Black women improve their health outcomes through plant-based eating. It provides data and statistics about chronic conditions affecting Black women today, as well as programs that use plant-based nutrition and community support.
4. A Homecoming
In this detailed Eater article, Amirah Mercer highlights the long history of plant-based diets in the Black diaspora, which is often erased by the imagery of veganism propagated by the wellness industry.
5. Black and vegan: Why so many Black Americans are embracing the plant-based life
Vidya Rao discusses veganism in Black pop culture and highlights the journey of Pinky Cole, a plant-based restaurateur in Atlanta.
6. Bryant Terry
Bryant Terry is a celebrated cookbook author and has served since 2015 as the chef-in-residence at the Museum of the African Diaspora, in San Francisco. His (beautifully illustrated) books highlight vegetarian and vegan African American cooking, as well as recipes inspired by the African diaspora. Fun fact – Bryant Terry is an NYU alum!
And here are some of New York City’s Black-Owned Plant-Based businesses to check out:
Listening to Tracye was eye-opening for me. Having grown up in India, I sometimes take access to fresh food for granted, so I wanted to know more about the disparity in food and health that disproportionately affects Black communities. Tracye’s passion and enthusiasm was infectious and inspired me to learn more – I hope this digest inspires you too.
