Students, staff collaborate to weatherize Freshman Dean’s Office

More than 30 members of the Harvard community rolled up their sleeves on Saturday April 2, to weatherize the Morton Prince House, home to the Freshman Dean’s Office (FDO). In a workday organized by the the student-run Environmental Action Committee, FDO, Faculty of Arts and Sciences Green Program, Green Building Services, the Harvard Office for Sustainability, and Campus Services Facilities Maintenance Operations, teams of students, staff, and administrators worked together to implement 11 energy conservation measures that will improve the building’s energy efficiency. Five student leaders coordinated groups working on installing pipe insulation, low-flow sink aerators, high efficiency light bulbs, and improved recycling signage, among other tasks.

To view a YouTube VIDEO of the event click here.

The 160-year-old building has moved twice since it was originally built, but it has not been renovated in years. An audit conducted by Campus Services Energy Auditing Service last November revealed 11 low-cost conservation measures that would lead to an annual reduction of 5.9 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, a 26% improvement from the building’s current energy consumption, and $1,928 in annual cost savings. All of the recommended conservation measures were implemented on April 2.

“I gained an awareness of where I could have energy savings in my own life,” team leader Kamilia Kaczor ’11 said. Kaczor experienced a taste of her future career plans, as she hopes to work for an environmental consultancy firm after graduation.