From student volunteers to the city of Oxford, many aid in assuring the longevity of the hallowed tailgating tradition in the Grove through their efforts to reduce waste.
Many departments on campus along with Oxford Recycling Center aid in the success of the Green Grove Initiative. The Office of Sustainability is directed by the university architect, Ian Banner. Many sustainable initiatives take place at Ole Miss under the leadership of Anne McCauley, assistant director of the Office of Sustainability housed on the 3rd floor of the Lyceum.
As the game day manager, Kay Kay DeRossette guides the three game day coordinators in their many efforts of maintaining and modifying the recycling program in the Grove. Jill Cowart works to recruit volunteers, recruiting over 500 student volunteers this season alone. Grace Haines works on public relations by educating tailgaters from all over via our presence on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Kendall McDonald organizes the logistics of our volunteer efforts by evaluating our improvement throughout the season.
Landscape Services helps dispense our clear stream recycling bins on Fridays and organizes Grove clean up on Saturday nights. Oxford Recycling Center picks up the recycled materials and stores them at their facility until student volunteers sort on Monday and Tuesday following home games.
Kay Kay DeRossette is a senior exercise science major and Green Grove intern in the UM Office of Sustainability. She can be reached at khdeross@go.olemiss.edu.