The members of the Pathways group, Esprit de Coeur, in conjunction with the University Sustainability Office at North Carolina State University have established a quarterly contest entitled the GreenTree Initiative. The contest runs from Earth Day to Earth Day. Once annually the quarterly winners will be recognized at a ceremonial tree planting somewhere on NC State's campus. Nominations are accepted year-round; recipients may be faculty, staff or students of the university.

The award should recognize smaller green initiatives, which help to keep the idea of sustainability alive and well on the NC State campus. Nominees should be those who take action to find and implement ways of being energy-smart, providing cost-savings (or implementing a budget-friendly solution) and looking for renewable resources in their everyday environment.

The quarterly award winners will be recognized with a profile on the Sustainability website, a “swag bag” of gifts and other goodies, as well as the above mentioned planting of a tree in their honor. In addition, a plaque with the names of the four annual winners will be posted somewhere on campus.

• April Winners
• July Winners
• October Winners
• January Winners