“The bee is not afraid of me,” declares Emily Dickinson. “I know the butterfly.” Furthermore, she adds, “The pretty people in the Woods / Receive me cordially—”  Not only do they receive her cordially, “The Brooks laugh louder” when she comes, “The Breezes madder play”. And so, because of all these friends and relationships, the enthusiasm with which the more-than-human world receives the poet, she sighs, “Wherefore mine eyes thy silver mists, / Wherefore, Oh Summer’s Day?”
Is there any more perfect expression of the longing that encapsulates the end of the school year? 
And yet we are almost there, busy little bees humming to the end. In working hard to finish strong, keep in mind all the summer friends just waiting to reconnect with you! 

Spring term brought a number of noteworthy sustainability winners to celebrate. First, the Green Office program made a triumphant return, recognizing offices for their sustainable practices, with the Museum of Natural and Cultural History taking the top platinum prize. Second, UO began composting food scraps ten years ago, and celebrated the anniversary with a raffle. EuGina Fails was the raffle winner, and upon receiving the prize, shared that she practices composting with the children in her care at the Co-op Family Center. Last, On May 20th, the annual UO Sustainability Awards celebrated stellar contributions to campus sustainability. "Sustainability work by its very nature is diverse, varied, and multi-part," said Sarah Stoeckl, Office of Sustainability Assistant Director and awards organizer. "Which is why I love that these awards recognize and bring together people doing incredible work across a range of sustainability topics and areas." It has been a fantastic year to celebrate sustainability, setting a positive tone for the summer ahead.

Campus has been buzzing with sustainable practices this year! Students from the Student Sustainability Center delivered stellar presentations on critical sustainability issues at the Washington Oregon Cascadia Higher Education Sustainability Conference (WOHESC), leaving attendees both informed and inspired. Since July 2023, Surplus has found new homes for 250 minifridges, 250 microwaves, and 1,000 chairs across campus and the Eugene community—talk about reuse on a grand scale! Plus, don't miss out on the "Embracing a Culture of Sustainability" Learning Challenge, still available on LinkedIn Learning thanks to a fantastic partnership with UO Learning and Development.

Summer will be the final term at the current UO Surplus location in the Romania lot. Surplus is finalizing a new location – look for a full reveal of a new location later this summer. In the meantime surplus will continue to operate at our current location. 

Surplus will stop accepting UO items at Romania at the end of June and will start accepting item again shortly thereafter at the new location. Until the end of June, Surplus will be open at Romania. Hours include:
•    Faculty and staff hours – Tu/W/Th: 9-11am (and by appointment)
•    Public sales W/Th/F 4:30-6:30pm and Sat 11:30am-1:30pm

For more information on sales, hours, & reservations visit our website below or contact surplus staff at: 541-999-4173 or uosurplus@uoregon.edu

Have a story for the newsletter? Email your idea to Katie Lucca (klucca@uoregon.edu).