Healthy Bears Take the Stairs
Sponsor: UC Berkeley School of Public Health
TGIF Grant: $9,739
Project Theme: Education and Behavior Change
Project Description: Healthy Bears Take the Stairs is a health and sustainability campaign in University Hall (U-Hall) that aims to reduce electricity consumption by promoting taking the stairs instead of elevators, and to increase physical activity among those who work and study in U-Hall by making the experience of taking the stairs more appealing, while simultaneously engaging the wider university community in healthy behavior. The project has 4 components: Enhance the environmental design by creating a mural in the north stairwell, improve directional and motivational signage to increase stair usage, energize and increase mood by using “blue” wavelength energy-efficient lights, and change wording in the fire safety warning on the stairs which is a barrier to opening stair doors.
Project Goals: The ultimate goals are to reduce energy consumption and promote healthy workplaces across the UC Berkeley campus. The specific goals of the project are to increase stair traffic, reduce elevator usage by 50%, and increase satisfaction in the workplace by improving aesthetics of the stairs and creating a culture of stairclimbing.