Gainesville and Sydney, Australia residents are separated by continents and oceans, but this weekend they’ll be connected by a common universal goal.
On Saturday from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., millions of people from across the world will switch off lights for one hour to show concern for the environment.
Alachua County, the city of Gainesville and UF will commemorate Earth Hour for the fifth year in a row. The lights at Century Tower, the Albert and Alberta statues and Flavet Field tennis courts are some participating icons.
It’s the first time the Reitz Union and the Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art will be participating, said UF Office of Sustainability program assistant Michael Amish.
“[By participating in the event], you’d be supporting the Gator Nation in its pursuit in being the leading campus in the country for sustainability,” Amish said.
Some buildings around campus will go dark for that one hour, while others will stay unlit the entire weekend, Amish said.
Chris Whitehurst, UF Physical Plant Division’s business manager, said UF’ll save about $500 worth of electricity for the whole weekend. The physical plant plays an instrumental role in the actual process of shutting off lights.
Jeff Chorlog, the assistant vice president for the physical plant, said it takes two men and about eight hours to change the lights’ timers for the weekend.
