"It's the all-American road trip, but with a purpose," said Elliot May '06, the student in charge of organizing the trip. "We want to spur conversation and encourage people to start thinking about sustainable fuels."
The bus will make stops at a variety of locations, including environmental fairs, music festivals, schools, local businesses and a national ultimate frisbee tournament. At each stop, students on the bus will be making presentations and distributing information about alternative fuel sources.
"We're stopping at any location where we can get a broad demographic," May said. "We want to get our message to as many people as possible."
The 13 Dartmouth students on the bus represent a range of class years and academic interests. Andrew Zabel '09, one of the two rising sophomores on the trip, handles much of the group's public relations.
"We've gotten some really exciting media coverage," Zabel said. "USA Today did a story on the bus recently, and we've also been communicating with a lot of local media in the places we visit."
According to Zabel, the origin of the Big Green Bus project dates back to the 2004-2005 academic year, when it began as part of a recreational cross-country road trip for a group of students.
"It started out with a bunch of guys who were looking for a way to goof off one spring. They wanted to rent a bus to travel across the country, but decided that just a normal bus would be too environmentally harmful," he explained. "So some of the students who were into engineering got together and designed a bus that runs on vegetable oil. The whole environmental education aspect of the project just kind of grew out of that."
Zabel expressed enthusiasm for the program and emphasized the unique opportunity the trip provides for its participants.
"I get to travel across the country for free this summer, and I feel like I'm helping to raise people's environmental awareness in the process," he said. "It's just a great way to spend a summer."
Part of the goal of this summer's trip, according to Zabel, is to make the Big Green Bus a permanent fixture in the Dartmouth community.
"The Big Green Bus definitely has a future at Dartmouth," he said. "We really hope to continue doing trips like these in future summers, and we're constantly looking for ways to make the program more sustainable."
May echoed Zabel's sentiments, saying that he envisions a permanent infrastructure for trips like this summer's bus trip.
"I'm hoping that maybe in the future we can maybe take on a form similar to [Dartmouth Outing Club] trips, and have the bus be kind of a regular thing that students can apply to be a part of," May said. "I'd very much like to see the Big Green Bus become a lasting institution at Dartmouth."
May said that he sees the program as a way to leave behind a lasting legacy at Dartmouth.
"I feel like I've gotten a really unique education here, and the Big Green Bus is kind of my way of giving back to this amazing community," he said.