To further their mission of incorporating sustainable values and practices into the global culture of St. Petersburg College and that of its stakeholders, the SPC Office for Sustainability has released the first in a series of entertaining, environmentally focused short films.

The serialized films, titled “The Adventures of Eco-Man,” focus on Eco-Man, whose alter ego is that of mild-mannered SPC instructional technologist, Alan Shapiro.

Episode one focuses on energy savings, and spotlights simple steps individuals can take to conserve energy in the work place. Each film runs under three minutes in length.

The role of environmental superhero isn’t new to Shapiro. In fact, in the early 1990’s Shapiro created Captain Recycle, Boca Ciega High School’s masked marvel of all things green and recyclable.

“I was a science teacher at the time, and the state of Florida had just passed a law requiring communities to recycle a certain percentage of their waste,” Shapiro recalled. “I wanted to get a recycling center started at the school, so I started a club we called Eco-Action.”

The club gathered and recycled aluminum cans, paper, cardboard and Styrofoam. The effort was so successful that the recycling center at Boca Ciega became the most productive such center in the entire St. Petersburg system.

Shapiro left Captain Recycle’s cape behind when he left Boca Ciega in the mid-1990’s.

Because environmental issues continue to become more mainstream, and through the encouragement of Jason Green, SPC’s Sustainability Coordinator (and former student), Shapiro has reprised his role as masked doer of environmental good, this time as Eco-Man.

View “The Adventures of Eco-Man” Episode One: Energy Savings below and be sure to stay tuned for more.