Green College Spotlight: Sarah Lawrence College

Sarah Lawrence College of Yonkers, New York has really been kicking it up a notch lately when it comes to sustainability. In the last few years, SLC faculty, staff and students have been working extra-hard to green up the college, from everyday living in the dorms to buildings on campus. Sarah Lawrence is already known for having the first LEED certified college or university Visual Arts building, and that’s just the beginning.

SLC was recently in the news for their dormitory’s green efforts. Students were so excited about making Warren House sustainable that they changed the name to Warren Green earlier this year, and they’ve been hard at work doing everything they can to make it as eco-friendly as possible. The dorm was awarded with a $150,000 grant from the college to spend on better insulation, water recycling, solar panels and air source heat pumps.

Warren Green residents have implemented a set of rules that they’re hoping will spread to the rest of the dorms on campus. They include buying house and food products in bulk as a group to reduce packaging, cooking collectively to reduce energy consumption, unplugging electronics when not in use, using only biodegradable soap and detergents, air-drying clothes and using natural light as much as possible. The rules are strictly enforced, and SLC is pleased that they’ll save money, too.

SLC’s commitment to sustainability really got its start when 16 members of the Sarah Lawrence community attended the 2006 Environmental Consortium of Hudson Valley Colleges & Universities’ conference, where they learned about greening up campuses. It was then that they decided to start a long-term plan for sustainability on campus. SLC deemed February ‘Footprint Forward Month’ and engaged in energy-saving competitions to reduce the college’s carbon footprint and increase overall sustainability on campus.

Just last month, Sarah Lawrence College installed a green roof on the Taylor residence hall. The 1,000 square foot system is composed of sedum in modular trays, which will retain water. The Taylor green roof is, in fact, the second green roof to be installed on campus – the first covers a section of the LEED-certified Heimbold Visual Arts Center.  The Taylor roof, which will help reduce energy needed to heat the building and control storm water runoff, was installed by SmartRoofs LLC, a company that employs green-collar workers.

When it comes to sustainability, Sarah Lawrence has already achieved so much – and yet, they’re just getting started. Check out the college’s ‘Sustainability on Campus’ section of their website for more info on campus initiatives, their mission and other green projects.

Link [Sarah Lawrence College]

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