Green College Spotlight: Northland College in Ashton, Wisconsin

Northland College in Ashton, Wisconsin is a leader among American colleges in sustainability, and one need only take a tour of the campus to see why. Niles Barnes of AASHE (Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education) did just that, and photographed some of the many green aspects of the school, from solar panels and composting toilets to hybrid vehicles and wind turbines.  Even if you can’t take a tour in person, though, it’s easy to see that Northland puts environmental responsibility right at the top of their priorities.

Just take a look at Northland College’s ‘Environmental Commitment’ pages on the web, where their many green efforts are detailed.  The school’s cafeteria offers a wide range of vegetarian and vegan options, sustainably harvested seafood, and organic and fair-trade choices.  Food scraps are composted and used in the Mino-Aki community garden, where students learn about organic gardening.  Work-study students monitor campus waste and recycling, and chemistry students check area water quality. Students get free bus passes and access to free bicycles, the maintenance department uses electric vehicles and many faculty and staff live close to campus so they can walk to work.

Nowhere is Northland’s commitment to sustainability more apparent than in the vast eco-friendly features of buildings on campus. In fact, Northland College’s “green dorm” – the McLean Environmental Living and Learning Center – served as a prototype for Leadership and Energy in Environmental Design (LEED) standards.  Also on campus are two wind towers, four solar hot-water arrays, two photovoltaic arrays, geothermal heating and cooling, furniture made of recycled materials and an energy education lab made of straw bales.

Last year, Northland’s president, Karen Halbersleben, signed the American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment, which provides a framework and support for higher learning institutions to increase sustainability on campus, address global warming and neutralize greenhouse gas emissions.  Northland is currently measuring greenhouse gas emissions from field trips, sporting events, and college-related air travel to develop the best methods to offset this impact.

From the Northland College website:

At Northland College, sustainability is all about people. We believe that environmental change requires more than technical knowledge of renewable energy, ecosystems, and sustainable business practices; it demands an exploration of human nature—an exploration of ourselves. We focus on environmental leadership throughout the student experience at Northland. Our students participate in all levels of our campus life—from volunteering to enhance our “commons”, to work-study jobs that support our green features, to capstone projects that help our college innovate. Students are active in governance, strategic planning, and vision-setting. They are not just tomorrow’s environmental leaders; Northland students are creating a more sustainable future now.

Students at Northland College also find evidence of the school’s commitment to sustainability in their regular coursework. For example, an art class incorporates environmentally-friendly materials.  Curriculum related to sustainability includes Sustainable Business, Introduction to Environmental Studies, Sustainable Agriculture, a Physics course in Renewable Energy, and Natural Resources.

Northland College students work hard at sustainability in their free time, too.  Environmental organizations include the Environmental Council, which works to further Northland’s environmental dedication; Green Fire, which focuses on enhancing the health of the Chequamegon bioregion through activism, education and networking and Sunshine Community, which supports a number of green programs on campus like the Mino-Aki community garden and the Strawbale House.

In fact, there’s much more to Northland’s green commitments that we can’t even fit here! Check out the Northland College website for more!

Link [Northland College] + [AASHE]

Green College Spotlight: California State University at Chico

California State University at Chico has spent the last decade putting forth a huge effort toward sustainability, reflecting a deep desire to preserve the natural beauty of the city of Chico, which is renowned for its many beautiful parks, greenways and tracts of undeveloped land. As such, they’re working hard to be good stewards of the land, teaching students to be ‘environmentally literate citizens’.

Chico State’s Executive Director of the Institute for Sustainable Development, Scott G. McNall, explains the university’s commitment to sustainability:

We intend to make CSU, Chico the distinctive “green” campus in California and become a national leader in environmental education, science, and policy analysis; the building of environmentally friendly facilities, and practicing and modeling for others sustainable practices. We see civic engagement and sustainability powerfully linked as a way to help students understand that democracy must be actively created and nurtured and as a way to work with others to build and live in the community.

Students, faculty and staff at Chico State have thrown themselves headlong into sustainable initiatives, as evidenced by the long list of sustainability practices currently in place at the school.  They’re actively working to reduce CO2, construct sustainable buildings, implement energy conservation practices, purchase and invest in environmentally and socially responsible products, conducting environmental audits and minimizing the use of hazardous chemicals.

CSU was among the first schools in the nation to sign a long-range commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions – the American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment (ACUPCC).  On campus, they’ve installed a thermal energy storage system and have committed to incorporate LEED-sponsored sustainability practices into all future buildings.  Solar panels on the roofs of Yolo Hall and Acker Gym supply power to the university, reducing carbon emissions equivalent to that produced by 430 commuter vehicles.

Transportation on campus includes bicycles and free bus transit, and the Facilities Management Services has a fleet of 43 electric vehicles. Chico State has had recycling and composting in place since 1996, and so far they’ve saved 632 tons of recyclable and compostable waste from ending up in the landfill.  Students enthusiastically take part in a variety of eco activities, from growing organic veggies at the university farm to going on ‘adventure outings’ that increase appreciation for the natural world.  They even help local elementary school students understand the value of the environment through hands-on activities at the Butte Creek Ecological Preserve.

All that Chico State is doing towards a greener future is a great example of how green colleges are bridging the divide between environmentalists and ordinary citizens.  Hopefully, in the years to come, these kinds of sustainability initiatives will be ordinary and commonplace – a part of daily life.  Eco-conscious colleges and universities are helping to instill environmental responsibility into the very people who will lead the charge toward a greener future – the youth.  Great work, Chico State!

Link [California State University at Chico]

Frats & Sororities Going Green Across the Nation

It turns out that St. Patrick’s Day isn’t the closest fraternities and sororities across America come to being ‘green’ after all.  These days, eco-consciousness is seeping into all aspects of student life, and the Greeks aren’t excluded.  Greening up frats and sororities is becoming increasingly popular as students seek out new ways to be earth-friendly on campus.  A few schools that have gotten involved include UCLA, The University of Michigan and Dartmouth.

At UCLA, ‘Green the Greeks’ is a fairly new student organization that has been getting together to increase awareness of environmental responsibility among this large part of the student population.  On Earth Day, group members got together to gather recyclables and show students how easy it can be to make the right choice.  Green the Greeks co-founder John Frost told The Daily Bruin, “We facilitate a forum for members of the Greek community to come together and discuss issues of sustainability and to find solutions. We want to do this as efficiently and cheaply as possible. If these changes aren’t financially practical, they won’t last.”

The University of Michigan ‘Green Greeks’ organization was started in fall 2005, aiming to encourage environmentally responsible behavior in the Greek community.  The organization has saved over 60,000 cans and bottles from ending up in the landfill.  A statement on the Green Greeks website says, “We believe that the Greek Community and the fraternity and sorority that represent it can and should be a role model to the rest of the University for eco-friendly living. Green Greeks can act as a helping hand and a resource to chapters who would like to implement anything from basic recycling programs to educational hands-on environmental projects for their entire house, as well as campus-wide fundraisers.  For example, in 2006 we joined forces with Greek Week to run a recycling competition.”

At Dartmouth, efforts to introduce sustainability into sororities and fraternities have been around for nearly a decade, but the ‘Green Greeks Program’ was officially started in 2006. The college employs a ‘Greek Sustainability Intern’, Billy McCarthy, who helps coordinate Greek sustainability efforts with those of the rest of the school.  There are also Sustainability Coordinators in each Greek house, who take on tasks like organizing recycling and composting, reducing energy consumption and increasing general awareness among peers.

It’s encouraging to know that all of the cans, bottles and pizza boxes found in Greek houses nationwide aren’t going straight into the trash! College campuses are certainly getting more and more creative with their green efforts and it’s a hugely encouraging sign that we’re headed toward an all-around greener future.

Grist.org currently has a great roundup of creative green college efforts – go check it out!

Link [UCLA] + [U of Michigan] + [Dartmouth] via [Grist.org]

College Spotlight: Green Mountain College’s Sustainable Orientation

One Vermont college is going far above and beyond in their efforts to green up their campus, and it shows in their ‘sustainable orientation’, a weekend for new students to get educated on carbon emissions and other aspects of sustainability. Green Mountain College’s sustainable orientation will take place between August 28th and September 1st. Initiated by the office of student life and sustainability coordinator Jesse Pyles, the college’s orientation weekend will include all of the following:

• Fewer mailings. Offices have reduced the amount of paper by sending bulk mailings and directing students to the website for information.
• Local programming. “In the past we had outside consultants develop programs on drug and alcohol use and safety,” says Ouimette. “To decrease the amount of travel created by orientation, we’re now doing these workshops in-house by orientation leaders.”
• Reused utensils. “Students are encouraged to bring their own utensils and travel mug to use during orientation,” she says. There will be stations set up for students to wash their silverware with environmentally friendly dish soap. Biodegradable utensils will be available for family and friends visiting during orientation.
• Green decorations. Instead of balloons-which are not biodegradable-the campus decorates with flowers grown on the college farm. Other decorations and necessary signage will be done on reusable sandwich board.
• Local dinners. On “Sustainable Sunday,” students will dine on breakfast provided by the college farm and local providers. “Logistically, it’s near impossible to have four days of local meals,” explains Ouimette, “but we want to show students about the improvements we’ve made in greening our food service.”
• Camp-Out Night. Students will assess the energy saved in one night of camping on campus. GreenMAP, the College’s outdoor adventure program, will also educate new students about nationally developed “leave no trace” principles, especially with regard to setting up tents and using the nearby Poultney River.
• Green Student Orientation Leaders (student orientation leaders specifically assigned to sustainability efforts and education) will lead several colorful “Ecostunts”-activities and demonstrations designed to illustrate sustainability themes.

“It’s important for the College to introduce incoming students to what it’s like to be sustainable as soon as they first set foot on campus,” says Christina Ouimette, a senior at GMC and student coordinator for orientation. “It’s a huge part of our community, our mission, and how we learn here.”

Green Mountain College is Vermont’s environmental liberal arts college, tucked away in the countryside in the Valley of Vermont. The core of Green Mountain College is its environmental liberal arts (ELA) curriculum, which all Green Mountain students complete. It combines the skills and content of a liberal arts course with a focus on the environment.

Green Mountain College was the first college in the United States to be named EPA Energy Star Showcase Campus after their campus-wide effort to retrofit light fixtures. They’ve also been awarded with the Campus Sustainability Leadership Award by the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) for their ‘outstanding commitment to environmental sustainability in their governance and administration, curriculum and research, operations, campus culture and community outreach. Green Mountain College was also included on Grist.org’s Top 15 Green Colleges and Universities.

Some of the green initiatives that have been put in place on the Green Mountain College campus include a commitment to carbon neutrality, 50% of its electricity from local dairy farms through the Cow Power Program, participation in the STARS (Sustainability Tracking, Assessment, and Rating System) program, a plug-in hybrid study, a sustainable agriculture project, a robust recycling program and much more.

Learn more at the Green Mountain College website.

Green College Spotlight: Middlebury College in Middlebury, Vermont

Tucked into a small, rural Vermont community is liberal arts gem Middlebury College, a highly selective private school that prides itself on its environmental activism. Middlebury established the first Environmental Studies major back in 1965, and has since helped pave the way for colleges across the country to be more environmentally conscious from its sustainable agriculture and recycling programs to the green building techniques used in recent construction.

Middlebury’s dedication to environmentally responsible practices is apparent in nearly every aspect of daily operations. In fact, they’ve incorporated environmental stewardship into the college’s new mission statement, which reads in part, “The College’s Vermont location offers an inspirational setting for learning and reflection, reinforcing our commitment to integrating environmental stewardship into both our curriculum and our practices on campus.”

Middlebury was one of six colleges to receive a grade of ‘A-‘ from the Sustainable Endowments Institute on its College Sustainability Report Card 2008, the highest grade rewarded. It has also been named as one of the greenest colleges in the U.S. by Forbes, Grist, Alternet and The Daily Green.

The honors are due in part to the students’ incredible drive to be environmentally responsible. Middlebury spawned the ‘Step it Up’ protests against global warming, and lobbied hard for the $11 million biomass plant now being built, which will help the college meet its goal of being carbon neutral by 2016. They’ve demanded green programs at the school and have gotten them, from the sustainably sourced wood used for heating to the wind turbine that powers the college’s recycling facility. Produce from local farmers plus the harvests reaped from the school’s on-campus organic gardens provide a quarter of the student meals at the dining hall. Check out the video below showing the students participating in ‘The Green Finger Project’, where they write what they’re voting to protect on the palms of their hands.

Majors at Middlebury include classical studies, geography, history of art & architecture, international studies, molecular biology & biochemistry and political science, among many others. Prospective students wishing to take a tour of the campus can get that info, along with more about the admissions process, at the school’s website.

Link [Middlebury College ] + [YouTube]

Conservation, Recycling, Local Food: How College Campuses Are Going Green

An EarthTalk reader wrote in to ask how college campuses are working to reduce their carbon footprints, and the editors of E/The Environmental Magazine had plenty of answers. Seems like college campuses are doing more every day to contribute, from taking small steps that add up to taking on large projects and initiatives.

From The Daily Green:

Foremost on the minds of green-leaning students today is global warming, and many are joining hands to persuade their schools to update policies and streamline operations so that their campuses can become part of the solution. Largely a result of student efforts, for example, nearly 500 U.S. colleges and universities have signed the American College and University Presidents (ACUP) Climate Commitment.

This agreement requires schools to put together a comprehensive plan to go “carbon neutral” in two years of signing. (Carbon neutral means contributing no net greenhouse gases to the atmosphere either by not generating them in the first place or by offsetting them somehow, such as through tree-planting or by buying “offsets” from companies that fund alternative energy projects.)

ACUP also commits schools to implementing two or more tangible (and easily implemented) policies right away, such as improving waste minimization and recycling programs, reducing energy usage, providing or encouraging public transportation to and from campus (and switching campus buses over to bio-diesel fuel), constructing bicycle lanes, and implementing green building guidelines for any new construction.

Schools that sign the agreement also pledge to integrate sustainability into their normal curricula. Student-run organic gardens like those of Yale University and Warren Wilson College provide another great way to green up campus food services, as do recycling programs and water conservation efforts.

For a roundup of additional green college initiatives, see the full post at The Daily Green.

Link [The Daily Green]
Photo credit: Warren Wilson College

On-Campus Food Getting Greener (and Hopefully Tastier)

First there was the cool invention of reusable take-out trays by a college student, and now schools across the country are starting programs providing sustainably grown meals in on-campus dining halls and cafes. College students around the country are demanding green options, and they’re getting it.

From Wiretap Magazine:

“Students get it,” said Anna Lappé, a sustainability food expert, author and the co-founder of the Small Planet Institute who often speaks at campuses around the country to promote sustainable eating. “The most common question I get from students is, ‘We know we need to be promoting sustainable food — what can we do?’” She usually responds to the question with examples of what other schools have done, which is no short list.

Julian Dautremont-Smith, sustainability expert and associate director at the Association for Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Learning, or AASHE, says that one thing his organization does is connect like-minded students at schools across the country so they can compare notes and learn from each other.

This is a great example of the power of college students rallying together and making a demand, and it working. I can’t believe how far college cafeteria food has come in the short amount of time since I was an on-campus student! I was picking through barely edible, oil-soaked nastiness and making far too many trips to off-campus fast food joints as a result. I wish I would have started something like this at my own school – but then again, I went to a tiny private college funded by conservative Southern Baptists who thought that being an environmentalist meant I was a rabid, dangerous eco-terrorist. The climate is changing in more ways than one – people are so much more open to ‘green’ choices now. Take advantage of it!

Contact the AASHE through their website for information on how to get a similar program started in your school.

Link [Wiretap Magazine]
Photo credit: Flickr user klynsis

Heavy, Expensive, Wasteful College Textbooks are So 20th Century: Why Aren’t Ebooks More Readily Available By Now?

As mountains of old, out of date college textbooks continue to pile up – and updated versions are published to take their places – the current system of buying and selling these books seems more and more antiquated. It begs the question, what other options do we have? Sure, you can buy and sell used books, but there are cons to that too.

Last March, Treehugger questioned the eco-friendliness of online book swaps. While purchasing or borrowing used books is way better than constantly paying for new ones, all that shipping back and forth makes it a little less green than it should be. At least one site, 2swap.com, gets a good rating from Treehugger but isn’t geared specifically toward college students.

Nearly all college students these days have laptops, and PDF versions of books are becoming more and more common. Imagine how much easier and less wasteful it would be if college books were licensed and sold electronically for a semester of use. You wouldn’t have to lug around an insane number of 20-pound books, you wouldn’t be out a ton of money even when selling your books back after you’re done with them and the old unwanted texts would stop their endless march to the landfill.

Perhaps starting up a signature drive to get more publishers to offer texts in ebook form would be a good way for college students to get their eco-activist on. Publishers are old school and most aren’t yet internet-savvy, but they’re like any other businesspeople: if there’s a demand, and they know they can make money off of it, they’ll take action. If enough students started requesting ebook versions of their college texts, there’s no reason why everybody couldn’t make the switch. It’d result in less trees being cut down, savings for college students, and a way for publishers to get their foot into the 21st century finally.

Here’s a partial list of college textbook publishers to get started. Any takers?

Link [Treehugger] + [2Swap] + [ACQWeb]

Photo credit: Flickr user anavrin

College Students Amped Up the Eco-Activism on Earth Day

The Earth Day Network accomplished one big goal last Tuesday: flooding the congressional switchboard with calls from people who wanted to encourage lawmakers to enact eco-friendly measures. With the help of 1,000 college students at 1,000 campuses nationwide, the Earth Day Network made sure that our nation’s leaders heard the voices of people who care about the planet. From the Washington Times:

“We’re really excited about this because Congress keeps saying they don’t hear from the American public on climate change,” said Kathleen Rogers, president of Earth Day Network, which bills itself as an eco-activism group connecting some 17,000 organizations in 174 countries. “The [presidential] candidates are not being asked about climate change. Climate change is the biggest threat to humanity that we’ve ever faced.” Rogers said she wasn’t worried about the switchboard being overwhelmed by the calls. She said she was assured by the office handling congressional calls that staff could handle 1.3 million calls during a 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. period. “They’re very, very competent, and they’re ready. We’re gong to help them as much as we can in advance,” Rogers said. “Our intention is really, really not to shut them down. If things went nuts, which we don’t expect them to, their operators are dreamboats. They consider their jobs part of the democratic process. If there’d be any problems, it’d be with the phone lines, not with the switchboard.”

Historically, college students have always been known for doing everything a little more vibrantly than the rest of the population, from activism to drunken debauchery, but lately it seems like more and more people are working hard to instigate change, and are more dedicated than ever. Keep it up, college students! God knows America needs your enthusiasm. Link [Washington Times] Photo credit: Flickr user GirlReporter

Florida College Student Invents Reusable Alternative to Styrofoam Take-Out Containers

Proving that simple solutions are often better than complicated high-tech ones, Eckerd College student Audrey Copeland has invented an alternative to Styrofoam take-out containers that you don’t even have to wash yourself. The EcoClamshell, made from a durable dishwasher-safe material, is available to students for a one-time fee of $5 and is designed to be brought back once you’re done with it. At least 200 students are currently using it.

From Bay News 9:

“Usually people bring them to their rooms,” Richards said. “Then afterwards they dump whatever the didn’t want and you can bring them back dirty, throw them in a bin. Then they rinse them out. It works great for me.”

Eckerd College has reduced the use of styrofoam by 25 percent a week.

“The same container circulates multiple times,” Copeland said. “Kinda like a plate.”

The student hopes to market the containers to cafeterias and restaurants with a regular customer base.

What a great way to encourage students to ditch the disposables. When you’re living on campus and depend on the dining hall for every meal - and trying to fit in lunch between a tight schedule of classes - you inevitably end up using lots of take-out containers, most of which aren’t biodegradable or reusable. The EcoClamshell offers a great way for college students to avoid introducing so many harmful materials into landfills - let’s hope it catches on nationwide!

Link [Bay News 9]