FYS 101R - Sustainability in American Culture

(AH) GEP

TuTh, 2:30PM - 3:45PM

Fine Arts Building Rm. 530

Rita Turner

In this installment of the AASHE Bulletin Sustainability Student Diary series, members of the Berkeley Student Food Collective (BSFC) at the University of California, Berkeley give a behind-the-scenes look at the process of opening up their sustainable food storefront for the campus community. Diary contributors include BSFC members Ruby Yoon, Justina Byrne, Christina Oatfield, Adam Merberg, Bree O'Keane and Katherine Walsh. AASHE welcomes questions and invites feedback on each Sustainability Student Diary entry. Submit diary entries of your own for consideration to bulletin@aashe.org.

November 17, 2010:
A year and a half ago, a group of University of California, Berkeley students created a movement called the Berkeley Student Food Collective. The movement was initiated against a fast-food company that was trying to move onto the UC Berkeley campus. We proposed a student-run food collective that would provide fresh, healthy sustainable food as an alternative. We also sought to provide education on healthy sustainable food.

One of the biggest tasks of the Food Collective was fundraising enough money to have a viable and sustainable business plan. Most of our funds came from grants, notably receiving $91,000 from The Green Initiative Fund (TGIF), a UC Berkeley fund available for campus sustainability projects. Fundraising events, such as our Annual Harvest Gala, and donations from individuals also contributed to finally gathering enough funds to open.

Another big part of establishing or storefront was finding a physical location. After considering options like a mobile food cart, and looking into several locations, we obtained our current space at 2440 Bancroft Way, right across the street from the UC Berkeley campus. The process of opening up the store was long and complex, especially for a group of students with no experience as entrepreneurs. Business plans, permitting, passing inspections, gathering volunteers, researching inventory, locating equipment, etc. was a huge task, but with countless hours of time and effort put into the project, it happened. The store had its grand opening on Nov. 15, 2010.

The store is definitely still a work in progress, but everyone involved is so ecstatic about our opening, the things that need to happen will happen. Our store is run by volunteers who work one two-hour shift each week and receive a 10 percent store discount. If you come into the store now (open weekdays from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.), you'll find lots of fresh produce, grab-and-go lunch items like sandwiches and wraps, bottled beverages, bulk bins, staple grocery items, dairy, coffee/tea, etc.

The following is a chronological look (from the formation of the collective to the present) at some of the nitty-gritty details that went into the opening of our storefront.

June 2009:
With help from a $91,000 grant from The Green Initiative Fund, the Berkeley Student Food Collective (BSFC) is formed with the motto:

“We're dedicated to providing fresh, local, healthy, environmentally sustainable and ethically produced food at affordable prices to the Berkeley campus and greater community. We seek to educate students about nutrition and food systems, empower new leaders, and train youth to work in and manage a sustainable business. Through inclusive, democratic decision-making, we will operate a cooperative grocery market that promotes community-building and environmental stewardship.”

September 2009:
• Having already achieved nonprofit status, the BSFC works on documents for tax-exemption status.
• Grant applications are submitted to Tom’s of Maine, Organic Valley and Clif Bar in an effort to raise at least $250,000 to open a storefront.
• Negotiations with Naia Lounge (on-campus space) and for a site on Euclid Avenue fall through; BSFC re-evaluates its cost options and looks for alternative options to a storefront, including mobile carts.

November 2009:
• The BSFC holds the Harvest Gala, its first major fundraising event that features a silent auction, dinner and several speeches about sustainable and ethical food.
• Plans are made to sell food on campus on a weekly or monthly basis in spring 2010. An advisory board member offers to let BSFC prepare food in his commercial kitchen, and an intern is appointed to oversee the production and sale of food.
• After a presentation on its progress to the Berkeley Student Cooperative’s Board of Directors, BSFC signs a fiscal sponsorship agreement with the group.
• BSFC is notified that its storefront idea is a finalist for the Clinton Global Initiative University grant.
• With assistance from a graphic designer, BSFC finalizes its new logo for all future website and promotional materials.
• As part of its market research plan, BSFC sends members to count foot traffic and transactions at local eateries.

February 2010:
• BSFC prepares to sell sandwiches on campus and finalizes an agreement to prepare food in the kitchen at Blakes on Telegraph.
• BSFC is still exploring various possibilities for an on-campus location for its storefront. In accordance with a vote of the membership, BSFC researches the feasibility of a temporary or permanent food cart. Naia Lounge returns as a possible location.
• BSFC Policy Coordinator and ASUC Senator Christina Oatfield drafts an ASUC Senate bill to give the BSFC preferential treatment in the space allocation process. BSFC members plan to lobby the ASUC to pass the resolution with strong support.
• BSFC is designated as a supported project by Sustain Us with a recommendation to Clinton Global Initiative University Grants. The group also waits to hear about its grant status from Columbia Foundation, National Resources Defense Council, Growing Green Awards, Echoing Green and Rainbow Grocery. The group expects the Clif Bar Family Foundation to come to a decision on its application soon.

April 2010:
• BSFC members unanimously approve a motion to pursue a mobile kitchen. A group is assembled to negotiate with the university to allow the use of parking spaces in the lot near Sproul Hall, additional storage space on-campus, and to cooperate with its efforts to comply with permitting and licensing requirements.
• Three members of the Board of Directors represent the Berkeley Student Food Collective at the Clinton Global Initiative University conference in Miami.
• The External Affairs Committee of the Berkeley Student Cooperative, BSFC’s fiscal sponsor, votes to endorse a continuation of the BSFC fiscal sponsorship agreement on similar terms. The agreement will be terminated in May 2011 unless BSFC receives tax-exempt status or begins operations before then.
• BSFC secures the assistance of the Alameda County Small Business Development at no charge. They assign a consultant with extensive experience with food businesses and nonprofits to work with BSFC to help its business run smoothly.
• ASUC Senate unanimously passes a resolution is support of the Berkeley Student Food Collective moving into an available space on campus.
• BSFC works on a proposal for a student-run garden to the university administration. The proposed garden will include both communal and individual plots that incorporate fruit trees, herb spirals, composting, a tool shed and a small amphitheater.
• BSFC raises $600 from its 12-hour Dance-a-thon.
• BSCF starts selling sandwiches at Sproul Plaza every Monday. Sandwiches include tofu banh mi, black bean burgers, chickpea burgers and red lentil patties. The group partners with other student organizations in an effort to improve its outreach.

September 2010:
• BSFC signs a lease on a storefront at 2440 Bancroft Way (formerly UC Nails) and moves in. The group begins converting the space to a grocery store right away, aiming for a mid-October opening.
• Due to limited funds, the group decides to phase out the program director position and hire a manager for its storefront.
• BSFC hires its former program director as a consultant for six weeks to help open the store, along with another consultant with extensive co-op grocery experience.
• As the current agreement is scheduled to terminate with the opening of its store, BSFC works on a modified fiscal sponsorship agreement with the Berkeley Student Cooperative that will allow continued donations after the storefront opens its doors.
• BSFC receives $2,500 from the Clif Bar Family Foundation. Grant applications are still pending with Organic Valley and Farm Aid. The group does not receive a grant from the Clinton Global Initiative University.

November 2010:
• The Berkeley Student Food Collective storefront officially opens!

Watch interviews and read more about the Berkeley Student Food Collective storefront. 
 

Ari Epstein, a senior at the University of Chicago, is featured in this installment of the AASHE Bulletin Sustainability Student Diary series for his efforts to make the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity function on a greener level. As co-house manager of the fraternity, Ari writes about working with the university’s Office of Sustainability to reform in-house and party practices. AASHE welcomes questions and invites feedback on each Sustainability Student Diary entry. Submit diary entries of your own for consideration to bulletin@aashe.org.

Before I became a SAGE Ambassador*at the end of spring quarter last year, I contacted the Office of Sustainability on behalf of the Alpha Epsilon Pi (AEPi) fraternity. Because of my interest in reforming in-house and party practices to be more environmentally conscious, the fraternity elected me to institute pro-sustainability changes as co-house manager of our South Campus house.

Members of the Office of Sustainability made my task very easy by providing advice on gradually implementing reforms in a large social organization like a fraternity, and gave me information on electronic, print, and city resources. Despite the lack of higher quality of photos in this series, I am pleased to share AEPi's successful sustainability reforms with the university community in order to generate interest among other large social registered student organizations to help reduce our carbon footprint and overall environmental impact, and to streamline existing sustainability measures like recycling.

Beginning shortly after my SAGE training, I introduced small changes to the fraternity by increasing in-house recycling, promoting awareness of electricity and water usage and starting an aerobic composting bin made out of a converted 45-gallon plastic trash can lined with wire mesh.

I now use old deli or produce bags to store fresh food scraps in the refrigerator until I bring down my weekly collection of waste and recyclables. Because I have a continuing ant problem and am cautious to develop a gnat problem, this system seems to work well. 

AEPi Sustainable Practices for Social Gatherings
Once the school year began and more fraternity brothers returned to campus, I shifted my focus to fraternity-wide events like socials, parties, and the like. I often saw tons of aluminum cans and paper cartons lining the floors of rooms in which the fraternity hosted social activities, so I designated an old trash bin to be used only for recycling. I taped one of the SAGE recycling tip sheets to one side of the bin, while the other side has taped-on letters spelling "RECYCLING!"

I also tried to avoid the unpleasant task of resorting recyclables and non-recyclables during party clean-up shifts by placing recycling containers only where they are in highest demand. In order to avoid a space problem, I tried not to place recycling and garbage bins in the same rooms. Therefore, I placed recycling bins in the rooms where refreshments are served in recyclable containers, while I placed only garbage bins in the areas only serving refreshments in disposable cups.

Not only do AEPi members spend less time sorting during clean-up shifts, party patrons generally sorted items without issue in the rooms where I provided garbage and recycling bins without compromising space. Even more, other AEPi members donated old towels to use as mops and cleaning rags instead of paper towels. Since we started using the towels during Orientation Week at the end of September, we have yet to use more than one roll of paper towels during four different cleaning shifts that covered nearly 4,000 square feet of space.

AEPi is committed to being a model for how other campus organizations can become more sustainable. Contact Ari at aepstein11@uchicago.edu to learn more about these efforts.

*From the University of Chicago Office of Sustainability's Katie Anson about the SAGE Program:

The University of Chicago is creating a culture of sustainability on campus through SAGE (Sustainable Actions for a Greener Environment) Trainings. In less than a year, over 100 students, staff and faculty have become SAGE Ambassadors. Armed with sustainability-related information, ambassadors are able to correct common sustainability misconceptions on campus, connect their peers to resources and act as environmental advocates on behalf of the Office of Sustainability. These 90-minute trainings provide a general overview of the university’s sustainability efforts and highlight actions that individuals can take in order to be a little greener in areas like energy and water conservation, alternative transportation, procurement, and sustainable food.

After these trainings, SAGE Ambassadors are charged with raising awareness, spurring dialogue and inspiring action in their dorms, offices and departments. SAGE Ambassadors have implemented numerous changes on campus, including greening the AEPi fraternity.

The below article excerpt was written by Daniel J. Sherman who is the Luce-funded Professor of Environmental Policy and Decision Making at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington. The full article originally appeared in the Climate Neutral Campus Report, published by Kyoto Publishing and is available in full here. Special thanks to Kyoto Publishing and Dr. Sherman for allowing the below excerpt to be republished here. 

Faculty often speak of “coverage” when there is a movement afoot to add something to the curriculum. Champions of the movement demand more coverage of the favored topic, ideas, skills, or perspectives in the curriculum, while the unconverted emit exasperated sighs—arguing either that there is no room in their curriculum to cover anything else or that the proposed addition does not fit what they typically cover. The movement to better integrate sustainability into the higher education curriculum might move past this perennial conflict (while better serving our core teaching and learning mission) if faculty, instead, spoke in terms of “uncoverage.”
Rather than limiting sustainability by framing it as a topic requiring additional coverage in existing classes, or the creation of specialized classes and programs, faculty should be striving to uncover the full pedagogical power of the concept as a way of critically examining the world. Rather than merely adding sustainability coverage to the curriculum, sustainability could be a catalyst that actually strengthens and enriches the teaching and learning goals scholars already hold in their disciplines—all the while making powerful applications to environmental and social causes at the heart of sustainability on campus and in our communities.

In order to make this move, subtle but powerful shifts are needed in both the way faculty think about teaching and learning in higher education and the meanings ascribed to sustainability. Once we make these shifts, it will become clear that we are closer than we ever imagined to fully integrating sustainability into the higher education curriculum.

A Shift in the Way Faculty Think About Teaching and Learning

When we, as faculty, speak of covering something in a curriculum, we immediately limit our pedagogical imagination to what educational theorists Wiggins and McTighe describe as a “march through a body of material (often a textbook) within a specified time frame” (2005, 340). The “stuff” of learning becomes poorly differentiated information and there is an implied trade-off of breadth for depth. Sustainability, or any upstart area of focus striving to establish a place in the curriculum, stands little chance of cracking the armor of coverage in the curriculum. Teachers in every single higher education class are already forced to make impossible choices about coverage of information within their own disciplines—let alone an add-on topic. When we see teaching and learning as coverage there is simply never enough room.

More importantly, squeezing sustainability into coverage does a disservice to the teaching and learning enterprise because sustainability could be the catalyst for a much more powerful educational experience. In contrast to coverage, Wiggins and McTighe present uncoverage as an education based on inquiry, discovery, depth of understanding, and careful prioritization of learning material. To uncover learning material and attain those most powerful “aha!” learning moments, students must “consider, propose, test, question, criticize, and verify” big ideas such as principles, laws, theories, concepts, essential questions and perspectives to develop an understanding that is “not accepted on faith but is investigated and substantiated” (2005, 129).

When students engage in uncoverage they develop the core skills of inquiry required by the academic discipline in which they are operating, and they join in the prioritization of content that distinguishes the most important and transferable big ideas from the great mass of topics and information surrounding them.

An education of uncoverage meets the highest expressed goals of most higher education institutions: developing self-aware, critically thinking, technically skilled, problem solvers. An education of uncoverage also matches the highest goals of the academic disciplines around which most of these institutions are organized. Academic disciplines are not merely constructed around topics. They are designed to “cultivate powers of the mind” that can be applied to any number of topics (Levine, 2006, p. 233), and they coalesce around paradigms with commonly understood methods, concepts, themes or theories, and avenues of inquiry (Kuhn, 1970).

Similarly, the best teachers apply content and topics to develop transferable skills (Weimer, 2002, p. 51), and cultivate “habits of mind” that enable students to “understand, apply, analyze, synthesize, and evaluate evidence and conclusions” (Bain, 2004, pp. 85 & 115). For sustainability to achieve broad integration with the higher education curriculum, it must come to be associated with “big ideas,” rich enough to fit with an education of uncoverage and complement the intellectual priorities within academic disciplines.

A Shift in the Meanings Ascribed to Sustainability

Unfortunately, the dominant meaning currently ascribed to sustainability by most people in higher education is not pedagogically rich enough to fit with an education of uncoverage across the disciplines. This is an issue of perception. Sustainability is a “should” on U.S. college campuses—the dominant association attached to the term is a list of prescribed practices for individuals, administration, and facilities staff to adopt or feel shame for failing to adopt. These prescribed practices are certainly worthy of encouragement, but they can also constitute an intellectual shortcut around the more complicated and pedagogically rich relationships between natural limits and value systems that underlie human impacts on the environment.

I have conducted word association exercises on sustainability with undergraduates and faculty over the past several years and the results indicate that nearly 90 percent of students and faculty identify sustainability first with recycling or some other prescribed practice. Less than 10 percent make an association with a bigger idea such as “conservation,” “systems thinking,” or “precautionary principle” (Sherman 2008, 189). These results align with those from survey research that indicate students most frequently articulate sustainability as “light green” actions such as purchasing habits and recycling (Kagawa, 2007). It is also revealing that the overwhelming majority of content shared in sustainability journals, on-line bulletins, and conferences, or measured in campus rating systems is focused on facilities changes rather than teaching and learning (Sherman 2008, 190). While our growing to-do list of institutional and individual sustainability behaviors is positive, it does not provide an entry to integration with the curriculum. It is difficult to see how prescriptive lists of behaviors can integrate into the educational mission of colleges and universities.

To continue reading please click here for page two from Kyoto Publishing. 

Fall is flying by! I find it hard to believe that it has already been over a month since the AASHE 2010 Conference in Denver. Thinking back on the many great presentations, keynotes, workshops and networking reminds me of the awesome energy of that week that has continued to carry me through November.

We now have some of the presentation materials online and more is being added. To access these please visit the AASHE 2010 Conference Materials webpage.

All of the conference photos taken by AASHE are now available on our Flickr account - if you happen to see yourself or a colleague in a photo, feel free to add a note and name. Video recordings of our keynote speakers are available on AASHE's YouTube channel - we will be adding the remaining keynotes soon.

Also, many folks (some I didn't know until after the conference had ended) provided excellent coverage of the weeks events. Of course, many AASHE staff were also providing coverage right here on the campus sustainability perspectives blog (using the AASHE 2010 tag).

Some articles from others who attended:
Scott Carlson from the Chronicle of Higher Ed provided coverage on the "Buildings & Grounds" blog:

• Higher-Ed Sustainability Conference Buckles Down 
• Community Colleges Start a Site to Collaborate on Green Jobs 
• Sustainability Directors Discuss Adapting to a Climate-Changed World 
• What’s the Role of Christian Colleges in Sustainability? 
• Report Outlines the Best Strategies for Meeting the Climate Commitment 
• At Sustainability Conference, a Campus Cruiser for Facilities Staffers - 
• Does Your College Have a Drought Plan? Better Make One 

Eric Wilson co-founder of 2ndgreenrevolution.com also provided great coverage of the conference in a series of posts:

• Morning Morning Recap
• Monday Afternoon Recap 
• Tuesday Morning Recap
• Tuesday Afternoon Recap 
• Final thoughts on the conference

We can't wait to see everyone in Pittsburgh (Oct. 9-12, 2011)! 

This installment of the AASHE Bulletin Sustainability Student Diary series features the writings of Mary Kohnstamm, a senior at St. Lawrence University who is president of the university's Environmental Action Organization. She details the student apathy experienced by the organization in response to its efforts to ban bottled water on campus. AASHE welcomes questions and invites feedback on each Sustainability Student Diary entry. Submit diary entries of your own for consideration to bulletin@aashe.org.

As a senior at St. Lawrence University, I have seen a multitude of environmental campaigns attempted by the student body. Some have been successful; however most have not. As president of the umbrella environmental organization at St. Lawrence, the Environmental Action Organization, for the past three semesters, I have been struck by the apathy of the student body.

Our current focus has been on banning bottled water on campus. Starting in January 2010, we created posters, collected water bottles, worked with staff to determine the amount of water bought per week from campus vendors, talked with the head of dining services and created a petition against all bottled water on campus that 300 students have signed. (Our student body is around 2,100.) We also hosted the Wild and Scenic Environmental Film Festival this fall with the feature length film, "Tapped," which also gained student interest. In addition, we hung over 500 water bottles from the ceiling of our student center, half of which represented one week's worth of use. These were collected by the separation of the water bottles moving through the recycling center by the facilities crew, from students who had finished drinking the water, and by members of our organization who collected thrown out water bottles.

With the work of 60 active members of the organization, we were able to end the sale of Evian water in the spring of 2010. At the end of the semester, the head of dining services wrote me an email stating that the discontinued sale of bottled water like Desani and Aquafina would be possible this fall (2010), leaving the local bottled water the only type to be sold on campus. However, this did not happen as a result of students' outrage to the possibility of discontinued bottled water on campus. The head of dining services suggested that we further the push for recycling and education on the issue. One-fourth of the student body has agreed to ban bottled water while most students continue to buy it despite our education attempts. We continue to make information of bottled water available to all students, however, apathy is still prevalent.

Currently, our student government's environmental board is hoping to buy a water purification system. However, the Environmental Action Organization worries that this will not end the demand of bottled water, but will instead increase energy use, since those who currently use tap water will use this purified water, and those who buy water will just continue to do so.

The more we learn about bottled water, the more discouraged we are by the environmental, health and social justice effects due to the industry. Currently we are unsure of the next move. We hope to have a private showing of "Tapped" for the dining services staff, and our university president is aware of our work to ban bottled water. He has not pushed the issue in either way.

The reason for continued bottled water sales remains economic. We have lowered campus sales of bottled water, and continue to post information about the negative effects of the industry. Since we receive funding from Coke and Pepsi corporations, it is unlikely that such a ban will be successful. We have studied other colleges that are working to ban bottled water, and would appreciate any further advice.

Editors Note: Visit AASHE's list of Bottled Water Elimination and Reduction Campaigns (AASHE members only) for more information on those institutions that have banned bottled water from campus or have active campaigns to reduce their sale and consumption. 

Welcome to the inaugural AASHE Bulletin Sustainability Student Diary  post! This is the first of a series of diary entries from higher education students in the U.S. and Canada who will share what it’s like in the trenches of a campus sustainability initiative. This entry features the writings of Laura Williams, a geography senior at Southern Illinois University Carbondale who manages the student-led campus organic garden. The following are excerpts from her blog (in descending order with most recent first) that chronicles the weekly activities of the Local Organic Gardening Initiative of Carbondale (LOGIC). AASHE welcomes questions and invites feedback on each Sustainability Student Diary entry. Submit diary entries of your own for consideration to bulletin@aashe.org.

Here’s to the sun!
November 4, 2010

This week and last were good ones for LOGIC. We had 10 volunteers, our biggest number yet, out last Sunday to spread compost and get the beds in the hoop house ready to be planted. It was really nice to see enthusiasm about the project and watch everyone work together. Last night we were able to begin planting the first seeds in the hoop house. We also had an article written in the daily newspaper for our university about what we are doing and hope to do. This coming Monday we will be sitting in Lentz Dining Hall during dinner to try and spread the word as well. A couple of weeks ago there was a green fair in which many clubs, organizations, and departments around campus and the community came and set up booths to offer information about different things they were doing. We had a table, and it was really fun to be able to talk to a lot of people and to see the variety of organizations and their booths.

I think this is a very promising project and hope that many students will be able to use the space for socialization, stress relief and a general feeling of community. I think this garden can not only provide a resource like local, organic food but can also serve as a much needed resource for students to learn experientially about sustainability and connect with each other and the earth. I believe these are some of the biggest issues we need to address if we hope to make the changes necessary for a sustainable campus and world.

So I thought I would take this opportunity to say a few words about LOGIC’s beginning before we enter into a new realm with this project. The garden was a collaboration of thought from students in the geography department and other environmental organizations around campus. Worried about the state of agriculture in our state of Illinois, the students took it upon themselves to garner the support to get a plot of land and begin an organic garden with the aim of producing food for the dining halls. Situated at the Vermicomposting Building, the garden’s goal is to close the loop on the campus food supply by producing food that is nourished by the compost created by the waste products from the same dining halls the food goes to and water collected from a rainwater catchment system.

Although the production capacities of the garden are small, because of the initiative the pioneers of the project had, we now have a hoop house that is ready to be planted in. The students wrote a grant and a hoop house was installed that will allow us to extend our growing season and grow greens and herbs for the dining halls during the winter.

The effects of this project have stimulated a growing appreciation for organic practices and food production around campus. The Agriculture Department has tilled up an acre behind the hoop house to grow more vegetables for the dining halls and has the goal of getting the acre certified organic. Another class is in the works of creating a master plan for the sustainable landscaping of the surrounding area, incorporating food with landscaping plants and pathways. The site at the Vermicomposting Building has the goal of becoming a sustainability showcase, with many different aspects involving energy production, food and rainwater catchment.

In light of beginning down the path that the students before us so carefully crafted, I must give my utmost gratitude and respect for their vision and ability to pull it off. Thank you to them, and good luck to us.

Planting in the hoop house begins next week.

It’s here :)
September 29, 2010

Fall is here and the weather is finally something that can be enjoyed, in my opinion. The plants are coming up and loving the cooler weather I’m sure.

The hoop house has yet to be tilled, but next week I will get the ball rolling on that. It is going to be a project getting the plan together, the beds measured, compost spread, and then tilled up. It is going to be a great space in there and we are going to be able to grow a lot. I have been reading a lot about the crops we are going to grow, so I hope that with a little background knowledge and a keen eye for observation the plants will do well. We also now have a water hookup outside so we are going to be able to install drip irrigation, which will be a huge time saver and water saver as well. The rainwater catchment system is working well for our water uses, but it needs to rain to fill it back up. Send some good thoughts out for that one.

Planting
September 18, 2010

Today was a big day for LOGIC. We have seeds, row cover, tools, and the first fall plants have been planted. Chef Bill gave us our beets, carrots, lettuce and spinach seeds. Then he and I went to Rural King and bought shovels, hoes, potato forks, weeding tools, rakes and a couple other things. Then we had our first volunteers come out. There were four lovely people who showed up and we planted beets and carrots in the front beds. The hoop house is coming along. The poor guys working on it had to put it together piece by piece. They’re working hard to get it together. With any luck we’ll be able to put all their hard work to good use.

I have cleaned out a corner in the Vermicomposting Building so that we have a space. We have what we need to make this a great season. I am excited and very hopeful.

and the rain came
September 10, 2010

So, the seeds are coming in soon and the hoop house should be up soon as well. That is exciting. All of this planning will start to become a reality. I have been thinking about ideas of how to “market” the garden lately and thought that I would make a nice sign and print up some informational brochures so we can set up a table in Lentz dining hall in the future and talk to people about the garden. That is going to be a work in progress though because right now there is not that much to say nor write about. But that will be changing. Lots of stuff to do this week as far as getting things ready to plant and be organized. I’ll write more about it later.

We finally got some rain from the remnants of a hurricane. And the trees are beginning to make their change. I noticed the first red one today. Fall is so lovely.
 

Ever notice that Campus Sustainability Day and Halloween are eerily close to each other? Well, call it a quirky coincidence, but there is such a thing as "scary sustainability". It is the notion of large-scale environmental demise that, justifiably, keeps us aware and motivates us to reduce our environmental impact and carbon footprints - much like the stick that drives the horse. Sadly, the same prophesying of environmental (and social) gloom and doom has been a prime reason for negative perception of sustainability – due to falsely developed notion that sustainability is very harmful to the economy.

Nevertheless, it is time to face those demons if we are to get rid of them ever. The good news is that the higher education community is already taking action and developing new perspectives at campuses across the world. Colleges and universities are working with local communities to encourage healthy “locavore” populations with farmers markets, community gardens, and campus farms that nurture friendships, culture, and of course, soul-fillingly delicious food! University initiatives are helping weatherize homes, and supporting renewable energy purchases and energy efficiency in the surrounding community. The general public is beginning to realize that sustainability is not so so 'scary'; interest and investment in renewable energy and energy efficiency have increased in the last two years, and several colleges have begun to offer degrees and training programs to prepare students for the growing green jobs sector.

However, all these exciting new initiatives do not necessarily change the dire facts that serve as grim-but-useful reminders of the challenges our society faces. The ill effects of unsustainable behaviors continue to rear their ugly heads. In recent times, our species has successfully set outrageous records for pollution of land [Hungary, Oct. 2010], and water [Gulf of Mexico, cleanup still under progress], and the atmosphere [From Big Brown to Big Bend]. Even as uncomfortably erratic weather patterns seem to be the new norm, members of the sustainability camp are weathering the changes, and aiming to give more than hope to our current generations.

On 10 October 2010, thousands of people [most of them students and young professionals] participated in the Global Work Party hosted internationally by Bill McKibben’s www.350.org. As their collective voice made clear, it will take a lot of work to set things right. As active professionals, engaged students, and members of organizations pursuing sustainability we should recognize our involvement in the larger movement. If we choose to listen to these voices, and keep faith in our commitments, it might be easy to dispel the darkness, and say good morning to a sustainable tomorrow.

The energy and cohesion of thousands of individuals put together makes a case for confidence, a strong reason to believe that the tasks ahead are conquerable. This years’ Campus Sustainability Webcast sheds light on the road towards a sustainable tomorrow. David Gershon spoke of the possibilities for a greener future, sharing his experiences with engaging and empowering communities to help reduce their carbon footprint. The key lesson from his talk is that making sustainability a participatory process that is valuable and effective as a social tool paves the way to removing the veils of mystery and scariness around it. “Scary Sustainability” ends up being just a paper tiger when we realize that the perspectives that created it were faulty, and that it is ignorance, which causes this irrational fear. The act falls apart when we work together towards replacing ignorance with knowledge - like pulling off the scary Halloween costume to reveal the innocent prankster inside!

Emily Karol is a student at the University of Georgia where she serves as Co-chair of the Go Green Alliance and interns in the UGA Office of Sustainability.  Emily attended the AASHE 2010 conference in Colorado last week and over the course of the conference she live-blogged about the event and presentations she attended. There are over a dozen great blog posts from Emily on her blog (http://emkarol.wordpress.com/). This is a great way of seeing the conference through a student's eyes. I encourage you to check out her posts, many of which include nice photos. All of Emily's AASHE 2010 posts have been tagged and are available here.

The following article is a guest blog post from Cecil Scheib, Director of Energy and Sustainability at New York University.

As I travel home by train from the wonderful AASHE 2010 conference in Denver, I write this with my laptop on my lap aboard the eastbound California Zephyr, eventually to meet the Lake Shore Limited bound for New York City. It's the second half of a round trip I made from the East Coast to Colorado for the 3-day conference.

My total trip will have me spend about as much time on the train as at my destination - which may explain why, for most people, airline travel is the only reasonable way to expect attendees to arrive at a national conference in any numbers. And in a country that has no problem funding airports and superhighways, the sad state of support for a national rail system means I shy away from recommending Amtrak to friends. While unpleasant trips have been rare in my 15+ years of cross-country rail travel, one does encounter the occasional stopped-up toilet, rude conductor, or unpleasant seatmate, and I guess I've never wanted to feel responsible for the encouragement that puts someone I know in that position.

Despite all this, and while I personally enjoy flying, I love the train. I relish the stress-free connections on both ends - no airport shuttles, security lines, or arriving hours early at the airport. All it took was a simple subway trip in NYC and an easy walk from my Denver hotel, arriving at the station about 15 minutes before departure. I look forward to watching the scenery flow by with my favorite book in hand or podcast in ear, and arriving rested and relaxed, with my body already adapted to the time change, instead of jetlagged and dried out from pressurized cabin air. I make the most of my brief time during the lunch stopover in Chicago, taking in a meal at a favorite restaurant by Union Station and a walk along the Chicago River before reboarding.

This trip, thanks to the gracious understanding and support of New York University, I counted the full day I spent on the train in each direction as a work day. With the help of a laptop and a Verizon USB stick, I wrote proposals, answered emails, drafted contracts and presentations, reviewed building plans, and did data analysis the whole way. In fact, I think I got more accomplished on the train, free from distractions, than I often do in the hectic office environment.

It turns out Amtrak is an affordable way to travel. With discounts available for students, AAA card holders, NARP members (a one-year membership pays itself back after one trip!), and even through university purchasing portals (I got a free upgrade to sleeper class on the return trip thanks to our friendly sales rep at the NYU vendor fair), train fare prices track airlines pretty closely – I paid the same amount, to within a few dollars either way, of my colleagues who flew. Frequent rider miles mean regular free travel for those of us who use the rails on repeated basis.

I know I’m not the only person from the conference traveling home on this train, and it could be a good way to extend the networking opportunity. Maybe AASHE could ask people how they are arriving at conferences and help share this type of information to allow easier meetups for those who desire it. In fact, perhaps AASHE should encourage low-carbon rail travel for next year’s conference! After all, we got a drink ticket this year for showing up for a 7am session -- why shouldn’t we get one for reducing our travel emissions 90% on the way to a sustainability conference? And since most of the population of US and Canada lives within a one-day train ride of Pittsburgh, maybe it’s time to change the conventional wisdom that air travel is the only way to get farther than a car ride away from home. If anyone can change that kind of thinking, it just might be the folks who go to AASHE conferences.