From today’s National Wildlife Federation’s Campus Ecology Blog:
Faculty are finding new ways to incorporate issues of ecology, natural resources, social justice and human behavior into their classes, even those not in the environmental sciences. The full article is available here: http://www.nwf.org/campusEcology/climateedu/articleView.cfm?iArticleID=47
The Earth Island Institute New Leaders Initiative seeks to honor six outstanding young people between the ages of 13 and 22 in its Brower Youth Awards Program. Applicants should have demonstrated their leadership ability in a project of social and environmental significance. Winners receive $3000 and a trip to San Francisco, where the Earth Island Institute is located. Applications are due May 15, 2009.
As you might recall I have set up a primitive grey water recycling system in our house (i.e. bath tub to washing machine. I just got our quarterly water bill after the switch and here are the results. Prior to the system we used 2600 cu ft of water (about 19,500 gallons of water) in 92 days. So our per day usage was about 212 gallons per day. After the switch we used 1800 cubic feet of water (13,465 gallons) in 85 days for 158 gallons per day. Overall a savings of about 54 gallons per day. For the quarter it saved us about $40.
Two things jump out at me based upon this rudimentary analysis. #1 I never really looked at my water consumption before and I cannot believe we use so much water in a day! Then again the average US Household uses about 243 gallons per day or about 60 gal per person. #2 I need to find additional ways to reduce our consumption. I think we’ll try the wet – soap – rinse showers and see how that goes.
The Fox Valley Area chapter of Wild Ones is holding a conference on natural landscaping on Saturday, January 24 in Oshkosh. The conference will include presentations on topics such as:
– creating bird habitat in your yard
– American Indian practices for prairie management
– how landowners can manage woodlands and wetlands on their property
and other topics. For more information, go to the website of the Fox Valley Area Wild Ones chapter.
Wild Ones is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting environmentally sustainable landscapes through the preservation and establishment of native plant communities.
Lawrence University’s annual Spoerl environmental studies lecture series will examine various facets of water and its management, the conflicts that arise between economic development and water availability, and methods for resolving those clashes of interest in 2009′s four-part series.
Jeb Barzen, director of field ecology at the International Crane Foundation, opens the series Tuesday, Jan. 13 with the address “How Can Lessons from China and Wisconsin Help Up Improve Conservation on Private Land.” Barzen’s presentation, at 4:30 p.m. in Science Hall 102, is free and open to the public.
Antoinette Powell of the library sends word that she is sending off 25 pounds of techno trash (broken CDs, DVDs, jewel cases, etc.) collected by the library staff to be recycled. As she said in her email, “[t]his is 25 lbs. being kept out of a landfill thanks to your diligent efforts.”
The 2008-09 Duke Fellows at UW-Madison’s Nelson Institute have organized a great advocacy training through Campus Camp Wellstone. Open to all Wisconsinites. The event will be held at UW Madison, February 6-7 2009 in Science Hall-Room 175.
RSVP required to uw.wellstone@gmail.com by January 30. Make sure to include your NAME, EMAIL, PHONE # in your RSVP email.
Campus Camp Wellstone is a non-partisan, day and a half training that teaches the basic principles and practical skills of grassroots political organizing. There will be 3 experienced trainers who work in grassroots organizing on electoral campaigns across the country and organizing communities for social justice. The training will build your skills as an activist and provide connections to the national progressive and conservation movements. Specifically, participants will gain experience in mobilizing their community through case study of Wisconsin’s Conservation Lobby Day.
Campus Camp Wellstone training will include:
• How to Build Political Power
• Grassroots Organizing and Lobbying
• Messaging and Mobilizing
• Strategic Planning for Campaigns
• Event Planning
• Leadership Development
• Organizing as a Lifelong Commitment
Campus Camp Wellstone agenda:
• Friday, February 6 from 3pm to 9:20pm
• Saturday, February 7 from 9:30am to 5:30pm
• Room 175 Science Hall
• All meals, snacks, and materials will be provided at no cost
This training weekend is brought to campus by the Doris Duke Conservation Fellows, WISPIRG Big Red Go Green, Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters, and the Bring Back the Bayou Project.
It’s a new year, and we hope that 2009 will be a year of growing green roots here at Lawrence. As always, we encourage members of our campus community, as well as the wider Fox Cities, to get in touch with us with suggestions and ideas for making Lawrence more sustainable. Happy New Year!
