MyLU Insider

Kelsey McCormick

Author: Kelsey McCormick

Earth Week is Coming!

Your Sustainable Lawrence University Update

Upcoming:

  • Earth Day is Monday, April 22. Stay tuned for Earth Week programming!

What we’re doing:

  • As of March 25, plastic bags were eliminated from Kate’s Corner Store and the Cafe. Thank you for your support in diverting plastic waste from the landfill!
  • A collaboration of student organizations at Lawrence hosted Empty Bowls 2019 and raised $2,000 for Feeding America earlier this month. For a donation of $10, community members were given a bowl made by members of the Ceramics Club and a meal of soup prepared and donated by Baking and Cooking Club, Greenfire, SLUG, Co-op, and Beta. Proceeds went towards fighting hunger in our community. Over 180 people attended. Great work, everyone!

SLUG – now accepting applications

Your Sustainable Lawrence University Update

Upcoming:

SLUG is now accepting applications for summer workers. SLUG helps to grow produce that is bought and sold by Bon Appetit in Andrew Commons and runs a community compost program. Contact Erik Nordstrom for details and the application. erik.n.nordstrom@lawrence.edu

What we’re doing:

  • Last week 8 students attended The Wild Things Conference, a conference celebrating the region’s nature and how people enjoy and protect it, with funds from the Student Sustainability Fund.
  • Composting is now available in most major residence halls. Even the RHD’s have compost bins in their apartments!
  • Lawrence is diverting waste from the landfill, we just received our first order of refurbished office chairs that will prevent us from buying new chairs made from raw materials and prevent used ones from being thrown away.

Sustainable Lawrence: 2019

Your Sustainable Lawrence University update

What we’re doing:

  • Sustainability funding is available for research, internships, volunteer or service projects, class projects, or student group initiatives. Students should apply to the Student Sustainability Fund. 
  • Students, have you noticed the new recycling bins in each student room that are helping to improve Lawrence’s recycling rate?! 
  • Memorial Chapel is staying cozy despite the cold winter temperatures. Energy saving measures such as new insulation in the attic as well as the introduction of LED light bulbs are estimated to be saving 105,000 kilowatt hours and $10,000 per year.



The Death and Life of the Great Lakes

Your Sustainable Lawrence University update

Upcoming:

The Death and Life of the Great Lakes with Dan Egan – February 11th at 11:10am in the Pusey Room.
All are welcome to join this question and answer session with the author of this year’s community read.

What we’re doing:

  • Collection bins for battery recycling have been installed in all major residence halls.
  • Alice G. Chapman Hall will be producing less waste with the addition of 2 new hand dryers.
  • The wellness center is cutting back on single-use plastic with 2 new water bottle filling stations.
  • Residence hall dwellers can now compost food waste in their halls. Make sure you check to see which items can be accepted!

Winter 2019 Community Read: “The Death and Life of the Great Lakes”

Did you miss that fall community read? No problem! All students, faculty and staff are invited to participate in the 2019 winter term community read. This winter we will be reading Dan Egan’s The Death and Life of the Great Lakes. Participants will read a common book and attend discussions led by instructors to further explore sustainability and the Great Lakes.

A free copy of the book will be provided for all participants. The course will take place during second term of this academic year.

You can sign up for one of seven course sections that will meet during the winter term to discuss the book. Students should enroll in ENST 320. Faculty and staff should contact Kelsey Mc Cormick (kelsey.m.mccormick@lawrence.edu) about their preferred section.

Sections:
Mondays 1:50-3:00 – Macia Bjornerud
Tuesdays 9:50-11:00 – Israel Del Toro
Tuesdays 12:30-1:20 – Jason Brozek
Wednesdays 9:50-11:00 – Timothy Troy
Wednesdays 1:50-3:00 – Jeff Clark
Wednesdays 3:10-4:20 – Bart DeStasio
Thursdays 9:50-11:00 – Relena Ribbons

2018 Ecolympics

For one week this term the Sustainability Steering Committee is challenging each of the major residence halls to reduce their energy usage by 15%. The building with the greatest energy savings will be entitled to bragging rights and a catered social in their honor.

Who has been challenged? Trever, Plantz, Kohler, Colman, Sage, Ormsby, and Hiett Halls.
When will the challenge take place? Sunday, November 4th – Saturday, November 9th.
How will we know who is winning? Every day, starting Monday, November 5th through Sunday, November 10th, students will receive an update on the competition standings via updates to building Facebook pages. Standings will also be published to the digital display boards around campus.

*Due to challenges with the metering system and renovations that will be occurring in Brokaw Hall, we are unable to include Brokaw in the Ecolympics this year. We also unable to include small houses due to constraints in the metering system. We are optimistic that Brokaw and small houses will be able to participate in future energy competitions!

Bicycle/Race: Transportation, Culture, and Resistance

Dr. Adonia Lugo, bicycle advocate, activist, and anthropologist, will be on campus Thursday, October 11 for a speaking event that is free and open to the public.

Dr. Adonia Lugo collaborates with individuals and communities to develop sustainable transportation that addresses the needs and experiences of marginalized people. She is the author of the just-published book Bicycle/Race: Transportation, Culture, and Rsistance as well as numerous other publications.

When: Thursday, October 11 at 7:30pm
Where: Steitz Hall Room 102

Launching: Sustainable Lawrence

Dear Lawrence Community,

Hello and welcome back to campus! To accompany the beginning of a new school year we are excited to highlight a new initiative for Lawrence: Sustainable Lawrence.

Lawrence’s identity is strongly tied to its geographic location in Appleton, WI. Situated along the banks of the Fox River, Lawrence has long worked to be a responsible steward of the natural environment. Last fall, Lawrence embarked on a project to establish sustainability as one of its core values along with a series of initiatives to further foster a sustainable campus. The Sustainability Steering Committee was established to ensure sustainability is reflected in all appropriate university policies and to coordinate campus sustainability initiatives. “Sustainable Lawrence” is a collection of initiatives set out to introduce, or further build upon, best practices in sustainability to help us reach this goal as a community. Be on the lookout for the green Sustainable Lawrence seal that will mark projects and programs that are working to advance this commitment.

We will have a great deal of help in promoting everyday sustainable choices from a group of students who have opted to be RLAs and peer mentors in sustainability. Starting this September, RLAs will be able to opt into one of five educational focus areas to add depth to these programming areas in the residence halls. Each housing community will have at least one RLA focused on sustainability and eco-initiatives. Be sure to seek them out and introduce yourself!

You will also notice the new trash and recycling stations located in the main lobby of each major residence hall and in the major academic and administrative buildings on campus. These new bins were installed as a part of an initiative to decrease our waste contamination rate by increasing our recycling rate and diverting as much waste as possible from the landfill. Students will also find that small recycling bins have been added to every residence hall room. If you need a refresh on which items can be recycled at Lawrence be sure to check out the recycling guidelines on the Sustainable Lawrence website.

Lawrence students help to fund directly many sustainability projects around campus via a sustainability fee of $5 per term. This year funding was leveraged to upgrade the lighting and add insulation to the Chapel as well as to help fund new lights and occupancy sensors in Ormsby Hall. Together these investments will save enough electricity to run ten households each year.

A few other ways to get involved right away include signing up for one of this year’s community reads or applying for a micro-grant from the Student Sustainability Fund. Students, faculty and staff can sign up (or enroll in a one-credit course) to read a common book and participate in joint discussions regarding relevant sustainability topics in literature. Additionally, students with their own ideas to make an impact on campus can apply to the Student Sustainability Fund for small grants averaging $2,500 for research or projects.

We look forward to providing additional updates and welcome new ideas on all aspects of sustainability. If you want to get further involved please don’t hesitate to reach out.

Jeff Clark
Kelsey McCormick

Micro-grants available for student sustainability projects

Now Accepting Applications for the Student Sustainability Fund!

Last year, student sustainability research led to the installation of new, uniform trash and recycle stations across campus. Help Lawrence achieve its sustainability goals!

The Student Sustainability Fund offers students competitive grants of up to $2,500 for sustainability focused projects that may consist of research, internships, volunteer or service projects, class projects, or student group initiatives. Any Lawrence student that will be enrolled during the term of their proposed project is eligible to apply.

Applications for Term I are due October 23, 2018 but will be considered at any time.

To learn more: http://www.lawrence.edu/admissions/about/sustainable-lawrence/apply-for-funding

Questions? Contact Kelsey McCormick. kelsey.m.mccormick@lawrence.edu or 920-832-7404

Not too late to sign up for the fall Community Read!

All students, faculty and staff are welcome to participate in the fall Community Read. This term, we will be reading Ross Gay’s Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude.  Ross Gay, winner of the Kingsley Tufts Award and a finalist for the National Book Award and the National Books Critics Circle Award, will be speaking on campus in October about his book that “studies the wisdom of the garden and orchard, those places where all—death, sorrow, loss—is converted into what might, with patience, nourish us.” Discussion may touch on topics including nature and culture; environmental justice and sustainability; pain, joy, and hope, and more.

You can sign up for one of four sessions that will meet four times during the fall term to discuss the book. Students can enroll in ENST 320, faculty and staff can contact Kelsey McCormick (kelsey.m.mccormick@lawrence.edu) or the faculty member leading each session to sign up. This course has no papers and no grading.

Sessions:
Wednesday 11:10-12:20 – Celia Barnes
Wednesday 3:10-4:20 – Graham Sazama
Thursday 12:30-2:20 – Mark Jenike
Friday 12:30-1:40 – Claire Kervin