That was one of my favorite quotes of all times, made last year by an EC student staff member. Right now, it also happens to be my truth. Here I sit plugging away at my ever-growing-never-stopping pile of emails. One part of my mind is intent on the task at hand; the other is completely enthralled by my rather intentional eavesdropping on a group of student staff members situated in the room next door to me. In this portion of the EC, three student staff members are in the midst of their work for the week-Sydney Morris, a member of our Local Food Security Initiative team, is researching how to winterize our orchard. Two members of our Campus Sustainability Initiative, Zach Bauer and Dylan Malewska, are researching best practices in water management strategies, so as to better inform their efforts to reduce water consumption on campus. At the moment, however, the three appear to have paused their project-related tasks and, of their own free volition, are taking turns reading each other passages from the Tao Te Ching. Their poetic orations are broken by bursts of discussion, each student in turn discussing the finer points of stress,  how to engage  with this world, and ultimately, how to live a meaningful balanced life. Their insights on deeper ethics and philosophies weave in seamlessly with dialogue over why they are here at the Environmental Center and the specific end goals of the various projects that they are working on.

Earlier this week I had a similar encounter. It was

late in the evening and I sat perched at a high lab bench in a room littered with equipment and chalkboards and some huge machine called a spectrometer. Gathered around the table with me were seven senior Engineering students, 

Dr. Laurie Williams and the EC's garden and compost managers. Collectively, these students were attempting to put their classroom learning into practice and design a 'green' garden and compost storage facility. In the truest litmus of  effective education, my role that evening became one of an observer---engineering students were firing questions about humidity requirements for compost storage and climate-related constraints on food production. EC staff were firing back inquiries about how to re-purpose materials and keep the carbon footprint of the structure low...and I, I just sat back and smiled.

 

And it just keeps going: the meeting that our Aesthetic Activists (successfully!) led to pitch a permanent art installation that would bring sustainability to the visual forefront of this campus; the way that a Freshman member of the EC respectfully challenged a room of faculty and staff to think about how to use empirical evidence to support actions and strategy to advance a more sustainable campus; the moment that our Garden Manager, who prior to beginning his post back in April had never managed another person, successfully rallied his team and delegated a plan to winterize our garden.

 

This is what the EC does - Yes, we tackle projects that advance sustainability and resilience within our campus and our region; yes, we pair academic learning with hands-on experience to deepen intellectual growth; yes, we strive to amplify the efforts of our community partners through collaboration and strategic partnerships....and, where I think our impact and contribution to the world is greatest is in the subtle, but incredibly potent stories of these students. The Environmental Center, through the creation of community, a bunch of training, and the sheer act of creating small change which creates hope, is growing young, ethically-motivated, skillful leaders. These youth hold the tools for effectively driving change forward and will do so, both here at the EC and in their lives to come. Now that is a thought, at least for me, that truly emits a perpetual deluge of smiles.

      Rachel Landis

      EC Coordinator

 

When: Tuesdays from 4-5

For more information: contact Duke Jackson at [email protected]  

Free Store

Stop by the Student Union every Tuesday to shop at the free store. The FreeStore is a place where reusable items are given a new life and where students and community members can participate in creating a gift economy, reduce the amount of waste sent to the landfill and find the clothes, accessories, electronics, and a variety of other things you might need, all for free. 

Want to donate? Bring your re-usable items by the EC in the Student Union or drop your items off at the free store table on Tuesdays.

When: Tuesdays from 11:30-1

For more information: contact Amaya McKenna at [email protected]

Zero Waste, Here We Come!

Have you ever thrown away a perfectly good t-shirt, pair of jeans, old electronic, CD, or book?  Chances are you aren't the only one, most of us have.  In the Story of Stuff (a wonderful short documentary I encourage everyone to watch), the cycle of the American consumerist lifestyle is examined and discussed.  The end solution they realize is, "what we really need to chuck is this old-school throw-away mindset. There's a new school of thinking on this stuff and it's based on sustainability and equity: Green Chemistry and Zero Waste."  Here at the Environmental Center, we are working towards a zero waste mindset; by means of both a more sustainable campus, and an environmentally-conscious student body.  

The purpose of the Zero Waste team is to work towards a zero waste campus by reducing consumption through education and by turning waste products into resources.  The Environmental Center at Fort Lewis College is working on some ambitious projects this year; one of which is the campus Free Store through the Zero Waste Team.  To help contribute to a zero waste lifestyle, the Free Store has been a critical project for our team for the last few years.  The Free Store is a place to find great recycled items, drop off things no longer needed/wanted, and learn about the environmental impact of many products.  As the "manager" of the Free Store this year, I have been amazed at how many products have been given a second life and at the support and excitement of the entire student body.  Many changes have been implemented at the Free Store this year to focus on education of "virtual water and energy" waste.  We are also keeping an inventory to see how many items have been through our store throughout the year. 

Working at the Environmental Center has been very exciting so far and has taught me a lot about individual leadership, responsibility, and teamwork.  I know there are many more great projects coming your way from the Environmental Center, so stay tuned!

Other projects the Zero Waste Team is working on include recycling, composting, and recycling audits.  Our recycling coordinator, Josey, has been busy working on recycling education and on ways to make it easier to recycle on campus.  We are planning to hold a recycling audit and campus-wide survey in November to see what we need to do to increase recycling efforts and success for students living on campus.  Another important aspect of our team is maintaining and improving the composting of the food waste coming out of the San Juan Dining hall.  Evan and Zac have been working with Sodexo and the Student Union to run the composter, which produces a rich soil amendment that is used to help grow food in the Environmental Center's campus garden.  

Amaya McKenna

EC Volunteer, Free Store Coordinator - Zero Waste Team

  

Black Mesa Support Caravan

This service project aims to create a caravan of 15-20 motivated students and community members. They will work and help indigenous families on Black Mesa with a number of tasks. The Navajo and Hopi families we will support are resisting relocation from the Peabody coal mining operation, and they have asked for volunteers. In need of volunteers for herding sheep, elder care, chopping wood, delivering water, winterizing homes, and digging watersheds.

  

When: November 22 - November 28

Where:  Black Mesa, Arizona

For more Info. Contact: Lexi Demos or vist the Black Mesa Support Caravan Facbook page or website