Sustainable Res Life
October 11, 2016
Program Ideas
Need funding for an event? Sustainability themed programs should fill out the Sustainability Program Funding application.  The Center for Sustainable Communities and Wellness Department will be reviewing applications frequently, but it is best to apply at least two weeks ahead of your program.
 Fitness Classes. Need a break from studying for Midterms? Head down to Regents Center and take one of many fitness classes offered through Recreational Services! Free classes include Cardio Chisel, Guts and Butts, Tone Zone, Yoga, and Zumba. Check out the Recreational Services webpage for the complete schedule! 
 
Cafeteria to Community. Luther's Cafeteria to Community program is celebrating its third year of taking left over food from the Caf to the First Lutheran Church Food Pantry. This program relies on volunteers to help package the food on Wednesday and Sunday nights in 1.5 hour shifts. Bring your floor or a few friends to help package food and give back to the community! Learn more and sign up on the Caf to Community webpage today.

Seed Savers Tour.  Seed Savers Exchange Heritage Farm is located about five miles away from Luther's campus and offers many fun educational and recreational opportunities. Seed Savers is an organization that works to preserve, collect, and share heirloom seeds for species that may otherwise be lost. The Heritage Farm offers tours that give more information about the organization's work and mission. In addition, just up the road from the farm is the Historic Orchard, home to hundreds of varieties of apples and grapes. The orchard is open to the public and visitors are encouraged to pick up windfall apples free of charge. Consider bringing your floor (and maybe a friend's!) up for an afternoon and taking apples back to make a pie or a crisp together as a fun fall treat! 
Features and Updates
Sustainable Transportation Options for Fall Break.  Are you or your residents leaving campus for Fall Break? Make sure you check out Luther's sustainable transportation options to help reduce your carbon output from driving. Hop on a Luther Shuttle bus that takes students from campus to major metropolitan areas like Minneapolis and Chicago at the beginning and end of each break. The Center for Sustainable Communities highly recommends carpooling with other students from the same area to get home or to the airport- join the Luther College Rideshare group to request a ride or share your space availability. 

Waste Audits Show Effectiveness of Infrastructure. In order to better understand Luther's waste stream , Zero Waste Educators Liam Fraser '18 and Megan Oliver '19 are leading waste audits this fall in all academic buildings and residence halls. Data is collected by sorting divertible waste from "true trash" and then weighing each stream: paper, plastics & metals, organics, and landfill. From the waste audit conducted in Valders and Sampson-Hoffland, 4-Compartment Bins reduced the amount of divertible items from entering the waste stream by about 25% between Fall of 2015 and Spring of 2016. Our waste educators would like to encourage you to continue utilizing the four compartment bins located in the CFA, Koren, Olin, Valders, Sampson-Hoffland, Regents Center, Union-Main Lobby, and Marty's. 
Tips for a Greener Residence Hall
With colder weather coming, now is the time to put in a "Fix-it" request for cracks in windows and vents! Gaps and cracks can account for 15-25 percent of heat loss in a room, which is highly energy inefficient! Check your window and door for major cracks or gaps, and send Facilities a request as soon as possible! 
This newsletter is provided by the Center for Sustainable Communities in collaboration with the Luther College Wellness Department. The mission of the Center is to promote sustainability and be a catalyst for change on campus and in the region. We believe that physical wellness is an important component of sustainability, and advocate for the physical, mental, and emotional health of our campus and local community. For more information on initiatives at Luther and the outreach work of the Center for Sustainable Communities and Wellness Department, please visit:   www.luther.edu/sustainability and www.luther.edu/studentlife/wellness/.
Upcoming Events
Shopping Shuttle
Friday, October 14
11:00am SOS Office
The shopping shuttle runs 2-3 times per month, and will take students downtown and to Wal-mart at no charge to complete their monthly shopping needs.   Learn more 
Squash Fest 2016
Saturday, October 1st
3pm-6pm Luther College Gardens
All students, faculty and staff are invited to attend Squash Fest 2016 at the Luther College Gardens. This event will have activities including eating squash, painting squash, participating in the Midwest's official Rutabaga Curling event, listening to music and exploring the Luther College Gardens.  Learn more 
Staff Spotlight
Maren Beard
Assistant Director for the Center for Sustainable Communities










As the Assistant Director for Campus Sustainability, Maren coordinates initiatives related to all aspects of sustainability on the Luther College campus. Maren's favorite part of her job is having the opportunity to work on energy, waste, food, transportation, equity and other issues with talented and dedicated staff from across campus. She also works to promote sustainability programming within Residence Life and oversees marketing and communication projects for the Center for Sustainable Communities. Maren serves as chair of the Food, Purchasing and Waste Task Group at Luther and as a board member for the Iowa Food Hub and Oneota Community Food Coop. She holds a M.S. in Sustainable Food Systems from Green Mountain College.If you are interested in any of the things that Maren works on, please contact her at maren.beard@luther.edu
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