Hey! Are you an FLC student who is graduating? First off: Congrats! But also: if you want to keep receiving the EC Digest, be sure to
here
or at the link on the bottom of this email with your new email address (your FLC address will expire after you graduate).
Welcome to the Environmental Center (EC) Digest!
Every two weeks, this little gem of digital media arrives in your inbox full of all things environmental, sustainable, socially responsible, and just plain "green".
Scroll down to check out:
- Environmental Center happenings and chances to get involved
- Community and campus events, initiatives, and opportunities
- Jobs, internships, workshops, and trainings
And of course, our thought-provoking opening thoughts from EC students and staff. Enjoy!
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Well, it’s the end of another amazing school year here at the FLC Environmental Center! The last few weeks of Spring Semester are always a wide ride – about as wild as Smelter rapid on the Animas, which, I can tell you, is currently quite wild. As our EC team members power through final projects and final tests, Sadie and I meet with each student to reflect on the previous year. It’s a chance for the students to take a moment to think about everything they’ve accomplished throughout the year, on their dedication to these issues they care deeply about. It’s also a chance for us to hear about what the EC means to them, and it’s so moving to hear many of them say that the EC is their favorite thing about their college experience.
And at the end of the week lies Commencement. Every year, EC student team members are among the ranks of new graduates ready to head out into the world and make their own positive mark. I’ve had the chance to meet many EC alumni with some pretty incredible stories and career paths. It’s exciting to know that the next generation of change makers is heading out into the world, and fulfilling to know that the EC experience helped give them the skills and real-world experience that will help them succeed in their next chapter (to paraphrase a student’s own words).
All of this while we’re busy prepping the campus growing spaces and collecting thousands of usable items donated from residence hall move out. It’s a crazy and busy time for sure, but it’s as emblematic of our work as any week of the year.
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Marty Pool
Environmental Center Coordinator
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Environmental Center Happenings
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Events, programs, and ways to help make a difference!
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Congratulations to our Graduating Seniors!
One of the best things and hardest things about the EC is that every year we see another crop of amazing change-makers head off into the world. It's hard to say goodbye to their experience and leaderships, but it's inspiring to know that they will take what they've learned here at the EC and go on to do great things in this lovely world of ours. Join us in congratulating:
Aolani Peiper, Real Food Challenge
Kaidee Akullo, Real Food Challenge
Paula Pletnikoff, Local Food Security
Parker Jayne, Zero Waste & Local Food Security
Tristan Kraatz, Zero Waste & Local Food Security
Hannah Carpenter, ENVS Intern
J
enn Lewis, ENVS Intern
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Celebrating Another Incredible Year!
It’s always so challenging to summarize all our work in a single short blurb, but I’m going to try. We hosted our largest team of engaged students in years, with over 50 committed student team members over the course of the year across six student-lead teams – including a partnership with the Good Food Collective. Our programming has seen well over 1,000 attendees – highlights include the Eco Roadshow PEAK pre-semester experience, Climate Change Solutions, the 6th Annual Sustainability Summit, Storytelling and Letter to the Editor Workshops, and the Local Food Film Series. Our students pushed to solidify stronger commitments to our institutional food purchasing, handed out free renter energy efficiency kits, taught cooking skills to people in need, found new homes for thousands of donated clothing items, managed our campus growing spaces and compost system, pushed for cleaner energy, and piloted an innovative peer-to-peer recycling education program in the residence halls!
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Your Chance to Support the EC's Mission!
The EC’s mission is to strengthen students' commitment to creating a more environmentally and socially responsible world by providing them meaningful opportunities to foster change on campus and in our community. If you believe in this mission, if you believe that our work has positively impacted you and our community,
we invite you to donate to the EC to help keep us going year after year!
Many of you are either EC alumni or have worked with us over the years, so I bet you can close your eyes and envision what it takes to accomplish everything we take on. We work to achieve as much as we can with what we’ve got. But it’s probably not a surprise that we could always use a little more help to accomplish our work.
Donations to the EC help support things like the ability to provide paid team leadership positions to our students, trainings and development opportunities for our staff, stewardship of our campus garden and food forest orchard, and the ability to host programs and events throughout the year!
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"Move Out" Donation Sorting Help Needed
The Environmental Center hosted another successful Move-Out collections effort, gathering up thousands of usable items and keeping them out of the landfill! It was so successful in fact, that we have a lot more sorting still left to do!
If you are interested in helping sort through these items this summer, email Marty at
mlpool@fortlewis.edu
and he'll be in touch about group sorting days. Oh, and did we mention that you get to keep some cool items you find as a token of thanks for your time!
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Want to Join the EC Next Year!?
The EC opens applications to join our team at the start of each semester. We had a lot of amazing students graduate this year, so we're looking for more dedicated students to join our team next year! If you're interested, please fill out
this super short form so we can send you a reminder to apply in August.
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Community Events and Happenings
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What's Going On at FLC and in Our Local Community
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Help Keep Grub Hub Active!
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The Grub Hub at Fort Lewis College is looking for a new Director and volunteers for 2019-2020 school year! This student-run, on-campus food pantry serves hundreds of students a month through weekly free food pantries and hot lunches. You'll get to work with local businesses, regional food pantries, and, starting this upcoming year, will be distributing fresh produce from local, Colorado Proud farmers to your peers! If you have a passion for taking the stigma out of food insecurity, and building a community through food, this is the opportunity for you!
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Grow Some Extra Garden Produce to Donate
The Good Food Collective is hosting a
Fresh Food Connect program, that strives to reduce food insecurity by collecting your produce and redistributing them to local food pantries. Grow an extra row this year and donate to the Good Food Collective.
Or Call the GFC directly: (970)403-5347
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Old Fort Farm Stand is Accepting SNAP
Starting in April we will be able to accept SNAP benefits at the Farm Stand. We have been working on this goal for a few years and are very excited to bring SNAP and Double Up Food Bucks ( fruits and vegetables only) to the Old Fort Farm Stand.
For those of you that want to order grass fed beef or local pork fill out the meat price order form and put the number of packages that
you would like in the left column.
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When:
Wednesday at 1 PM
Where:
Student Union
Contact:
The Old Fort's FB
Page
for more information
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Get Ready for the Durango Farmer's Market - Open May 11
The Durango Farmers Market is back in action for it's 23rd year starting Mother’s Day weekend. Opening day will feature live music and performances and they will be offering a free tomato plant or flower start to the first 50 moms to come to the Market INFO booth.
The Durango Farmers Market is a venue for local agriculturalists, ranchers and artisans to meet and share their harvest and talents with the Durango community. The market also offers hot ready to eat food from local vendors, value added foods such as jams, jellies and sauces and local artisans who make high-quality handcrafted items. All vendors must produce their goods within our five-county radius ensuring fresh produce and locally made goods. We also have live music performances each weekend as well as community information booths for non-profits and groups that promote our market values of local, sustainable and healthy living. And don't forget: Durango Farmers Market accepts SNAP and offers Double Up Food Bucks!
When: Saturday, May 11 from 8 AM to 12 PM, and every Saturday after that!
Where: TBK Bank parking lot, across from the Transit Center on 8th St.
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2nd Annual Farm Field Day at the Old Fort
The Field Day offers agricultural seminars, demonstrations of a variety of equipment used for seeding, planting, weeding and cultivating along with exhibits of equipment, supplies and services. This year's list of activities include: agriculture drone demonstrations, a rainfall simulator, seeding and tree planting demonstration, equipment demonstrations, and a tour of the property.
Concessions featuring local and Old Fort products will be available, and the Old Fort Plant Sale will offer seed potatoes and a variety of onion plant bunches.
When: Monday, May 13th from 10 AM to 3 PM
Where: The Old Fort at Hesperus, 4 miles south of Hesperus, at 18683 Hwy 140
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Two FLC Students Selected to go to D.C. with CCL
Amber Barbella and Siarrah Gomez-Boyiddle have been selected to attend the Citizens Climate Lobby Conference in Washington, D.C. where they will lobby members in Congress. This all expenses paid experience is presented by Citizens Climate Lobby, with the support of the local community and anyone who attended the Wild and Scenic Film Festival. Amber and Siarrah are exploding with gratitude and excited to take action solving climate change!
To get involved or learn more about CCL visit their
website
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Inspire Change at Green Drinks
Green Drinks is a monthly get together that's all about creating a well-connected community around all things environmental and "green". It takes place the last Thursday of every month at Carver Brewing.
This month's hosts are the
Garden Project of Southwest Colorado and
Durango Nature Studies.
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Jobs, Scholarships, Internships, and more!
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Mountain Studies Institute (MSI) is Hiring
Mountain Studies Institute is a research and education center focused on developing science that people can use to address environmental issues facing the San Juan Mountains. They have a range of opportunities available from full-time positions to paid summer internships.
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Southwest Conservation Corps is Hiring a Youth Crew Leader
SCC’s Youth Crew Leaders will spend the Spring in a crew leader training period, which will include a technical trails training, a youth crew leader training, and prep weeks in addition to project work. In June, leaders will co-lead two 4-week sessions of local high school students ages 14-18, with a Crew Leader Development Program member. Each session will be Monday-Friday, and may be a camping crew or a day crew. Crews will complete local conservation and community agricultural based projects. Crew leaders are responsible for the safety and well-being of their crew, project implementation, creating educational opportunities, and program paperwork each week.
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Impact Organizer Positions Available!
Real change only happens when people are organized to take action. That’s what Impact organizers do. The theory behind our work is simple: Winning and sustaining positive social change requires a solid foundation of public and political support. Impact campaign organizers build strong, enduring networks of support that help win positive change for our health and environment now, and provide the power to win more change in the future.
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MSI and SCC are Now Accepting FC-FLIP Applications
FC-FLIP Connects regional college students and recent graduates with resource managers to gain the knowledge and skills – hands-on – of what it means to work with or for a federal agency. This rigorous, paid, 11-week career-building internship program offers an outstanding opportunity to learn from professionals in the field, build skills, and gain networking contacts - all while living in a beautiful place.
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Further Resources and Opportunities
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Check back next time for more happenings and opportunities beyond FLC and Durango. If you know of any, you can always
email them to us!
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STAY CONNECTED - Like and Follow the EC!
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