COMPOST revival

Hey folks,
Composting has many benefits both locally and globally. On a national level it has been estimated that if every one composted we could divert up to 24% of our current waste stream from landfills and incinerators. On the local scale GMC college campus compost supplies the Cerridwen Farm with a natural fertilizer for their crops many of which end up back in the Chartwells dining hall.
As you may or may not know there have been issues with our compost system over the past year that have resulted in a dramatic drop in usable material being sent to the farm. What does not go to the farm ends up in the trash. But have no fear there is light at the end of the tunnel; we are almost to a point where the compost system will be making a jump back to full usage.
Over the past several weeks myself and several other students have been working with Chartwells and the Farm Crew to develop a system that will encourage those who use the dining hall to compost appropriately. This means less trash in the compost, most usable compost, and less material in the waste stream. We have developed a new bin system that has been approved by Chartwells and are at the point where we need help building it. If you are interested in helping build or decorate the bins or would like to know more about the project please contact me by email at sarubbia@greenmtn.edu. We are tentatively build date is Saturday, December 6th.

Adios

After three years in my post as Green Mountain College's Service-Learning & Sustainability Coordinator, I'm leaving GMC to take a position in the education program at Merck Forest & Farmland Center in Rupert, VT. I have really enjoyed working at GMC and in Poultney, and am especially thankful for the opportunity to work with so many talented people on and off campus. Thank you all for your support these several years. Keep up the good work!

-Jesse

SHOW UP (It's usually a good start.)

President Paul Fonteyn will give his Community Conversation address tomorrow at 1pm in the Gorge. His talk is titled "A Greener View: Sustainability and Regeneration." Folks interested in where GMC is going would do well to get there. The title alone indicates that the address will at least reference and perhaps more strongly emphasize our efforts as Charter Signatories to the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment. The basics of the commitment itself are pasted in below from the website. Look over the info in advance of the President's address if you can, or check back in here if something he says sparks your interest in the commitment. If you want to know more about GMC's progress on the commitment to date, visit their reporting site here.

Accordingly, we commit our institutions to taking the following steps in
pursuit of climate neutrality:
1. Initiate the development of a comprehensive plan to achieve climate neutrality as soon as possible.
a. Within two months of signing this document, create institutional structures to
guide the development and implementation of the plan.
b. Within one year of signing this document, complete a comprehensive inventory of all greenhouse gas emissions (including emissions from electricity, heating, commuting, and air travel) and update the inventory every other year thereafter.
c. Within two years of signing this document, develop an institutional action plan for
becoming climate neutral, which will include:
i. A target date for achieving climate neutrality as soon as possible.
ii. Interim targets for goals and actions that will lead to climate neutrality.
iii. Actions to make climate neutrality and sustainability a part of the curriculum and other educational experience for all students.
iv. Actions to expand research or other efforts necessary to achieve climate neutrality.
v. Mechanisms for tracking progress on goals and actions.
2. Initiate two or more of the following tangible actions to reduce greenhouse gases while the more comprehensive plan is being developed.
a. Establish a policy that all new campus construction will be built to at least the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED Silver standard or equivalent.
b. Adopt an energy-efficient appliance purchasing policy requiring purchase of ENERGY STAR certified products in all areas for which such ratings exist.
c. Establish a policy of offsetting all greenhouse gas emissions generated by air travel paid for by our institution.
d. Encourage use of and provide access to public transportation for all faculty, staff,
students and visitors at our institution

e. Within one year of signing this document, begin purchasing or producing at least 15% of our institution’s electricity consumption from renewable sources.
f. Establish a policy or a committee that supports climate and sustainability shareholder proposals at companies where our institution's endowment is invested.
g. Participate in the Waste Minimization component of the national RecycleMania competition, and adopt 3 or more associated measures to reduce waste.
3. Make the action plan, inventory, and periodic progress reports publicly available by providing them to the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) for posting and dissemination.

In recognition of the need to build support for this effort among college and university administrations across America, we will encourage other presidents to join this effort and become signatories to this commitment.
Signed,
The Signatories of the American
College & University Presidents Climate Commitment

Get Pump'ed

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!

From our friends at the Poultney Area Chamber of Commerce

------------

The pumpkin fest this Saturday has a new time 2:30 to 5:30. We need help in setting things up at 2PM at the East Poultney Green in front of the church. Also need beverages, cider, soda etc. If you have any questions you can call Karen Festa at 287-2405 or Val at 287-2016 or the Chamber 287-2010.

Nina Corbin
ecko2@together.net

You're In!

As members of the GMC community, you have member access to the primary online resource for all things sustainability in higher education -- the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) website. As folks committed to sustainability and eager to connect GMC to the happenings in the field, you should be receiving the weekly AASHE Bulletin (if you haven't been getting these, go back and mine their archives, or check out their annual wrap up of Bulletin entries in the Digest).

The Bulletin features:

• tons of sustainability news items,
• job postings,
• new resources,
• grant, fellowship, and award opportunities, and
• event listings around the country.

If you're not keepin' up with AASHE, you don't know what's goin' on college sustainability, period. So go sign up!

CataMOUNT UP!

TRAIL WORK VOLUNTEERS NEEDED OCT. 19.

From Thayer Raines, Director of Service-Learning

Hello,
Your help is needed! I am seeking 5 to 20 people (Students, Staff, and/or Faculty; clubs welcome, too) who would be interested in contributing an afternoon of trail maintenance to the GMC Section (Section 11 Ninevah 4 Corners to Tin Shanty) of the Catamount Ski Trail on Sunday, October 19, 2008, from 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Transportation by van will be provided to and from Brennan Circle. The plan calls for repairing a bridge, removing cut up logs, and trimming back branches. Please confirm your interest by return email no later than October 13.

The Catamount Trail (CT) is a 300-mile cross-country ski trail running the length of Vermont. Starting in Readsboro on the Massachusetts border, it winds its way through the heart of the Green Mountains to North Troy on the Canadian Border. This will be the fourth year of service that GMC has provided to its adopted section of the trail. For more information on the trail go to http://www.catamounttrail.org/.
Regards,
Thayer

4,667 . . .

Remember that number -- 4,667. That's the amount of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) in metric tons that GMC emitted from our operations during the 06-07 fiscal year. This number represents the starting point from which our progress toward carbon neutrality will be measured. As members of the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment, we will achieve net carbon neutrality "as soon as possible." Through efficiency measures, infrastructure improvements, individual behavior change, and likely offsets of one sort or another, GMC has to get from 4,667 to 0, and we have to develop the plan to do so by September 15, 2009.

To learn more about our greenhouse gas emission inventory READ THE REPORT HERE.

Video Contests in Higher Ed. Sustainability

Chances to show off your video editing prowess abound in the higher ed. sustainability community these days. Everybody from the National Wildlife Federation to AASHE wants to see what you are doing to advance sustainability at GMC. So dust off your 8mm or get out your phone -- or whatever you use to shoot video -- and win us some stuff, huh?

• Presidents Climate Commitment Video -- http://www.aashe.org/conf2008/ACUPCCvideocompetition.php (DEADLINE OCT. 1)
• Lucid Design Dashboard -- http://www.luciddesigngroup.com/contest.php (DEADLINE OCT. 24)

COMPOSTERS WANTED

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

Anyone is welcome to participate.
Sign up once, or do it on a regular basis.

Kitchen pickup daily between 3 and 5 pm.
Only takes 20 - 30 minutes.

Deliver the full compost bin from the Chartwells kitchen to the farm and return the empty compost bin from the farm to Chartwells.

If interested please contact:

Amber Sarubbi sarubbia@greenmtn.edu
Or
Jesse Pyles pylesj@greenmtn.edu

REGISTRATION OPEN

Building the Future
Connecting Student Service, Activism and Policy Work in the Wake of the 2008 Elections

November 8, 2008
McCardell Bicenteniall Hall, Middlebury College
8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Conference Registration
Call for Student Presenters
Many Vermont students are trying to create a better world, addressing issues such as climate change and poverty, through a variety of means: activism, community service, advocacy and more.
Join in conversation with students, community organizers, and policy makers to build meaningful collaborations that will create the future we all seek.

Visit www.vtcampuscompact.org for more information and conference agenda.
Green Mountain College has sent a student contingent to this conference in the past. If you are interested in attending as part of a GMC group, contact Jesse Pyles.

CROP Walk

Everyone from the Green Mountain College community is invited and encouraged to join in this years 7th annual CROP Walk. The walk is to raise money for a wide range of hunger needs, from those around the world to food shelves in Poultney & Fair Haven. "We hope to raise $15,000.00 this year! Will you help us? It's not too late for you to join us." Invites CROP Walk Coordinator, Carol Thompson.

The walk will kick off from the north end of Fair Havens Park on Sunday, September 28th at 1:30 pm. Everyone participating will walk through the part together. Then those who choose to may continue on a 1.6 mile or 4.4 mile journey. There will be water and rest stations along the walking route. At the conclusion of the event walkers will return to the park for drinks and ice cream.

If you are interested in taking part in the CROP Walk please contact Carol Thompson at 802-468-5309 or email her at cthomp4591@aol.com. She can set you up with a walkers packet so that you may start collecting sponsors.

POST UP

My buddy Rbo (she told me in 1999, "it's kind of like J-Lo") is doin' some amazing work in Kansas City with New Roots For Refugees -- everybody should check it out. New Roots, a partnership of the Kansas City Center for Urban Agriculture and Catholic Charities of Northeast Kansas, is essentially developing farms, farmers, and markets by integrating refugee producers into the KC food system.

In addition to being an awesome farm planner, event coordinator, volunteer herder, and community supporter, Rbo is marketing and communications savvy. So today, I'm stealing a play out of her blog book. To find out who was reading her posts to the New Roots site, Rbo raffled off tote bags to folks who left comments on her blog. I don't have totes, but in the school spirit of sustainability, I'm raffling off recycling stickers and free use of our Kill A Watt meters to lucky students who comment. So just make a comment to this post, and keep an eye out for results after Labor Day.

Reporting for Duty

My work life has become a series of applications and reports. Seems like my summer has been filled with this type of paperwork, or with meetings about doing it. So without bogging you down with the details, I thought I'd share the kinds of things that are coming out of the Service-Learning & Sustainability Office of late:

• GMC's greenhouse gas inventory report (more info to be spread around campus soon)
• AASHE Conference poster application
• Jenzebar Foundation student award nomination
• President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll enrollment
• Sustainable Endowments Institute Innovator Award application
• Service-Learning/Natural Areas journal article intro
• AmeriCorps VISTA Progress Report
• Rocky Mountain Institute proposal
• Orientation posters
• Annual staff self-evaluation

Thankfully students are returning next week to knock me off my reporting horse, and onto actual campus and community programs.

Farmed Out

I've said it a thousand times (including in my recent AASHE interview)but I'm totally in love with our farm. This summer GMC's Farm and Food project has been growing food and their stellar reputation. They had a great piece in the Burlington Free Press a couple of weeks ago on fossil free farming, and I hear there was a piece on them that I can't seem to find in the local paper over the weekend. Meeting with our new admissions team yesterday about sustainability initiatives on campus reminded me how frequently students and others here value the farm as an opportunity to practice the sustainability education they're receiving "in the classroom." In addition to the endless work to be done by committed folks in the farm program itself (talk to Lisa "Pantsy" Veniscofsky about what you can do to help out), more than 60 student volunteers last semester visited the farm as part of our dining hall compost program. The farm regularly benefits and contributes to grant ideas for the Student Campus Greening Fund -- e.g., the greenhouse energy upgrades of last semester, recent hoophouse renovations, and the local food programs of the last couple of years. And the summer Farm Camp, Poultney Farmers Market, and CSA programs are incredible outreach efforts that contribute to the College's strong reputation in the local community. If you're not yet involved with our farm somehow, you're missin' out. Stop down early in the semester to see what's growin'.

NWF Fellowships

The National Wildlife Federation's Campus Ecology Program is again sponsoring a fellowship for undergraduate and graduate students working to address climate change on campus.

Fellows confront global warming on their campuses and help to educate and engage
the campus community on global warming impacts and solutions.

GMC students are encouraged to look over the Request for Proposals (pdf), and contact me about how your ideas to reduce our footprint might support ongoing campus efforts. I would be thrilled to help the right student submit a proposal and coordinate efforts in one of the Fellowship's core projects:

• Implementing energy efficiency and conservation initiatives on existing or new buildings.
• Conducting a greenhouse gas inventory and developing a climate action plan
• Hosting a climate gathering involving representatives from three or more campuses

Consider how these programs might fit in with your fall courses, the DEEP Scholars team, the Student Campus Greening Fund proposal process, your student organization, and other preexisting efforts for a Green-er Mountain College.

Student Presenters Needed for VCC Student Conference Nov. 8th

Shamelessly lifted from Jen Kenyan's email to the Vermont Campus Compact Network:

Vermont Campus Compact is looking for student presenters and community organizers for our 2008 Student Conference: Building the Future which is taking place on November 8, 2008 from 8:30a.m. - 4:30 p.m.! The goal for the day is to build meaningful collaborations among students, community organizers, and elected officials who seek to create a better world through activism, community service, advocacy and more. Our hope is that these students will bring ideas, energy and new connections back to campuses to advance their own ideas and projects.

1. Student Presenters
We are excited to offer a platform for students to present the great work they are doing on Vermont campuses and in communities to their peers. We will have 2 workshop blocks (~45min-1hr, each) when student groups will present their successful models of student service projects and policy projects. Presentations will be about 10 minutes per group and should include an overview of the project, how it started, challenges to success, methods for implementation, etc. Each workshop will include a discussion among presenters and conference attendees. Themes for the workshops include, but are not limited to,
- Poverty/Hunger
- Civic Engagement
- Environmental Sustainability
- Youth/ Mentoring and Education

2. Community Organizers
There will be 2 roundtable blocks (~1 hr each) in the afternoon organized by issue (see above, also: health, environmental conservation, arts activism, safety/domestic violence, sustainable food practices, etc.). Who are your strategic partners (community organizers or organizations you work with) who are dynamic, can connect their organization or work to various topics/issues, and would like to share their personal and professional experiences as activists and organizers? This is an
opportunity for students to sit down for open conversation in order to connect with partners in their communities who can act as a resource to ask questions and discuss best practices, and for organizers to make a connection to students and higher ed. institutions.
Thanks for your help in identifying potential student presenters and community organizers. We are excited about the new direction of the conference and hope to meet student needs and create a unique conference atmosphere, and this is only possible through your help! Please contact either myself (see below) or John Coutley (jcoutley@middlebury.edu) by September 1, 2008.

jkenyan@middlebury.edu
802.443.5068
www.vtcampuscompact.org

Poultney's Greatest Challenge (Teacher)

CONGRATULATIONS, DAWN!!!

GMC's K-12 Outreach Coordinator of two years has managed -- by her hard work, unflappable dedication to the Poultney schools, and countless other graces -- to land a job as the Challenge Teacher in the Poultney school system. Dawn will focus her many talents on small-group, one-on-one, and school-wide enrichment experiences for the youth of this fine town. I'm so thankful for Dawn's influence in our office and programs, and am certain she'll continue to strengthen educational opportunities for students on both sides of College Street in the years to come. Give Dawn a shout (and a fist bump) when you see her.

GO BLUE DEVILS!

Required Reading

Julian over at AASHE has rightly pointed to an important article in the most recent Sustainability: The Journal of Record (see his post in the Campus Sustainbility Perspectives blog linked below to the right). The thrust of the article by Daniel Sherman of the University of Puget Sound is that sustainability in higher education will only realize its full, transformative potential if it is focused on sustainability as an integral part of the curriculum. After all, as Sherman puts it, "The primary campus operation is student education." Green Mountain College gets this.

If you're enrolled at, work for, or think about Green Mountain College, read Sherman's article, Sustainability: What's the Big Idea?

. . . it should affirm for you, GMC's leadership role in the field. And it may focus us as we assess our curriculum in support of our Mission and 5-year Strategic Plan.

Student Labeling Initiative

This came across the Green Schools Listserv from Debra Rowe at the US Parntership for Education for Sustainable Development. Seems a good fit for a lot of the work our students and faculty are doing.

Request for assistance with creation of sustainability criteria
At the U.S. Partnership for Education for Sustainable Development, we are helping to create a Student Approved Labeiling Initiative that advocates for the usage and consumption of products made in an environmentally friendly, socially responsible, and economically beneficial manner.
Advantages of Student Led Initiatives
Students all over the nation are already analyzing products and manufacturers as part of their academic assignments. We want to make use of their valuable work to help consumers and producers alike make decisions for a more sustainable society. By having a student led initiative, the consumers know that there is no bias. The criteria met is made by and upheld by students.

The goals of the initiative are to:
• Furnish a selected criteria for product approval by students that upholds the triple bottom line.
• Provide a dependable, database for all those that desire to make smarter consumer choices to aid the world in which they live. The information provided will be fed into the site by participating students throughout the nation. All information provided will be to the best of the student’s knowledge based on this. list of selected criteria.
• Generate a “Student Approved” label to represent that a product has officially been approved by the student labeling initiative.


Need
Many people want to consume sustainable products but don't have enough information about their consumption choices.

Solution
Creating enough attention, companies will be encouraged to carry the label. National participation by students will create pride in the labeling system. Consumers will find the student approved labels at their point of purchase on products in stores as well as electronic commerce. When consumers purchase products affiliated with the Student Approved Labeling Initiative, they know that buying a certain product is helping to positively shape the world.

Educators
We need students throughout the nation to help develop the criteria for what meets the standards of the Student Label. We are encouraging professors to carry out the criteria development through class assignments. Educators that take on this task will be provided with supplemental material regarding existing criteria for other labels for their students. If you are interested in participating in this important project or if you have questions or comments, please contact Chad Agrawal at chad.agrawal@gmail.com.

350

In another lazy man's blogpost, I'm reporting straight from 350's site:

350 is the most important number on the planet. This number is the safe line for
our global climate and a start line for a global movement. Join 350.org to
take action in your community, engage our world leaders, and build an
international movement to solve the climate crisis.

Check out their site to learn more, and let me know how you can involve GMC.