Going Green @ Haverford

On Wednesday October 24, Haverford was one of 283 colleges across the country celebrating Food Day. Haverford’s celebration included a potluck dinner, film screening, and discussion and was a “raging success” according to David Robinson ‘14. More than 100 members of the community, including students, faculty, and staff, came together and conversed while enjoying an abundant supply of homemade food and fresh apple cider. Just when we thought we were running out of gourmet macaroni and cheese, lentil soup, and quiche, eHaus arrived with two large vats of minestrone and plates of corn bread. Many members of The Beet Goes On Co-op cooked with their CSA veggies, and the dining center provided their Sweet Potato Crunch made with local sweet potatoes.

With full stomachs and smiling faces, many guests stayed to watch the short film “Food MythBusters: Do we really need industrial agriculture to feed the world?” (foodmyths.org/food-mythbusters/). The film was followed up with an in-depth discussion about food at Haverford and how it works.

The event united six different food-conscious and environmental groups on campus as co-hosts of the evening: The Beet Goes On, The Committee on Environmental Responsibility, the EarthQuakers, the Haverford Garden Initiative, eHaus, and Quaker House. Sam Shain ‘13 of the Co-op had the initial vision of the Food Day celebration at Haverford and she reflects, “Food Day was such a resounding success because we came together as a community– from planning to cooking to enjoying– many, many heads and hands were at work. We can build a more equitable and sustainable food system, but only if we continue building coalitions and relationships like we did for Food Day. Thanks for making this possible!” Sam and The Beet Goes On are coordinating a Real Food Challenge retreat on November 16th-18th to learn more about “real” food and to develop leadership skills necessary to revolutionize food systems. Contact Sam if you are interested!

On Sunday September 30th, the Haverford College Student body convened at Plenary, a biannual tradition at the college during which students debate and subsequently vote on proposed resolutions. In an effort to reduce environmental and monetary costs at Haverford, Eve Gutman ‘15 and Tim Ibbotson-Sindelar ‘13 proposed to eliminate paper towels in dorm bathrooms in exchange for installing personal towel hooks. Gutman and Ibbotson-Sindelar had done their homework, presenting a thoughtful argument for their cause. They reported annual paper costs over $11,000 for the 1.4 million paper towels used at the college each year in relation to a one-time cost for hook installation. A week before Plenary, they also held an open forum for the public to express their concerns with the resolution.

Though opposition was vocal about sanitary issues and inconvenience in the pre-vote debate, the resolution passed by a decisive margin (decisive enough so that a paper tally was unnecessary). Students fearing germs can keep their personal towels in their bedrooms down the hall. Also, a limited supply of paper towels will remain available in halls in case of spills and messes.

This resolution marks the third environmentally-related Plenary resolution presented in the past two semesters. Last spring, students voted in favor of implementing a composting program for food at the college, but failed to encourage the words “the environment” to be included in the Honor Code. The recent support for the elimination of paper towels indicates the Haverford student body’s conscientious nature and sense of responsibility.

Congrats, Eve and Tim; your hard work paid off!

Ten acres around the pond just became a Penn State certified pollinator garden. Pollinators need our help.  Both native bees and domestic bee populations are declining, affected by habitat loss, disease and contact with pesticides. The criteria to become a pollinator garden are as follows.

1) Provide Food for Pollinators

• Provide pollen and nectar sources from early spring to late fall
• Provide a variety of flower shapes and sizes
• Incorporate pollinator friendly native plants into your garden

2) Provide water sources for pollinators:

• Butterfly Puddling Area
• Birdbath or shallow water source
• Pond
• Stream
• Water Garden
• Spring

3) Provide Shelter

• Dead wood
• Rock Pile or Wall
• Spaces of bare ground
• Man-made bee houses
• Leave garden cleanup till late spring

4) Safeguard Pollinator habitat

• Remove and/or avoid use of invasive plants
• Protect existing natural woodland or meadow
• Reduce or eliminate pesticide use (Haverford does not spray in the vicinity of the pond)

Any size garden can be certified to become a pollinator garden. Visit: ento.psu.edu/pollinators/public-outreach/cert

Many thanks to Penn State for providing the information for this blog and overall creating a great program.