Going Green @ Haverford

There is no all-conclusive vision of a sustainable future. The term “sustainable,” by itself, carries extensively different definitions depending on whom you ask. However, despite these discrepancies, one incontestable necessity toward an environmentally conscious future is collaboration. Haverford College took a mighty step in this direction last Friday by holding its first ever Sustainability Summit.

This conference, hosted by the Committee for Environmental Responsibility (CER) in conjunction with the Center for Peace and Global Citizenship (CPGC), brought together on-campus environmental actors including students, staff and faculty. The purpose of the Summit was first and foremost to foster holistic lines of communication and to enable utmost learning and efficiency within our environmental missions. For while technology and its innovation greatly advance our community toward a future of sustainability, it is real discussion, communication and collaboration that serve as the foundation for environmental change. The Summit succeeded in acting as a bridge between inspired idealism and real solutions.

The discussions began with presentations on past and current initiatives, including but not limited to: CER’s Green Office Program and Devereux Bike Sale; Facilities Management’s locational survey for Photovoltaic Panel installation; E-Haus’s community vegetarian meal provision; Institutional Advancement’s funding of Environmental Studies Department faculty; and the waste reduction mission of the Better Together Campaign. Looking forward, future plans included: an HCA Orchard; electric vehicle-charging stations; a Haverford Garden educational workshop; a Fair Trade sale; a carbon offsetting program; and enhanced composting and recycling systems. Needless to say, it was an exciting meeting filled with enthused ideas, lively discussion and collaborative solutions. More tangibly, the Summit produced a petition stating our vested interest in a Haverford College Presidential candidate who places a primary focus on sustainability.

The impetus for, and main topic of, the Sustainability Summit was achievement through efficient communication. While this initial Summit was not open to the entirety of the Haverford community, this does not signify any sort of organizational isolation. The new CER website (www.haverford.edu/greening_haverford/cer/) and GO! Board subforum are spaces of virtual environmental discussion where issues, ideas, plans and general inquiries are encouraged. Please help in planning a pathway toward a sustainable future.

- Steve Griffith ’12

While cruising the Sierra Club’s website a couple weeks ago I came across Ecofont. I’m sure a lot of environmental types out there are saying “where have  you been?” While I consider myself an environmental type, I’m a new member of the Sierra Club where this article was featured.

Ecofont is a software program developed by the Dutch. The software prints fonts with holes to save ink toner and reduce printing costs, supposedly up to 50% depending on who’s reporting. When typing, it literally looks like Swiss Cheese.  When printing, however, the ink bleeds and you can’t tell the difference from traditional fonts.

Of course I wanted to test this out. Before downloading the free version I did a little checking. It appears that Ecofont has been around for years and has won several awards. It’s also been reviewed by quite a few national and international publications, all generally giving it the thumbs up.

I start typing away, and yes, it looks a little strange. I printed out my document; no holes! Wow, they could be onto something here. Of course it’s difficult to test unless you do a lot of printing and know what you spend on ink. I figure I’ll use it until my free trial runs out.

Try it for yourself at:  www.ecofont.com/

Composting food waste at Haverford has been a hot topic for the last few years. The Dining Center, our biggest waste producer, throws out about a 1,000 lbs of food a day! Wow!!  Considering we’re only 1100 students, that’s significant. Students are really getting in on the action about bringing awareness about food waste. Better Together, a new interfaith social justice club that is organizing a year-long direct action campaign that seeks to reduce food, water and electronic waste at Haverford, recently weighed the post-consumer waste from the DC. They figured that each student wasted about 140z per person. This is all post-consumer, we haven’t even started talking about pre-consumer… Hopefully in the next couple years we’ll be able to do in-vessel composting at the DC.

ComposT-Twin at the Haverford College Apartments

Students in the Haverford College Apartments (HCA), have also been hot on the composting topic. With the installation of the student vegetable garden and adding fruit production next year, the need for soil amendment is growing (pun intended). We’ve had slightly better success here. Over the last few years we have been adding composters for students to recycle their kitchen and garden waste. We just added a fourth Mantis ComposT-Twin, which work great for us as they hold a lot of material (25 cubic feet). They also have a dual chamber which allows students to fill one side while the other side “cooks.”

Faculty have also gotten the composting bug. Taking a ride around campus the other day I counted 4 composting containers outside faculty housing. I’ve also gotten requests for us to supply containers which, of course,  I oblige in any way I can. We recently added two Compost Wizards behind a faculty apartment house, with the hope that we can get more faculty in the composting habit.

While not food waste, I did want to mention Grounds and Arboretum. Recently I had to calculate how much “yard waste” we compost for our Green House Gas emissions report. Haverford recycles between 95-98% of its green waste. That breaks down to 4,500 cubic feet of woodchips, 31,500 cubic feet of leaves and 21,600 cubic feet of general garden waste. Woodchips are aged and used for mulch while the leaves and green material are composted down and used on the community gardens.

While I know I’m getting long winded here I did want to mention how tough it is to educate people, especially on a large scale, on the proper way to compost. Teaching students and faculty that you can’t fill the container all the way up, and that you have to add a carbon source can sometimes be draining. On the flip side however, CER student Siena M. does a great job on spreading the word. Kudos to Siena.

Next step, Vermicomposting

vermicomposting

I have to admit that part of the reason for this blog is that it keeps Sustainability at Haverford on the college’s main page. Go Green!!

With that little confession out of the way, I’d like to introduce you to the pressure cooker. I’m a big beef and root vegetable person. Stews, soups you name it, it’s on my plate. These types of foods are perfect for the pressure cooker. Okay, you ask, so how does all this relate to sustainability?

Let me give you a little example.  Sunday, with the cooler temperatures, I decided it was beef stew season. I whipped out the pressure cooker, chopped the vegetables and threw everything in. 10 minutes to achieve pressure, 16 minutes cooking time. Voila!  Mouth watering stew. Gone are the days of letting it simmer for hours. Less simmering, less energy. Pressure cookers, because you use very little liquid, maintain most of the vitamins and minerals. You also keep good vegetable color.

Also gone is the somewhat volatile nature of the appliance. I’ve never seen it, but I believe there is an I love Lucy episode where it exploded and she had food dripping off the ceiling. Pressure cookers today are state of the art, you really can’t go wrong.

I’ve added a couple links below. The first, gives you all the benefits of using a pressure cooker, including the environmental and economical. The second is an article I found in Organic Gardening Magazine by Lorna Sass. Sass has written several books on pressure cooking, two of which I own, and has really perfected the technique.

With local food markets and home vegetable gardens, the pressure cooker is the perfect compliment to anyone’s kitchen.

missvickie.com/library/whyuseapc.html#Safe%20and%20Dependable

www.organicgardening.com/cook/cooking-under-pressure

Plants Curator, Martha VanArtsdalen, is author of Plant of the Week, a regular feature in the staff newsletter. Below is this week’s submission. I found it quite appropriate for the Going Green blog.

Horticulturist, Carol Wagner, helping green the campus.

Plant of the Week
Getting greener, plant by plant
More corners of Haverford are getting greener plant by plant, thanks to the support of students
and staff. The 23rd annual Arboretum plant sale and freshman plant giveaway have sent multitudes of
leafy palms, prickly cacti, sassy succulents, and dramatic dracaenas into dorm rooms and offices.
Each year when freshmen approach our table setup in the Dining Center lobby, the number one
question (after the incredulous query „The plant is free???‟) is “Which plant is least likely to die? I kill
plants.” Plant sale conductress extraordinaire Carol Wagner then assures each student that, depending on
a sunny windowsill or a dark dorm room, a cactus or leafy tropical is worth the risk. Then comes the hard
part: selecting a 4-inch baby. Upperclassmen also stop by the table; sometimes to try and wheedle another
plant out of us, but often to happily report, “I still have my freshman plant!”
The sale of our larger potted office plants helps offset the cost of supporting this welcoming gift
to freshmen. This has been the Arboretum‟s way, along with a class tree planting during Customs Week,
to introduce new students to their campus beyond the classroom. A total of 68 plants were ordered this
year: hanging baskets of gold pothos and satin pothos, sanseveria, shefflera, lemon/lime dracaena, ruby
rubber tree, pink dragon dracaena, peace lily, and even two standard ficus trees.
We gratefully thank all those who stopped by our table and placed an order. The Arboretum staff
will be delivering plants to offices this week and spreading a little more green to brighten indoor corners
of campus. Thank you!
~ Martha

I am pleased to report that the Devereux Bike Sale held on August 31st did extremely well. In fact they’d  sold out by 12:30.

Below is an excerpt from an email from Michelle Brown, Director of Business & Customer Relations: The Shops at Devereux.

“…it was fantastic. This week’s bike sale was a huge success, with a sale of 29 bicycles! Early birds sure caught the worm as more than half of our inventory was gone in the 1st hour of the sale! We did learn our lesson, however and will be sure to bring bike locks for sale next time.

Our individuals who worked the sale also really enjoyed interacting with the students.”

Michelle went on to say that many students were very interested in bikes and are welcome to stop by Devereux anytime M-F between the hours of 8:30 and 4:30. If they are looking for a specific style of bicycle, they can call before coming – 610-964-3153. They’re within walking distance from the Devon Train Station.

I’d like to thank everyone who made the Bike Sale a success.
Claudia

We’ve been busy this summer. Not only did we draft a green office program, but we’ve revamped the Sustainability Worker position. Starting with the title. Sustainability Worker always sounded a little awkward, it’ll now be known as the Sustainability Assistant . We also made our first hire.

Meet Steve Griffith.

Steve, Class of 2012, is from Waterbury, Vermont and the youngest of three boys. He majors in Growth and Structure of Cities, minors in Economics, and has played Men’s Varsity Soccer during his 4-year academic career at Haverford.  Steve’s resume and interests are impressive. He spent the summer of 2010 writing grants for Vermont’s largest affordable, sustainable housing project-Green Mountain Habitat for Humanity. In spring 2011, Steve worked as an intern for the American Academy in Rome, Italy creating a digital database for archaeological materials and most recently went on an athletic excursion to Sweden and Denmark with the Men’s Soccer Team.

There’s a good chance you’ll get to meet Steve this fall. He’ll be visiting different departments promoting the green office program. Hopefully he can talk you into becoming a “Green Squirrel.”

Mike Startup and Charlie Jenkins

For those of you who have never set foot on Haverford’s campus, and I know there are a few of you out there, this campus is beautiful! Stunningly beautiful!! The first time I drove through the main gate 16 years ago, it took my breath away.  It took me five years to land a job here and every once in awhile, usually sometime in May, it still does.

All waxing aside, I’d like to tell you about a new blog. Horticulturist Mike Startup, joined us six years ago after being downsized from Longwood Gardens. Their loss, our gain. Mike is a true plants man and puts the “wow” in every project he takes on. He came up with the idea of blogging about the arboretum and has just posted his first blog. I encourage you to take a look.

blogs.haverford.edu/arboretum/

A couple years ago, the Director for the Center for Peace and Global Citizenship, Parker Snowe, approached me with the idea of greening the CPGC. He described it as wanting to “walk the walk” when it came to sustainability. Of course I was intrigued, I’m always up for suggestions on how to make Haverford more sustainable. The seed that CPGC planted several years ago has grown into a program that CER is proudly launching this fall. The Green Office Program.

Departments that sign up are given a checklist and ways to make their offices more sustainable. You could go for Silver or Gold Squirrel Certification or the granddaddy…”Green Squirrel.” For more information and how to get started, visit the Greening Haverford website.

As a proud charter participant of the Sustainability Tracking and Rating System(STARS©), Haverford College is pleased to announce that it has received a Bronze rating. Truly a campus wide endeavor that included 30 individuals from over 20 departments, we are pleased that we excelled in community service, community participation and in our community sustainability partnerships. The completion  of the STARS© survey provides a guide for future sustainability endeavors that will improve the well-being of our community and environment.

stars.aashe.org/institutions/haverford-college-pa/report/2011-07-28/.