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St. Lawrence College Campus Sustainability Initiative
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Sustainability, in a broad sense, is the ability to maintain a certain process or state. It is now most frequently used in connection with biological and human systems. In an ecological context, sustainability can be defined as the ability of an ecosystem to maintain ecological processes, functions, biodiversity and productivity into the future. Sustainability has become a complex term that can be applied to almost every facet of life on Earth, particularly the many different levels of biological organization, such as; wetlands, prairies and forests and is expressed in human organization concepts, such as; eco-municipalities, sustainable cities, and human activities and disciplines, such as; sustainable agriculture, sustainable architecture and renewable energy. |
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Over the course of waste reduction week, we did a trial run collecting compost from the student body. For those of you that don’t know, the cafeteria kitchen, the link kiosk, and the cooking school all compost already. So the last piece of the puzzle is the student body. There was a very positive response from the students and faculty, so we are trying a more autonomous version of the system. There is now a compost bucket beside three of the large recycling/trash centers in the cafeteria as well as one in the Student Association beside the coffee station.
Instructions for volunteers:
What we volunteers need to do is pick up each of these buckets and take them upstairs to the SA. In the CSI office there are gloves, a scale, and extra bags for the compost buckets. Using the scale in the CSI office, measure the weight of the bucket and write it down in the green book marked COMPOST next to the scale. Then grab some extra bags and head down to the compost bins.The bins are located behind the college, just around the corner from the loading dock, near Shipping/Receiving. See the attached map. They are tall and blue, not green as one might expect. Tie the compost bags and toss them directly into the bins. Put the new bags into the buckets, return the buckets to where you found them and you’re done!
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Please sign the following petition. It should be found in the Student Association (SA) and at the reception at the front entrance. Thank you!
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CRAP: noun – refuse; rubbish; junk; litter. (Dictionary.com v1.1) No-one likes crap. Well, okay, some folk do, but you’ll have to read a different publication to learn more about those kinds of folk! Here at the CSI, we’re talking about that other metaphorical crap, stuff that we don’t need, stuff that really doesn’t improve the quality of our life, stuff that in fact costs us time to deal with and actually costs us a surprising amount of money. Not to mention the cost to the natural environment in which we all live. |
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If you haven't already signed up and added your acts of green to this website challenge, you'll be able to add your acts to the drive for a SECOND million acts - they're at 1.2million at the moment!
It's quick and simple to register, and all you need to do to join the CSI group is type CSI into the 'search for groups' section - we're the only ones with that name, happily! Then click on "All acts of green" tab and start adding them up. It's only when you put them all together that you realise how much good stuff you're probably already doing, and how much of a positive impact it's having!
Thanks for getting on this, Mark - I should've done it a long time ago! Go to: Millions Acts of Green website |
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Three bold words! Campus Sustainability Initiative. Don't they just roll off your tongue? And look at that cunning logo, is that three leaves, artfully arranged and placed above a single drop of sweet, sweet life giving substance... Water? Yes, yes it is! Wonderful!
Hopefully over the coming months and years, this symbol will become a common sight throughout the campuses. The Campus Sustainability Initiative is a studentrun organization within St. Lawrence College that aims to work with students, faculty, support staff and college management to promote understanding of, support for, and action upon, sustainability and non-renewable resource issues.
Some of the sustainability issues the CSI is currently working on include promoting the use of reusable cutlery and the removal of all styrofoam containers from the cafeteria, reducing paper waste in the computer labs, and more sustainable events planning by the Student Association.
Of course, no green initiative would be effective without an awareness campaign. So we’re working on that too – thanks to the support of the College Foundation. The CSI will be posting informative and eyecatching posters on every available surface (so don't stand still for too long) in an attempt to get the word out to the people. But don't worry, no trees will have to die horribly for our efforts! The CSI is committed to carrying out all of its activities in a sustainable manner. Scrap or recycled paper will be used.
So keep an eye out folks! Look sharp and read our posters. Come to our events. Become aware of sustainability issues around you, and start taking action, Remember, there are no inconsequential actions – only consequential inaction.
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Looking to make your college a better place to learn, work and live? Want to improve your local environment? Interested to learn more about how you can reduce your carbon footprint? Want to keep up those good habits you have at home? Recycling, composting, growing your own? Join the CSI and start making a difference to your new community! |
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