Environmental Council
Minutes of April 30, 2002
Le Chateau D ~ 4:30 – 6:15
Present: Ben Wessler, Dane Springmeyer, Oren Frey, Ben Brouwer, Katy Saunders, Kaitlyn Gregg, Lori DelNegro, Helen Young, Charlotte Tate, Nan Jenks-Jay, Connie Leach Bisson
Absent: Mike Moser, Charlie Sargent, John Isham, Tim McCahill, Caitlin Hicks, Stephen Switzer, Andrea Hamre, Abiezer Miranda, Erika Holsman, Erin Jensen, Sarah Herrup, Mandy Helwig, Valerie Benka
Guests: Diane Munroe, Grayson Fertig, Mikey Azzara, Missy Paquette, Chris Loeffler, Leda Smith, Chris Howell, Ron Schildge, Jean Hamilton, Bennett Konesni
Announcements
- UVM Professor of Natural Resources Stephanie Kaza will be speaking at the Champlain Valley Unitarian Universalist Society (CVUUS) Wednesday, May 1 from 7-9 on The Greening of Buddhism: Meeting the Environmental Challenge
- Bill McKibben will be speaking at CVUUS (Cross Street in Middlebury) on Wednesday, May 8 from 7-9 on The Environment as Moral Challenge
- American Flatbread is developing a restaurant in Marbleworks and will be building their clay oven on Friday, May 3 from 9-3. They invite anyone interested to come help.
- Bike–to-Work Day will be celebrated in Middlebury on Friday, May 3. The bike parade begins at 4:30 at Twilight Hall, passes through town and ends at the College's Community May Day Celebration in front of Proctor.
- Bike to Work Challenge – contest between participating departments and businesses in the Town to see what group can have the highest percentage of employees that bike, walk or carpool between May 3 – May 17. Contact Ben Brouwer x3814 or Mikey Azzara x3540 for more info.
- Environmental Grant Presentations
Blue Mitts Biking Society $500.00
(Up to $500 additional funding was earmarked if the "Blue Mitts" were willing to promote use of helmets as well as mitts.)
Grayson Fertig '02; Mikey Azzara '02
[Barbara Ganley, Faculty Sponsor]
Establish a biking society to promote biking on campus during the winter.
Mikey and Grayson noted that the Society had more than 40 members who each paid $12.50 for the blue mitts (Mountain Hardware) that were purchased at a discounted price of $25 from Middlebury Mountaineering. In the fall the Society will seek organization status from the College and they will strive to establish a means of ongoing leadership that has been problematic this year. All funds have been spent.
Outdoor Recycling Bins $4000.00
Oren Frey '02; Missy Beckwith (staff)
Funding to test effectiveness of outdoor recycling bins.
EC will request applicant to conduct a waste sort of garbage bins outside McCullough and athletic facility prior to installation of recycling bins and several months after installation.
Oren articulated how effectively outside recycling bins can make a statement to the campus community and its visitors about recycling and the College's wider environmental ethic. While initially planning to purchase recycling bins from Windsor Barrel Works, they felt the cost (nearly $800 per unit) was too expensive. Facilities Management staff redesigned the current outdoor trash unit cover splitting the internal unit in half. Two half-round inserts will be used and clear signage to distinguish the recycling side from the trash side of the container. Twenty-four units will be available through grant funds. Their goal is to have them along the field during Commencement.
All funds will be spent.
Campus Tree Inventory $2292.00
(An additional $2000 has been earmarked for tree tags pending approval from Greg Yandow, College Landscaper.)
Leda Smith '02.5; Chris Howell '04.5; Chris Loeffler '04
[Bill Hegman, Faculty Sponsor]
Completion of Tree Inventory
Map of notable trees
Possible tagging of up to 500 campus trees
The team showed maps identifying the trees on campus. They would like to see the College bring the campus to Arboretum status similar to Swarthmore, but the inventory also is useful to the College's landscapers and could be utilized in certain academic areas. They identified nearly 2000 trees and noted that there are over 150 species on campus (not all native to this region). They are currently discussing with Greg Yandow a tree tag design. Connie requested that they include in their final report how others could access the information and database. By developing such a valuable resource through several environmental grants, it raises critical issues about ownership of the information and how the data will be updated in the future. The Environmental Council needs to determine its role in assuring that this resource remains accessible and productive to the campus community. Majority of funding used.
Yellow Bikes $3729.10
Ben Brouwer '04/ Environmental Quality
[Chris McGrory Klyza, Faculty Sponsor]
Promotion of a BiPed (bicycle-pedestrian) campus and reduction of dependency of on-campus driving.
Introduction of an additional 35 yellow bikes for community use on campus.
Creation of infrastructure (tools, replacement parts, maintenance facility) for supporting bicycles on campus.
Ben has spearheaded this project throughout this academic year. It has been a struggle to keep the used bikes safely maintained. After researching community bike programs at other campuses, Ben requested use of grant funds to purchase 15 new "Giant Simple" bikes that will be introduced to campus in fall '03. In addition, the program will be run as a cooperative, with members paying a small fee to have access to a universal bike key that will fit the lock on any of the community bikes. Ben is working with Lisa Boudah on the possibility of using part of the Ross bike room for storage of the community bikes. In the future, Ben hopes that the College will commit funding for a bike hub for the campus where there would be tools and pumps for bikers' use, and showers and lockers.
Grant funds have been used to purchase some tools for maintaining the bikes, and Public Safety will be providing another group of bikes to the program later this spring. Nan suggested that Ben consider renaming the program in light of the changes that have occurred as a result of implementing the program on campus. Majority of funding used.
Weybridge Bike Trailer $299.25
Ben Brouwer '04
[Chris McGrory Klyza, Faculty Sponsor]
Use of a bike trailer for hauling groceries and personal packages from campus and community locations to Weybridge House.
Increase visibility of alternatives to using the car.
The trailer was purchased in late winter and is used 3 times per week by Weybridge members to get their food order from the Middlebury Natural Foods Cooperative. In addition, Eric Skovsted delivers his campus mail route with the aid of the trailer, providing a model for others of an alternative to motorized vehicles for certain campus jobs. Majority of funding used.
Biodiesel $1400.00
Erwin (Bennett) Konesni '04.5; Ronnie Schildge '03
Continuation of biodiesel research & production initiated last year
Research of biodiesel buying cooperative
Connie explained that Ron received an environmental grant last year to begin campus research on converting waste fryer oil from the dining halls into biodiesel. Ron spent last fall in South Africa and did not apply for an Environmental Grant. Bennett Konesni felt the biodiesel research should continue and submitted a grant to continue this work. The EC awarded the funds on the condition that the grantee consult with Ron and provide the EC with a faculty advisor prior to beginning any work on the grant. In the meantime, Ron received funding from the National Wildlife Federation's (NWF) Campus Ecology Fellowship for his spring term at Middlebury. Bennett and Ron then met to determine how best to redirect the environmental grant funds, given that Ron's NWF funds enabled him to continue his biodiesel research.
Bennett and Ron articulated a need for a biodiesel website as there are limited resources where people can acquire information about making or acquiring the fuel. Funds will be used to develop and host this website for the coming year, and to secure the space and equipment needed on campus (possibly in conjunction with the new recycling facility) so that biodiesel fuels can be easily accessed by facilities management staff for use as a supplement in appropriate College vehicles. Ron indicated that he will work with MISD over the next year to transfer responsibility for the website and additional research to this organization. All funding will be spent, but most will occur in fiscal year '03.
Designing a Sustainable College Garden $215.54
Jean Hamilton '04
Compilation of past research pertaining to sustainable agriculture projects on the Middlebury campus.
Tour other college farm programs
Design a college farm for Middlebury campus.
Jean distributed a short outline of work completed to date, including a survey to faculty and a second survey to students. A motivated group of 15-20 students have been meeting regularly on Sunday nights to design a 1-2 acre College garden proposal that they plan to complete in draft form and distribute to key individuals by the end of the semester. They have toured the facility at Green Mountain College and will be visiting Dartmouth next week. In the fall the group will make a public presentation and then hopes to submit a full proposal to President McCardell. Most of the funding will be spent.
Green Room $176.44
Chris Howell '04.5
[Scott Barnicle, Faculty Sponsor]
Research equipment for an exercise room where equipment would generate electricity.
Chris has submitted a report outlining the equipment needed to convert any exercise equipment that turns a gear or axle into equipment that can generate electricity. It would cost between $3-4000 to retrofit five exercise machines with the generator, inverter and batteries needed to generate electricity. The electricity would be stored in the battery and could be used to provide all the exercise room's electricity needs for 6-10 hours per day based on regular use of the equipment.
- Final Meeting
The Environmental Council will hold its final meeting for this academic year on Tuesday, May 7 from 4:30-6:00 pm in Le Chateau D.
There will be four additional Environmental Grant presentations, a discussion on the description of the Environmental Council in the College Governance section of the College Handbook, an assessment of the Environmental Grants program and a report from the Carbon Neutral subcommittee.