Blue Green Newsletter - 09/16/2004

WELCOME TO BlueGreen
Issue 501 ~ September 16, 2004

The BlueGreen electronic newsletter is a monthly update of sustainability initiatives and events on campus and in the local region.  It will automatically arrive as an e-mail link for those whosign up (by clicking on the words "sign up") for this list serve.  Otherwise it is available on our website at http://www.middlebury.edu/administration/enviro/publications/

To submit information for the next issue of BlueGreen, send an e-mail (including graphics) to Connie Leach Bisson, Campus Sustainability Coordinator at cbisson@middlebury.edu

On the Calendar

Calendar Highlights at-a-glance

Thurs. Sept 16
12:15 ES Woodin Colloquium Diana Stuart Sinton '88, GIS Program Director, National Institute for Technology and Liberal Eduation "Interpreting Patterns of Woody Vegetation in Argentina's El Palmar National Park"  (Room 216 McCardell Bicentennial Hall ~ Lunch provided)

Sat. Sept 18
10-4  25th Annual Harvest Festival Celebrate the autumnal traditions of Vermont's farms and forests with musical performances, hay rides, workshops, exhibits, ethnic and traditional foods ~  $6 adult; $4 child; free to members (Shelburne Farms)

Sun. Sept 19
8:00 p.m.  Middlebury College Organic Garden meeting (Coffrin Annex Lounge)

Mon. Sept 20
Student applications due for Environmental Council by 5 p.m.  Request application from coreilly@middlebury.edu

6:30 - 8 p.m.  Student Activities Fair-- get involved in all kinds of great organizations on campus  (McCullough Hall)

7:00-9:00 p.m.  Benefit for Keeping Track "A Celebration of Hope"
featuring Chip Ward, author of Hope's Horizon, and authors Bill McKibben, John Elder, Steve Trombulak, and Susan Morse. Donations appreciated. (104 McCardell Bicentennial Hall)

7:00  Addison County GE Free Food Group is sponsoring a film series on Monday nightsat Ilsley Library Community Meeting Room with pizza provided by American Flatbread.  "Deconstructing Supper" will be shown on September 20th, following a chef's journey or exploration into understanding GMO's.  (Ilsley Public Library ~ Middlebury)

Tues. Sept 21
5:00-6:00 p.m. Tom Butler, Editor of Wild Earth and Director of Education and Advocacy for the Wildlands Project.  "Wilderness Then and Now: An Evolving American Institution" (UVM Wilderness Seminar Series~ 108 Lafayette) 

Wed. Sept 22
2:30-4:00  Children's Gardening Program at the Middlebury College Organic Garden on the knoll west of McCardell Bicentennial Hall every Wednesday this fall.  Contact Susannah Patty for info spatty@middlebury.edu

Thurs. Sept 23
12:15  ES/Howard E. Woodin Colloquium  Azur Moulaert, Vermont Public Interest Research Group "A Proposal for Vermont's Electric Energy Future: Keeping the Big Picture in the Picture"(Room 216 McCardell Bicentennial Hall ~ Lunch provided)

Fri. Sept 24-26
REGIONAL ACTIVIST TRAINING CONFERENCE http://inside.bard.edu/community/projects/atc
(Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, NY)

Sat. Sept 25
2-5 pm  Fungus Hike  Join Pathologist extraordinaire Shane Lishawa on a fungal walk in Niquette Bay State Park (easy walking of 4 miles or less)  Call 862-5805 as group limited to 15.  (Burlington Section of Green Mountain Club)

Sun. Sept 26
3 pm  Greenhouse Raising & Garden Celebration Join Middlebury College Organic Garden enthusiasts on the knoll west of Bicentennial Hall for the construction of a greenhouse that will be followed by dinner featuring vegetables from the garden.  (Middlebury College Organic Garden ~ Route 125 West)

Mon. Sept 27
4:30-5:45  Environmental Council Meeting All welcome (401 0ld Chapel)

Tues. Sept 28
5:00-6:00 pm Kathleen Osgood Dana, Faculty, Center for Northern Studies and Sterling College, Vermont.  "A Voice Crying in the Hunting Lands: A Look at Scandinavian, Finnish and Saami Ideas of Wilderness." (UVM Wilderness Seminar Series ~ 108 Lafayette)

Wed. Sept 29
6 pm Fareed Zakaria, Editor of Newsweek International and expert on globalization and foreign affairs provides the keynote address of the 2004 George D. Aiken Lectures "An Empire of Liberty? America's Role in the World" (UVM Ira Allen Chapel ~ Burlington)

Thurs. Sept 30
12:15  ES/Howard E. Woodin Colloquium  Kathryn Morse, History; Steve Trombulak, Biology & ES; Steve Maier, Visiting Lecturer in ES "Perspectives on the Political Process as a Mechanism for Addressing Environmental Issues"(Room 216 McCardell Bicentennial Hall ~ Lunch provided)

Fri. Oct 1
7:30  Eric Schlosser, author of "Fast Food Nation" is providing a free talk at Champlain College's Alumni Auditorium, located at 375 Maple Street, Burlington, Vermont

Sat. Oct 2
9:30-5  Dead Creek Wildlife Day  Celebrate wildlife in the Champlain Valley~ over 43 activities including fishing and hunting workshops, wildlife viewing, canoeing, and birdwatching all at no charge.  Dead Creek Wildlife Management Area (Rte 17 in Addison)

10-1  Buel's Gore Animal Tracking Trip Enjoy the foliage and explore mammals of the area with tracker Patti Greenswift.  Vermont Sierra Club  864-3808  (Buel's Gore)

10-4 Northeast Sustainable Energy Association's Green Buildings Open House including Atwater Commons' new dining and residential halls at Middlebury College.  For info of other buildings on the tour in this area see www.nesea.org  (Atwater)

Sun. Oct 3
11-2  Environmental Summit  Representatives of campus environmental groups gather for an annual meeting, brainstorming and strategy session of campus environmental priorities.  All welcome.  (LaForce 121)

Mon.  Oct 4
12:15-1:30 John DeGrafproducer of "Affluenza" and "Escape from Affluenza"  will present "America Needs a Break: How Overconsumption and Overwork Harm our Health, Families, Communities, and Environment" (Room 220 McCardell Bicentennial Hall)

4:30 Dancing on Mountains/Dancing on Walls Public lecture and film by Director Amelia Rudolph, on art and the environment. (Dana Auditorium) 

4:30 Into the Heart of an African Village: A Reading and Discussion of Contemporary Issues Facing Rural West AfricaReading and discussion by Sarah Erdman '96, returned Peace Corps Volunteer/Côte d'Ivoire and author of Nine Hills to Nambonkaha: Two years in the Heart of an African Village.  Cosponsored by the Rohatyn Center for International Affairs and the Career Services Office. (Robert A Jones House conference room)

6 p.m.  Last Chance to Eat  Dine on some forgotten flavors that have been placed on Slow Food USA's "Ark of Taste" - a national list of foods threatened with extinction as a result of large-scale distribution systems, industrial standardization and environmental degradation.  After dinner, Gina Mallet, author of Last Chance to Eat:  The Fate of Taste in a Fast Food World, will discuss her concerns with less variety and fewer unique tastes in today's food landscape.  $35 non-members (Shelburne Farms)

7:00 p.m.  Mandip Singh Soin FRGS (and father of Himali Soin '08) presents "A Three Decade Retrospective on Mountaineering"(Johnson 304)

7:00 p.m. Addison County GE Free Food Group film series "The Future of Food"a powerful documentary by Deborah Koons Garcia with guest speaker Brian Tokar from the Institute of Social Ecology. (Ilsley Public Library Community Meeting Room ~ Middlebury)

Tues. Oct 5
5:00-6:00 p.m.  Spencer Phillips, Senior Resource Economist, The Wilderness Society. "Getting Serious about Conservation: Economics and Wilderness in Vermont." (UVM Wilderness Seminar Series ~ 108 Lafayette)

Wed. Oct 6
7 p.m. Jay Lehr, Senior Fellow and Science Director of the Heartland Institute in Chicago discusses "Capitalism Creates the Cleanest Environment" Sponsored by UVM School of Business Administration. Reception at 6 p.m. - RSVP to winton@bsad.uvm.edu (Sheraton Conference Center ~ Burlington)

Thurs. Oct 7
12:15  ES/Howard E. Woodin Colloquium Amelia Rudolf, Director of Project Bandaloop (Art and the Environment) "Dancing on Mountains:  The Descent of El Capitan" (Room 216 McCardell Bicentennial Hall ~ Lunch provided)

4:30  Vermicomposting: Not Just Another Dirty WordMary Appelhof, internationally recognized as Worm Woman, and author of the popular book, "Worms Eat My Garbage," will give a free public presentation on sustainability in the home and on campus. Open dinner at Weybridge House to follow (216 McCardell BIH)

Fri. Oct 8
10:00 a.m.  Mary Apelhof offers a Vermicomposting (worms) workshop at the organic garden on the knoll west of McCardell Bicentennial Hall.  Contact Phil Aroneanu for details paronean@middlebury.edu

2:00 p.m. Project Bandaloop Performance(New library façade)

4:30 p.m. Dedication of the New Library'sGarden of the Seasons
Garden designed by Michael Singer (New Library)

5:00 p.m.  Aerial Workshop for DancersWith Amelia Rudolph and members of Project Bandaloop. Observers welcome. (New Library facade)

October 8-10, Friday-Sunday

The Birdhouse Project

Watch for The Birdhouse Project, directed by Andrea Olsen. This collaborative work incorporates original dance, environmental set design by Carl Phelps, and music by David Rothenberg. Weekly rehearsals take place this fall around the CFA pond, with performances on Homecoming Weekend 2004, October 8–10, and Earth Day celebrations in 2005 (April 22). Visit www.middlebury.edu/dance for more details. Funded in part by an Ada Howe Kent Faculty Fellowship.

Sat. Oct 9
9-12 Natural Communities of the Champlain ValleyJoin Marc Lapin of the Champlain Valley Clay Plain Forest Project on a section of the Trails Around Middlebury (TAM). For info 388-1007  (Wright Park and Otter Creek in Middlebury)

1-3pm  Fall Festival at the Bristol Watershed Center  A celebration of the geology of the area, with local geologists leading walks to the anticline and other geological features of the property. Music, food, and a campfire at the reservoir will follow.  For information call 453-2856. (Plank Rd., Bristol)

2:00 and 4:00 p.m. Project Bandaloop Performances (New library façade)

Sun. Oct 10
2:00 and 4:00 p.m. Project Bandaloop Performances (New library façade)

Mon-Tue. Oct 11–12
Project Bandaloop Mini-ResidencyWith performers Mark Stuver '98 and Rachael Lincoln. (Center for the Arts, Dance Theatre) 

Thurs. Oct 14
9:00-5:00 Renewable Energy Vermont's annual conference Renewable Energy Here and Now [registration required www.REVermont.org] Students should contact Connie Leach Bisson cbisson@middlebury.edu for financial assistance (Sheraton Hotel & Conference Center ~ Burlington)

Fri-Sun. Oct 15-17
38th Annual New England Environmental Education Alliance Conference(NEEEA), "Opening Doors: Collaboration Strengthens Our Voice to Build Sustainable Communities," Breadloaf Campus of Middlebury.  Speakers, field trips, workshops, entertainment, locally grown food, silent auction.  Registration brochure available at http://www.vermontsweep.org/neeea04.htm  (Ripton)

Mon. Oct 18
7:00 p.m.  Addison County GE Free Food Group film series "Fed Up" (Ilsley Public Library Community Meeting Room ~ Middlebury)

Tues. Oct 19 
Vermont Fresh Network Farmers' Dinner, Blueberry Hill Inn. Join the Vermont Fresh Network in celebrating the promise of local cuisine. Reservations: 247-6735; info: 229-4706. Web site: www.blueberryhillinn.com (Goshen)

Thurs. Oct 21
7 pm  Middlebury Area Land Trust Annual Meeting Conserving Vital Areas in our Communities with Guest Lecturer Elizabeth Thompson. the co-author of the book Wetland, Woodland Wildland: A Guide to the Natural Communities of Vermont. This book is the definitive guide to diverse natural communities throughout the state. Silent Auction and Annual Meeting to follow lecture. Middlebury College, Kirk Alumni Center. Please RSVP to MALT: 388-1007 or malt2@middlebury.edu .

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NEWS & EVENT HIGHLIGHTS 

Middlebury Dining Services goes wild...

by purchasing 25,000 pounds of fresh-frozen salmon fillets from Alaska that is.  Camille Padilla '07 helped Dining Director Matthew Biette make the right connections with a 500-member fishermen's cooperative (Seafood Producers Cooperative) that specializes in selling line-caught salmon, halibut and black cod and has a plant in her hometown of Sitka, Alaska.  In addition to students enjoying Alaskan salmon on their menu throughout the year, rumor has it that the upcoming inaugural luncheon may include a sampling of this wild salmon. Press release.

Furniture Donations Assist Many
Victims of Hurricane Charley received a shipment of surplus dorm furniture from Middlebury College in August.  The effort, which was coordinated by Assistant Director of Custodial Services Linda Ross, was part of a program under which more than 2,100 pieces of dorm furniture and twin mattresses from six different residence halls were re distributed over the summer to regions where the supplies were needed.  The furniture became available because of a scheduled replacement of dormitory furnishings in some residence halls.  Working through a recycling cooperative and two charitable organizations, the College arranged for furniture items to be packed by a local moving company, and sent to key areas where needed. 

Shipments to the hurricane-ravaged areas of Florida began immediately following the Hurricane Charley disaster as 1,500 pieces of furniture from two residence halls were loaded onto nine tractor trailers owned by the nonprofit, international charity Feed the Children, and shipped to their regional distribution center in New Jersey.  From there, some of these durable wooden furnishings and metal bed frames were sent to hurricane victims in Florida, while others went to other locations throughout the U.S. to support homeless shelters and low-income, first-time homeowners.  Earlier in the summer, furniture was shipped to flood victims in Haiti.

Looking for something to do during fall break?

Check out the Northeast Campus Sustainability Summit (NECSS) taking place October 14th - 17th at the University of New Hampshire in Durham, New Hampshire. The first U.S. Northeast Campus Sustainability Summit (NECSS) is designed to convene the growing network of higher education institutions, non-profits, activists, and community members working to advance campus sustainability in the northeast region. The NECSS Summit will be held in collaboration with Beaming Bioneers, the simultaneous satellite telecast from the 15th annual Bioneers conference in San Rafael California. The NECSS Summit will also actively anticipate the launch of the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development, which begins on January 1, 2005. The Decade offers us an opportunity to think ahead 10 years, to envision where we would wish to be, and to further implement the principles of education for sustainability. For more info and registration forms go to: Click here. Students interested in attending should contact Campus Sustainability Coordinator Connie Leach Bisson cbisson@middlebury.edu

The Monadnock Institute of Nature, Place and Culture announces its 9th Annual Fall Conference: A Taste of Place: The Lure of Local Foods on Saturday, October 16that Franklin Pierce College in Rindge, New Hampshire. "A Taste of Place" will bring farmers, citizens and students together to talk about the past, present and future of small farms and their impact on a community. Farming in the US has changed dramatically over the past 50 years. Small, diverse family-run farms have given way to large, efficient specialized industrial operations. Because of both topography and temperament, farmers across New England have resisted these trends more successfully than most. However, small and mid-sized farmers who are often the best stewards of our rural land continue to be undermined by national policies that favor commodity production. Ironically, this loss of farms is occurring at the same moment that increasing numbers of residents are recognizing the value of locally produced foods. Local products not only taste better, they also offer the consumer the satisfaction of knowing how and by whom their food was grown and produced. The past decade has witnessed a significant growth in what some have called civic agriculture, defined by author Thomas Lyson as "a locally-based agricultural and food system that is tightly linked to a community's social and economic development." Communities in the Monadnock Region are beginning to recognize the social and health benefits of "relocalizing" their food and agricultural systems. For more information visit: http://www.fpc.edu/monadnockinstitute/conferences.html.

The UVM Environmental Program presents the Wilderness Seminar Series this fall, Tuesdays, 5:00 - 6:00 p.m. in 108 Lafayette. Come to any or all of the seminars. The series will explore the many facets of wilderness as an idea, concept, and construct.

The full series schedule are listed in the calendar section above.

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY!!!

Climate Campaign State Coordinator
The Climate Campaign is hiring coordinators throught the Northeast U.S. to continue its support and coordination of campus initiatives to stop global warming and make ste level political progress toward a clean energy future.  There is a stipend of $75/month and other perks for an average of 7-8 hours of work per week.  Climate Campaign partners include: SustainUS, Student Environmental Action Coalition, Sierra Student Coalition, MASSPIRG, ConnPIRG, NYPIRG, Free the Planet, EnviroCitizen, Sierra Youth Coalition, and Greenpeace.  http://www.climatecampaign.org/

ENERGY EFFICIENT VENDING MACHINES

All refrigerated vending machines on campus have recently been equipped with VendingMisers, a product of USA Technologies that cuts the energy use by minimizing the work of the compressor and turning off the light when no one is around.  This device can save an average of 46 percent of the annual energy consumption that would otherwise be used by the vending machine.  In 2003, the Environmental Council awarded a campus sustainability grant to a team of faculty, staff and students to study the effectiveness of VendingMisers.  Their positive findings led to a revised contract with Farrell Vending, who installed the devices on the units they serve throughout campus.