Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Electric Mower Donated to Southwestern College

Representatives from Southwestern College accept donation of the mower from Excel Industries in Hesston, KS. In photo (Back Row L to R): Larry Buller, Josh Schmidt, Jeff Gile, Dick Merriman, Jason Speegle, Roger Busenitz, Christian Camacho, Shea Wilson. Front Row (L to R): Sarah Rommelfanger, Kelcie Parrish, David Helsel, Sydnee Nelson, Briana Cathcart

Southwestern College was the recipient of a donated Hustler Zeon electric riding mower on Tuesday, Sept. 13.
            David Helsel, head of Southwestern College security, is the owner of Dave’s Enterprises, a small business that sells Hustler Turf Equipment. Helsel worked with Excel Industries, the parent company of Hustler Turf Equipment, a company which operates out of Hesston, to donate an electric mower to SC in honor of the Green Team and the college’s sustainability efforts.
            The mower is estimated to save Southwestern around $245 each year in gasoline and maintenance expenses.  
            Larry Buller, Josh Schmidt, and Roger Busenitz from Excel Industries, were in Winfield to present the Zeon mower with Helsel to Southwestern College President Dick Merriman; Jason Speegle, director of Green Team Southwestern; Jeff Gile, manager of plant operations at SC; and several members of Green Team Southwestern.
Visit http://www.hustlerturf.com/zeon.html for more information.

Monday, September 26, 2011

Green Team Students Learn in the Community

The past two Friday afternoons, members of Green Team Southwestern have gone on local field trips to learn more about energy and energy efficiency. On Friday, September 16, Green Team students, along with Dr. Michael Tessmer, Chemistry Professor and I toured the Winfield power plant. The group learned about the Kansas Power Pool and that the majority of Winfield's electricity is generated by natural gas and wind. Most residents of Winfield do not know that the city offers a wind energy alternative. Simply call the City of Winfield and ask that your home be powered by wind energy. It will cost you an additional one cent per kilowatt-hour, but it is certainly worth it!

On Friday, September 23, Green Team students toured the home of Mike and Ann Fell, Winfield residents. The tour included their wind turbine, solar array, and geothermal heat pump system, all recently installed to help provide renewable energy for their home. Their home is also very efficient, being constructed mostly from reclaimed wood from the the demolition of other homes and being constructed into the side of a hill.

These field trips were a great opportunity to learn about energy, renewable systems and energy efficiency in our own Winfield community.

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Moving Planet March Saturday in Winfield


A march will be held in Winfield Saturday, Sept. 24, from 9:30 – 11 a.m. i as part of the Moving Planet movement to bring awareness of environmental issues.

The march is one of many that will occur not only in the U.S., but around the world. Marches will take place in Africa, Europe, Asia, and Australia. Marchers hope to draw attention to the climate crisis and how our use of fossil fuels is threatening the livability of our planet.

“We are at a critical crossroads. We have an over-dependence on fossil fuels. There are alternatives that are more planet friendly,” says Rick Cowlishaw, assistant professor of biology at Southwestern College.
Cowlishaw has teamed up with Ann Fell to organize the Winfield rally. 
The marchers will meet at Memorial Park and are encouraged to bring walking shoes, bikes, roller blades, etc. The route will take marchers east on 9th Street then north on College Street and east again on Warren Ave. The final destination is the new wind turbine on the Southwestern College campus. Speakers will then address the marchers on what to do to keep the movement going and will highlight people who have made a change. 

            “This is a call for people to get serious about the climate crisis,” says Cowlishaw. “It’s time for the U.S. and the world to develop existing energy technologies to power the global economy in a way that doesn’t jeopardize our children’s future.”
For more information, contact Cowlishaw by e-mail at richard.cowlishaw@sckans.edu or by calling (620) 229-6162. Check out our website at http://www.moving-planet.org/events/us/winfield/1586.

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Green Team Does Service Work in Chicago Area



Last May, the Green Team and I (Jason Speegle) went on a service trip to Chicago and I wanted to tell you about the amazing camp where we stayed and worked. The name of the camp is Riverwoods Christian Center. During the summer, the camp works primarily with underprivileged children and teens in their area. The camp is beautiful with 80+ acres of cabins, trails and play areas set on the banks of the Fox River in St. Charles, IL.

We worked 4 ½ days at the camp. Work done while at the camp: a lot of woodworking, building bunk beds for newly constructed dorms and we worked on building a door to create a ventilation system for the workshop. We spent time pulling weeds, picking up loose tree branches and litter, weed eating, landscaping and planting bushes.

The purpose of this trip was to serve the Riverwoods Center. We were willing to do whatever they needed us to do in order to help them prepare for their upcoming camping season. We worked hard and our students not only accomplished a lot, but I think they really learned a lot as well. Working at Riverwoods definitely fit right in with our mission of "responsible citizenship in the area of sustainability." Riverwoods works with the economically stressed in their community, helping them create a sustainable future for themselves. The camp got us involved with nature and the beds that we were building were being fashioned out of the oak trees grown on Riverwoods campus.

We saw GREEN ELVIS!!
We also had some fun and did some sightseeing. We visited the Art Institute of Chicago, Buckingham Fountain, and the Shedd Aquarium. Riverwoods is located about 40 miles west of Chicago, so we had to take an hour train ride into the City each time we went. We also had an opportunity to attend the Chicago Green Festival. There were a lot of vendors, speakers and exhibitions. It was a great opportunity to see what is going on in the green industry.

I do my best to expose the students on the Green Team to different cultures and different ideas in the area of sustainability. Working at Riverwoods, visiting Chicago and attending the Green Festival definitely allowed us to experience a world very different than Winfield, KS.

Here is some information from their website (http://riverwoods.wordpress.com/our-mission/):

Riverwoods seeks to share the love of Christ with youth and families in economically-stressed areas of the Fox River Valley. In 2010, Riverwoods welcomed more than 1,000 youth to summer camp for a time of hiking, biking, canoeing, Bible lessons, nature walks, games, relationship-building, crafts, singing, swimming, dancing and much more.  We hope to build on that in 2011 by welcoming more youth than ever before.

When summer ends, the ministry of Riverwoods is just beginning.  Full-time staff members called Community Coordinators serve our communities by partnering with local churches to provide a variety of discipleship programs – from youth nights and open gyms to Bible studies and mentoring – all right in the communities.

SC Green Team Keeps Growing


The 2011-2012 school year is about a month underway and Green Team Southwestern has grown significantly this year. The Green Team added 13 new members this semester for a total of 22 students. "I am so excited by the size of our group this year." says Green Team Director, Jason Speegle. "We have accomplished great things the past few years with large contributions from a small number of students. With more dedicated students, we should be able to accomplish even greater things at SC."

The newcomers to Green Team Southwestern this year include, Christian Camacho (Puerto Rico), Shea Wilson (Arkansas City, KS), Jess Ratzlaff (Arkansas City, KS), Paul Swisher (Winfield, KS), Briana Cathcart (Fort Collins, CO), Teran Branham (Wichita, KS), David Barksdale (Chicago, IL), Cali Portenier (Grenola, KS), Hadley Barrows (Mound Valley, KS), Elle Nguyen (Wichita, KS), Ashta Jordan (Dexter, KS), Ashley Bruno (Selmer, TN), and Harrison Wynn (Mulvane, KS).