Creation Care Day and Earth Day Celebration

SC MANistry student build outdoor chapel

Students worship on the 77 during the CCD concert

City of Praise

Since 2008, when Southwestern College decided to Go Green, the celebration of Earth Day has stretched into more than a week. Commencing with Creation Care Day on April 16 and stretching all the way to Earth Day on April 22, the celebration of Earth Day has come to include a myriad of campus and community activities involving SC students.

MANistry students clearing trails

This year, Creation Care Day got the celebration started in a big way. Saturday, April 16 marked the first day of SC’s annual Park-It Week, a Green Team initiative to encourage SC students to drive less and raise money to feed the poor. This year 90 students signed up for Park-It Week and they pledged to not drive a total of 347 days during the week of Earth Day. For every student that signed up for Park-It Week, Sodexo, SC’s operations management company donated $1 to the charity Stop Hunger. The Green Team also collected old cell phones to be recycled.

Several other activities took place on Creation Care Day. MANistry, SC’s men’s ministry, held a Trail Cleanup event to create hiking and biking trails and build an outdoor chapel. Green Team Southwestern held an outdoor Creation Care Day Concert, praising the God of our creation with the band City of Praise and guest speaker, Joe Skillen, pastor of Asbury Church in Wichita. Green Team Director, Jason Speegle spoke about the importance of sustainable living at a men’s breakfast at Grace United Methodist Church that morning as well.

City of Praise plays for SC community at Creation Care Day

Sunday, April 17 continued the activities with SC students participating in Grace UMC’s cleanup efforts at Island Park as well as preparing the new Winfield community garden, a collaborative effort between Winfield USD 465 and Green Team Southwestern.

During the weekdays leading up to Earth Day, students groups were still very active with planet celebrating events. Green Team Southwestern students, Kelcie Parrish and Clint Dick presented about sustainable living to the Winfield chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (April 20). Some students planted trees on the SC campus on Earth Day. Students from Leadership Southwestern and Green Team Southwestern collaborated on an educational activity with students at Irving Elementary. The elementary students collected aluminum cans and recycled them. The money they raised was donated to the Winfield Humane Society. During the morning, they learned about the importance of recycling and were able to plant some trees.

SC students Sarah Rommelfanger and Christian Camacho plant a tree in front of the Welcome Center

Sarah working in the Community Garden

At SC, Earth Day is becoming more than just a one day celebration. Our goal is to create a culture in which we treat every day as Earth Day.

SOUTHWESTERN COLLEGE FEATURED IN "THE PRINCETON REVIEW'S GUIDE TO 311 GREEN COLLEGES"

Southwestern College  is one of the most environmentally responsible colleges in the U.S.A. and Canada, according to The Princeton Review (www.PrincetonReview.com). The well-known education services company selected Southwestern College for inclusion in the just-released second annual edition of its free downloadable book, “The Princeton Review’s Guide to 311 Green Colleges: 2011 Edition."

Created by The Princeton Review in partnership with the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) (www.usgbc.org), "The Princeton Review's Guide to 311 Green Colleges” is the only free, comprehensive guidebook profiling institutions of higher education that demonstrate a notable commitment to sustainability in their academic offerings, campus infrastructure, activities and career preparation. The Princeton Review chose the schools for this guide based on a survey of administrators at hundreds of colleges that the Company polled in 2010 about their school's sustainability initiatives.

Released on April 20, just two days prior to the April 22 celebration of the 41st Anniversary of Earth Day, the guide has profiles of the colleges that provide application information plus facts, stats, and write-ups reporting on the schools' environmentally related policies, practices and academic offerings. The free guide can be downloaded at www.princetonreview.com/green-guide.aspx and www.centerforgreenschools.org/greenguide

The Princeton Review first created this one-of-a-kind resource for college-bound students in 2010 with the U.S. Green Building Council, which is best known for developing the LEED standard for green building certification. This past fall, USGBC launched its Center for Green Schools (www.centerforgreenschools.org) to increase its efforts to drive change in how campuses and schools are designed, constructed and operated so that all educational facilities can enhance student learning experiences.

“College-bound students are increasingly interested in sustainability issues," said Robert Franek, Senior VP, Publishing, The Princeton Review. “Among 8,200 college applicants who participated in our spring 2011 'College Hopes & Worries Survey,' nearly 7 out of 10 (69%) said having information about a school’s commitment to the environment would influence their decision to apply to or attend the school," he added. "Together with the USGBC, we are pleased to make this free resource available to all students seeking to attend colleges that practice, teach and support environmentally-responsible choices.  We highly recommend the colleges in this book."

Southwestern College joins the ranks of outstanding universities and colleges nationwide that are leading the “green” movement through their own special programs and initiatives. “It is exciting that Southwestern College is being recognized for our Green efforts,” says Jason Speegle, director of Green Team Southwestern.  “Being environmentally friendly has become such a priority for our administration, staff, and students.  We are trying to become a model of sustainability.”

"A green campus can transform the college experience for students through enhanced sustainability education and by creating healthy living and learning environments all while saving energy, water and money as part of an institution’s bottom line," said Rick Fedrizzi, President, CEO and Founding Chair, USGBC. "We launched the Center for Green Schools at USGBC with a vision of green schools for all within this generation.  Partnering with The Princeton Review to provide this invaluable resource to college-bound students was a no-brainer for helping to create transformational change on these campuses."

How Schools Were Chosen for the Book

The Princeton Review chose the 311 schools based on a survey it conducted in 2010 of hundreds of colleges across the U.S. and in Canada to tally its annual "Green Rating" scores (scaled from 60 to 99) of colleges for its school profiles in its college guidebooks and website. The survey asks administrators more than 50 questions about their institution's sustainability-related policies, practices and programs.  The Company tallied Green Ratings for 703 institutions in summer 2010.  The 311 schools in this guide received scores of 80 or above in that assessment. (Note: The Princeton Review does not rank the schools in this guide hierarchically (1 to 311) according to their Green Rating scores, nor does it include those scores in this book's school profiles.) Information about The Princeton Review’s Green Rating methodology and its "Green Honor Roll" list saluting schools that received Green Ratings of 99 is at http://www.princetonreview.com/green.aspx

Southwestern to Offer New Minor in Sustainability

Beginning in the fall of 2011, students at Southwestern College will have the option to pursue a Minor in Sustainability and Environmental Studies (SES). The SES Minor will be available and achievable by students in all major fields of study. "It is truly an interdisciplinary minor," states Associate Biology Professor Rick Cowlishaw. The SES Minor incorporates courses from Economics, Political Science, English, and Natural Science along with three newly created courses in Sustainability. The culmination of the minor will be a practicum course in sustainability where students will be required to plan and carryout a sustainability related project on the SC campus or in the Winfield community.

Southwestern College has as part of its mission to "strive to live by and teach sustainability." The new SES Minor will help SC in accomplishing its mission.

SmartMeter Devices to Measure Electricity Usage Installed at Southwestern College

In an effort to more efficiently measure how much electricity is being used in each building on the Southwestern College campus, SC has teamed up with SmartSynch and is installing a smart metering system throughout the campus.

According to Jason Speegle, Green Team Director at Southwestern College, the SmartSynch energy meters will capture electricity usage from every building on the campus every 15 minutes and download wirelessly so that it can be viewed and monitored via the internet.

“It is important for us to know where we’re using the most electricity,” Speegle says. “We desire to cut down on our electricity usage in order to be more fiscally and environmentally responsible. This new system will help us focus on where we can become more efficient in how we measure our electrical consumption.”

Currently, multiple buildings are metered together making it impossible to distinguish energy usage of one building versus another. With the SmartMeters providing a visual reading of the energy usage, the college can identify problem areas or procedures that need to be improved and, according to Speegle, determine ways to impact the students’ energy use habits in order to lessen our environmental impact.

The SmartMeter system is also a tool that the city of Winfield may look into.

“I think the SmartMeter system is leading edge technology as far as metering goes,” says James Ging, assistant director of water and electric department for the city of Winfield. “The new generation in our industry is pointing towards smart grid technology. It gives a lot of information. I think the city and the college can work together. We could use their input and if things that help the college could help us that would be great.”

The SmartMeter system automatically monitors data collection schedules and meter alarms. In fact, these particular SmartMeters can be set to return near real-time electricity usage data as frequently as every 15 minutes. In addition, SmartSynch devices use deliver the stored data securely via public wireless networks.

SmartSynch is a Smart Grid Technology Company, which means it lets utilities communicate with any device on the electrical grid. The company promotes two-way delivery of real-time energy usage data over public wireless networks (AT&T, Rogers, T-Mobile, etc.). Founded in 1998, SmartSynch has installed SmartMeter systems for over 100 major North American electric providers and is the largest commercial and industrial smart metering provider in North America.

Green Team Southwestern Sponsored Moundbuilder Basketball

Green Team Southwestern sponsored the February 10th basketball games featuring Southwestern College hosting Friends University at Stewart Field House in Winfield.

In order to symbolize Southwestern’s initiatives to “go green,” the Green Team encouraged fans attending the games to wear green, and prizes were awarded to the greenest fan in the crowd. Many other games, activities, and information occurred throughout the evening.

Green Team members also used this event as a fundraiser. According to Jason Speegle, director of Green Team Southwestern, students are planning a summer service trip to Chicago where they will work at a camp for underprivileged children. The Green Team sold T-shirts, water bottles, Green Team coffee tumblers, and baked goods.

“We hope to raise some money and to do a few things to make the game greener,” Speegle says. “There will be multiple recycling bins inside Stewart Field House and we will announce green tips and hand out information that everyone can use.”

Several local businesses also helped with the festivities. They include Gottlob Lawn and Landscape, Winfield Recreation Commission, Donna’s Designs, and the Massage Group

For more information about Green Team Southwestern, contact Speegle at (620) 229-6311.

True Community Garden

The Southwestern College Green Team is teaming up with USD 465 to begin a School Community Garden in Winfield.

Green Team Southwestern has received a mini-grant from the Kansas Campus Compact and USD 465 has received a grant from Legacy to begin the garden in Winfield.

According to USD 465 Superintendent Marvin Estes, the Legacy grant allowed the district to fence in the plot on the north side of Winfield Middle School. Estes reports that the city of Winfield donated some old light poles for fence support and the school district provided the water supply. Some individuals have made donations already and Estes hopes that the garden will be fully operational this year.

“This is a chance to teach our students how to produce food from the earth and be involved in the community,” says Jason Speegle, director of Green Team Southwestern. “A portion of the food grown will go to a local food bank.”

Speegle also says that some of the food will be distributed to volunteers and some will be sold at farmers markets to financially sustain the garden.

The Green Team is inviting high school and college students and community members to be a part of the garden. Speegle says that volunteers are going to be especially needed during the summer months for watering, planting, and harvesting.

“Jason Speegle and the Southwestern College Green Team have brought new life to the School Community Garden through their labor and grant from the Kansas Campus Compact,” Estes says. “We look forward to continuing this partnership for the service to the greater Winfield community.”

For more information about the garden or to volunteer, contact Speegle at (620) 229-6311.

Green Team Southwestern offers $500 Heart of Leadership Award to High School Groups for Environmental Service Projects

Green Team Southwestern, along with Leadership Southwestern and Discipleship Southwestern are offering three Heart of Leadership awards of $500 each to fund high school projects in the following areas: Community Service, Environmental Service, and Church Missions.

If you are involved in high school or church group and are working on a terrific service project, let us hear about it. You may be eligible to receive The Heart of Leadership Award.

We will award $500 to one project in each of the following categories:

* Environmental Service Project
* Community Service Project
* Church Mission Project

For more information or to apply, visit the Heart of Leadership webpage. Materials must be submitted online by February 4, 2011.

5 Southwestern Students Attend AASHE Conference

Five Southwestern College Green Team members recently attended workshops by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) in Denver, Colo.
Students attending the conference were Clint Dick, Spivey; Mark Strecker and Stephen Strecker, Tonkawa, Okla.; Sarah Rommelfanger, Baldwin City; and Autumn East, Royse City, Texas.
Jason Speegle, director of Green Team Southwestern, says it is beneficial for his students to see what other colleges are doing about sustainable living.
“It is good to expose our Green Team students to other people at other colleges,” Speegle says. “There is a world outside of Southwestern College that is trying to progress toward the same goal that we are. It creates a motivation towards a larger sustainable effort. This was a huge educational opportunity.”
According to Speegle, close to 1,000 universities were represented at the conference.
“I thought the size and scale of the AASHE community was amazing,” Mark Strecker says. “I had no idea that North American higher education had such a heavy investment in sustainability. I learned a lot in the way of how to make Southwestern more sustainable and the different paths that can be taken to do so. Overall it was a great experience.”
Joining the Green Team members were Southwestern College assistant professor of biology Rick Cowlishaw and vice president for planning and new programs Steve Wilke.
“The AASHE conference was hectic, but we all learned so much that we can now take to Southwestern College and the Winfield community,” Rommelfanger says. “Events like the AASHE conference are very important and very effective ways to spread cutting-edge knowledge about fields that affect everyone. Sustainability is one of the most important ideas for our time, especially for the current generation of students while the stewardship-oriented perception of a citizen’s social duty is expanding at such a huge rate.”

Green Team Collaborates on Creating a True Community Garden

Green Team Southwestern is collaborating with Winfield High School (USD 465) in the creation of a community garden in Winfield. The community garden will be a sustainable source of fresh produce for the community for years to come. Several Green Team students are currently working with staff from USD 465 in order to prepare the land for next spring's planting season. "If the land is not properly cultivated in the fall, the ground will not produce a good yield of produce in the summer," says Winfield Superintendent Marvin Estes.

Some of the crops produced in the community garden will be sold at local farmers' markets in order to generate income to keep the garden running. Some of the produce will also be available to those volunteers who work the garden throughout the year. However, a large portion of the produce will be donated to the local Winfield food pantry in order to provide nourishment for the needy residents of Cowley County.

Green Team Southwestern was recently awarded a matching grant in the amount of $500 from Kansas Campus Compact. The grant is a part of the Commemmorate Kansas/Serve Kansas program and will help with the expenses of starting the community garden. The Green Team will dedicate the garden on the anniversary of Kansas becoming a state, January 29, 2011.

Be Free to Be Green - Plastic Bags

Southwestern College and the Crew from the KSCW have teamed up to bring you Be Free to Be Green tips on how to save money and care for the planet. This vignette discusses the benefits of using reusable tote bags instead of paper or plastic.