Country View Science Exploration Day

Students from the Southwestern College Green Team helped to educate students at Country View Elementary school about the basics and importance of wind energy this past Wednesday. The Green Team taught principles about electricity, basic energy conservation and how a wind turbine works to nearly 150 K-4th grade students throughout the afternoon.

To demonstrate how a wind turbine works, Sydnee Nelson and the other Green Team students led the children in the construction of paper pinwheels. Green Team students who participated in the afternoon were Nelson, Briana Cathcart, Elle Nguyen, Sarah Rommelfanger, Kelcie Parrish, Daniel Van Sickle, Shea Wilson, and Paul Swisher.

The Green Team presentations were part of the Country View Science Exploration Day, originally scheduled to take place at Island Park. Due to the weather forecast of rain, the Field Trip was moved to Country View. The day featured a total of 7 rotations for the students including the Green Team, a nature walk, a soybean and food presentation by the extension office, a demonstration of wind, water and erosion by the Cowley conservation office, a talk by Dr. Charlie Hunter and several Southwestern biology students, a leaf rubbing exercise and some time at the playground.

Green Team Students Master High Ropes

Sunday, October 2, Green Team Southwestern students went to Camp Horizon near Arkansas City, KS. Each month, the Green Team gets together for team social activities. This month's activity was to have a cookout and then brave the Camp Horizon high ropes course. The students performed 4 high ropes elements at a height of 25-30 feet above the ground.

The high ropes were an excellent team building activity. We learned to trust each other, challenge ourselves and our fears and encourage each other on to success.

Clint preparing for his jump

Tendai reaching for the trapeze

Clint on the balance beam

David and Daniel working together trying not to fall

Green Team Hosts Leader in Pollution Prevention

On Monday, October 3, Green Team Southwestern hosted a speaker during the annual Lunches with Leaders event at Southwestern College. Lunches with Leaders is put on by Leadership Southwestern and allows campus organizations to bring in experts from their specific fields to share their thoughts on leadership development and how they became the leader that they are today.

The Green Team presentation was given by David A.Carter, pollution prevention specialist from Kansas State University. Carter has served as a pollution prevention specialist with the Kansas State University Pollution Prevention Institute since June 2006.  Prior to coming to K-State, Carter was in private consulting, assisting federal facilities and private organizations in environmental compliance and implementing the ISO 14001 Environmental Management System (EMS) standard.  Carter is certified as an energy manager by the Association of Energy Engineers and is a RABQSA-certified ISO 14001 EMS auditor.  Carter received his B.S. in Biology from Florida Tech and his M.S. in Toxicology from Kansas State University.

Carter spoke to a group of 23 Southwestern students. He spoke about his time in the military and how ways to become a leader are to be willing to speak your mind and be available to do what is needed. Carter got his start in the environmental industry in the military and said that it was the best decision he ever made. He has an intense passion for the betterment of the environment and he strives to live out his beliefs and values in his everyday actions.

Carter, while he was on the SC campus, also taught the students in the Introduction to Sustainability I class about energy efficiency later that afternoon. Carter and Green Team Southwestern Director, Jason Speegle became acquainted with one another during their interactions in the Resourceful Kansas program.

Southwestern Partners with Numana to SWIPE Out Hunger

Winfield, Kan., October 2, 2011 — Southwestern College partnered with Numana this year to package 33,912 meals for the Horn of Africa in a program called SWIPE, (state-wide packaging event). The event took place in the Roy L. Smith Student Center and over 350 SC students participated in the event from campus organizations Green Team, Leadership, Discipleship, All Athletics Teams, SGA and Stufu.

Numana provided 20,000 meals. The remaining 10,000+ meals were funded by SC. Each meal consists of rice, soy, freeze-dried beans, and a vitamin blend. At 30 cents a meal, the fundraising goal for the college was $3,000. Leadership, Discipleship, Green Team, SC Athletic teams, SC Chapel, Student Government, and Student Foundation all contributed financially to the cause as well as physically. Other donors included Winfield’s First United Methodist Church, Central Baptist Church, and the Kiwanis Club.

World hunger is one of the most dismal situations facing our world today, according to Lindsay Wilke, assistant director of Leadership Southwestern. Nearly 1 billion go to bed hungry every night and 25,000 people die every day from hunger related issues. But in just one hour, 10 people can package 1,200 meals and help save countless lives.

Green Team participants of Numana SWIPE event

"Service is ingrained in the culture of SC, from students to faculty and staff. To serve in a way that helps to decrease poverty, even a little bit is a tremendous honor, says Jason Speegle, director of Green Team Southwestern.

“We appreciate the community’s support as SC attempts to live out its mission of service and allow college students to contribute to a greater cause,” says Lindsay Wilke, director of Leadership Southwestern.

Southwestern College Receives Sustainability Award in Topeka

Jason Speegle - Director of Green Team Southwestern accepts Sustainability Education Award

Topeka— Friday, September 30, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment’s (KDHE) Bureau of Waste Management held its fourth annual Kansas Green Team Assembly in Topeka. This assembly celebrates the success of the state’s Green Teams and to shows appreciation for the commitment to environmental stewardship made by businesses in Kansas.
‘This annual event is a great way to showcase the green work taking place year-round,” explained Megan MacPherson, KDHE’s State Green Team Coordinator. “These business and individual are doing their part to not spoil Kansas and keep it clean for years to come.”
The following Green Teams were recognized at today’s assembly and received Green Team awards:

Dream Team Award – Hyatt Regency Wichita
This award recognizes a Kansas Green Team that has incorporated sustainable practices and principles into many aspects of its operations. The Hyatt Regency Wichita recycles 6,000 pounds of cardboard and 1,350 pounds of paper each month; the hotel also recycles plastic and aluminum. They have installed compact fluorescent lights in all their guest rooms and use t8 fluorescent tubes in their meeting rooms, all of which are recycled. Since 2006, they have reduced their gas, electric and water consumption by 9 percent. Each guest room has two bars of soap which potentially could be thrown away on a daily basis. They recover the soap from each room and ship approximately 400 pounds a month to a recycling company for sanitizing and distribution to organizations assisting those in need.

Continuous Improvement Award – SRS Record Center
This award recognizes previously honored Kansas Green Teams that have demonstrated a continued improvement in their program. The SRS Records Center has a four member team working to improve upon the shredding and recycling of records for SRS. The SRS Records Center headquarters a high capacity Allegheny industrial shredder which allows a large amount of paper to be diverted from the landfill. To date, a total of 92,490 pounds of shredded paper and 1,280 pounds of cardboard have been recycled.
 
Sustainability Education Award – Southwestern College
This award recognizes a Kansas Green Team that is an outstanding leader in the education and outreach of sustainability. This Green Team is heavily involved in campus sustainability education. Green Team members lead sustainability trainings in the residence halls and various institutional departments each year. They are also involved in community outreach sustainability efforts. In 2010, in collaboration with USD465, the Green Team began a community garden in Winfield. The purpose of the garden is to emphasize the importance of locally grown food and to support the local food bank. To commemorate Earth Day, they have planed activities such as Park-It-Week, Plant-a-Tree Day, a nature hike, various educational speakers and Sweep Winfield.

Leadership Award – Becky Carter, Larned Juvenile Correctional Facility
This award recognizes each year a Green Team leader who is a sustainability champion and agent of change within his or her workplace. Becky Carter has been a member of the Green Team at Larned Juvenile Correctional Facility since it was created. She has been instrumental in keeping their recycling program running and continuing to thrive.  Her main focus has been on educating the youth on the importance of recycling and how to do it properly. Carter also single handedly kept the recycling program at Larned Juvenile Correctional Facility operational since budget cuts discontinued the pickup of materials. She takes time every week to gather items around the facility and enlists the help of Green Team members help to deliver the recycling material. Carter has also been instrumental in the maintenance of the community garden.

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.

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.

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 9^th 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.

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).