SC Green Team Receives Grant Through Kansas Campus Compact

The Southwestern College Green Team educated Winfield High School students on Thursday, Jan. 28 regarding the importance of sustainable living.
The Green Team spoke at Winfield High School Thursday morning in the auditorium as a part of the Commemorate Kansas/Serve Kansas mini-grant that was awarded through Kansas Campus Compact.
Sydnee Nelson, Clay Center; Timothy Henry, Caldwell; Sarah Rommelfanger, Baldwin City, and Tendai Kwaramba, Zimbabwe, students from the Southwestern College Green Team that developed and gave the educational presentation on sustainability in Kansas. The scope of the presentation included the history of Kansas as a leader in agriculture and sustainable living in the past as well as practical suggestions for sustainable living now and into the future.
The project culminated with a presentation on renewable energy by Brian Robinson and Justin Cates of Cates Supply at the Southwestern College biology field station. Cates Supply recently installed a 2.5-kilowatt solar array and a 200-watt wind turbine which provide all of the power for the Biology Field Station. The students were allowed to tour the biology field station with Rick Cowlishaw, Southwestern College assistant professor of biology, and see firsthand how renewable energy functions.
The Commemorate Kansas/Serve Kansas program was created to promote higher education participation in activities that foster a greater appreciation for Kansas history and promote opportunities for students, faculty, and community members to do measurable, meaningful, sustainable service to their communities in support of the Kansas State Historical Society’s efforts to commemorate the 149th Kansas Day. Six other institutions participating in the Commemorate Kansas/Serve Kansas program were Butler Community College, Fort Hays State University, Garden City Community College, Hutchinson Community College, Kansas State University, and Seward County Community College. “These creative projects are an indication that students and faculty at Kansas colleges and universities are aware of the importance of connecting their education with a civic purpose that serves all of Kansas’ citizens,” said Matthew Lindsey, executive director for Kansas Campus Compact
The Southwestern biology field Station is located on 240 acres of land approximately 10 miles north of Winfield. It will provide the students with a combination of Kansas’s past and present (agriculture) and its future (renewable energy generation).