Earth Day Celebration 2010

The Southwestern College Green Team kicked off their Earth Day celebration with “Sweep Winfield” on Saturday, April 17.
“Sweep Winfield” took place at several areas around Winfield. Teams were in the vicinity of College, First, Main, and Sixth Streets.
According to Kate Norton, assistant women’s soccer coach and Green Team member, the goal of “Sweep Winfield” was not just to pick up trash in Winfield but to also bridge the gap between the community of Winfield and the community of Southwestern College.
Numerous Southwestern College organizations participated in “Sweep Winfield” including the Green Team, athletic training, men’s and women’s golf, men’s and women’s soccer, football, Leadership Southwestern, and Phi Delta Theta.
Winfield business sponsors for the event included Braum’s, Posh, Sodexo Education, Cuppa Jo’s, City of Winfield, Gottlob Lawn & Landscaping, Salon Avant, Gambino’s, Health World, and Winfield Recreation Commission.
Several additional events commemorating Earth Day include:
• Monday, April 19 at 7 p.m.—Home energy rating presentation in the Southwestern College Welcome Center. SC grad and certified residential energy rater Scott Kuhn will present.
• Tuesday, April 20 at 7 p.m.—Renewable energy information session on the Cole Mound Plaza (Mossman 101 in case of rain). Brian Robinson from Cates Supply will present.
• Wednesday, April 21 at 6:30 p.m.—Hope for Creation simulcast in Beech 104, presented by blessedearth.com. At 7 p.m., a nature hike around the SC campus beginning on the Warren Apartments lawn. Larry Schuster will guide the tour.
• Thursday, April 22—Earthday is plant-a-tree day at the college.
• Saturday, April 24—Creation Care Day, 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. The SC Green Team will host area high school students for workshops on Biblical views on creation care.
• Tuesday, April 27—Electronic waste recycling collection at the Winfield fairgrounds from 3 to 7 p.m.

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).

Southwestern Reduces Electricity Use by 7%

Southwestern College has had a good year in the reduction of greenhouse gases.
“We calculated our carbon footprint (the amount of energy used on the SC campus) and just looking at the amount of electricity and natural gas, electricity being the biggest generator of greenhouse gases for the campus, we’ve reduced the amount of electricity in 2008-09 by 7%, compared to the baseline year of 2006-07,” says Rick Cowlishaw, assistant professor of biology at Southwestern College.
Cowlishaw and some of his students went back and compared the utility bills from Southwestern since 1999. They calculated all the electricity and natural gas used per year. The group then analyzed the data and the variation from year-to-year. They took into account the weather patterns during those years, some years being colder or hotter and so the college was using more fuel to heat or cool the college. Cowlishaw says there was about a 4% variation between 1999-2007 in terms of fuel use with year-to-year temperature differences explaining about 80% of that variation. This suggests that the 7% decrease in electricity use amounts to real changes in energy use on campus and not just a weather-related phenomenon.
“Southwestern actually had another consulting group calculate the amount of electricity and natural gas used in 2006-07 and there number was very much like our number,” Cowlishaw says. “Our numbers matched which gave us confidence that we were doing this right. We figured 2006-07 would be our baseline year because of the independent verification of the carbon footprint estimate for that year. It was also chosen so we could capture the effects of many energy-saving projects on campus that were carried out during and after that year. The carbon footprint for this year and that year is what we would measure against in future years and to determine whether we are reducing or increasing the amount of electricity we are using.”
Sodexo, the company in charge of plant facilities, conducted several projects to help in this effort. They have replaced all the old light bulbs on campus with energy efficient bulbs; changed out the older boilers with more energy efficient boilers; and have changed out old air-conditioning units with more energy efficient ones. Cowlishaw says these measures do cost money but will eventually pay for themselves.
“Look, we are an old school with lots of old equipment but I think Sodexo is being very good about going through the college and recognizing these easy things we can be doing and I think they have done things that have a significant effect on our footprint,” Cowlishaw says.
Southwestern College is a member of the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment and has recently submitted their plan of action for 2010-11. According to Cowlishaw, Southwestern aims for a carbon footprint reduction of 20% by 2015.

SC Greenhouse gets New Tankless Hot Water System

A hot water heater at the greenhouse failed, and the heater for the other building was rusty, and near failure, too. SC got the funding to make a nice little green project out of the situation. For just about the same money, scrap piping is being used from Shriwise and a new tankless water heater that will serve both greenhouse buildings. The unit is very efficient, and best of all, will only make hot water when needed.

Recycling bins, Electricity and New Furniture

For residence life we provide recycling bins for all of the residence halls. All of the residence halls have recycling and my hall staff encourages recycling through events and competitions. Some of the hall staff also helps with the collection of recyclables. We have recently joined the Green Team for the recycle mania.

As for electricity, during semester breaks (winter break, spring break, or summer break) the hall staff checks to make sure that students have everything unplugged, thermostats turned down, and blinds closed. We also check to make sure that students don’t replace the water saving shower heads in their bathrooms. The hall staff also helps me remind students not to leave their windows open in some of the buildings that have AC units that run constantly if windows are left open. We also do health and safety inspections once a semester where we look for issues including overloaded outlets and unauthorized appliances.

I’ve mentioned in the past on the Jinx Tale “points of pride” that we have recycled and donated old unused furniture last summer. Again this summer we recycled 2460lbs of metal bed frames out of Wallingford Hall. When purchasing new furnishings for the residence halls I always strive to choose “Green” products. Our most recent furnishing addition was 150 new beds in Wallingford hall. They were purchased from a company called KLN Steel. KLN uses recycled products and environmentally preferable products, KLN has been declared "GREEN" by GSA and is listed in GSA's Environmental Products and Services Guide. KLN is the only furniture manufacturer on federal GSA schedules that has earned the environmental designation. KLN earned this designation through its initiatives in recycling, packaging, green fuels, land use and VOC reduction. You can find out more about this manufacturer’s environmental initiatives at http://www.kln.com/Environmental/index.aspx

New Laptops and Reforestation

The new laptops for freshmen, returning juniors, and faculty this year will have a reforestation effort attached to them. For every unit we purchase, Dell will plant a tree. This was an added value to the laptop decision this year. At this point we are looking at a total of around 380 units.

SC Hosts 2009 Kansas State Envirothon Competition

Eighteen high schools from around the state traveled to Southwestern College on Wednesday, May 13 for the 2009 Kansas Envirothon. The entire competition took place at the SC biology field station, north of Winfield.

The Kansas Envirothon is an outdoor, environmental high school competition where students learn and are tested on soils, forestry, wildlife, aquatics, and a current issue. The winner of the Kansas Envirothon will represent Kansas at the Canon Envirothon national competition.

“I think it is very exciting that many high schools around the state of Kansas are beginning to teach environmental care,” says Jason Speegle, director of Green Team Southwestern. “It is a vital part of our society, and teenagers and college students will be the ones to lead our country in a cultural shift toward environmental sustainability. Southwestern College and the Green Team are thrilled to be hosting the Kansas Envirothon this year and hope to be very involved with the event for years to come.”

The current issue for the 2009 Kansas competition is “Biodiversity in a Changing World.” Southwestern College professors Charles Hunter and Rick Cowlishaw educated the students in this current issue during their time at the SC biology field station.

Each county is allowed to send one team of five high school students to the state competition. Participating high schools and counties included: Hiawatha (Brown), Clay Center (Clay), Pittsburg (Crawford), Wilson (Ellsworth), Hill City (Graham), Holton (Jackson), Northern Heights (Lyon), Hillsboro (Marion), Valley Heights (Marshall), Council Grove (Morris), Centralia (Nemaha), Rock Creek (Pottawatomie), Riley County (Riley), Salina South (Saline), Linn (Washington), Neodesha (Wilson), and either Wathena or Troy High School (Doniphan).

The Canon Envirothon competition will be held Aug. 2-8 in Asheville, N.C.

SC Participates in RecycleMania

Southwestern College recently participated in a 10-week nationwide competition called RecycleMania. SC recycled nearly 21,000 pounds of cardboard, paper products, plastic, aluminum, glass, steel, and food products.

“I thought this would be a good way to set benchmarks in order to determine how much Southwestern actually recycles and to measure how much waste the college produces,” says Jason Speegle, director of Green Team Southwestern. “In years to come, we hope to take steps that will allow us to recycle more and waste less. This competition shows us how to measure our progress in both areas.”

According to the RecycleMania Web site (www.recyclemaniacs.org), RecycleMania is a friendly competition and benchmarking tool for college and university recycling programs to promote waste reduction activities to their campus communities.

More than 500 colleges and universities entered the competition. SC entered its name into three separate competitions during RecycleMania.

The first competition is called the Grand Champion division which measures the amount of trash that a campus produces versus the amount of recycling collected. SC finished 110th out of 206 schools with a cumulative recycling rate of 25.04% of its waste.

The second competition was called the Per Capita Classic in which the amount of recycling collected is measured per person on campus. SC finished 151st out of 293 schools with a recycling rate of 10.42 pounds per person (Kansas State finished 214th).

In the final Waste Minimization competition, schools measured how much waste (trash + recyclables) it produced per person. SC finished 63rd out of 148 schools with 41.59 pounds of waste per person.

SC Students Help Rebuilding Efforts in Greensburg, KS

The Campus Council on Ministry (CCOM) at Southwestern College took 15 students for a spring break mission trip to Greensburg.

“There are so many choices these students could have done for fun during spring break,” says Ashlee Alley, director of campus ministry at Southwestern. “I am excited that students want to spend their break in service to others.”
Greensburg was hit by a devastating F-5 class tornado May 4, 2007. Following that tornado, the leaders of Greensburg decided to bring back the town in a completely sustainable way.

Jason Speegle, director of Green Team Southwestern, and two of his students also went on the mission trip. The entire group received a tour of the green buildings that have been built in Greensburg.

According to Alley, the whole group worked with the leaders of Mennonite Housing, a group that does rebuilding following a natural disaster.
“We tried to help them in any way we could. They are the crew leaders for the project,” Alley says.

Winfield native and Southwestern College student Alex Gottlob donated seven trees that the students planted during the trip.
The students left Saturday, March 14, and returned Thursday, March 19. While in Greensburg, they lodged at the Greensburg United Methodist Church.

Anthony Cortese Visits SC

Listen to an audio interview with Dr. Anthony Cortese by SC's Curt Caden

Listen to a short audio clip by Dr. Anthony Cortese

Anthony Cortese, co-director of the American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment (ACUPCC), and co-founder of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), visited Southwestern from September 29 - October 1, 2008. Find out more about Mr. Cortese here.

He gave a public lecture on October 1, 2008 at 7:00 pm in Mossman 101 that focused on ways to make the green effort at Southwestern one that is embraced by the whole campus.

Cortese is the co-director of the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment. Southwestern College President Dick Merriman was an early signer of this compact, and the college now is engaging in progressively green practices.