Post prepared by Sustainability Intern Kendra Held with photos by Katherine Mattinen.
Senior Rachel Belvedere organized Gustavus’ first Eco Fair of the current academic year, held on Monday, November 18th. A platform for students, staff, faculty and administration to learn about on-campus initiatives, the Eco Fair celebrated successful initiatives on campus and encouraged the community on our next steps toward a more sustainable Gustavus.
Some highlights from the fair:
Molly Yunkers introduced the plastic bag collection effort. Molly and the Bookmark have started a collection for thin, stretchy plastics (like bubble wrap envelopes, air pocket packaging, and bread bags) in the Bookmark. If 500 lbs of this material are collected in the next 6 months, we can get a bench for campus!
Chuck Niederriter (Physics) and Darsa Donalen (Physics) along with physics students promoted energy conservation on campus using working wind turbine models and an energy bike.
Dale Plemmons (Environmental Health,Safety, and Risk Management) highlighted battery recycling options on campus.
Paul Matzke (Dining Services)engaged students with a GustieWare speed-stacking competition and explained how important it is to return GustieWare to the Caf. $50,000 is spent every year replacing GustieWare. If we returned it to the Caf, all that money would be returned to us through reduced prices.
All seven sustainability interns were able to collaborate to make the fair a success and are looking forward to holding another one in the early spring.
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