Sustainability is Growing on Campus

This week we are welcoming the Class of 2018 on campus.  Among the many things they are learning about Ripon College is the importance of sustainability: use less stuff, use less energy,  and what can be recycled on campus (pretty much everything!).  Several dozen students and their families dropped by the Sustainability table in Pickard Commons for the Resource Fair. 

Resource Fair June 24-26, 2014

They also got to hear Kaitlyn Welzen '15 talk about the campus hoophouse and campus garden, as well as programs Sodexo dining has put in place to provide students with nutritious, local, and international options.  After her presentation, Kaitlyn was down in the garden picking strawberries and getting the ground ready for a late planting.

Kaitlyn Welzen taking a break from gardening

Cortland apples growing; hoophouse skeleton and compost in background

Happily, the Cortland apples are growing beautifully.  Perhaps we'll have enough apples this fall to bring in the apple press and make cider!

Sodexo Intern Update #6: Honey & local greens

The Commons is now generally serving a “minimal meat Monday” menu on the classics line and healthy choice line for dinner. It is not advertised as such, but it is part of the goal to be more sustainable by using less meat-intensive meals. There has also been an increase in vegan foods and labeling them as such, which is fantastic for individuals who prefer not to eat animal products. 

On the other side of that, the EGOR honey that was in the Commons at the beginning of the semester has been replaced with another local honey source: Henry’s Honey in Redgranite, WI. Here is a link to their Facebook page if you want more information: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Henrys-Honey-Farm/170454659631298.

 

In terms of sustainability, the Commons featured an educational campaign in the hopes of reducing straw usage as unnecessary waste in some cases. The straws are still available at the cashier’s stand, but are less accessible, and so individuals need to consciously make the decision to use a straw rather than do so out of habit. Also, Sodexo is part of the Recyclemania challenge and the campus “We proudly serve Starbucks” has a punch card program where after buying 10 drinks with a reusable mug, you get the 11^th free. You win and so does the environment! 

Projects that are currently being worked on include how to include more local produce into the menu and also considering the possibility of incorporating some seasonal foods either more or less into the offerings according to the season. In a future blog, look for the results of a 14 for ’14 grant (through the President’s Office) that I wrote to increase food sustainability on campus. This is another project that is currently being worked on; but more on that later!