At SES (Semester in Environmental Studies)

While most Ripon College students are at home for Fall Break, a few students are off-campus getting no break, but having an exceptional educational experience. Among them is Tyler Messerschmidt '14 who is currently a student at Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, MA.

He writes,
The Semester in Environmental Studies at Woods Hole has been a magnificent experience so far.  Even though this is probably the hardest I have worked in any college semester, it is also the least stressful semester I have had at college.  The people here are amazing and it is very refreshing to be able to work along side people with the same drive and interest in the environment that I have.  This makes it very easy to put in the hard work in the classroom, lab and the field needed to succeed in this course. 


Here are some of his pictures of the experiences he's enjoying.

Check back for results from his proposed research project: " I have a tentative plan.  I would like to look at how primary production and species composition have changed in a hardwood forest.  For many years this forest had a consistent supply of nitrogen from a waste water treatment plant.  This plant has recently upgraded to remove a large amount of the incoming nitrogen from the water, and no longer distributes this over the forest."



Collecting fish with a seine net



Filling in a soil pit



Measuring photosynthesis



Sodexo intern update #3: compost, canning, eating a vegetarian diet, Food Committee, honey, Campus Garden

Last week was for me in terms of environmental sustainability. First, I took seven 5-gallon buckets of fruit and vegetable waste to the GrowSureEase farm to be composted. The previous week, I had delivered five 5-gallon buckets, so the compost pile is growing nicely and it appears that we are having more participation from kitchen staff in using the buckets for compostable materials.  That's  fantastic! Since the start of this semester, I would estimate that we have taken over 20 of the 5-gallon buckets to GrowSureEase (although I don’t have an official count). So, that feels like a great accomplishment to keep that waste out of landfills and to continue doing so in the future.

 At the Fraser farm, I met Seth Winkel, who has taken a class on how to do canning and is interested in working with Ripon College students to can some left-over tomatoes from the GrowSureEase farm. So, if there is anyone reading this blog that would be interested in something like that, feel free to email me at WelzenK@ripon.edu. We will hopefully be canning some tomatoes in the form of salsa on Sunday, September 29.

On a different note, I unintentionally ate in the style of a ‘meatless Monday’ yesterday; something that is far rarer for me than perhaps it should be. By doing so, I realized how easy it actually could be if one consciously decides to do so, even for a day. On that note, I have to pause to give all vegetarians and vegans kudos, because I don’t think that is something I could do every day. To all the omnivores out there who may be reading this: I challenge you to eat vegetarian for a day (or if you’re feeling particularly ambitious, eat only vegan-friendly foods for a day). You might be surprised by how easy (or difficult) it may be for you, or perhaps expand your horizons a bit. For me, it made me question why I normally eat meat every day. Is it the options we are presented? An unconscious habit? Taste preference? And perhaps the most important question: how can I change this? 

The Pickard Commons will most likely soon be making some changes in terms of the food it serves, with the implementation of a student-run ‘Food Committee’ in which student representatives meet with Sarj, Dean Ogle, and Melissa Bemus to discuss what changes theyt would like to see in on-campus dining halls.

In other sustainability news, look for a bottle of honey from the bees that EGOR keeps on campus to appear in the Commons within the next month. More on that when it happens and the student response to it.

Oh, and don’t forget to head down to the Campus Garden to pick any produce that you want! There are still many tomatoes to pick, so go enjoy.

               

Help collect seeds from the prairie

Enjoy the fall weather and Ripon’s wonderful prairie – help collect seeds.

Who: Anyone

What: Seed Collecting

When: Saturday, September 28, 2013, 12:30pm

Where: Ceresco Prairie Conservancy – meet at the Kegel Outdoor Classroom

Why: Each year Ripon College donates locally harvested prairie seeds to land owners restoring prairies on their land.

For more information, please contact Prof. Wittler, wittlers@ripon.edu

Summer 2013 Campus Garden

While most of us are away from campus during the summer, some students who are on campus as interns have maintained and even expanded the Campus Garden.  Take a look and see what's growing!

The garden has been expanded this year.

Because it is sometimes challenging to find students who will be on campus to maintain the garden, there has been a shift towards planting perennials like raspberries. Yum!

Look at these rows of tomatoes. We're looking forward to sampling the varieties when we return to campus.

Check out more garden pictures at EGOR's Facebook group page; search "Environmental Group of Ripon ( EGOR ) "

Ripon College Farmers' Market

During our first student Farmer's Market on May 4, 2013 participants and attendees of the annual half-marathon and 5K had the opportunity to welcome spring with local baked goods, honey, and early spring produce. Many thanks to Alison Thiel (Class 2015), Sodexo intern for all her hard work organizing this event.