Guest Post: SUSTAINABILITY BOARD GATHERS IDEAS, DATA, NEW ACQUAINTANCES AT GEORGIA COLLEGES CONFERENCE

(Originally posted on October 2, 2013 on Brenau University's Sustainability Center Website. All rights reserved.)

Have you ever considered getting an electric car, but  thought they’re too expensive?  According  to Hannah Solar Corporation, if you use the tax credit, a lease for a Nissan  Leaf can be had for as little as $75 per month.  This was just one bit of information among many gathered by a Brenau group  who attended the statewide conference of the Georgia College Sustainability  Network, held in Macon on Sept. 20. 

This partial listing of sustainability activities, presented by Michael Chang of Ga. Tech, seemed intimidatingly large.

“The round table session helped open my eyes on what needs to happen  before a campus can claim a ‘sustainability’ effort at any level of earnestness”,  said Robert Cuttino.  Together with Rudi Kiefer, who serves on the Steering Committee of GCSN, and Karen  Henman, he participated in the sessions that included topics as diverse as  curriculum-building, water conservation on campus, promoting sustainability  efforts among students, and a round-table discussion about what’s happening at the various public and private colleges in Georgia.  The variety of themes was also apparent among  the presenters, ranging from students attending Georgia College & State  University and Emory University to faculty from UGA, Emory, GCSU, and Georgia  Southern, as well as industry representatives.

As is often the case, student-led presentations were among the most stimulating. Here, Emory College junior Rachel Cogbill is shown presenting her group’s findings about a sustainable food coalition.

“The presentation about Zero Waste Events at Emory has got  me interested in investigating how to institute Zero Waste Events on our campus, and developing greater buy-in to sustainability”, said Henman. As the three members of Brenau’s  Sustainability Advisory & Action Board (SAAB) attended different concurrent  session, a whole list of projects and priorities evolved, including more  recycling efforts, studying the tree canopy on campus, energy efficiency and  more, which Henman put to paper and summarized for the committee.  A busy agenda for the SAAB seems assured.

“It was great to meet the people in person that I’ve been teleconferencing with during the summer as we were building the conference agenda in the steering committee,” Kiefer said.  “Eriqah Foreman-Williams of the National Wildlife Federation, who oversees the GCSN activities, was already on my ‘old friends’ list because she did such a marvelous job with the Farm-to-Table Conference in Statesboro last spring. 

Eriqah Foreman-Williams, who spearheads the Georgia College Sustainability Network and organized the conference, gave the concluding remarks.

And as a UGA graduate, I was delighted to exchange views with the people from Athens, and learn what they are doing on the state’s flagship campus over there.” 

Henman’s suggestions about a tree inventory and the campus  canopy are certain to be followed up in the SAAB, together with other  vegetation-related projects that are on the burner this year.  A first step is a guest lecture by Joan  Maloof, author of “Teaching the Trees” and “Among the Ancients”, scheduled for  Wednesday, Oct.9 at 5 p.m. in Thurmond McRae Auditorium (still being  finalized).  More rounds of weeds removal  and clean-up are also slated in the Bamboo Forest area of the Bioscience Field  Station.  With a design being prepared by  Teri Nye, and plant selections by Jessi Shrout (both of the Science Dept.), a  new teaching and research venue is emerging in the back of the Brenau Campus.

“Jessi and Teri had class responsibilities, so unfortunately  they couldn’t come along to the Macon conference,” Kiefer said.   “But the three of us – Karen, Robert and  myself – brought back so many notes and ideas that we can stay busy for the  entire academic year.  The key to it all, agreed to by every participant, is student involvement in these projects.  Just like last year, it’ll be a priority at  Brenau.”

(Written by Rudi Kiefer, Directory of Sustainability, Brenau University)

Farm to Table: Sustainable Food in Higher Education

(Originally posted on April 11, 2013 on NWF's Wildlife Promise Blog. All rights reserved.)

On April 5, Campus Ecology’s Georgia Campus Sustainability Network (GCSN) hosted a workshop on sustainable food for the our Spring Topic Specific Workshop series. Thirty-seven participants from colleges and universities across the state came to Georgia Southern University to learn and brainstorm on sustainable dining at their institutions. These attendees included students, faculty and administrators.

The ideology of “sustainable dining” is a fairly new concept on campuses. While students and universities have been focusing on energy efficiency and policy, of course important issues, there has been another looming shift in our country where people are beginning to focus on their food and what their body intakes. We’re not just talking calorie counting, but examining what farmers and food processors put in the things we eat. In the light of this shift, students are demanding their school dining services think about these things as well. Additionally, how far food travels is a considering factor. Reducing the carbon footprint of your campus includes decreasing the distance your food is travelling from “Farm to Table”. Basically, buying local, naturally grown produce and naturally fed meat is important for the sustainability of human health and the health of our planet.  And of course, in a still largely agricultural state like Georgia, opportunities for this should not be hard to find.

Friday’s workshop began with a keynote from K. Rashid Nuri, founder of Truly Living Well Center for Natural Urban Agriculture. Truly Living Well is an organization with two community gardens in Metro Atlanta’s urban neighborhoods. However, they do much more than gardening. TLW has a number of programs educating Atlanta and the state community on urban agriculture. Nuri came and gave a very inspirational speech on his background, starting Truly Living Well and his opinions on urban farming. We were reminded of why we were there and why this work is so important.

Jett Hatthaway’s lunch time presentation on Kennesaw State Students for Environmental Sustainability’s new student run farmer’s market

The rest of the workshop included a panel discussion with experts from every step on the path of sustainable food to your plate, a project description from Kennesaw State University’s Students for Environmental Sustainability on their student-run and revenue generating farmer’s market, and presentations from  Real Food Challenge and Emory Dining on sharing their practices from the student and administrator sides to promote local, healthy food on campus. The day concluded with a trip to a local meat grower, Hunter Cattle Farm in Brooklet, where the participants were given a tour and volunteered a bit on the farm with some of the routine duties. The tour guides stressed the importance of grass-fed beef and organic feeding of the animals they raise for human health. This sparked conversations on the natural diet of the food we eat and the pesticides and steroids often used in mass production farming.

Campus Ecology’s Southeast Campus Field Coordinator, Eriqah Foreman-Williams, holding two new friends at Hunter Cattle Farm in Brooklet, GA

Overall, this workshop was about giving people examples of best practices from other institutions and shedding light on strategies from different experts so we can build upon this knowledge. Participants, like Julie Shaffer, Projects Manager for Sustainable Emory’s Food Service, commented on how informative and empowering the presentations were. Shaffer said:

“It was very inspiring to see others who are breaking new ground in the ‘good food’ movement. It was such a pleasure to hear stories about the creative work colleges and universities are doing across the state, in the area of sustainable food. Momentum for this movement is growing, and it’s very exciting!”

I believe this was the necessary guidance needed to drive sustainable food initiatives forward on Georgia university campuses. In the next year, my plan is to organize strategic planning meetings with students, administrators, and university dining staff together to brainstorm how to tailor this new venture to their individual campuses.

- See more at: http://blog.nwf.org/2013/04/farm-to-table-sustainable-food-in-higher-education/#sthash.rCMoLf6c.dpuf

Georgia Colleges and Universities Gather to Promote Sustainable Dining Practices

On November 12, 2010, more than 40 individuals from over 20 colleges and universities in Georgia gathered at Kennesaw State University (KSU) to learn about sustainable dining issues and initiatives from some of the leading campuses around the state.  This event was organized by the Georgia Campus Sustainability Network in partnership with the National Wildlife Federation's Campus Ecology program and KSU's Sustainability Director, Dr. Robert Paul.  There was no cost to attend.





The day began with a tour of KSU's brand new LEED Gold Certified Dining Hall, the largest facility of its kind to be certified at this level in the United States.  We learned about the design of the dining hall with respect to energy and water conservation, as well as improved usability for employees.  KSU's dining manager then treated all 44 of us to a free all you care to eat meal, where we sampled the delicious cuisine from a variety of different serving stations.  Vegetarian foods, including vegetarian protein sources, were plentiful and many healthy dishes were offered.  There was also very visible labeling of all locally sourced ingredients, which helps students make more sustainable food choices.

After lunch, Shannan George of Life University, the world's largest chiropractic college, made a presentation about Socrates Cafe, the new zero waste dining facility on her campus.  All food and drinks are served in compostable containers with biodegradable utensils.  They are testing a prototype composter that breaks down all food "waste" into a natural soil amendment in only 18 hours.  This product can then be mixed with soil and returned to the earth, rather than a landfill.  This system requires no chemicals or enzymes, but relies 100% on mechanical processes and heat to break down food, including meat and bones which can not normally be composted.  Campus Ecology also recently published a Case Study on this project!

I followed with a brief presentation about reducing the environmental, social and health impacts associated with eating large quantities of factory farm meat and animal products.  In addition to offering more vegan and vegetarian options in dining halls and food courts, campuses can choose to provide more sustainable animal products like organic, free-range eggs and wild game.  While vegetarianism may not be for everyone, by decreasing our consumption of unsustainable meat and animal products we can reduce: land and water consumption, pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, deforestation, world hunger, unnecessary use of antibiotics, the cost of health care, and the rates of heart disease, obesity, cancer and swine flu, among other ailments.  Just some food for thought.

Nell Fry, Georgia Institute of Technology's Sustainable Dining Coordinator, made a presentation about cost-neutral sustainable dining initiatives.  These include energy and water conservation efforts, waste reduction through composting and recycling, local purchasing, substituting vegetarian protein options for meat, employee education, and several other simple steps that any campus can take to reduce their environmental impact.

Lastly, Emory University's Sustainable Food Service Education Coordinator, Julie Shaffer, presented on Emory's leadership in the areas of local and organic purchasing, as well as student engagement through on campus gardens and free culinary classes.  It was inspiring and informative to hear about the wide range of sustainable dining initiatives being taken by campuses across the state of Georgia.  Thanks to everyone who presented at the event!  I hope to hear many more great stories from campuses who participated in the workshop and look forward to future events with the Georgia Campus Sustainability Network.

If you are interested in learning more about the network or possibly getting involved, contact Carly Queen at queenc@nwf.org .