Zirkle feels blessed to spend a lot of time outside. Not a day goes by when he is not struck by a gorgeous sunrise, fascinating insect, or the sacred sounds of birds.
NatureFest, an annual spring festival held at Merry Lea Environmental Learning Center of Goshen College in Wolf Lake, Ind., will take place Friday, May 9, 6:30 p.m. through Saturday, May 10, 3 p.m. NatureFest includes a 5-K run, hikes for all ages and interests, and booths with hands-on interactive nature activities. Camping overnight is an option. For a schedule, see merrylea.goshen.edu or call 260-799-5869.
During a chilly November weekend, 45 student leaders from eight colleges and universities gathered for a sustainability summit at Goshen College’s Merry Lea Environmental Learning Center. The goal of the sustainability summit was to bring students from area institutions together to learn, network and brainstorm ways to make their home campuses more sustainable. This year's focus was on food.
Hoosiers are blessed with a silent, unsung resource: abundant groundwater. This legacy is a 10,000 year-old gift from the glaciers that once covered Northern Indiana. But how vulnerable is our groundwater to contamination? Are we using our groundwater wisely or abusing it?
“Launch” is an apt word for the beginning of the Sustainability Semester in Residence (SSR), a new undergraduate program at Merry Lea Environmental Learning Center of Goshen College, Wolf Lake, Ind. Students begin the semester with a weeklong exploration of the Elkhart River Watershed, traveling by canoe when possible.
"Learning from Long Traditions" is the theme of the Annual Autumn Hope Conference at Merry Lea Environmental Learning Center of Goshen College Sept. 28-30, 2012. This faith-based event is a blend of time outdoors, reflection, conversation and worship. This year’s theme will explore the relationship between people and land in diverse times and places.
Runners who appreciate grass trails instead of asphalt will enjoy the annual Turtle Trot 5-K run, Saturday, May 12, 8:30 a.m. at Merry Lea Environmental Learning Center of Goshen College, midway between Goshen and Fort Wayne.
Most of us do not want to be a burden to those who come after us. We'd prefer to emit less carbon dioxide, have less stuff and demand less from our groaning planet. But how? What would environmentally sustainable living look like in the 21st century?
Goshen College is announcing a new, unique opportunity for undergraduate students to earn a semester of college credit in a fairly unconventional way. Merry Lea Environmental Learning Center of Goshen College will offer (beginning in the fall of 2011) the Sustainability Semester in Residence for students to live and learn in Indiana's first platinum-rated LEED® facility located on a 1,189-acre nature preserve. A cohort of six to 15 students will engage complex problems related to the regional watershed.
Somewhere in Appalachia, there is a big pile of extra coal: about 3.5 tons, or enough to fill five pick-up trucks. That's how much coal Rieth Village, a biological field station owned and operated by Merry Environmental Learning Center of Goshen College, didn't use in the past six months. The five-plus tons of carbon dioxide that are not in the atmosphere are harder to visualize but also important in light of mounting concerns over global warming.
