This semester I had the opportunity a few times to sit in on a class taught by professor of Biology, Ryan Sensenig, called Roots of the Environmental Crisis. This new course offered at Goshen College emphasizes an interdisciplinary approach to thinking about our lives by examining the local connections we have to natural resources and … Keep reading »
Reflecting on Earth Week
April 1, 2013 Goshen College recently celebrated Earth Week from March 18-23. Each day had its own theme with a variety of speakers and activities to get involved with ranging from herb planting to upcycling art projects. All of these events led up to Earth Hour, 60 minutes in which everyone was encouraged to turn … Keep reading »
So What Should We Think About All These Dandelions?
April 22, 2012 This year we have a bumper crop of dandelions at Goshen College! In fact, I think it is safe to say that in the 108 year history of our campus, dandelions have never been this abundant or healthy. For the last several decades at least, these perennial yellow harbingers of spring have … Keep reading »
Native Prairie project
Large areas of the college campus lawn are being transformed from traditional lawn to native prairie laboratory spaces. For almost a year, Goshen College has been planning and organizing this effort, and on May 2 the process began. The change required that the existing turf be killed and new seeds be planted. Now the slow … Keep reading »
Looking for Energy Saving Initiatives
The Ecological Stewardship Committee is always interested in new energy saving initiatives. Some of those ideas are complex and long-term, such as the student-operated biodiesel plant, which converts waste vegetable oil into fuel for the campus generator and maintenance vehicles. Others can be as simple as a clothes line to avoid using the dryer. Either … Keep reading »
Lighting up our Christmas Trees
For the past several years we have been decorating the large spruce tree beside the Union Building with lights. It has been a great centerpiece for our Christmas celebrations. This year we decided to light up another tree, this time the one next to the Westlawn dining hall. Two trees, each with 1250 lights, but … Keep reading »
Goshen College Electrical consumption hits 15 year low
What in the world are WE doing? For several years we have been looking closely at our campus electrical usage and finding ways to back off. Five years ago our annual electrical consumption was over 7.6 million kilowatt hours. As of this October that number has dropped to under 5.5 million kilowatt hours. That is … Keep reading »
Recycling our trash for 350
Last weekend as part of our participation in 350 day, I joined several Goshen College students early in the morning to collect trash. Our trash. Three days worth. About 32 yards or 250 bags. When we opened up the bags we were able to recycle about 1/4th of that (8 yards). Of that 8 yards, about 2 were aluminum … Keep reading »
Introduction: What In The World Are We Doing?
Greetings, and welcome to my new from-time-to-time blog. My goal is to use this forum to discuss Goshen College’s efforts at sustainable living and practices. I chose the title because of its ambiguity. Sometimes I may want to rant, as in “WHAT in the WORLD are we doing?” Some of the time I may want … Keep reading »