LESLEY UNIVERSITY
No. 4
SUSTAINABILITY NEWSLETTER Spring 2017
The Office of Sustainability is committed to serving the Lesley community as we work together to preserve our natural resources for the next generation. By promoting, recycling, conserving energy, and facilitating alternative transportation, we seek to inspire and engage the future stewards of our environment.
Hard-To-Recycle-Items + Battery recycling located at Student Center, Sherrill Library, University Hall Public Safety, and Human Resources + Contact sustainability@lesley.edu to recycle appliances, electronics, Compact Fluorescent Lights (CFLs), computers, printers, cell phones, ink/toner cartridges, and more!
Lesley University Sustainability @LesleySustain 617.349.8322 sustainability@lesley.edu lesley.edu/sustainability
+ TerraCycle offers free recycling programs funded by brands, manufacturers, and retailers to help collect and recycle your hard-to-recycle waste. Items such as foil-lined energy/granola bar wrappers, toothpaste tubes, hair care and skin care packaging, floss containers, deodorants, cosmetics, and more can be collected and shipped for free. If you would like to start collecting these items in your office, check out the variety of free programs here. If you already recycle with TerraCycle please contact the sustainability@lesley.edu and let us know!
Spring 2017 Sustainability Newsletter
Celebrate Earth Day 2017 With Local Vendors, Music, And More! 5 Gold Is Official! US Green Building Council Awards The Lunder Arts Center 7 EPA Awards Lesley University 9 Lesley Takes Action With The Climate Action Plan 11 RecycleMania! Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Repurpose, Rethink... 13 Thank You For Supporting Walk/Ride Day! 15 Be Mindful And Donate Unwanted Items This Spring 17 Healthy Kids In The Lesley Kitchen! 19
Celebrate Earth Day 2017 With Local Vendors, Music, And More!
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his Spring, celebrate Earth Day at the new Mellen Walk! Join the Office of Sustainability, the Environmental Club, Lesley’s Garden Club, local vendors, and musicians April 19th 11:30AM -1:30PM. Bon AppÊtit will be serving light snacks and refreshments. Donation bins available for unwanted clothing, shoes, and linens. Damaged items will be recycled!
Office of Sustainability / lesley.edu/sustainability / sustainability@lesley.edu / 617.349.8322
Sustainable Transportation at Lesley + Register your bike with the Doble Public Safety Office + Lesley has over 300 bike parking spaces between the campuses + Bike pumps available at Public Safety on the Brattle, Doble, and Porter campuses + DIY bike repair stand located behind Stebbins Hall, adjacent to Lot B + Hubway station outside Lunder + Two Zipcar spaces outside University Hall + Check out Commuter of the Month in Lesley Lynx. Each month we honor a member of staff or faculty who practices sustainable commuting choices. Contact sustainability@lesley.edu and let us know how you commute to work!
Meet with Casella Waste Systems and learn about composting and recycling at Lesley. Cycle over for a free bike tune-up with Quad Bikes and learn bike safety tips with the City of Cambridge. Visit with Body & Brain for a free stress test. Register your bike with Rejjee, a bike theft prevention, recovery, and replacement app. A live performance of Los Sugar Kings begins at 11:30. New England Music Award Winners, Los Sugar Kings is a Boston-Based Cuban Roots, Rock and Reggae Fusion quartet who write, record and perform across the NorthEast United States.
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Gold Is Official! US Green Building Council Awards The Lunder Arts Center
Office of Sustainability / lesley.edu/sustainability / sustainability@lesley.edu / 617.349.8322 Images Courtesy of Bruner/Cott, Photo by Robert Benson
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he Lunder Arts Center opened in 2015 at 1801 Massachusetts Avenue and is a testament to Lesley’s commitment to sustainability. The centerpiece of the project involved the relocation and renovation of the historic North Prospect Church circa 1845 — quite literally the recycling of an entire building — with the stainedglass windows being restored and used in the arts center, while other church materials (pews, pipe organ, pulpit) found homes in places as varied as a local tavern to a Houston, Texas, church and community center.
The historic church structure is connected to a four story terra cotta and glass building that houses art galleries and studio spaces for the university’s College of Art and Design. It is connected by a dramatic glass atrium, which affords additional display space and a modern concourse for educational and social gatherings. Lunder Arts Center was designed from the beginning to meet high standards of excellence with regards to sustainability. Green design features which factor so prominently in the performance of the building, include radiant floor slabs, natural lighting, bicycle racks, stormwater collection, building envelope insulation, heat recovery ventilation system, and the “recycling” of an entire existing building. When you next visit the Lunder Arts Center, take the sustainability tour and learn about the many innovations that were employed to achieve this designation. 7
Diverting food waste from landfills reduces the generation of harmful gases that contribute to climate change, enhances the physical structure of soil, and provides greater drought resistance.
EPA Awards Lesley University! According to the EPA, food waste is the largest stream of materials in our landfills, accounting for 21 percent of the American waste stream.
COMPOST THINK BEFORE YOU TOSS vegetables & fruits paper towels cheese meats fish bones napkins breads & grains
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he national honor, which is part of the EPA’s Food Recovery Challenge program, recognizes Lesley as a leading New England institution for successfully diverting food waste from landfills. The university is among just 26 organizations in all six New England states that received the EPA’s Regional Food Recovery Achievement Certificate. Through a partnership with Food For Free, a nonprofit organization located in Cambridge, fresh food that might otherwise go to waste is distributed within the local emergency food system where it can reach those in need. The Cambridge City Council unanimously passed a resolution congratulating Lesley for the EPA recognition, noting that the honor establishes Cambridge “as a regional leader in reducing food waste.”
Office of Sustainability / lesley.edu/sustainability / sustainability@lesley.edu / 617.349.8322
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Lesley Takes Action With The Climate Action Plan
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esley signed the Carbon Commitment, previously known as the American College & University Presidents’ Climate Commitment (ACUPCC), setting greenhouse gas reduction goals of 35% by 2030, with a baseline year of 2006. The University has attained a 62% reduction already. What is even more impressive about this achievement is that it was accomplished despite a 33% increase in campus square footage.
Office of Sustainability / lesley.edu/sustainability / sustainability@lesley.edu / 617.349.8322
Lesley was able to reach this goal by investing in the following greenhouse gas emission reduction strategies: + Increasing lighting efficiency + Retrofitting heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment + Constructing all new buildings to US Green Building Council (USGBC) LEED standards + City of Cambridge Stretch Code + Converting oil boilers to natural gas boilers + Purchasing more sustainable electricity + Requiring that all new appliances and electronics purchased be Energy STAR rated
In response to this success, the University is in the process of reassessing future goals as part of an update to its current Climate Action Plan (CAP). As the University continues to prioritize energy upgrades, future investments will have longer returns on investment. Please keep an eye out as we nearer the completion of these goals.
+ Reducing airline travel and offering more online learning options 11
RecycleMania! Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Repurpuse, Rethink...
Office of Sustainability / lesley.edu/sustainability / sustainability@lesley.edu / 617.349.8322
Goals for RecycleMania include an annual student composting program. Participating students will receive a composting bin and bin liners for the duration of the competition. With your help to remove organics from the waste stream, we are not only offsetting GHG emissions, but helping contribute to a greener and healthier community.
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ecycleMania is a friendly competition and benchmarking tool between college and university recycling programs to promote waste reduction activities to their campus communities. Along with over 400 colleges and universities in the US and Canada, Lesley reports its recycling and waste tonnage February through March. Each week schools are ranked and categorized based on recycling amounts on a per capita basis, as well as the schools with the highest recycling rate as a percentage of total waste and the schools that generated the least amount of combined trash and recycling. Ranking is updated weekly and participating schools can follow their performance against other colleges and use the results to encourage their campus to reduce and recycle more.
As RecycleMania continues its 8-week competition, the Office of Sustainability would like to thank you for your commitment to reducing waste and support greening Lesley!
RECYCLE THINK BEFORE YOU TOSS paper plastic glass metal cardboard
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Thank You For Supporting Walk/Ride Day!
Green Streets is proud to say that the ball is starting to roll. People who are participating in Walk/Ride Days are showing shifts to more sustainable and healthier transportation methods.
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ongratulations on Lesley’s participation in last year’s Walk/Ride Day Corporate Challenge. Lesley placed 1st for green switches, tied for 1st place in healthier switches, and 2nd place in participation in your industry sector! Founded in 2006, Walk/Ride Day is part of Green Streets Initiative in Cambridge and provides a shared day for everyone in the community to celebrate, try out, or just be mindful of healthy environmentally sustainable commuting options.
Office of Sustainability / lesley.edu/sustainability / sustainability@lesley.edu / 617.349.8322
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Be Mindful And Donate Unwanted Items This Spring
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ach year Lesley diverts tons of unwanted clothing, shoes, towels, and linens during Sustainable Cleanout. Last spring Lesley donated items to local charities including Habitat for Humanity. Donating clothing not only diverts waste from landfills but saves natural resources used to create new textiles. Please stay tuned for digital posting of collection dates!
Office of Sustainability / lesley.edu/sustainability / sustainability@lesley.edu / 617.349.8322
Waste Diversion 1,000 800
Tons
600
37%
40%
144
175
161
167
35% 117 130
400 200 0
46% 158 161
50% 217 92
528
520
466
370
312
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
Fiscal Year
Compost
Recycle
Trash
LESLEY HAS REDUCED OVERALL WASTE WHILE INCREASING ITS RECYCLING RATE. RECYCLING RATES ARE INDICATED AT THE TOP OF EACH FISCAL YEAR BAR.
Drop-Off-Your-Unwanted-Items Accepted Items: Accessories (hats, scarves, ties, etc.) Clothing Handbags Linens (towels, sheets, blankets, etc.) Shoes When: TBD Where: 1 Wendell, Doble Hall, White Hall Dining, Student Center, And Lawrence Hall Note: Damaged items will be recycled 17
Healthy Kids In The Lesley Kitchen!
Office of Sustainability / lesley.edu/sustainability / sustainability@lesley.edu / 617.349.8322
Through these simple activities, participants become more comfortable trying new foods and can begin to shift their taste preferences toward fruits and vegetables. They learn the importance of “eating a rainbow” every day, and how easy it can be to transform whole fruits and vegetables into a healthy meal. By learning about the connection between what they eat and the ability to do what they enjoy, they go home with a newfound power to make better choices for their health.
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n Wednesday, March 8th Bon Appétit chefs at Lesley invited the Cambridge Community Center to visit campus for a nutrition and culinary education program, created with the goal of empowering children to make healthy food choices for themselves and their communities. During the two hour programs, kids learned about edible plants, tasted fruits and vegetables they had never tried before, cooked tasty, kidsafe recipes alongside Executive Chef Chris Wozny, and enjoyed a healthy kitchen picnic.
Healthy Kids in the Bon Appétit Kitchen, is a new nutrition and culinary education program, it was created with the goal of empowering elementary school– age children to make healthy food choices for themselves and their communities. 19
Lesley University Sustainability @LesleySustain 617.349.8322 sustainability@lesley.edu lesley.edu/sustainability