office of environmental sustainability newsletter fall 2015
An Introduction and Invitation from the Director of the Office of Environmental Sustainability: Sustainability and environmental awareness have a long history at Plymouth State University, and we are excited to continue our work to improve our community’s relationship with the environment. There are many sustainability-related activities taking place at Plymouth State University, and keeping people informed about and connected to our efforts is an on-going challenge. One new component of our efforts to get the word out about everyone’s good work twice throughout the academic year to provide an informal look at some of our current projects and plans.
Sustainability at plymouth state university Newsletter design and layout
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Our hope is that by keeping people more informed we can foster greater collaboration and activity among faculty, students, and staff to address our environmental challenges. It is only by working together that we can achieve the important changes that will make our community a more resilient and sustainable one. One of our goals is to provide resources to help the campus community become more sustainable. If you have questions about our sustainability efforts at best to respond quickly. Thanks for taking an interest in sustainability at Plymouth State University, and we look forward to working with you to create a more sustainable Plymouth State University.
Meet the Office of Environmental Sustainability!
Taylor Mckenzie Programs Coordinator
Laura Getts, Sustainability Fellow
Nicole Stevens
Cassandra LaVoie
Jason Phillips
Coleen Shaughnessy
campus
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coordinate our University wide efforts, and report our accomplishments to our campus community and beResidential Life, dining services, many academic departments, and other campus groups on a multitude of diverse activities ranging from curriculum development and energy competition coordination to involvement in energy purchasing and planning for the University.
active group of student employees and volunteers who are dedicated to the pursuit of sustainability both on campus and beyond. If you pay attention to campus signage, chances are you have seen our recycling guides work together to be more sustainable on campus. engage. First up this semester is the student named Do it in the Dark competition, which launched on October 1st. Throughout October and November, students will pull out all the stops to reduce their energy consumption in the residence halls. The Do it in the Dark Campaign was kicked off on October 8th by our Unplugged smoothies, good company, and talented musicians. A big thank you to the performers and to those of you that turned out for a great evening of friends, food, and entertainment. For additional information about the competition, please refer to the “Do it in the Dark” article.
voluntary program was established to encourage sustainable practices in the printing practices, purchasing patterns, transportation options, degree of sustainability awareness, and potential for creating a sustainable workplace. Keep your eyes peeled for information about how you can participate! At long last, our campus has joined of hard work from many departments across campus, a series of solar panels take a moment to admire the new installation the next time that you are on campus. For detailed information about
this solar initiative, please read the article, “Solar panels…”. Aside from concerns about the environment and a desire to ensure that future generations have the resources necessary for social and economic security, why should a university care about sustainability? One of higher learning’s commitment to sustainability is an increasingly important factor in students’ choice of where to attend college, and Plymouth State University continues to take steps to make its campus and operations more sustainable. “College-bound students are increasingly interested in sustainability issues,” said Robert Franek, Senior VP/Publisher, The Princeton Review. “Among 7,445 college applicants who participatmaking conscious efforts to positively impact student recruitment and retention. edu/sustainability/, where you can learn about the school’s Climate Action and Implementation Plan, view can Like us on Facebook and receive the latest information about our sustainable initiatives and campus events.
Do it in The Dark
For additional information concerning ‘Do it in the Dark’ and other sustainability efforts on campus, please
As of Thursday, Oct. 1st, students living in residential halls began Plymouth State University’s annual
Director of
the impact that simple actions, or inactions, can have upon energy consumption. Launched in 2007 by students at PSU, the campus-wide, “Do it in the Dark” competition pits residential halls against one another to reveal which group of residents can work together to save the most electricity. This incentivized competition runs yearly from October 1st until November 30th and features half priced laundry in February for the winning dorm. in the Dark’ is to raise awareness about the ease of saving energy and to empower students to save both energy and money throughout the course of their lives. Collectively, actions as simple as unplugging reductions on campus than ever before and is excited to help the largest incoming class in PSU history lead the way in creating a more sustainable campus.
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than in the past. These standings will certainly change in the remaining weeks of the competition, and any residence hall has the ability to win this competition. The idea behind this competition is to make everyday changes in our lives that will save us money and help us live more sustainably for a lifetime. Making simple changes, such as turning off unused appliances, TVs, and game consoles can make a big difference. Make these
Sustainability at Plymouth State University.
It is an exciting time on the Plymouth State University campus, as we currently have two of our largest renew-
developments for PSU that are cost effective ways to increase our use of renewable energy, and we look for-
Plymouth State University set ambitious goals to address climate change when becoming a charter signatory of the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment in 2007, pledging to reduce our carthe support of our community and hard work from many of us. In 2013 Plymouth State University developed
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sustainability goals, and switching away from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources is an essential part of our efforts.
Director of Operations / Capital Projects; Linda Dauer, Associate Vice President of Finance and Administration; -
we’ll be paying the same rate for electricity purchased from the solar LLC as we do for electricity purchased from our regular providers, with increases each year set by market averages. The LLC is able to take advantage of the state and federal grants and tax deductions by passing them along to their investors. At the end of six -
In addition to the solar project we are also excited to see another renewable energy project come to fruition wood pellet heating system enables the addition of essential space to campus for students’ and community members’ activities, is cost effective, and minimizes the environmental impacts of the building in a manner that is in line with University sustainability goals. Fuel for the heating system will be purchased from local New my, it also offers energy and science classes the chance to use the PSU campus as a “living-learning laboratory”
climate change challenges.
Growing Our Use of Renewable Energy – Let’s Make Green More Than Our School Color
ing collaboration between students, faculty and staff is a great way to showcase that involvement.
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the Sustainability in Residences class of this fall semester have been working with Physical Plant Staff to transform areas around campus. The transformation of these landscapes uses permaculture and low impact development designs to treat stormwater before it reaches the river, provides habitat, and creates a landscape that it aesthetically pleasing to by passers. One of the projects that was recently implemented is a rain garden on the south side of Lamson Library. The design was created by a group of students in the permaculture class with the culture concepts that the class was learning and the designs they were envisioning. One of these concepts is the importance of capturing water before it runs off into storm drains and goes into the Pemi River. A great way to capture this runoff is through rain gardens which help slow, spread, and sink er. Using the permaculture design, the Sustainability in Residences class worked with Physical Plant of hands on worksessions with Physical Plant, the rain garden was complete and ready for some water!
dents the access to information and materials that might not otherwise be available. This collaboration can also help Plymouth State promote student involvement around campus. This lets student voices be heard and allows them to show what they have learned from their coursework and share their accomplishments with the outside world.
The Rain Garden Initiative: A Student/Faculty/ Staff Collaboration written by Emily Hyde, Environmental Planning 2016
TIPS AND TRICKS FOR REDUCING YOUR ENERGY USAGE! Turn off the lights when leaving a room electronics or plugging them into a power strip, which can be easily switched off hibernate mode
Skip the mini-fridge. If you must, try to purchase one that is
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