Sustainable UMD

umd

B1G Steps, Small Footprints | Fall ’14

TERP

Farm

Grows for the Greater Good p. 10

ENERGY INITIATIVES 3 > LEAF LEADS THE WAY 7 > GREEN GAME CHANGER 15 > RESEARCHERS FISH FOR ANSWERS 18

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Our Path to Sustainability On a lush, two-acre plot in Upper Marlboro, the University of Maryland has created a little Eden called “Terp Farm.” It helps feed the campus and hungry families while teaching students principles of sustainability. Dining Services teamed up last spring with the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources to launch the farm—one of many campus projects aimed at greening the university.

Together, these efforts form a broad, action-oriented approach to sustainability that has earned the university recognition as a green campus. Sierra Magazine again ranked UMD No. 13 in this year’s list of “Cool Schools.”

Students, faculty and staff conserve and recycle. They work to strengthen the region’s ecosystems, improve health and create sustainability-related jobs. They start at home and carry the work to communities near and far.

This fall the city of Frederick offers University of Maryland students another living laboratory to experience the many sides of sustainability. This Partnership for Action Learning in Sustainability (PALS) will put to work hundreds of students from dozens of classes. They will address needs identified by Frederick. Some will help market local businesses. Others will map invasive plant species, investigate municipal composting, promote historic preservation and work on Carroll Creek.

These hands-on experiences help build students’ professional skills and community commitment. They help Frederick meet challenges.

In 2007, we joined with over 150 U.S. campuses in signing the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment. The ultimate goal we set calls for us to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. We have kept on track through a combination of institutional change, education and individual commitment. In 2012, we met our target of a 15 percent reduction of greenhouse emissions—a campuswide achievement with many authors.

For example, changes in lighting have helped cut energy consumption. New campus buildings meet standards set by the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program. We implemented a coordinated recycling program and started using greener cleaning materials—both award-

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winning efforts. Students are deeply engaged. The minor in sustainability studies is the biggest on campus. Student entrepreneurs develop plans for green businesses.

But as the campus greens, the targets grow steeper. In the next six years, our goal is to cut the campus’ carbon footprint in half (from 2005 levels)—more than double what we have achieved so far. To meet this ambitious 2020 goal, I have introduced three new energy initiatives: C ap greenhouse emissions related to campus development;  Reduce energy consumption by 20 percent;  Purchase only renewable power from the grid by 2020.

Over the next six years, our investment in energy efficiency will more than pay for itself in savings and job creation.

Sustainability involves more than our carbon footprint. A yearlong campus workgroup recommended that we improve water conservation on campus, including efforts to capture and reuse the runoff from storms. In our first major effort in this area, the new Physical Sciences Complex will capture groundwater for reuse. The St. John Learning and Teaching Center is making provisions to reuse both groundwater and storm runoff.

As part of our effort to become a national model of a green university, we must connect naturally with our neighbors.

Rather than see the campus as a green oasis, we actively coordinate with the city of College Park, Prince George’s County and the state to create a seamless, walkable community safe for bikers and pedestrians. New buildings, on and near campus, should incorporate green-design features, and help support a strong local economy. These hallmarks of sustainability guide our vision of the area’s planning and growth.

I am deeply proud of our campus’s dedication to sustainability. I thank our students, faculty, staff and alumni for the progress we have made toward our 2020 goals.

Of course much more work remains, and we need even wider participation and deeper commitments. Each of us can find a way to make this corner of the planet healthier and more hospitable. GO TERPS!

Wallace D. Loh President

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Departments

umd B1G Steps, Small Footprints Fall ’14

Contributors OFFICE OF SUSTAINABILITY

2 Milestones 4 Impact All Around 6 Students in Action 8 From Courses to Careers 14 Sustainable Sites and Scenes 18 Research Roundup

SCOTT LUPIN Director MARK STEWART Senior Project Manager AYNSLEY TOEWS Project Manager SALLY DELEON Project Manager ANDREW MUIR Communications Coordinator KATE RICHARD Sustainability Associate ALEXANDER JONESI JOSHUA HALL KARLA COREA-CARCAMO Interns

UNIVERSITY CREATIVE MARGARET HALL Executive Director JOHN T. CONSOLI University Photographer LAUREN BROWN University Editor JEANETTE J. NELSON Art Director

CONTACT Office of Sustainability 3115 Chesapeake Building University of Maryland College Park, MD 20742 sustainability.umd.edu

SustainableUMD sustainability@umd.edu

Highlights 7

LEAF Leads the Way

10 Terps Grow for the Greater Good 18

Researchers Fish for Answers

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MILESTONES

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The Ranking File

GO N AND

#13

UMD’s sustainability efforts continue to earn national recognition:

SHIP TER

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 A GOLD STARS (SUSTAINABILITY TRACKING, ASSESSMENT & RATING SYSTEM) RATING IN RECOGNITION OF ITS SUSTAINABILITY ACHIEVEMENTS FROM THE ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF SUSTAINABILITY IN HIGHER EDUCATION.

0

GY

0

SIERRA MAGAZINE

ON SIERRA MAGAZINE’S EIGHTH ANNUAL RANKING OF AMERICA’S “COOL SCHOOLS.”

 INCLUSION FOR THE FIFTH CONSECUTIVE YEAR ON THE PRINCETON REVIEW’S “GUIDE TO 332 GREEN COLLEGES,” WHICH PROFILES 332 INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION THAT DEMONSTRATE NOTABLE COMMITMENTS TO SUSTAINABILITY.

Campus Sustainability by the Numbers

252 15 $881,000 18% STUDENTS ENROLLED IN THE SUSTAINABILITY MINOR

GREEN BUILDINGS

SUSTAINABILITY FUND GRANTS AWARDED SINCE 2011

REDUCTION IN CARBON EMISSIONS SINCE 2005

78% 6 140 138 2,700 CAMPUS RECYCLING RATE

GREEN ROOFS

GREEN OFFICES

CHESAPEAKE PROJECT FACULTY FELLOWS SINCE 2009

SOLAR PANELS ON CAMPUS

3,250 14,000 $191,933 REGISTERED BIKES ON CAMPUS

TREES AND GARDEN PLANTINGS ON CAMPUS

FARMERS MARKET REVENUE IN 2013

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MILESTONES

PRESIDENT’S ENERGY INITIATIVES

Climate Action Progress

On Earth Day 2014, university President Wallace Loh announced the President’s Energy Conservation Initiatives, an ambitious set of goals aimed at propelling the university toward its next major Climate Action Plan benchmark: cutting carbon emissions in half by 2020. Three specific initiatives make up the new energy goals:

UMD is committed to becoming carbonneutral—having zero net carbon emissions—by 2050. The university is asking Terps to double down on their efforts to conserve energy and fuel and reduce waste in order to meet increasingly aggressive emissions goals. The next Climate Action Plan target is a 25 percent reduction in emissions by 2015.

President Loh’s new energy initiatives will help UMD reach the following goal of 50 percent reductions by 2020.

 P resident’s

Energy Conservation Initiative: Reduce electricity use on campus by 20 percent by 2020.

 P resident’s

Carbon-Neutral New Development Initiative: Negate added greenhouse gas emissions from new construction and major renovations through energy-efficient design and renewable power.

 P resident’s

Initiative on Purchased Power: Eliminate carbon emissions from purchased electricity by 2020 through the purchase of electricity from renewable energy sources.

Maryland is already taking steps in these areas. Since 2009, the university has saved more than 9,600,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity (about as much as the annual electricity use of 885 American homes!) through energy conservation projects. In 2013, 25 percent of UMD’s purchased electricity was generated from renewable energy sources, primarily wind. And while new construction on campus may not be carbon-neutral yet, it is certainly energy-efficient: Maryland requires new campus buildings to reach a minimum of LEED Silver certification, a designation that requires energy efficiency in the building design and operations.

Even while introducing these university-wide changes, Loh emphasized the need for continued individual efforts. “Ultimately, group success relies on individual participation.

If we are to meet our promises, each of us must do what we can to reduce our environmental footprints.”

PLANNED EMISSIONS TRAJECTORY

2012

2015

2020

PHOTO CREDIT: ORI GUTIN

2025

President Loh with members of UMD Student Government Association’s Sustainability Committee.

2050



CARBON REDUCTION TARGET REMAINING EMISSIONS



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IMPACT ALL AROUND

Maryland Cities Find “PALS” at UMD Students, Faculty Help Tackle Sustainability Challenges

College Park Councilwoman Denise Mitchell with the certification award, which is made from recycled glass.

College Park Goes Green

T

PHOTO CREDIT: TONY WEEG

he city of College Park in Fall 2013 earned the designation of Sustainable Maryland Certified after completing the program that connects the University of Maryland to communities across the state.

Run by UMD’s Environmental Finance Center, the program launched a Green Team, drawing on residents with a personal passion or professional expertise, to develop a three-year plan to improve its sustainability. It focused on wellness and qualityof-life initiatives, including a buy local campaign, Bike to Work events and an improved recycling program.

“It’s a great way to get others engaged and to assist your city in going green,” says Mike Hunninghake, program manager.

Leaders in Salisbury, Md., looking to redevelop the Eastern Shore city got fresh perspective and new solutions for flooding, traffic and pollution from an unexpected source: University of Maryland students.

In the first test of the new Partnership for Action Learning in Sustainability (PALS) initiative, which aims to have UMD students help shape a sustainable future for Maryland cities, 50 graduate and undergraduate architecture students teamed up with city residents to develop a master plan for downtown revitalization, placing an emphasis on sustainability.

Innovative ideas in the plan included raised buildings and sidewalks that could accommodate possible flooding, a natural treatment and cleaning system for rivers using marshes, an elevated bike lane connecting Salisbury University and downtown, a U-shaped housing complex with an arts amphitheater, and a visually exciting “gateway” entrance into the city.

“The city of Salisbury was really ready and willing to listen to any of our ideas and suggestions,” says graduate student Adam Chamy. “A lot of us involved with the project found our own reason to love this city and also think of it as our hometown.”

This fall, PALS heads to Frederick, the first official partner city for the initiative spearheaded by the university’s National Center for Smart Growth.

While the Envision Salisbury project was led and implemented solely by the School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, the Frederick project will involve UMD faculty and students from a host of disciplines, such as women’s studies, economics, urban planning and engineering. Students will take customized courses and hold workshops and focus groups to help Frederick address a variety of sustainability goals, from reimagining a city block to protecting the watershed against climate change.

“Bringing together professionals from every realm across the university truly enriches the process,” says Luis Quiros, assistant professor of architecture. “More importantly, it teaches every student involved in the program how others look at the same problem.”

The program will not only provide a new generation of students with experience working with local communities, says smart growth center Director Gerrit Knaap, but it will also help Maryland communities become more economically, environmentally and socially sustainable. Following the completion of Envision Salisbury, the city hired two interns from UMD to refine these ideas and help incorporate them into a city master plan.

“Our goal is to create a real impact both for the city and for the students, which will serve as a model for the rest of the state,” says PALS Director Uri Avin.

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IMPACT ALL AROUND

Physical Sciences Complex a Sustainability Success The new Physical Sciences Complex on campus is poised to become a landmark of both architectural and scientific achievement, but already it’s been lauded as a success in sustainability. The use of natural light, most notably in a dramatic elliptical atrium, is among the design features that earned the building Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. Other features include energy-efficient lighting fixtures, materials that come from rapidly renewable resources or include recycled content, reduced water use including a groundwater capture and reuse system for restroom facilities, and a green roof and plantings that capture stormwater runoff from paved surfaces and filter it into the soil.

THE EDWARD ST. JOHN LEARNING AND TEACHING CENTER UNDER CONSTRUCTION BETWEEN CAMPUS DRIVE AND MCKELDIN MALL IS DESIGNED TO EARN LEED GOLD CERTIFICATION.

GO representatives Audrey Stewart (left), Allison Ray and Vera Wiest have shown leadership in implementing Gold-level actions in their offices.

Green Offices Achieve Gold In only two years, a program encouraging colleges, departments and other campus units to go green has netted 140 Green Offices. The Green Office (GO) program guides offices interested in changing personal behaviors and integrating sustainability into the workplace, from shutting off computers at the end of the day to incorporating sustainability goals into office annual goals and reporting. While units from nearly every area of campus, from academic programs to facilities, have volunteered for the program, three offices were the first to attain Gold-level status: the Center for Young Children, the Denton Community Office and the Facilities Management director's offices. 

2,300

The Physical Sciences Complex features one of six green roofs on campus.

BSOS Creates Sustainability Plan

The College of Behavioral and Social Sciences (BSOS) has put its unique stamp on UMD’s first college-level sustainability plan, with goals based on a balance between environmental protection, economic development and social justice. The plan reflects not only the main tenets of sustainability, but also disciplines within the social sciences.

OVER FACULTY, STAFF AND STUDENT EMPLOYEES PARTICIPATE IN THE GREEN OFFICE PROGRAM.

 IN FALL 2013, BSOS OFFERED MORE THAN 45 COURSES FOCUSED ON OR RELATED TO SUSTAINABILITY, REACHING OVER 1,900 STUDENTS.

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STUDENTS IN ACTION

SUSTAINABILITY MINOR THRIVES

T

hey come from majors such as accounting, journalism and psychology.

They also come with a passion for the environment, whether they are green gurus or newly interested in the topic.

More than 250 undergraduates across campus are signed up for the Sustainability Studies minor, making it the biggest minor program on campus.

What’s more, it’s existed for only two years.

“The sustainability minor was designed to be very interdisciplinary,” says Eric Hoffman, academic adviser. “The goal was to bring in people with a wide range of interests and expertise to tackle the problem of sustainability, because to tackle sustainability we need people with all those interest areas.”

Business students are learning how to incorporate environmental issues into their economic analysis, says academic adviser Robb Krehbiel. Engineering students are thinking about ways to create green technology. There are even criminology and criminal justice majors focusing on wildlife crime, and theatre majors who want to teach about the environment through art and performance.

Here’s what some students have to say about the minor:

— STEPHEN TURSI ’15, CIVIL ENGINEERING

“ The minor is open to anyone and it's applicable to every single field…not only marketability in terms of what are you going to do after college, but also in being global citizens and stewards of the earth and caring for each other.”

“ Through my studies so far, I’ve come to learn that sustainable development and social awareness are key to running any successful business or making an informed decision for the good of a company.”

— VENEZIA SHIBLIE ‘15, ECONOMICS

— SREE SINHA ’15, PSYCHOLOGY

1% 12%

%

4% 15%

18%

8% 1% 8% 25%

8%

SUSTAINABILITY MINORS PER COLLEGE 15%

A. JAMES CLARK SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING

18%

COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE & NATURAL RESOURCES

8%

COLLEGE OF ARTS & HUMANITIES

25%

COLLEGE OF BEHAVIORAL & SOCIAL SCIENCES

1%

PHILIP MERRILL COLLEGE OF JOURNALISM

8%

COLLEGE OF COMPUTER, MATHEMATICAL & NATURAL SCIENCES

8%

ROBERT H. SMITH SCHOOL OF BUSINESS

12%

SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE, PLANNING & PRESENTATION

1%

SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH

4%

UNDERGRADUATE STUDIES

LOCAL

Alternative Break Trips Eleven UMD students headed to the beach for spring break this year, but not for a typical “fun-in-the-sun” vacation.

For a fifth year, undergraduates with majors ranging from economics and engineering to environmental science and policy volunteered through the Alternative Breaks program to work with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF).

They repaired bay-edge plantings, potted over 2,000 trees for future plantings and shook shells, a process that cleans sediment from oyster shells to encourage the growth of new oysters.

Trip leaders Stephanie Martinez and Cotter Rosenberg says the real challenge begins when the trip ends, when students work to maintain the mindset of service. Students are encouraged to develop further as active citizens and remain committed to improving their communities.

This year’s group returned to campus and immediately began forming a plan to establish a permanent student group to work year-round with the CBF. “We refuse to limit our impact to a single week of service-learning,” says Rosenberg.

PHOTO CREDIT: DAVID TANA

“ I really like how we’re all required to take one core class specifically for the minor. I think it adds a sense of community to the minor students.”

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STUDENTS IN ACTION

LEAF Leads the Way Last Halloween, a sustainability zombie lumbered around campus catching students “green-handed” for recycling and composting. During fall semester’s finals week, enthusiastic volunteers showed students how to make holiday bows from old magazines as a study break. In the spring, these same students hosted a “plant adoption” at the North Campus GreenFest.

These zombie-walking, bow-making, plant-providing students are members of the LEAF Outreach Team, a group of interns who are cheerleaders for sustainability.

Formed in Spring 2012, LEAF (Lead, Educate, Act, Facilitate) is a peer-to-peer education program that encourages and rewards sustainable behavior.

“Peer-to-peer education is so meaningful,” says Aynsley Toews, project manager in the Office of Sustainability and coordinator of the LEAF Team. “Seeing their friends use a reusable water bottle helps students see these actions as part of ‘normal’ behavior and creates a cultural shift to more sustainable lifestyles.”

Toews says the office used to struggle to respond to requests from groups across campus. “With LEAF, we have a team of enthusiastic and trained speakers, facilitators and educators who can increase our presence on campus.”

Seven to 10 students make up the LEAF team each semester. Though they are required to sign on for one semester, many embrace their role as campus sustainability peer educators and stay on long-term.

The LEAF Team members study engineering, English, and environmental science and policy, but they share a common interest in sustainability and a passion for working with other students.

“Being able to do outreach for the Office of Sustainability is one of the most rewarding experiences of my life, simply because it gives me the opportunity, the resources and the platform to make a much bigger impact than I ever could have made on my own,” says Doris Ihejirika ’16, a civil engineering major.

INTERNATIONAL

Building local economies through ecotourism, maintaining the rights and culture of indigenous people, and protecting forest lands—these are just some of the sustainability topics that School of Public Policy (SPP) students were exposed to during winter courses in Peru and Indonesia.

From small villages to large rice farms and from the jungle to an elephant conservation facility, students met Peruvian and Indonesian advocates to learn about environmental protection, building the economy and preserving culture. “It’s one thing to read in class about various development, environmental, social and security problems. It’s a completely different thing to experience them on the ground and get to know firsthand some of the people and places affected by them,” says SPP Senior Lecturer Thomas Hilde.

PHOTO CREDIT: THOMAS HILDE

PHOTO CREDIT: DAVID TANA

Sustainability Studies Head to Peru, Indonesia

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FROM COURSES TO CAREERS

GREEN ALUMNI

BETH SCHNEBLE

Beth Schneble ’07 went from being a Terp at UMD to working with diamondback terrapins every day.

The former environmental science and policy major works with a wide range of sea creatures, in fact, as assistant supervisor at the National Aquarium in Baltimore.

Whether she’s scrubbing a tank, greeting Australian blacktip sharks at the airport or raising sea turtle hatchlings, Schneble is proud to work at the tourist fixture that attracts 1.5 million visitors every year.

“The National Aquarium’s mission is to inspire conservation of the world’s aquatic treasures. We’re looking to spark the next generation of biologists and aquarists,” she says. “I see our animals as ambassadors. We hope children who see these animals will have that spark and feel a connection that inspires them to contribute to a better future.”

Many of the 50 species of aquatic life Schneble cares for in her gallery come from the Maryland and Virginia region, and Schneble collects some of them herself, including bullfrogs, blue crabs, periwinkle snails, rainbow darters and common shiners. She also collects coastal saltwater species from Virginia Beach and Assateague Island such as juvenile spadefish, kingfish, horseshoe crabs and pufferfish.

Once the animals are at the aquarium, Schneble continues to look after them and make sure they are being treated and handled with the utmost care

and attention. Instead of cleaning products or chemicals, Schneble uses elbow grease and brushes to clean the tanks, and the filtration system in the tanks take care of the rest.

Schneble started at the aquarium as an intern during the last semester of her senior year and began working there immediately after graduating. It should come as no surprise that even after seven years as an aquarist, she most enjoys working with the terrapins, a symbol of state and UMD pride.

“I believe they’re one of the most unique-looking species of turtle because of their distinctive shells, white flesh and black markings. They each have distinctive personalities, in my opinion, and take quite a tenacious approach to life,” Schneble says. “If they want something, whether it’s a specific food, sleeping area or basking spot, they will do whatever in their power to obtain it. I have to admire an animal so driven to get what it wants.”

Schneble dives deep during a lionfish-collecting trip in the Bahamas.

PHOTO CREDIT: NATIONAL AQUARIUM

“ I believe they’re one of the most unique-looking species of turtle because of their distinctive shells, white flesh and black markings. They each have distinctive personalities, in my opinion, and take quite a tenacious approach to life.”

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PHOTO CREDIT: TONY RICHARDS

FROM COURSES TO CAREERS

ROBERT KASHAN It’s hard to imagine a printing organization having a small environmental impact. But for Robert Kashan M.B.A. ’76, it was not only a challenge worth undertaking, but a requirement.

Following a career in corporate communications going back to the early ’80s, Kashan is CEO of EarthColor, a printing and marketing company devoted to environmentally friendly and socially responsible practices. Its sustainable initiatives include waste reduction, energy efficiency upgrades and reduced carbon emissions.

Clients of the New Jersey-headquartered company include prominent Fortune 200 corporations that want to produce materials promoting their sustainable initiatives.

Kashan believes successful business practices and sustainability go hand-in-hand and help build a company’s success. Case in point? EarthColor’s revenues topped $210 million last year.

“I think people are too focused sometimes on direct costs and they forget other benefits.

They lose sight of what is important,” says Kashan. “Doing the right thing works. Our clients get something that looks great, minimizes costs and has a reduced environmental impact. What company doesn’t want that?”

Kashan also serves on the advisory board for the Robert H. Smith School of Business’ Center for Social Value Creation.

“The most important thing about our school is that we’ve started to build a foundation that’s changing the minds of young people and the way they think,” he says. “That’s where I see a tremendous amount of hope. These are the future leaders in the workforce who will not be closed-minded in any perspective.”

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y Terps Grow gp for the ph

y

Greater Good 10

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PAST THE OLD TOBACCO BARNS AND UP A HILL OVERLOOKING ACRES OF CROPS STANDS THE FUTURE OF SUSTAINABLE FARMING AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND. IT’S INSIDE A NEW GREENHOUSE WITH PLASTIC WALLS, KNOWN AS A HIGH TUNNEL, AND ON A JULY MORNING IT MUST BE 100 DEGREES IN HERE. Eric Biggs ’15, Shulamit Shroder ’16 and Karyn Owens ’15 are loosening the hardpacked soil with shovels and

moving piles of compost to plant the first crops for Terp Farm. It’s hard work that they signed up for, because they

know where the fruits and vegetables of their labor will end up: on plates in the dining halls and in the kitchens of community members in need.

Sharing the students’ bounty is just one of the goals of Terp Farm, Maryland’s new operation located 15 miles south of the College Park campus in Upper Marlboro, at one of the university’s agricultural research facilities.

Through a partnership between Dining Services, the Office of Sustainability and the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (AGNR), Terp Farm is also teaching students on site

about sustainable agriculture techniques and providing a new supply of fresh produce to the UMD campus.

“The reason why we wanted to step up to this challenge is that we felt the university should be growing its own food and encouraging students and the community to take a close look at our food system,” says Allison Lilly M.P.H. ’12, sustainability and wellness coordinator for Dining Services and project leader for the farm. “The best way to do that is to have a very concrete idea about how food is grown, and that can only be achieved by growing it yourself.”

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“ YOU’RE GOING TO HAVE A HARD TIME FINDING A VEGETABLE THAT WE WON'T GROW.” —GUY KILPATRIC

The three-year pilot program received a $124,000 grant from the University Sustainability Fund to get started, and AGNR committed two of the 202 acres at the Central Maryland Research and Education Center facility. The focus of the Maryland Tobacco Experimental Farm has shifted since opening in 1947, and today, research on vegetable production now takes place on former tobacco plots.

Plant science and landscape architecture majors provided input on the farm’s initial plans, and applied agriculture students analyzed which crops

would yield the best results.

(Answer: tomatoes, strawberries and winter squash.) The same students planted a pollinator garden of native plants and flowers that attract muchdesired bees, birds and insects to the farm. Relying on natural pollinators helps reduce the need for chemical intervention and supports dwindling bee populations.

Guy Kilpatric, the farm’s lead agriculture technician, and Dining Services’ Facilities Management staff spent three weeks working on the high tunnel. Donated by Rimol

Allison Lilly, sustainability and wellness coordinator for Dining Services, and Guy Kilpatric, lead agriculture technician.

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Greenhouse Systems, it is heated by passive solar energy, and plastic walls can be rolled up or down to control the temperature inside. These features enable growers to harvest food yearround, instead of during the typical spring-to-fall season.

“You’re going to have a hard time finding a vegetable that we won’t grow,” says Kilpatric. Terp Farm’s first seeds included tomatoes, peppers, basil, cucumbers, squash and watermelons; the offerings will expand in time.

Owens, a plant science major, previously worked at Jug Bay Farm Market Garden in Upper Marlboro. “As soon as I heard from one of my TAs about this, it just sounded like a really cool opportunity. We’re kind of like the guinea pigs of this project.”

Later in the summer, she and the other two interns laid irrigation hoses to water crops and cleaned and packed the harvested produce

in a converted poultry building on site. From there, the fruits and vegetables are sent to campus.

John Gray, senior executive chef of Dining Services, says its catering arm takes a portion of the bounty, and the 251 North dining hall, where students can eat dinner once a week, gets some as well. Then the produce is processed and given to the dining halls, where it goes into select meals, Chef’s Featured Meals or the salad bar.

“Because the dining halls feed so many people, a harvest may only go into a few meals,” he says.

Chef Will Rogers of Catering is incorporating the fresh ingredients into the weekly menu of the popular Green Tidings food truck. “The Green Tidings food truck is special because it focuses on local and sustainable agriculture,” says Rogers. “We try to provide as

much local food as we can because it is the right thing to do.

We think of it as a step toward the modern era of food.”

The Terp Farm team already has its sights on the next steps.

One is to donate a portion of each harvest to members of the community in need. After all, says Lilly, promoting sustainable food isn’t just about being eco-friendly on the farm. It’s making sure that all people have access to fresh, healthy food.

Ideally, Terp Farm will be a way to change the conversation about food: to get Terps to start thinking about what they eat.

“Knowing that your food comes from 15 miles away and it’s been touched and prepared by students,” says Owens, “I just think that’s pretty cool.” p

“THE GREEN TIDINGS FOOD TRUCK IS SPECIAL BECAUSE IT FOCUSES ON LOCAL AND SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE. WE TRY TO PROVIDE AS MUCH LOCAL FOOD AS WE CAN BECAUSE IT IS THE RIGHT THING TO DO. WE THINK OF IT AS A STEP TOWARD THE MODERN ERA OF FOOD.”

(Right) A Green Tidings menu, which changes seasonally.

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SUSTAINABLE SITES AND SCENES

Map Shows the Way to Sustainability

A new interactive project puts sustainability at Maryland on the map. Visitors to the sustainability layer at maps.umd.edu can find campus locations of conveniences such as water bottle filling stations, electric vehicle charging stations and composting sites. The map also highlights buildings with green roofs or that are LEED-certified, renewable energy projects, University Sustainability Fund project sites, and a walking tour of selected sustainability features. Its online format saves paper—and users the nuisance of refolding it.

Maryland Apiary - The Diner

Terps Heart the Tap Filling Station - McKeldin Library

Physical Sciences Complex - LEED Gold-Certified

Guilford Run Bioretention Facility - Lot 1

Electric Vehicle Charging Station - Regents Drive Garage

Solar Array - Cole Student Activities Building

Rooftop Garden - South Campus Dining Hall

Living Lab Green Roof - The Stamp

Washington Quad - Stormwater Irrigation System

Composting - Food Court at The Stamp

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SUSTAINABLE SITES AND SCENES

Green Game Changer

Athletics Ramps Up Recycling Following the success of “Feed the Turtle” recycling bins in and around Capital One Field at Byrd Stadium, the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics (ICA) is taking an even bigger bite out of game-day waste.

With the support of Facilities Management and Dining Services, ICA has launched the “Drive to Zero Waste” program to divert waste from landfills. The goal: to make Capital One Field at Byrd Stadium a zero waste facility and eventually expand the program into all university athletic facilities. To help with this effort, the project received a $40,000 grant from the University Sustainability Fund.

“Our strategy is to establish convenient collection points and encourage fans to take responsibility for the waste they generate,” says Bill Guididas, campus recycling coordinator.

To reduce waste on game day, volunteers help fans sort their waste into trash, compost and recycling containers. Dining Services has played an integral role in the project by eliminating the distribution of

condiment packets and instead creating condiment stations near food courts.

The effort is also under way in the Big Ten Conference, which Maryland officially joined on July 1. Big Ten members Ohio State and Penn State universities have received national recognition for their zerowaste athletic facilities. The shift in athletic conferences is drawing more fans to College Park on game days, so the need to reduce waste and recycle responsibly has grown.

ICA has also taken several other sustainable steps in the past two years. It implemented a paperless ticket system for home football and basketball games and invested in energy-saving projects, including LED lighting and timercontrolled lighting at nine facilities, including the Xfinity Center.

“The Drive to Zero Waste comes with another big change for Athletics, and we are excited to showcase our commitment to sustainability as we start our first season in the Big Ten,” says Joshua Kaplan, assistant athletics director for facilities, operations and events. “We are reaching fans from Maryland and other universities so that everyone who comes to the games will know that we are a green campus. This initiative will help set us apart as a national leader in collegiate sports and sustainability.”

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SUSTAINABLE SITES AND SCENES

Tapped In New Water Stations Fill Big Demand What started off as a student campaign has evolved into one of the most visible sustainability projects on campus: Terps Heart the Tap.

Buying

disposable bottled water

costs 2,000 times

more than tap water—making it more expensive than gasoline.

Undergraduate students began in Spring 2011 to push for the university to reduce bottled water consumption on campus.

Following a flurry of Bottle Filling Station Committee meetings, a campus survey and an application to the Sustainability Fund, a proposal to provide stations where people could fill their reusable bottles with tap water was awarded a $62,000 grant.

During the summer of 2013, 64 bottled water-filling stations were installed on campus. Digital counters on the filling stations indicate the number of plastic bottles avoided based on how often the station is used. Over the next academic year following installation, people refilled their bottles so much that the campus Buying saved more than 623,000 plastic bottles. disposable The Terps Heart the Tap project was so popular that some bottled water departments purchased additional stations on their own.

A second University Sustainability Fund grant paid for 37 additional filling stations to be installed over this past summer. As of this fall, a times filling station is available in nearly every residence hall and most more than tap major academic and administrative buildings.

costs 2,000

During the 2013-14 school year,

water—making it more expensive than gasoline.

Terps diverted

Terps diverted Producing

623,000

bottles from

disposable water bottles uses about

landfills and over

17 million barrels of oil

pounds of plastic waste

each year.

12,300

by filling up their bottles.

During the 2013-14 school year,

Producing

disposable water bottles uses about

17 million barrels of oil each year.

623,000

bottles from landfills and over

12,300

pounds of plastic waste by filling up their bottles.

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SUSTAINABLE SITES AND SCENES

Green Behind the Scenes

Performing Arts Center Expands Sustainability Efforts

A

udience members with their eyes focused on the stage at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center surely have little idea of the growing number of sustainable actions backstage.

The most significant: a $20,000 light-emitting diode (LED) equipment upgrade for the Dance Theatre. LED lights are six times more energy-efficient and last 25 times longer than regular lights. Plus they eliminated The Clarice’s former costs of replacing lamps associated with traditional lighting equipment. The upgrade has helped the center save about $11,500 per year.

“Installing LED lighting in our Dance Theatre keeps us at the forefront of our fast moving industry, is a great opportunity to reduce our footprint and also saves us money,” says Jeffrey Reckeweg, production coordinator at The Clarice. “It’s been an important example to set for our students, faculty and guest artists as well as a great teaching tool for our design programs.”

Students are introduced to the color-changing potential of LED technology and the ability to “paint” colors with lighting units, reducing the need for gels, or disposable plastic films typically used to change the colors of stage lights. This leads to enhanced production capabilities in the venue.

While energy is at the forefront of the center’s sustainability efforts, The Clarice boasts other recent successes in this area. In Fall 2013, it hosted a production of “My Tempest,” which featured costume and set pieces made of recycled products. The center also constantly looks for ways to reuse and upcycle materials between productions.

“We routinely rent costumes to and from other area theatres,” says Jen Daszczyszak, costume shop manager at The Clarice. “But we also experiment with repurposing existing clothing to provide us with the raw materials for garments, such as the denim pieces in ‘My Tempest.’”

Another initiative in the works is the “Banners to Bags” program, which supports local business as well as sustainability. Valerie Smith, a friend of The Clarice who lives in Virginia, upcycles old event banners into reusable bags, which The Clarice plans to give as thank you gifts to donors and volunteers, and as giveaways at promotional events.

“Installing LED lighting in our Dance Theatre ... is a great opportunity to reduce our footprint and also saves us money.”

—JEFFREY RECKEWEG

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RESEARCHERS FISH for ANSWERS

RESEARCH ROUNDUP

NEW EFFORTS HIGHLIGHT RISKS OF ANACOSTIA POLLUTION

R

esearchers are working with residents in the Anacostia Watershed to tackle the intertwined issues of food, water pollution and health.

More than 17,000 people fish for their food in the Anacostia River each year.

These subsistence fishers rely on their catch—usually catfish—to feed themselves, their families and sometimes others in their communities. A team of researchers at Maryland is exploring the health risks that vulnerable populations, such as lowincome, minority communities, face from eating that fish.

Sacoby Wilson (facing page), an assistant professor of environmental health, runs Project CAESARR (Community-based Assessment of Exposure to Substances in the Anacostia River Region).“We really want to connect human health to ecosystem health. Many programs, while they provide important environmental data, don’t connect the

risks of environmental impact to human health,” he says. “We want to understand the health risks and get data to be implemented into policies.”

Environmental health disparities are a major issue in Maryland. Three areas with some of the highest minority populations in the state—Baltimore City, Charles County and Prince George’s County—also have the most sources of pollutants and chemicals. These include power plants, manufacturing operations, and garbage incinerators, and pollutants from these sources can end up in local streams and rivers where they are consumed by fish and, eventually, by people who eat the fish.

Disproportionate numbers of racial and ethnic minorities, low-income individuals and non-English speakers are affected by the high concentration of pollutants and the contaminated fish. And the pollution has an impact—a recent county health rankings study put Prince George’s last in

the state for overall health.

Through a School of Public Health partnership with the Anacostia Watershed Society and the Anacostia Community Museum, the UMD researchers created “recreational fishing days” to study the fish of the Anacostia River and help educate the community about the dangers of river contamination.

Through another partnership with the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, fish caught at the recreational fishing days are analyzed to detect toxins known to be present in the river. These toxins, such as polychlorinated biphenyls, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and heavy metals, can have damaging effects on skin, the liver, the immune system and the nervous system; they may even have carcinogenic effects.

Rianna Murray, a doctoral student in toxicology and environmental health

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RESEARCH ROUNDUP

An Illuminating Solution for Clean Water

Scientists Find New Hope in Solar Energy UMD researchers have contributed to a major breakthrough in safe drinking water technology, thanks to an international collaboration with colleagues at the University of Western Sydney, Australia.

Eric Wachsman, director of the University of Maryland Energy Research Center and professor of materials science and engineering, shared the 2014 Pfeil Award with Janusz Nowotny and colleagues at the University of Western Sydney for their paper detailing the use of solar energy to purify drinking water Wachsman and his colleagues discovered that when titanium dioxide (TiO2) is exposed to light, it reacts with water to create active agents that kill harmful microorganisms in the water. The entire process is driven by the sun, making it clean and sustainable.

Improved sanitation and

“ WE REALLY WANT TO CONNECT HUMAN HEALTH TO ECOSYSTEM HEALTH. MANY PROGRAMS, WHILE THEY PROVIDE IMPORTANT ENVIRONMENTAL DATA, DON’T CONNECT THE RISKS OF ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT TO HUMAN HEALTH.”

at the School of Public Health, says communication with local fishermen and the community is essential.

“The fact that the Anacostia River is contaminated doesn’t stop people from fishing and consuming the fish,” she says. “What we’re trying to do is bring awareness about possible consequences of exposure.”

Lisa Shaw, a graduate student at the School of Public Policy, attended one of the events with her son and nephew. “We are here because we totally believe in the Anacostia, we live in Washington, D.C., and we see the importance of making sure the water is clean, which promotes healthy living and cleaner communities,” says Shaw. “The Anacostia is very important in our community, and we want it to be around for the rest of our lives.”

THE SUS CUR

PHOTO CREDIT: ANACOSTIA WATERSHED SOCIETY/DEREK PARKS

Sacoby Wilson Assistant Professor of Environmental Health

cleaner drinking water could prevent up to 9 percent of diseases and over 6 percent of deaths across the globe, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Every year, 2.2 million people die from diarrheal diseases—a number that could be drastically cut if populations in developing countries had access to clean water.

“The developed world has to find more efficient ways to purify water, just as a cost savings and as a way of reducing our carbon footprint. The developing world just needs available water,” says Wachsman. And this need will only intensify: The United Nations estimates that 70 countries, many of them developing nations, will experience some form of water scarcity by 2025. “They need really low-cost, low-energy solutions.

Their lives depend upon it.”

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RESEARCH ROUNDUP

Research Highlights Professor Emeritus Wins 23rd Blue Planet Prize

Herman Daly, professor emeritus of public policy, won the Blue Planet Prize (sometimes called the “Environmental Nobel”) for his redefinition of “steady state economics” that incorporates the environment, local communities, quality of life and ethics. His research contributes to building a foundation of economics that will help solve global environmental problems.

$5M Grant to Improve Fuel Cell Technology

The U.S. Department of Energy has provided $5 million in funding to the University of Maryland, Redox Power Systems LLC, Microsoft Corp. and Trans-Tech Inc. to develop fuel cells that run on natural gas. Fuel cells convert chemical energy into electrical energy more efficiently and with less greenhouse gas emissions than other forms of energy generation. The project goal is to develop an affordable, efficient, market-ready fuel cell. Redox CEO Warren Citrin and Professor Eric Wachsman, director of the UMD Energy Research Center, have helped lead this research.

Scientist Authors 3rd National Climate Assessment Melissa Kenney, environmental decision scientist and research assistant professor at the Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center, was a lead author in the third National Climate Assessment. The assessment, one in the federal government’s series of reports to address climate change and climate science, was released May 7.

Her section focuses on decision frameworks: how risk management and acclimation help create policies to address climate change.

Sustainability Fund Supports Research of Anaerobic Digesters

Stephanie Lansing, assistant professor of environmental science and technology; Steve Hutcheson, professor of cell biology and molecular genetics; and Rick Kohn, professor of animal science, received a $20,000 grant from the university’s Sustainability Fund to develop a small-scale anaerobic digester, which will test the conversion of organic waste into energy. The goal is to convert dining hall waste into biogas, a substitute for natural gas. UMD currently burns natural gas, so finding a replacement fuel would reduce greenhouse gas consumption.

Researcher Creating Hybrid/Electric Vehicles Lab

Alireza Khaligh, assistant professor and director of power electronics in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, received a $45,000 grant from the Sustainability Fund to develop courses that will educate students on alternatives to energy use. The courses will focus on hybrid vehicles and the rapidly changing technology in this field.

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THANKS TO

EVERYONE WHO HELPED BRING THIS PUBLICATION TO LIFE, INCLUDING: Madison Birnbaum Erica Bondarev

SUPPORT A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE

The Green Fund encourages and supports the sustainability movement at Maryland.

Your gifts to the Green Fund go toward:

 The Sustainability Associate Program that places postgraduates in a one-year professional development position;

 Student internships;  Matching funds for sustainability projects on and off campus;  Sustainability education and outreach events;  Faculty training and materials that further incorporate sustainability into the curriculum.

Show your commitment to sustainability at Maryland with a gift of $50 or more, and you’ll receive a limited-edition SustainableUMD T-shirt. Your donation ensures that the university reduces its footprint while creating a brighter future for students.

Megan Campbell Christine Cestello Hinojosa Anna Delos Angeles Heather Dewar Sara Gavin Kim Robertella Glinka Priyanka Goja Maggie Haslam Taylor Keen Lorena Kowalewski Julie Kromkowski Missy McTamney Laura Ours Erin Patterson Abby Robinson Adrienne Small Laura Symanski Ryan Steinbach David Tana Martin Wollesen

greenfund.umd.edu

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Office of Sustainability 3115 Chesapeake Building College Park, MD 20742 www.sustainability.umd.edu

10 TH ANNUAL

smartandsustainable.umd.edu

Honoring our Past, Charting our Future‌

March 30 & 31, 2015

Hyatt Regency Baltimore on the Inner Harbor

Come celebrate our 10th year! terps leave small footprints

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