News
What's the latest on campus sustainability? See the 08-09 review and 09-10 current projects here.
2010 Organic and local vegetable and flower shares available (January 2010)
Meredith College again offers the opportunity to participate in a season of community supported agriculture (CSA). Beausol Gardens delivers baskets of vegetables, herbs and flowers directly to campus on Tuesday afternoons throughout the growing season (May-September). This project is tied to the Greenprint goal of increasing availability of local and organic food choices on campus.
Beausol Gardens is a farm in Pittsboro, NC run by Harry LeBlanc that grows its food using biodynamic and organic principles. The farm has been operating since 1997 and now provides food for over one hundred families throughout the Triangle. CSA is, foremost, a community: People joining to support a local farmer in producing food for their tables. CSA binds community members and farmers in relationships of mutual support based on an annual commitment to one another. This commitment helps ensure the survival of small farms, a local food supply, and of agricultural land. http://beausol.com/
Many common and less common veggies will be available, see a list here: http://beausol.com/vegetables_harvest.html
Veggie drop-off at Meredith College is Tuesdays at 4:00pm in the Chapel Reading Room.
Prices in 2010, with deliveries the first week of May through the end of September, are:
Full share is $600.00;
Half share is $300.00;
Flower share is $175.00
Every year the farm takes into account customers’ input. In 2010 Beausol Gardens is doubling the amount of strawberries grown, adding even more herbs and flowers, growing different varieties of tomatoes so that we can have more in every share and growing specialty potatoes (blues and fingerlings) instead of offering more basic "common" russets, among many other updates.
Beausol has a finite number of shares, they suggest signing up promptly.
In the pilot year of this program, Beausol Gardens delivered 34 baskets weekly to Meredith College during the main 2009 season and 21 baskets during the winter 2009-2010 season.
Payment: make checks payable to "Harry LeBlanc" and send payment to:
Harry LeBlanc
139 Beausol Lane
Pittsboro, NC 27312
Please print and fill out the Agreement, and return it with your payment so Beausol can better serve you and, if need be, successfully contact you if some emergency arises that might prevent delivery.
Beausol Gardens looks forward to seeing all returning members and meeting new members in a few months. From now until then they will be hard at work growing healthy, tasty, beautiful food (and just plain beautiful flowers) for you.
Please contact Beausol Gardens directly with questions:
Harry LeBlanc, Beausol Gardens
919-545-0204
Meredith College Plants Edible Landscape
By Melyssa Allen
The Meredith College grounds recently got a new addition when an edible landscape was planted as part of the College’s continuing sustainability efforts.The edible landscape was planted late this fall in the area in front of Ledford Hall, near Meredith’s Three Sisters Community Garden. A group of 20 students participated in the edible landscape planting. The new landscape features plants that will produce edible fruits as they mature. Apples, plums, pomegranate, blackberries, raspberries and kiwis are among the mix. “The idea is to beautify the area and offer a living demonstration of where and how things grow,” said Sustainability Coordinator Laura Fieselman. “The intention is that students are welcome to pick fruit as they pass by after class.”The project is a partnership between the Office of Student Leadership and Service, the Office of Sustainability, the Grounds Department and volunteers involved with the Three Sisters Community Garden. The edible landscape was funded in part by a Meredith College Diversity Grant.
The edible landscape project meets two of the goals in Meredith’s Greenprint, the College’s plan for integrating sustainability on campus. The related outcomes are Outcome 1.3: The community will engage in action for sustainability; and Outcome 2.3: Meredith College will offer healthy, whole food dining options.
Fieselman worked with Grounds Manager Aaron Schettler, Assistant Director of Student Leadership and Service Tabitha Underwood and Professor of Foods and Nutrition Bill Landis on the project. Participating student groups included Habitat for Humanity, Meredith International Association, MCAN Scholars, LeaderShape graduates and students in Landis’ Introduction to Nutrition course.
Meredith Receives Grant to Support Energy Conservation
Meredith College has received a grant from the Jessie Ball duPont foundation to support energy conservation and planning.
“These efforts will result in real energy savings, reduce the College’s carbon footprint and help engage the Meredith community in sustainability initiatives,” said Sustainability Coordinator Laura Fieselman.
The $148,000 grant will fund a comprehensive energy audit to identify energy conservation measures campus-wide; partially fund an energy manager position to oversee the College’s energy conservation initiatives, and support the installation of a sub-metering system to record electric consumption and demand for select campus buildings.
The energy audit will take place during the spring 2010 semester. The audit will include a comprehensive analysis of the College’s energy usage, and will shape recommendations for a wide range of energy conservation measures. Potential conservation measures include energy control systems, lighting and electrical equipment and system retrofits, utility infrastructure improvements and energy management strategies.
Fashion Students Working with Goodwill Industries
This semester, Meredith fashion students are volunteering with Goodwill Industries. Each week, a pair of students put together two outfits using clothing available in a Goodwill store in the Raleigh area.
Twenty students in Diane Ellis’s Visual Merchandising class are participating in the project.
Steve Snyderman from Goodwill Industries of Eastern North Carolina contacted Ellis to see if her students could work on this new program, which features outfits that cost less than $20. Most are professional clothing options that can be worn by working women.
Ellis’ Visual Merchandising class includes designing window displays at local stores, so the Goodwill project fit the course objectives well. Ellis said the students are getting the opportunity to apply what they have been taught in class and practice their merchandising skills.
“So far, Goodwill has been thrilled with what the students are doing. They are singing high praises for the expertise and enthusiasm of the students,” Ellis said. “It has definitely been a win/win situation for the students and for Goodwill.”
The project is scheduled through December, and Ellis believes it will continue beyond the end of the course.
“Even though I don't teach the class in the spring, I think the students will want to keep this going,” Ellis said. “They are having fun and are getting great affirmation from the folks at Goodwill.”
The outfits of the week are showcased on the Goodwill Industries web site, and the students who coordinate the week’s featured looks are credited on the site. Visit www.goodwillenc.org/outfitofweek.html to view this week’s looks.
First Year Experience Service Project: Meredith Green Belt Tree Planting
An essential part of Wangari Mathaai’s work in Kenya is bringing village women together to plant trees. Through this work Mathaai engages women, increases biodiversity, reforests local ecosystems, protects cultural sites, offers income generation, and provides cooking firewood and fodder. She calls the swaths of planted tree seedlings Green Belts. Women at Meredith College will plant our very own Green Belt in honor of Mathaai’s October 2009 visit to campus. Each student will have the opportunity to plant a tree on campus, arranged in arboretum-style botanically interesting groupings. Freshmen will work with their First Year Experience classes as part of the annual class service project. The Meredith Green Belt tree planting is a partnership of the FYE Program, Student Leadership and Service, the Sustainability Office, and the Grounds Department.
Wangari Mathaai will deliver the 2009 Lillian Parker Wallace Lecture on October 1, 2009 at 7 p.m. in the McIver Amphitheater. Her memoir, "Unbowed," is the 2009 summer reading book.
Weekly vegetable shares available on campus
In summer 2009, Meredith successfully piloted a project with Beausol Gardens to deliver weekly baskets of local produce to campus, called CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) shares.
The 2009-2010 Winter CSA is now available as a 10 week session for $150.00. Veggies will include sweet potatoes, turnips, radishes, beets, carrots, daikons, kales, Swiss chard, Napa cabbage, boc choi, mustard greens, arugula, tatsoi, lettuce, kohlrabi, and more.
It will run from the first week of November until the last week of January. The average value per week will be about $15 worth of produce. Veggie drop-off at Meredith College is Tuesdays at 4:00pm in the Chapel.
Beausol Gardens is a farm in Pittsboro, NC run by Harry LeBlanc that grows its food using biodynamic and organic principles. The farm has been operating since 1997 and now provides food for over one hundred families throughout the Triangle. CSA is, foremost, a community: People joining to support a local farmer in producing food for their tables. CSA binds community members and farmers in relationships of mutual support based on an annual commitment to one another. This commitment helps ensure the survival of small farms, a local food supply, and of agricultural land. http://beausol.com/
You can meet the farmer personally as he visits campus delivering the last summer shares to the Chapel Reading room, weekly at 4pm on Tuesdays thru Oct 6th.
One winter share size is available. Due to the season getting colder and things growing more slowly as winter progresses, the farm will front load the season; however, the November and pre- Christmas weeks' shares will be heavier than the later, January shares. The CSA will skip the weeks of Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day.
The Meredith College drop-off will be in the Chapel Reading Room. Harry will deliver the CSA bags at 4 p.m. on Tuesdays. It is highly recommended that members pickup their shares at this time. However, the room is reserved until 9 a.m. the next morning and shares can be picked up until that time. Note that the Chapel is a public location and neither Meredith nor Beausol Gardens will be responsible for shares not picked up or shares that go missing after the drop off. Veggies are delivered in reusable bags, which should be returned to the Chapel prior to the following Tuesday at 4:00pm.
Contact farmer Harry LeBlanc for more information: beausolgardens@embarqmail.com
Meredith College Approves Sustainability Plan
Meredith College (NC) has approved a plan for integrating sustainability into the College's practices in education and daily operations. Known as the College's "Greenprint," the new plan includes three main goals: to educate the campus community about sustainability; to model environmental responsibility in daily operations; and to integrate sustainability into campus administrative structure. Each of the goals include several desired outcomes, including weaving sustainability into the curriculum where applicable; minimizing the amount of waste generated by the campus; and using sustainability to inform financial decisions on campus. Students, faculty, staff, administrators and alumnae participated in the development of the plan, led by Meredith Sustainability Coordinator Laura Fieselman. Link to AASHE bulletin.
Archives
Meredith College Earns Environmental Award, April 22, 2009
Making Campus Visitation Day Green, March 2009
Meredith Completes RecycleMania 2009, April 28, 2009
Saving Water Through Technology, April 8, 2009
Meredith Chooses Sustainable Turf for New Field, March 2009
January 2009 Waste Audit Results
CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) delivery on Meredith's campus
Day of Action for Climate Solutions, December 6, 2008
Office supply exchange goes live, November 2008
Meredith students participate in largest campus sustainability gathering, September 2008
Local and sustainable food survey results, September 2008
Meredith College Earns Environmental Award, April 22, 2009
Meredith College is one of the 2009 recipients of the City of Raleigh Environmental Awards. The awards were presented during a ceremony held on Earth Day, April 22, 2009 at Marbles Kids Museum.
The City of Raleigh Environmental Awards are presented to individuals and organizations that have demonstrated a commitment to the environment.
Meredith College was recognized for its on-campus composting program, which began in 2002 with a goal of diverting from the landfill 100 percent of the food waste produced by the College’s dining hall.
Initiated by Meredith’s Aramark-managed Food Services and Facilities Services departments, the program has been successfully reducing the campus environmental footprint for more than six years. A pioneer effort for Wake County schools, the project has met diversion goals and exceeds expectations with continuous innovation.
The effort has had tangible environmental benefits, including diverting 95 tons of waste in 2006 and 2007. In 2008, more than 60 tons were diverted. The amount was reduced from previous totals because of waste reduction goals and the implementation of trayless dining on campus.
Meredith College has committed to improving its environmental citizenship in a variety of ways in recent years, including efforts to “green” both Meredith’s institutional practices and its educational offerings.
Making Campus Visitation Day Green, March 2009
Meredith's efforts to green our junior and senior visitation days are highlighted in this article from Recruitment & Retention.
Meredith Completes RecycleMania 2009, April 28, 2009
The results are in for the RecycleMania competition between Meredith College and Peace College. RecycleMania is a friendly competition and benchmarking tool for college and university recycling programs to promote waste reduction activities to their campus communities.
Peace College was declared the winner of the competition, which was held January through March 2009.
Meredith’s RecycleMania participation was successful, however, with the campus community collecting 9,272 total pounds of recycling, including aluminum, glass, paper and plastic during the three month competition.
The RecycleMania team completed seven weeks of recycling mini-assessments. The 2009 RecycleMania team included students Zandra Blankenship, Jessica Prescott, Alyson Denise Strickland and Carrie Stinchcomb and staff members Tabitha Underwood, April Brohawn and Laura Fieselman.
Volunteers visited a total of 115 individual dorm rooms and offices to gauge correct recycling practices. Their assessments found that 60 percent of residents and 51 percent of staff and faculty visited demonstrated correct recycling and were entered to win a prize.
Eleven members of the campus community won compact fluorescent light bulbs, reusable tote bags and SIGG water bottles. Prizes were provided by Lowes and Whole Foods.
The College’s recycling efforts also reached a milestone during RecycleMania. In February 2009, Meredith College community members recycled more paper and aluminum than any previous month in the 2008-09 academic year.
Saving Water Through Technology, April 8, 2009
Bon Aqua, a leading-edge process that eliminates the need for chemicals during water treatment, is often used to remove the minerals and other impurities that cause scale and corrosion in water pipes.
Already installed selectively around the world, this technology makes being environmentally responsible not only economically feasible, but profitable. When Meredith College in Raleigh, North Carolina installed the system, the college saved USD$36,000 in chemicals and 6.1 Million gallons of water (almost USD$50,000).
Moreover, Meredith realized increased efficiency of its equipment and the lengthening of asset life. The breakeven on Meredith's investment came at a remarkable seven and a half months.
The Bon Aqua process uses a magnetic wrap-around system that capitalizes on the laws of physics. Bon Aqua's magnetic strength readily penetrates iron/copper pipes with a dense enough magnetic field to cause an electric current to be generated in the water. Full article from The Herman Group.
Meredith Chooses Sustainable Turf for New Field, March 2009
The construction of Meredith College’s new athletic field and track reached a milestone this month with the completion of the installation of sustainable FieldTurf.
Meredith College selected FieldTurf as part of the College’s commitment to improving its environmental citizenship. FieldTurf has recycled rubber in its base, and more than 40,000 tires go in to creating the field, rather than into landfill sites.
While a typical soccer field can use between 2.5 million and 3.5 million gallons of water per year, the environmentally friendly FieldTurf surface requires little maintenance and eliminates the need for irrigation. Click here for more information on FieldTurf.
Meredith College invested in the new soccer field because the college’s existing field did not meet the current minimum requirements for NCAA play. The Board of Trustees approved the funding for the new facility at their Fall 2007 meeting. The new complex will be capable of supporting soccer and lacrosse teams. The first phase to include grading, utilities, facilities access, sports lighting, the track and athletic field are expected to be completed in Spring 2009.
Meredith sponsors six sports in the NCAA Division III and is a member of the USA South Athletic Conference. Sports fielded are basketball, cross country, soccer, softball, tennis and volleyball.
January 2009 Waste Audit Results
Meredith College’s student driven efforts to reduce waste began in 2008 with participation in the national recycling competition, RecycleMania. See http://recyclemaniacs.org/. In an effort to pair the 2009 RecycleMania competition with collection of baseline data for the Sustainability Office, a committee worked to organize the January 2009 waste characterization. This study will be used as a comparative tool as waste reduction continues to be a focus on the College campus. To accurate represent daily waste generation, the audit measured eight percent (272 pounds) of one week day’s total waste (3,420 pounds).
Summary and Full Report
CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) delivery on Meredith's campus
The College is collaborating with BeauSol Gardens to make a weekly delivery of fresh organic produce to campus throughout the growing season (May-September). The variety of fresh fruits and vegetables will differ through the season. Shares are available to students, faculty and staff. Contact Harry LeBlanc,
beausolgardens@embarqmail.com, for availability and prices. Beausol Gardens is a family owned and operated farm in Chatham County, NC raising mixed vegetables, small fruit and cut flowers using USDA National Organic Program (NOP) rules, though not certified organic.
Also see,
- What is a CSA? Definitions and why you might be interested.
- December 30, 2008 News and Observer article, Support your local produce.
Day of Action for Climate Solutions, December 6, 2008
Meredith students and other community members joined Greenpeace and 1Sky members to show support for climate solutions by organizing themselves into the shape of a windmill on Saturday, Dec. 6, 2008, at 1 p.m. in Meredith’s McIver Amphitheater.
The purpose of this event was to take a large group photo and video, sending a message to world leaders that America is ready for clean energy solutions to global warming. The photos were delivered to the international delegation at the United Nation's climate talks in Poznan, Poland. Participants wore white t-shirts to create the windmill blades and a banner that said "YES WIND CAN" made the pole.
The local event was part of Greenpeace’s International Day of Action for Climate Solutions. Rallies with photos taken at iconic locations were held in over 30 cities across the U.S. to send a message to President-elect Obama that the American people support strong action on global warming.
The event was hosted by the North Carolina Conservation Network.
Office supply exchange goes live, November 2008
Remember the office supply exchange at the October Human Resources Benefits Fair? Now available, year round, online as a BlackBoard course, UUOFFICESUPPLIESF08. Thank you to Mary Tschopp for establishing the course.
The idea is to make items available for reuse on campus as you clean your offices and/or before you purchase new supplies. A swap box or “free” sign always works as well. Instructions on how to enroll and use the site here. Thanks to all in your help greening Meredith’s campus.
Meredith students participate in largest campus sustainability gathering, September 2008
Ten Meredith students and two staff members joined the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education's AASHE 2008 Conference and Expo. With over 1,700 registrants from over 400 colleges and universities in 48 states and 15 countries, the conference is the largest gathering focused on campus sustainability to date in North America.
The conference, with a theme of "Working Together for Sustainability – On Campus and Beyond," features over 300 presentations on all aspects of campus sustainability and keynote addresses from: Lester R. Brown, Founder of the Earth Policy Institute and the author of Eco-Economy and Plan B 3.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization; Van Jones, the Founder and President of Green for All; Peter Senge, author of The Fifth Discipline: The art and practice of the learning organization and chair of the Society for Organizational Learning (SoL); and Vandana Shiva, a physicist, environmental activist, and the author of Stolen Harvest, Earth Democracy, and many other books.
"The amazing turnout demonstrates the strategic importance of sustainability to higher education," said Judy Walton, AASHE's Acting Executive Director. "We're delighted to see so many institutions working to lead the sustainability transformation."
More at AASHE 2008 Press Release
Local and sustainable food survey results, September 2008
After Tanya Denckla Cobb’s October 14 presentation, a survey went out to workshop participants. Key findings are here. For complete results, see the PDF. (n=30) Amy Damone, SGA Elections Board Chair, is compiling group conversation and response from the day of the event. The next step in addressing food system sustainability on Meredith’s campus is through SGA beginning in the spring semester after the new apartment leases have been crafted. To get involved, contact sustainability@meredith.edu. Congratulations to Amber Maher and Phuong Nguyen, the NeoMonde gift certificate winners!
97% (29) Yes, eating local is important. Eating local is important because it … |
97% (28) Benefits the local economy |
90% (26) Reduces our ecological “footprint” |
90% (26) Supports of local farmers |
83% (24) Provides fresher, better tasting and more nutritious foods |
62% (18) Lessens large-scale environmental degradation
|
97% (29) Strongly agree or agree that Meredith should be involved in creating a more sustainable food system. |
100% (30) Would like Meredith to increase educational opportunities on food system sustainability |
90% (26) Want opportunities for students to undertake community-based research relating to the Raleigh food system
|
100% (28) Think we should expand the Meredith Three Sisters Organic Community Garden |
86% (24) Would like garden produce served in the dining hall |
64% (18) would like garden produce sold on campus
67% (20) Are willing to pay at least $1 more per day to eat fresh, local produce, dairy and/or meat |
