Category Archives: IWU in Action

Sustainability projects and progress on campus.

Good to Go Commuter Challenge

The Go to Good Commuter Challenge is a weeklong event designed to encourage healthy living and promote the use of alternative transportation instead of driving alone. The Challenge is a friendly competition between workplaces for the highest employee participation rate, and between individuals, teams, groups and organizations to see who can tally the most miles. During the week, participants track and report their commutes online. Public transit, walking, bicycling, car sharing, carpooling, vanpooling, and telecommuting all count for the competition.

The annual challenge is the third week of May (May 14-20). It’s open to anyone who lives, works, goes to school, or regularly commutes in or to McLean County. Get started now to save money and earn bragging rights!

Please let Wellness know if you are interested in participating and we will sign up Illinois Wesleyan to take the organizational challenge. Contact Wellness at (309) 556-3334 or wellness@iwu.edu by May 11.

Campus Composting Continues, Expands

Sodexho’s participation in the community composting initiative has continued without problems, with 35,496 pounds of waste diverted from landfills since the program began Jan. 24. Composting efforts have been expanded to include waste from the faculty-staff dining room and large catering events.

Tons of Electronics Recycled

From the 850-plus cars that came through the electronics collection point on Saturday, April 9, at the Shirk Center, 50,524 pounds of materials were collected. This is more than double the 23,779 pounds collected at the first electronics recycling event last November.

Sims Recycling has agreed to do a collection again next year on Saturday, April 14, 2012, when the 2012 Illinois Sustainable Living and Wellness Expo is planned. GREENetwork hopes to expand the collection to include small appliances, with cooperation from Morris Tick.

Reduce Printing-Related Costs, Consumption

The multifunction copier/printers installed on campus are more cost efficient and environmentally friendly than individual inkjet printers. Faculty and staff are encouraged to take advantage of these local network printers instead of using individual desktop machines. You will see substantial savings on replacement ink cartridges, save paper by duplex printing, and help reduce our carbon footprint. Plus, stretching your legs every so often to visit a network printer will be good for your health!

If your local network printer does not print in color, your print job can be uploaded to the Digital Storefront for printing by Printing, Publications and Mailing Services (PPMS). To set up a Digital Storefront account, contact Susan at ext. 3055 or by e-mail at ssombeck@iwu.edu.

Also, remember to take advantage of campus resources when you need printing or copier supplies for your department:

1) Order printer cartridges through Information Technology Services. Their suppliers can save you as much as $200 per cartridge compared to other third-party vendors.

2) It is University policy that all paper be ordered through PPMS, which has negotiated more favorable pricing than an individual department could obtain. All paper ordered by PPMS for copying and printing now contains eucalyptus fibers, a less expensive and more sustainable source than traditional wood pulp. This paper absorbs less moisture and performs better in campus machines. In addition, all University stationery contains 100 percent post-consumer waste, in keeping with Illinois Wesleyan’s commitment to sustainability.

Illinois Sustainability & Wellness Expo on April 9

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Alpacas, solar energy panels and raising chickens in your own backyard – there’s only one place these all fit under one roof, and that’s the Illinois Sustainable Living & Wellness Expo. “Creating Healthy Communities” is the theme for this year’s expo, which will run from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. on Saturday, April 9 at Illinois Wesleyan University’s Shirk Center (302 E. Emerson St., Bloomington). The event is free and open to the public.

The expo, which is co-sponsored by Illinois Wesleyan University (IWU) and the Ecology Action Center, offers attendees an enjoyable atmosphere to explore exhibitors, workshops, demonstrations, which provide resources to live more sustainably.

“Sustainable living means to discover ways to live healthier, not just on a personal level, but socially, economically and environmentally,” said IWU Wellness Director Missy Smock. “It is indeed about enhancing the health and wellness of all living things, and learning about the intricate connections between our actions and the planet.”

Exhibitors and demonstrations will offer participants a glimpse of ways to incorporate sustainability into their lives, from ways to care for your lawn without harmful chemicals, to cooking with local food, installing affordable and sustainable energy systems, and making cloth diapers a viable choice for parents. Also included will be a kid’s Green Zone, giving children the chance to learn about sustainability in a fun way, including petting live alpacas. A complete list of exhibitors is available at www.islwe.org.

The Friends of the Trail and Good to Go Commuter Challenge will provide secure, valet bicycle parking for the event. Other event sponsors include WJBC, Prairie Signs, WGLT and Heartland Local Food Network.

Faith and sustainability panel

The expo kicks off with a panel the night of Thursday, April 7 that will focus on what faith organizations can do to promote the care of the planet. The 7 p.m. panel titled “Faith and Sustainability: What They Have in Common” in the Joslin Atrium of the Memorial Center (104 E. University St., Bloomington) will feature members of various religions in the Twin Cities, and Brian Sauder of the not-for-profit Faith in Place. The event is free and open to the public.

Free 4-All and Fashion Challenge

Those attending the expo can take part in the annual Free 4-All on Saturday, allowing the drop off of unwanted clothes, toys and household items. In exchange, participants can walk away with unwanted items of others. The concept of the Free 4-All is to encourage reusing items, rather then sending them to the landfill, said Smock. Expo goers can also submit an entry in the Affordable Fashion Challenge, which requires participants to “design on a dime.” Those at the expo will see the designs during the Affordable Fashion Show. Go to www.islwe.org for additional information.

Mad City Chickens

This year the expo will feature the movie Mad City Chickens at 3 p.m. Saturday in the North Classroom of the Shirk Center. The 2008 film, sponsored by the Heartland Local Food Network, takes a sometimes serious, sometimes whimsical, look at the people who keep urban chickens in their backyards. To see the film’s trailers, to go www.tarazod.com/filmsmadchicks.

Electronics recycling

In conjunction with the expo, the City of Bloomington will hold its semi-annual residential, electronic devices recycling event on Saturday. Outside the Shirk Center, the public can drop off up to 10 electronic items and components. Sims Recycling Solutions (SRS) will then remove hazardous materials from unwanted, obsolete or damaged electronic 
products and dispose of them in an environmentally sound fashion.

For additional information on the expo, contact Smock at (309) 556-3334 or go to www.islwe.org.

The Expo’s FREE-4-All

Don’t throw it away! Give it away!

In the tradition of Ecology Action Center’s semi-annual FREE-4-ALL, Wellness will be creating an opportunity to give away your unwanted stuff and to take what you like — FOR FREE!

Here are the rules:

FREE-4-ALL Household Items Giveaway

Please Bring: – Knick-knacks, lamps, vases, paintings, prints, etc. Items must be clean and in good condition.

– No large furniture

Men’s & Women’s Clothing

– Adult men & women’s clothing only

– Clothes must be clean and in good shape

And for the Kids! FREE-4-ALL Toy Giveaway!

– Toys must be in good shape (all parts and pieces, etc.) and clean.

Please bring gently used items that deserve a second life to the IWU Wellness Office by April 5. Contact us with questions or if you need help with pick up, ext. 3334 or wellness@iwu.edu.

Donated items will be available at the Illinois Sustainable Living & Wellness Expo on Saturday, April 9, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. at the Shirk Center