Thank you to the hard-working volunteers who braved the cold to make the Nov. 15 MEGA Recycling event a success. Over 500 households took advantage of one-stop recycling at the Hansen Student Center lot.
See The Pantagraph story, which includes a photo of alum volunteer Nick Nichols ’13.
The Illinois Green Business Association is hosting an intercollegiate sustainability challenge.
Tweet photos of green actions using the hashtag #SustainBloNo for a chance to win prizes.
Possible actions (11 actions for the 11th month) include:
1) Donate your clothes
2) Recycle
3) Post a tip or trick on a sustainability education bulletin board
4) Upcycle an item for a purpose different than its original use
5) Give a high five to a stranger or perform a random act of kindness
6) Use recycling bins on campus
7) Use CFL lightbulbs
8) Bike or walk to your destination
9) Brainstorm – think of a sustainable practice not listed. The most creative will receive a prize.
10) Pick up litter (hashtag #litterati) for exposure
11) Find and count reusable bottles vs. disposable water bottles
Saturday, Nov. 15
8 a.m.- 1 p.m.
Hansen Student Center Parking Lot
One Day, One Time, One Place ‐ recycle many things at once!
– Electronics (Computers, VCRs, phones, small kitchen appliances, etc.) NO CRT (older style) TVs or monitors accepted
– Household Batteries (alkaline, watch batteries, rechargeables)
– Clothing and textiles (usable or not)
– Shoes (usable or not)
– Compact Fluorescent Bulbs (CFLs)
– Plastic Garden Pots Terracycle items
And as an added bonus ‐ FREE confidental paper shredding
Residential waste only.
The 2014 Report on Sustainability at Illinois Wesleyan, which summarizes campus efforts during the previous academic year, is now online.
Topics include: water conservation and bottled water; energy conservation; sustainable transportation; green cleaning and other custodial practices; environmental health and safety; Peace Garden; campus building construction and renovations; campus grounds and University farms; and education, communications and outreach.
A total of 10 hydration stations have been installed on campus, continuing to improve access to filtered water and help reduce single-use water bottles.
Sodexo provided a hydration station with the renovation of the DugOut area; three of these same units were installed in the new State Farm Hall; two were installed in The Ames Library and Hansen Student Center thanks to Student Senate and Sierra Student Coalition; one was installed in the Shirk Center thanks to the Athletic Department; and in Holmes Hall, a new station was added and the three offices supporting the installation costs dropped the use of Culligan water stations in their offices.
Sustainability Educators for the Office of Residential Life developed this video to help demystify composting in the Dugout and single-stream recycling on campus.
Tuesday, Sept. 30, 4 p.m.
103, State Farm Hall
Join Professor of History Tom Lutze and local high school students Nate Jahiel and Christian Prenzler, who just returned from the People’s Climate March in NYC, the largest climate march in history — 400,000 strong! They will share their first-hand experiences, share photos and videos, have discussion about the political significance of this march, and compare the People’s Climate March to other massive demonstrations since the 1960s.
Sponsor: Sierra Student Coalition, Environmental Studies, and the Center for Human Rights and Social Justice.
Have an interest in gardening? Ready to do some planting but don’t have the space?
Consider volunteering at the IWU Peace Garden, located on Francis Street in Normal just west of the Immanuel Bible Foundation tower.
Visit the July volunteer calendar to sign up.
A print management solution called PaperCut is being deployed this summer to help reduce print costs and the environmental impact of printing.
As a user prepares a print job, PaperCut shows the environmental impact of printing in three statistics – trees, greenhouse gases and energy.
One of the primary aims of PaperCut is to reduce printing levels by reminding users to pay attention to their printing behavior. Giving individuals a tool to monitor and adjust their printing habits typically reduces printing by 10 percent.
Options for filters and restrictions, such as stopping mistakes like printing a 100-page document instead of the one interesting page, and forcing double-sided printing, can reduce printing by another 10-30 percent.
From Matthew J. Drat ’84
Development and Community Relations Manager,
Home Sweet Home Ministries
Even though May Term is not yet complete, Home Sweet Home Ministries is again pleased to share the results of our textile recycling program on the IWU campus. The program, in its third year, places collection containers at various locations on campus where students, faculty and staff can drop off their textiles (clothing, etc) and then Home Sweet Home’s HSHRenew program repurposes those items. The resource dollars generated by HSHRenew supports individuals struggling with homelessness and poverty via the services at Home Sweet Home Ministries.
For this school year, HSHRenew at Home Sweet Home Ministries collected nearly 5,000 pounds of textiles on the campus of IWU. That is a tremendous impact on the environment and on the men, women and children at Home Sweet Home. For example, the resources generated can help pay for any entire day of meals at our soup kitchen, meals that affect not only the body, but the mind and spirit as well.
As an alumnus of IWU (Class of ’84) I am particularly happy to see how my alma mater is engaging our local community AND changing lives of our neighbors.