Category Archives: IWU in Action

Sustainability projects and progress on campus.

Composting Expands to the Dugout

In the 2012-13 academic year, IWU diverted 36.9 tons of food waste from going to landfills through its composting program.

Currently, food waste is collected from the Bertholf Commons, the Memorial Center kitchen, and all catering events.

Starting Wednesday, Nov. 20, IWU will expand its composting program to include post-consumer organic materials sold in the Dugout.

The expansion will place composting bins in trash areas of the Dugout, where post-consumer food waste and compostable plates and bowls are to be separated from recycling and trash items by consumers.

Please help IWU continue to make a difference by separating your compostables after eating in the Dugout!

Hydration Stations

Locations for free filtered water on campus are growing. In addition to hydration stations installed last year at Presser Hall and CNS, you can refill water bottles at State Farm Hall, The Ames Library, Hansen Student Center, Shirk Center and in the Dugout (by Freshens) at the Memorial Center.

Remember: You Can Recycle Textiles on Campus

Members of the campus community can recycle textiles at residence hall desks, the Shirk Center (by Wellness), Hansen Student Center (at the main entrance) and Memorial Center (by the Main Desk) in round bins.

A textile is any item made from cloth or an artificial fabric like vinyl. Textiles are used for clothing, linens, bedding, upholstery, curtains, carpets and other items. Any textile item, even if it’s worn, torn, or stained, can be recycled. You can even recycle a single shoe! Items simply need to be clean and dry.

Some facts:

  • The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that the average person throws away 70 pounds of clothing per year. That adds up to 3.8 billion pounds of unnecessary waste added to our landfills.
  • Clothing and household textiles currently make up 5.2% of the waste in landfills.
  • Recycling clothing and textiles decreases the use of natural resources, such as water used in growing crops and petroleum used in creating new clothing and textiles.
  • It also decreases the need for chemicals used in manufacturing new textiles and the pollution caused by the manufacturing process.

How are recycled textiles used?

  • Resold at charities’ secondhand clothing stores
  • Sent to developing countries
  • Turned into wiping cloths, which are used in a variety of industries and businesses (everything from manufacturers to repair shops, construction industries, stores, and maintenance and custodial departments)
  • Processed back into fibers and turned into paper, yarn, insulation, carpet padding, and other items

from: http://www.smartasn.org/educators-kids/Textile_Recycling_Fact_Sheet.pdf

Before & After

Just one year ago, the Eckley Quad was almost unrecognizable throughout the summer as 144 geothermal wells were drilled beneath the surface. Now the grass is lush again – and the geothermal heating and cooling system ready for classes at State Farm Hall.

Quad-2012-05-14

Summer 2012: Drilling the well field for the geothermal system under the Quad.

after-2013

Summer 2013: State Farm Hall  is nearly complete. More photos.

 

IWU Peace Garden Extends Summer Volunteer Signup

Volunteers are needed on a daily basis to help water, mow, weed and maintain the Peace Garden. We especially need some extra hands to harvest on Tuesday mornings and afternoons for the Trailside Farmers’ Market in Uptown Normal and on Friday mornings for Naturally Yours.

Sign up at http://www.signupgenius.com/go/9040F44ABAC29AB9-iwupeace

If you’re interested in the fruits of our labors, vegetables from the garden are sold at the Trailside Farmers’ Market each Tuesday from 3:30-6 p.m.

Proceeds go to sustaining the garden so it can continue its outreach to Bloomington’s west side, including donating food to the Western Avenue Community Center and the soup kitchen at St Mary’s Church, and offering reduced prices at our Veggie Bike, which visits sites in west Bloomington.

Volunteers may contact Carolyn Ashley ’14, IWU Peace Garden manager, at cashley@iwu.edu with any questions.

Peace Garden Volunteer Opportunity

ARC’s Peace Garden project invites all interested faculty and staff to build a better world … by starting in the garden!

We are asking for your assistance for a few hours in the coming month.

Do you have a few hours to volunteer at the peace garden?

Please click on the sign-up link below, and we will meet you at the garden on the day and time specified. The garden is located at the corner of Francis and Prospect in Normal – or just west of the Immanuel Bible Foundation tower off of Fell Avenue.

Come help us build a better world one vegetable at a time. You will also enjoy some camaraderie and get your hands dirty. How can you resist this offer?

The link to sign up is www.SignUpGenius.com/go/9040F44ABAC29AB9-iwupeace

Contact jsimeone@iwu.edu if you have any questions.

Good To Go Commuter Challenge

IWU Wellness encourages members of the campus community to consider participating in this year’s Commuter Challenge, a program of WGLT Radio and Illinois State University’s Office of Sustainability.

The challenge encourages the use of sustainable transportation for personal and environmental health and well-being. Anyone who logs at least one sustainable commute during the week is eligible for a $200 Visa gift card drawing.

For more information, visit wglt.org/goodtogo/

You can sign up as an individual, or join the Illinois Wesleyan team (we’re listed as a participating organization). Register here.

Any type of sustainable transportation can be applied during the challenge, which runs May 11-17.

If you have additional questions, contact Wellness Program Director Missy Smock at ext. 3334 or msmock@iwu.edu.