Saving Trees

Construction materials weren’t the only items reclaimed during the demolition of Sheean Library, where ground is now being prepared for construction of the new main classroom building. Two oak trees, although quite large, were relocated to other sites on campus by a contractor using special equipment.

One of the oaks was replanted near The Ames Library loading dock and appears to be doing well, according to Assistant Manager of Grounds Services Ken Detloff. A second tree replanted across from Holmes Hall may not survive.

As plans go forward for the new classroom building, Grounds Services will work with the landscape architect to try to save additional trees at the site. Special care will be given to the more than 100-year-old bur oak at the southwest corner of the site, near Stevenson Hall.

Green Demolition

In a few weeks, the University will raze a house it has acquired on McLean Street. As has been Wesleyan’s practice, the Old House Society will go through the house and remove anything they can use.

In addition, for the first time, the University will take advantage of a new construction material recycling operation that has opened in Bloomington. Kirk Demolition will remove the house and should be able to recycle approximately 70 percent of the materials.

This is very new to our area and we will evaluate the process. (The University is not endorsing the contractor or the process.) Kirk Demolition plans to video the process for its website.

Recycling Results

The “mega recycling event” conducted on Nov. 19 at Illinois Wesleyan, targeting non-traditional recyclables in conjunction with America Recycles Day and co-sponsored by IWU Wellness, the Ecology Action Center and Home Sweet Home Ministries, drew 302 cars of participants during the five-hour event.

The collected tally was 34 pallet loads of electronics, eight pallet loads of clothing and textiles, and three pallet loads of miscellaneous small appliances, in addition to batteries, compact fluorescent bulbs and plastic garden pots.

If you missed the event, items can be recycled throughout the year at various locations.

America Recycles Day: Mega Recycling Event

Saturday, Nov. 19, 8 a.m.-1 p.m.
Hansen Student Center Parking Lot

IWU Wellness and the Ecology Action Center want to help make recycling easier for you on America Recycles Day. While most families recycle the usual — plastic food containers, glass bottles, newspapers — what about other items?

Well, for one day only, you can recycle ‘the other’ recyclables all in one place, all at the same time. Bring us your:

• Electronics
• Compact fluorescent Bulbs (CFLs)
• Household batteries (alkaline, watch batteries, rechargeable batteries)
• Clothes and textiles (usable or not)
• Shoes (usable or not)
• Plastic garden pots

Licensed recyclers will properly recycle all these items. If you have any questions about acceptable items, please contact IWU Wellness at ext. 3334 or the Ecology Action Center at (309) 454-3169.

Dr. Curt Meine: “From Wild Lands to Working Lands to Urban Lands: Connecting Conservation Across the Landscape”

Thursday, Nov. 3, 7 p.m., CNS C101

In “The Land Ethic,” Aldo Leopold argued that our ethical framework must expand to include the land “as a community to which we belong.” He further stated that “nothing so important as an ethic is ever written… It evolves in the minds of a thinking community.”

In this presentation, conservation biologist and environmental historian Dr. Curt Meine will discuss the continuing relevance and evolution of Aldo Leopold’s land ethic in today’s society and reveal its position as the foundation upon which our current commitment to sustainability rests.

Dr. Meine is Director for Conservation Biology and History with the Center for Humans and Nature, a senior fellow with the Aldo Leopold Foundation, a research associate with the International Crane Foundation, and an associate adjunct professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Film: Black Gold

Thursday, Oct. 27, 7 p.m.
Beckman Auditorium, The Ames Library

Black Gold is a 2006 documentary about the global coffee trade.

Multinational coffee companies now dominate the industry worth over $80 billion, making coffee the most valuable trading commodity in the world after oil.

But while we continue to pay for our lattes and cappuccinos, the price paid to coffee farmers remains so low that many have been forced to abandon their coffee fields.

Nowhere is this paradox more evident than in Ethiopia, the birthplace of coffee. Tadesse Meskela, manager of a coffee farmers union, is one man on a mission to save his 74,000 struggling coffee farmers from bankruptcy. As the farmers strive to harvest some of the highest quality coffee beans on the international market, Tadesse travels the world in an attempt to find buyers willing to pay a fair price.

Green Fire

Tuesday, Oct. 18, 7 p.m., CNS C101

Green Fire highlights Aldo Leopold’s extraordinary career, tracing how he shaped and influenced the modern environmental movement. This film provocatively examines Leopold’s thinking, renewing his idea of a land ethic for a population facing 21st century ecological challenges.