Fall 2019 Your source for sustainability Wells pring Volume VI No. 1

Newsletter of the Center for Sustainability and the Environment at Wells College. We recently updated our Wells is nationally recognized for our Sustainability efforts greenhouse gas emissions (GHGE) for last fiscal year. Wells has again been cited by several national organizations for our sustainability initiatives. Two organizations derive the data they evaluate from the Gold rating Wells earned using the We are pleased that our Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System (STARS), developed by the Association for the collective efforts to con- serve and be more energy Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), the professional organization for col- efficient, and our purchase legiate sustainability professionals. We feel that STARS best reflects our comprehensive sus- of renewable energy credits tainability efforts; these other national organizations “cherry pick” our STARS data to reflect their own particular areas of focus and interest. Still, it’s nice to have these groups think so highly of our work and for 100% of our electricity help to promote our successes to the wider community, especially to prospective students. means that our campus th emissions continue to de- In September, Sierra, the national magazine of the Sierra Club, released its 13 annual “Cool cline. We posted only a Schools” ranking of North America’s greenest colleges and universities; Sierra again included slight decline between FY Wells in their 2019 “Cool Schools” list. The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influen- 2018 and this past year, but tial grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3.5 million members. Overall, st we have still achieved a 55% Wells ranked 91 out of the 282 schools evaluated. We were in the top 10 among State schools, decline from our 2008 base- coming in ahead of a number of much larger schools, including Vassar, Clarkson, Columbia, Syracuse, and th line, well ahead of schedule. Binghamton. Two areas that Sierra evaluated in which Wells scored particularly well were Curriculum (36 place) and Sustainable Foods (19th place). Sierra explains their methodology as follows: Our weighting adjust- 7000 5,842 6000 ments to STARS scoring reflects the priorities of the Sierra Club, giving more weight to energy, air and climate, MTCO2e 5000 2,592

4000 and transportation because Sierra believes that progress in these sectors is essential for addressing the climate MTCO2e 3000 crisis. In academics, we give greater weight to curriculum over research. 2000 th 1000 In October, the Princeton Review released its 10 annual Guide to Green Colleges, a resource for 0 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 environmentally aware college applicants. Out of 700 institutions for which the organization’s Scope 1 Scope 2 Scope 3 “green team” reviewed data, 413 were selected for inclusion in their 2019 Guide to Green In this issue: Schools. Princeton Review analyzed more than 25 data points, also “cherry picked” from our earlier STARS Gold assessment. Their rating, on a scale of 60–99, offers a measure of a Meet Kaya Perry ‘22 2 school's performance as an environmentally aware and prepared institution. “Green colleges” assessment Kinga joins DCL’s board. 2 includes: 1) whether students have a campus quality of life that is both healthy and sustainable; 2) how well New courses approved 2 a school is preparing students for employment in the clean-energy economy of the 21st century as well as

Insidefor thisSpring issue: for citizenship in a world now defined by environmental concerns and opportunities; and 3) how environ- mentally responsible a school's policies are. This year, Wells improved from 92/99 in 2018 to 93/99. Out of Sustainability-related 2 th class projects 40 recognized “Green Colleges” in New York, Wells ranked 15 , and was by far the smallest institution in the state to be cited for our strong commitment to sustainability in academics, operations and outreach.

That’s a Re-Leaf! 3 Last, but not least, Wells was awarded four Marks of Distinction from Second Nature, which E-Waste Collection 3 works to expand higher education’s ability to solve pressing sustainability challenges. Since Composting Program 3 2006, Second Nature’s focus has been on addressing climate change, when they launched the update Presidents’ Climate Leadership Commitments, the world’s longest-standing voluntary carbon re- duction program. Former President Ryerson was a 2008 Climate Commitment signatory. Marks Sharing our 3R 3 Successes of Distinction recognize signatories setting high-performance goals and reporting measurable progress to- ward those goals. We earned Marks for exceeding the 50% Carbon Reduction threshold; for being “On Track” Fill ‘er up! 3 to meet our goals; for Purchasing over 75% renewable energy; and for joining the “We Are Still In” campaign. Wells to pilot new 3 Along with 3,500 representatives from all 50 states, large and small businesses, mayors and governors, uni- technology versity presidents, faith leaders, tribal leaders, and cultural institutions, Wells is protesting the planned U.S. withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accords, the international agreement to reduce global carbon emissions. Recycling Program 3 Changes During the Peachtree planting ceremony on September 20th, Dan Hill and Donna Hill Silversmith from the Cayuga Nation helped President Jon Gibralter, Anthro- Bookstore adds “green” 3 products pology professor Ernie Olson, students from the Introduction to Gardening class, and numerous other participants plant the newest addition to the developing Round and round they 3 peach tree grove on the lawn next to the President’s residence. This annual go... peachtree planting activity both honors our strengthening relationship with local Sustainability Outreach 4 members of the Cayuga Nation - the Haudenosaunee Native American tribe on Activities whose ancestral homeland Wells College sits - and commemorates the destruc- tion of over 1500 peach trees in Aurora during the Sullivan Campaign after the Let’s Get HeatSmart 4 American Revolution, a tragic historic act that displaced the Cayuga people from CNY their territory for multiple generations. Page 2 Academics Wellspring Meet Kaya Perry ‘22, a New courses approved for Spring sustainability major and busi- ENVR 285 Special Topic: Introduction to Geographic Information Systems II ness minor This is the second of a two-course sequence introducing students to Geographic Information who trans- Systems (GIS). This course introduces advanced concepts of GIS, specifically for ArcGIS Pro. It ferred to Wells is designed to build on knowledge of analytical cartography and continue exposing students to from Cayuga Community how geographic information can be used to answer questions and to solve problems in natural resource College this past fall. Kaya is management, environmental assessment, urban planning, business, marketing, real estate, law enforce- serving as our Sustainability ment, and emergency preparedness. Students will build on concepts learned in GIS I and explore more Program Assistant, a work- advanced topics and techniques such as raster analysis, modeling, 3D analysis, and network analysis. This study position helping the course will be taught by Kinga M. Stryszowska-Hill, Visiting assistant professor of Environmental Science

Center director replace In- ART 385 Special Topic: Stitched Fiber stallments and post sustainabil- An introduction to hand-stitched fiber processes including embroidery, sewing construction, ity event flyers. For her final crochet, and knitting. Applications to contemporary art practice will be emphasized, with project for the Introduction to ties to understanding Fiber's relationship to craft, gender, DIY culture and industrial produc- Sustainability class, Kaya ana- tion systems. Taught by associate professor of Studio Art Katie Waugh lyzed the feasibility of con- verting some of the personal BIOL 116L Plants! care products sold at the Plant blindness has become a large problem in modern society, with students unsure of campus store to more sus- basic plant biology and identification of even the most common plants. This course will tainable options. She also got explore basic plant biology and the importance of plants to our lives. Emphasis will be an early start on her spring placed on the common plants found in our region. Taught by professor of Biology and En- vironmental Science Jackie Schnurr semester internship to organ- ize the Wells College Seed Ex- ENVR 285L Special Topic: Water Quality Monitoring change by contacting more This course is designed to provide an understanding of the most commonly monitored than four dozen seed compa- water quality parameters, their properties, measurement techniques, and the design of nies to request donations. monitoring protocols. We will focus on surface water bodies (e.g. rivers and lakes) and

Kinga M. the way to assess the status of their biological and physio-chemical properties by means Stryszowska-Hill, of sampling, indicators, and laboratory analysis. Anthropogenic perturbations (sewage visiting assistant effluents, agricultural practices) and their effects on water quality, as well as regulatory frameworks will be considered. Taught by assistant professor of Env. Science Kinga Hill professor of Envi- ronmental Science, SUS 385 Special Topic: Psychology of Sustainability was invited to join This required course for Sustainability majors explores research and theory on the inter- the board of directors for actions between human behavior and the environment. The goal of the course is to exam- Discover , which ine ways in which increased understanding of human behavior may be the key to creating operates the Floating Class- solutions to sustainability problems. Students will be encouraged to think critically about room. With her background ways in which psychological perspectives may provide insights into creating a sustainable in wetland ecology, Kinga future for the planet and its inhabitants. Projects will focus on the Wells campus and surrounding com- brings experience and munity. This course was formerly taught as Psychology of Environmental Sustainability by emeritus professor knowledge to that board. of Psychology Milene Morfei; this spring course will be taught as a Sustainability course by Marian Brown Sustainability-related Class Projects Wells Campus Greens held a Sustainable Speaking of repurposed materials, assistant We were im- Costume Making workshop in the Som- professor of biology Christina Schmidt again pressed with the mer Center on October 27th as the kick- charged student teams in her Biology of Organ- senior thesis pro- off event for the week-long Wells-O-Ween isms class with creating cell models using ject of Business festivities. Shannon Simmons ‘20, Greens found materials. The Sustainability Center major Koi co-president (center right in photo), orga- director incented the best entries with cash Guilbeaux. She nized the event as her individual final pro- prizes. The grand prize-winning team of Ma- analyzed “Sustainability and Ethics in the Fash- ject for her SUS 101 Introduction to Sus- ria Munoz-Ochoa ‘23 and Olivia Maish ’23 ion Industry”, comparing two fashion brands tainability class. Attendees made costumes created an intricate plant cell model using familiar to our Gen Z students: Forever 21 from repurposed materials. beach glass, shells and stones found along and Reformation. The first company is nota- the lakeshore ble in the “fast fashion” apparel industry for along with inexpensive clothing made using questiona- various man- ble manufacturing practices, while the latter made materi- focuses on sustainability as part of its brand. als culled Koi noted that while Reformation has experi- from campus enced slow but steady growth in market trash and share, Forever 21, which had been extremely recycling bins. successful, recently filed for bankruptcy.

This newsletter is printed on 30% post-consumer-recycled-content paper; please be sure to recycle when you finish reading it. Operations Page 3 W e l l s p r i n g That’s a Re-Leaf… E-Waste Collection Composting Program Update

Since Wells joined their Print ReLeaf pro- EWASTE+, the company with whom the Infor- In fiscal year 2018-19, Wells collected 366 gram in July 2017, Toshiba, our print mation Technology group contracts for elec- full 64-gallon totes of compostable food management partner, has planted over tronic waste collection, sent the results of waste from our Dining Hall, the Well, and 135 trees in our name. In fiscal year ‘18- their most recent pickup: 888 pounds of elec- the GRIND Café. Using EPA volume-to- 19, we printed over 445,000 pages, equal tronic waste, including monitors and flat panel weight conversion factors, this equals to 53 trees replanted. Print Releaf’s U.S. screens, laptops and computers, and miscella- 54,900 pounds - 27.45 tons - of food waste partner, Trees, Water & People, works neous electronic equipment, were collected diverted from landfill trash. The renovations directly with natives of the Oglala Lakota from campus. The company certifies that it made to the Dining Hall dish room this sum- tribe to plant our trees on their Pine destroys all computer hard drives to ensure mer - providing smaller compost collection Ridge reservation. This three-way part- that no personal or college data still on those tubs for plate scraping, with Dining staffers nership program to reforest tribal lands drives is accessible to others. EWASTE+ also removing contam- combats a wide range of environmental conforms to federal and state standards under inants before and social challenges. Planting trees se- the NYS Electronic those tubs are questers car- Equipment Recycling & emptied into the bon and de- Reuse Act to ensure totes on the load- velops in- proper handling of ing dock - mean come oppor- electronic waste mate- we make Natural tunities for rials to prevent nega- Upcycling, our Pine Ridge tive environmental or compost hauler, residents. human health impacts. much happier.

Sharing our 3R Successes Fill ‘er up Wells to pilot new technology

The New York State Association for Reduc- Our latest water bottle fill station was in- For several months, we have been working tion, Reuse and Recycling (NYSAR3) includ- stalled as part of the Dining Hall renovation with a new company, Medley Thermal, to ed a story about our outdoor trash/ project over the summer. This Elkay EZH2O develop a full-scale pilot of their “dynamic recycling bins in the Summer issue of fill station was electrification” system. The gist of this pro- their e-newsletter. We purchased those conveniently ject is that we will install an electric boiler in three containers with a grant from placed right in the parallel with our steam boilers, and using NYSAR3’s College Council of which Wells entryway to the Medley’s proprietary software, will switch is a member. The organization also ran a Dining Hall so between the steam boiler and the electric story about our Fall Sustain-a-Cell compe- patrons can fill up boiler during periods when electricity costs tition (see pg 2) in their October issue. their water bottles and grid emissions are low; the projected on their way out. savings in both areas are quite attractive. This location has already proved to be quite popular,

with 1,425 fills

registered during this Fall semester. Recycling Program Changes Bookstore adds ”green” items Round and round they go…

This past fiscal year, we recycled 152 tons This fall, we spotted several new items be- Rich Kloster, bookstore manager, estimated of material (paper, glass bottles, metal ing offered in the campus store, including that about 40% of the textbooks offered for cans, plastics, food waste), representing an the package of reusable metal straws (useful sale this fall were recycled, carrying the yel- impressive 51% diversion rate. However, as the GRIND Café is no longer providing low “USED” sticker and a significantly lower changes in the global recycling industry are straws for their cold drinks) and these nifty purchase price. At the end of the semester, being felt at Wells this fall. Because do- cork-covered Landmark notebooks. 149 pounds of no-longer-needed books were mestic markets for most recyclable plas- purchased back from our students, even tics bottomed out, due to Chinese im- books purchased from on-line retailers. Used porters refusing to accept U.S. materials texts that do not have further use for Spring for recycling, we were forced to shift our classes here are sent to NBS (Nebraska Book campus messaging about what is now land- Company) for resale on other campuses. fill trash to include “single use plastic” materials (cups, plates, utensils, take-out boxes, and most packaging items). We expect that this change will significantly alter our trash and recycling statistics for this fiscal year. Page 4 Outreach Sustainability is a decision-making framework for continuous improvement that mindfully takes into account the social, environmental, and economic impacts of our choices.

Sustainability Outreach Activities On November 7, the Center for Sustainability and the Environment hosted the End-of-the- Year Report for the Cayuga Lake Watershed Network (CLWN), the Institute (FLI), and their partner organizations that have been working diligently to address the local infestation of the highly-invasive, aquatic plant called Hydrilla. This 20-acre infestation was dis- Center for Sustainability covered three years ago by Wells Campus Greens on a fall bonding cruise aboard the Discover Cayuga and the Environment Lake Floating Classroom; before that, the only known Hydrilla infestations were localized near Itha- ca. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has been applying herbicides to stem the Aurora infestation; the Marian Brown, Director CLWN works with lakeside homeowners and businesses to educate them about how to identify and Wells College report sightings of Hydrilla. FLI places Watercraft Stewards at boat launches around the lake to edu- 170 Main Street cate recreational boaters and fishermen on the need to clean their vessels and properly dispose of Office: 213 Zabriskie Hall bilgewater after removing watercraft from the lake, to prevent accidental transmission of Hydrilla Aurora NY 13026 between areas on Cayuga Lake or among other Finger Lakes. The good news: this Aurora infestation has been fairly well-controlled after three years of treatment The bad news: other significant infesta- Phone: 315-364-3304 tions of Hydrilla have since been discovered in other areas of Cayuga Lake. (Photo: Rich Rudy from the E-mail: [email protected] or U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reports on 2019 season results). [email protected] We observed the Campus Crunch during lunch on October 24. This event com-

We’re on the Web: memorates National Food Day each year. Wells was one of 19 New York campus- es participating this year. Hallmark Dining partnered with the Center for Sustaina- www.wells.edu/sustainability bility to provide local apples and cider, and apple crisp made from local apples. These goodies were set up in the dining hall entry, so even those not buying Wells Center for lunch that day could participate. 164 “Crunch-ers” (22 faculty/staff, 3 off-campus, Sustainability and 139 students) each pledged to eat more fresh fruits and vegetables, beating our 2018 record of 120 the Environment Crunch participants. Well done, all!

@Wells Sust Center Speaking of apples, Wells Campus Greens went on a very in- clement late October day to the SHARE Farm in Union Springs Marian Brown, Sustainability to pick apples for their annual apple pie fund- Center, co-presented “Deep raiser. Greens raised over $200 from the sale of Energy Savings through Efficiency prepared pies and apple crisps to the communi- As a Service”, with reps from ty; they will use the proceeds to support the each of our project partners purchase of food for the campus food pantry. (Trane, Metrus Energy, and NYSERDA’s Real Time Energy Scarlett Lonsky ‘23 won the “Victor Frankenstein Prize for Best Reuse of Materials” in Management program) at the the Hallowe’en costume contest sponsored by the Science faculty. Contest rules dic- State of NY Sustainability confer- tated that the competing entries had to somehow relate to science. Scarlett described ence in Rochester in November. her costume as follows: “Anubis, was the Egyptian god of embalming- one of the earliest Brown was very humbled to be human anatomy fascinations, that led to steps in medicinal/surgical science.” To win the $50 honored by her peers with the cash prize the Center for Sustainability awarded for the best reuse of materials, Scarlett Sustainability Leadership Excel- provided this list of materials she used to create her stylish Anubis mask: Popsicle lence Award at that conference. sticks, cardboard, “old cola thing”, paper cups, and mail packaging foam.

The HeatSmart CNY team was all smiles after a very well-attended workshop at Me- morial City Hall in Auburn, showcasing that historic building’s 15-year-old, very suc- cessful integration of geothermal heat pump technology. This workshop was geared primarily to regional architects, engineers, property developers and business own- ers. Marian Brown, director of the Center for Sustainability has been serving on the steering committee for this regional, grass-roots education campaign about the envi- ronmental, economic, and occupant comfort benefits of moving from fossil-fuel based heating systems for residences and businesses to ground- or air-source heat pump technology. HeatSmart CNY is a community outreach program that connects interested parties to local heating and cooling and energy efficiency experts who offer the latest clean energy technologies. These community outreach campaigns are volunteer-led, supported by local sustainability groups and municipalities. HeatSmart CNY is by far the largest among 14 such community outreach campaigns throughout the state, sup- ported with funding from the New York Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA). Members of the steering committee shown above: Lindsay Speer, HeatSmart CNY campaign manager; Brown; John Shaheen, engineer; William Sundquist, faculty at SUNY ESF; Ellyn Lentz, campaign volunteer; and Chris Carrick, energy manager for Regional Planning and Development Board, the planning organization which has been overseeing this and other efforts throughout the five counties comprising the Central New York region: Ca- yuga, Onondaga, Oswego, Cortland, and Madison. Brown took the lead in organizing this HeatSmart CNY workshop and several residential open houses throughout Cayuga County this fall.