Bryn Mawr College Greens

Minutes 2012 November 07

Hi All!

Here are notes from tonight’s meeting!

Announcements:

Sustainability Tea at 9pm tomorrow!! (Thursday the 8th) At the Campus Center. Hosted by the recycling committee
BYOM – bring your own mug

ES Mixer at 4:30-6:30pm on Tuesday the 13th!!!! At the Campus Center. Hosted by the Environmental Studies senior seminar.

Updates:

Sustainability Coordinator:
-Karen and Lee met with Ed Harman (head of grounds) and Deb (from facilities) about specifics in how a sustainability coordinator could greatly enhance the Bryn Mawr campus
-Ed has a lot of sustainability project ideas but doesn’t have the time to get all of them going
-Deb brought up the point that someone who can help carry over student sustainable, green projects would help move projects along more quickly
-Found a previously put together job description for a sustainability coordinator
-Have some descriptions from other colleges
-Have to figure out who this person would report to and under what department

We will make a google doc to share links for job descriptions of sustainability coordinators at other colleges and places – Karen will send out a link and please add to it!!

Next meeting – coming up with a description of how a sustainability coordinator would help Greens

Networking with other green groups on campus

-Idea!! Once a meeting, Greens invites all other green groups to the Greens meeting to promote communication and networking

-Stress that at least one rep from each groups remains consistent

-Green groups: EJL, Garden, Bike Co-op, Greens, Recycling Committee, Sustainable Food Committee, Campus Greening representatives, Batten House, ES senior seminar, environmental 360s and other academic groups, beekeeping,

Sustainability tea tomorrow! + upcoming events

Tomorrow (Thursday, November 8) there will be a sustainability tea at 9 pm in the campus center, sponsored by the recycling committee:

Come make turkey hands or origami this Thursday in the Campus Center. Bring a mug and some paper! What does sustainability mean to you?

And other upcoming events:

The Environmental Studies senior seminar will hold an environmental mixer on Tuesday, November 13 4.30-6.00 pm in the campus center for everyone involved or interested in green initiatives on campus to come together, share their ideas, and exchange contacts to build coalitions in their efforts towards sustainability. This event is open to the Tri-Co community.

EVERYONE IS WELCOME: faculty, staff, students …

This Saturday, November 10, there will be a screening of the environmental documentary Bidder 70 at Haverford at 4.15 pm in Stokes Auditorium. Click on the link below for more information.

Bidder 70 Screening Flyer

Minutes 2012 October 31

Greens Meeting October 31, 2012

Bikes: Event next weekend (Saturday, 1-4 pm):

Super basic bike safety and repair (fix a flat, brakes, chains, cables, etc.)

Will probably only take about 2 hours, but we’ll be around for an extra hour for questions and such.

It’s Parents’ Weekend, so it’s okay to bring parents!

Location to be determined.

Check your email for more details!

Green Tour: The ES senior seminar is working on designing a “green tour” for admitted students events.

Garden: Most of the plants were damaged by the hurricane, so there will be some maintenance this Friday from 2-4 pm.

The Monday after Thanksgiving (in the afternoon), there will be a field trip to a Norristown middle school. RSVP to Maiya as soon as she sends out an email.

Green Coordinator: Lee has an internship with the college, in part to update the sustainability aspect of the college website.

They have established a green events calendar. Send activities to greenevents@brynmawr.edu, preferably early Monday morning for events that week.

Maybe we should consider having a listserv, especially one that includes Haverford events (not only academic ones).

Lots of opportunity to have more collaboration among campus groups. The next step is to ask for a green coordinator, could be shared with Haverford.

Important to have more institutional memory than a student could have.

No infrastructure in place for a coordinator.

Contact Melanie Bowman who has already worked for the college in this way.

The job would include more than what a student could do, needs job experience.

Look at other schools who have coordinators. Look at Swarthmore’s job description.

Phase 1: background research on what this position would mean

Phase 2: get everyone on campus excited (letter-writing campaign)àWho are the letters to? Should we do a Plenary resolution?

Phase 3: If they say yes, celebration, if they say no, escalation (what would this look like?)

When is the budget established? What’s our timeline like?

Who do we meet with to figure out decision-makers? Maybe this can be established during research one-to-ones.

What are some tasks we would like to have a coordinator do?

Greens could have a role in: encouraging student excitement, writing a letter, using club’s influence as an environmental leader to help push for the position, and helping to power map and plan the campaign.

Involved parties:

Dining Hall (Sustainable Foods Committee)

Facilities (Recycling Committee)

CEO (Kelly Sheard, Ellie, Nell)

Grounds (Ed Harmon)

Deans

Admissions

Margaret Kelly

Professors (Victor Donnay, Don Barber, Ellen Stroud, more!)

Remember to bring in interested students to these meetings.

Task!: look up a case study at another school and report back next meeting. Email your school choice to Lee (lmcclenon@brynmawr.edu)

Steps forward from E-Forum: Next meeting!

Suggestion Box: Next meeting!

Minutes 2012 October 24

Greens Meeting 10-24-12

E-forum:

What does “green” mean to you?

Recycle
Buzz word
Carbon footprint
Green washing (cool)
Justification for consumption (if a product is labeled “green”, it’s ok to consume)
More than just green products
1^st world problem
Branding
Green practices interfering with comfort and convenience

What role do institutions play? Which institutions have an effect?

Government
People who donate to colleges
College investments (endowments)
Fight back – divestments
- Invest in green institutions that make the same amount of money for the long term

What is your role?

Hire contractors that have green practices
City planning…homes near public transportation
- Income? Affordability? Attractive?
- Designing homes to use passive energy – solar, wind
  - Does green cost more?
  - What about free options?
- Social stigma: money vs. not-money
- Education system: more relevant to every day life regarding a more sustainable lifestyle
  - Applicable to BMC?

BMC and Sustainability

LED lights in Brecon
Solar panel! 1^st one by SGA house! Will power SGA house emergency lightening
Still need to CUT BACK
- REDUCE, REUSE, then recycle
- Library computer labs – talk to IT about turning all off at night
- Why Styrofoam?
  - Health code issues with using reusable containers
  - Overcrowded dining halls – don’t physically have space to dry containers
  - Many variables and interrelated maths
  - All trash incinerated – Styrofoam produces less CO2 (but more chemicals) than paper
  - 50,000 take out containers per year
- Sustainable Food Committee
  - Running food week
  - Where does our food come from?

Debrief:

Did we really start a conversation?

Continue with this type of conversation a couple times a year

Roses:

Diversity of people and lots of people
People were authentic and shared a diversity of opinions
The people there carried the conversation

Thorn:

More time!
Some voices were heard more often than others
Some were more opinionated than others and they carried the conversation in the direction that they wanted it to go

Bud:

Mix of class years – will help carry this forward
Possibility to expand for next time

Next time:

More focused conversation and have a more cohesive direction?
Have projects come out of e-forums?
Try to be more of a liaison between the students and the administration about green issues

Environmental Senior Seminar:

Develop a sustainability tour with admissions for prospective students

November 13^th!!! 4:30-6: Tri-Co Environmental mixer!! Fun times!!!! J

Greens can help fund this event!

Environmental Forum: Tuesday October 23

Green is for everyone!

Join us for e-forum in Pem East common room at 8 pm, Tuesday October 23! E-forum is a community-based environmental forum where we’ll discuss what it means for us to be green, why it’s important, and what’s happening on campus.