by Aaron Holly

Lacking a personal printer or scanner, I frequently find myself at the library computers printing off documents and watching my balance of free copies shrink down to zero. I try to not print whenever possible, but sometimes these things are unavoidable. So it came as an exciting piece of news to find out that the Addlestone Library now has a new, state of the art document scanner known as the Knowledge Imaging Center, or KIC (see picture below).

The KIC, located in the first floor copy room next to Java City, can scan all types of documents which can be saved to a USB drive or sent directly to your email. Scanned files can also be read on the KIC electronically, eliminating the need to print them out. The scanner is capable of scans up to 17 X 24 inches, or, should you ever need to scan anything really small, down to the size of a postage stamp. Scans can also be made in color or black & white. Documents can even be saved in audio format, which can be played back on any digital audio device; now if that’s not cool I’m not sure what is.

By storing your documents digitally, you can have a lower impact by reducing the amount of paper you use. Just think, if every one of the 10,558 students attending the College used their 300 sheets of printing, we use 3,167,400 sheets of paper PER SEMESTER (which=6,335 reams=633 boxes)! And that’s just students. Imagine how the faculty and staff would add to that. So next time you find yourself in the Library, think before you print, and take advantage of the KIC and all that it can do.

More info about the KIC here!

Ashley Schnitker

The past few weeks have been absolutely beautiful and with all the rain and sunshine, many plants have flowered and leafed out. I have gotten to see the formation of some vernal pools due to all the spring showers.

A vernal swamp

A large number of hardwood species exist on the property and have begun to leaf out, blocking out sunlight from the understory.  Such species as sweet gum, red maple, flowering dogwood and several species of oak and pine are found throughout the property and are easier to identify now that they have leafed out.   The understory of these trees contains many species of small forbs that are also flowering.  I have been able to collect and press several of these species for the herbarium:

Southern twayblade (Listera australis)

Sweet gum (Liquidambar styraciflua)

Resurrection ferns on the Alee of Oaks

I will be spending the next few weeks collecting data and finishing setting up the last of my plots before beginning my data compilation and analysis.

I think I’m in love.  Our relationship is so fresh and new, I can’t help but get excited thinking about Friday afternoons, and all the other random chances I get to spend time with them. 

‘Them’ you ask?? Yes, all the little vegetable and fruit sprouts within the political science urban garden that are pushing so eagerly to meet the sun’s rays.  I find myself retreating to the garden any chance I get, making sure they are watered and nourished.  I’m borderline ‘helicopter mom,’ but their youth calls for extra reassurance and devotion!

One of the many great things about the garden is the constant interaction of people and the natural world, as the garden is a centerpiece in which people gather and exchange stories, thoughts, and a sense of community.  The garden demonstrates not only the physical potential of yielding produce for the local community, but the potential within each of us to flourish and help each other grow as individuals and as a community.  If you think I am romanticizing this garden experience, you might very well be correct in your assumption, but I would argue that this newly cultivated plot of land is something worth celebrating.

Yesterday, after a hectic day and a long week, I retreated to the garden to harvest some lettuce, spinach and basil for a tasty salad to share with a good friend of mine.  After plunking my heavy book bag down, I assessed the growing sprouts, and watered them while talking with some faculty members.  The conversations extended past the garden, and into realms of personal interest and funny stories of the week.  The garden is a platform for uplifting experiences, whether gathered around the actual garden, or sharing the vegetable goodness for dinner with a near and dear friend.

The workshop was made possible in part by the Sustainability grant from the ECOllective fund and volunteer efforts. Thank you to all who participated and keep a lookout for more work days to come!

The garden will be hosting a booth this Sunday (4/7) at the Charleston Honey and Bee Expo, at Cinebarre in Mt. Pleasant.   

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This weekend I travelled to Ann Arbor Michigan for a C2C fellows workshop on leadership in sustainability in business and politics. The workshop was part of an on going series of workshops on leadership that aims to develop leadership skills such as pitching and public speaking in young individuals that are interested in sustainability and climate change. More importantly, this workshop series serves as a networking opportunity and resource for young undergraduate and graduates in the sustainability field. 

I write this post on the flight back to Charleston and my heart is heavy; as what began as slow start to the weekend quickly turned into a humbling and inspiring experience.  From the moment I arrived, it became apparent that there was a strong focus on environmental issues, in particular efficiency, divestment and renewable energy. In addition, the majority of the group had activism backgrounds having attended Power Shifts, protests against the XL pipeline, and even attended the Copenhagen Climate summit in 2009. There was a strong belief in counter-cultural movements and an advocacy of civil disobedience, modes of actions that I am quite cynical about, but a little less so now. What I came to realize over the course of the weekend, and it is more of a personal realization, is that while the environmentalist and sustainability approaches may differ, they are very often parallel paths on which a growing group of young, and extremely passionate and compassionate people are traveling on.  Between these two paths, there are intersections, that is, areas of agreement as well as divergence for areas of disagreement, yet, the issues which drive us so strongly such as inequality which stems from exploitation and degradation connects us in a manner that allows us to share and develop ideas, and ultimately inspire and be inspired by each other.

The highlight of the weekend came out of the section where we had to create and share our stories. How did our story lead us to where we are today, shape what we care about, and in turn influence what we want to do in our professional futures? Just take Dorthea E. Thomas, a strong articulate, native of some of the worst neighborhoods in Detroit who has experienced personal losses and is running for city council.  Or Lydiah Maxmillian, a resilient, cheerful soul whose hard work paid off when she was given an anonymous scholarship to attend school in the United States.  She hails from Nairobi, Kenya, but specifically from the largest slum in Africa. She hopes to one day be able to return to her home and inspire other young boys and girls through her example and eventually enter Kenyan politics. Or Ruth Powell, who has worked all her life, bounced from nursing to bike mechanic school, was one of five siblings raised by a hippy mother and whose father abandoned the family. Last year, her world was shaken as her inspiration and strength, her mother was taken by cancer. And yet, all of them carry on, and are driven by their passion for issues of environmental and social justice.

As I fly home to Charleston, I am humbled and inspired by the strength of their human spirit. The ability to overcome the odds and push on with great joy and belief that change can happen, in any case, they will make it happen…

The workshop is all expenses paid, except for transport to and from the workshop.  I would encourage anyone who is interested in or exploring the sustainability field.

We love this kind of feedback!  Thanks for reaching out to us, Brenna!

“As an Orientation Intern, I have spent every summer of my college career in Charleston. Last summer I noticed something new in Maybank Hall, I noticed that the building had gotten awesome new water refill stations. Using them over the summer was great and a super easy way to save money, save the environment and stay hydrated. This year, when I moved into College Lodge, where I am a resident assistant, I noticed our water fountain was broken. After noticing how the lack of a water fountain was playing a role in my residents daily lives, I came up with the idea of contacting the Office of Sustainability. I asked about the possibility of getting a refill station in College Lodge. I think that residence halls are one of the best places to have a refill station because there is constant traffic and what better way to test it out. After a semester of communication and figuring out logistics, we came back from break with a wonderful present. The residents love the refill station and constantly use it, I think College Lodge is the perfect new home for our lovely gift. As of today, we have saved over 1095 water bottles. The fact that you can actually see the change you are making is an easy way to push you in the right direction. Residents are excited about making the number of bottles that we save go up. The other day, my fellow resident assistant and I, filled up our cups and saved our 1000th water bottle. It was a random exciting moment that I never thought would be so fun. We ran around the lobby screaming that we got to 1000 bottles while our residents gave us high fives and laughed. I know it sounds lame, but we truly had a good time doing one simple thing for the environment. Thank you so much for showing us how to make saving the environment fun! Can’t wait to see what else our new refill station brings us!”

GreekNewsletterOct

GreekNewsletterNov

While most of the students at the College Of Charleston may have spent their Fall Break relaxing or studying, eight members of the College’s Office of Sustainability traveled cross-country to Los Angeles, California to attend the 2012 National AASHE (The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education) Conference. Jen Jones, the newly appointed Facilities Coordinator for the Office, presented at the conference on “Green Funds 1.0: Getting a Fund Started”. The presentation was a collaboration between Jen and three other administrators from different campuses. The panelists represented diversity from public to private, community college to PhD granting, and east coast to west coast. The panel presentation explored the stories, challenges, and successes of the four different institutions on their journey to adding a green fund to their sustainability initiatives.

Jen began with the very basics surrounding the concept of a green fund by explaining, “A green fund is a sum of money specifically set aside for campus sustainability projects.” As explained in her presentation, the green fund comes from student fees, campus operation budgets, administrative funds, and alumni donations. After describing the basics each member of the panel told their story of how their fee was approved and discussed the major barriers they ran into and how they overcame them, Jen gave an informative presentation on the College Of Charleston’s green fund and how is came to be implemented in the Fall of 2010. Jen’s discussion included the challenges faced and current projects funded by the Green Fund at College Of Charleston. In addition, Jen and the other panelists provided support and advice for colleges and universities that are either working on developing a fee for their institution or wish to get started on one. Jen’s panel presentation was on the last day of the conference and for everyone involved it was an exceptional ending to a long four days.

Here at the College of Charleston a push has begun for the integration of more sustainable and local foods in campus dining options in addition to accountability for supply chain and waste stream management. While this movement has been largely student driven, the implementation of the desired changes is wholly dependent upon the cooperation with food service providers and garnering the blessings of upper level management within the College. In her presentation at the AASHE 2012 National Conference, Ashlyn Hochschild outlined many of the potential solutions and obstacles encountered while working with Aramark (the College’s food service provider) in designing more sustainable strategies.

Food and adequate nutrition are some of the most basic and fundamental of human needs. Since the dawn of time, the attainment of sustenance has been a community effort, founded in the joint collaboration of hunting, gathering, and cultivation in close cooperation with the natural environment. Not until recently has there been such a vast disconnect between the source of our food and its consumption. In our modern fast-paced everyday lives, concern about the origin, fate, and nutritional content of our food has been relegated to the backburner.  The College serves anywhere between 3,000-3,500 meals everyday on campus, creating a significant impact based on their purchasing preferences and waste disposal methods. The hope is that shifting the purchasing paradigm to a more locally sourced effort will improve the local economy and overall quality of the food served.

In her presentation, Hochschild points out that while small steps are being taken by Aramark, there is still significant room for improvement. She called specific attention to the “Green Thread” program currently being implemented on campus which includes “green” cleaning supplies, cardboard recycling, reusable mug discounts, recycling fryer oil, serving Fair Trade coffee, the use of a compost pulper, and the reusable tray program. While these are excellent first steps, they pale in comparison to efforts being made across the nation. A specific example that was cited indicates that while the pulper was purchased over a year ago, it had not generated any usable compost until this past Friday, November 1st.  Hochschild ultimately concludes that much of the fault lies in a lack of baseline data, communication, transparency, and implementation of large-scale concepts on a smaller scale.

Despite some of these challenges, Aramark has been largely cooperative and willing to lend an ear to both the Office and student input on their policies and provision of service. In order to ameliorate the broader issues, added transparency and initiative on behalf of the College of Charleston is a must. In order to create a positive and sustainable campus environment, there must be joint cooperation between the students, the administration, and their providers. A sustainable approach to our food consumption and waste management encompasses not only where our food comes from and where it ultimately ends up, but how it shapes our community and our interactions.

The facility is located in North Charleston at Clemson’s Restoration Institute.  In Phase 1 the Institute will consist of The Warren Lasch Conservation Center, Advanced Materials Lab, Clemson International Center for Wind Energy Systems, and Graduate Education Center.  Construction is on schedule.  The smaller test rig is scheduled to begin testing in the fall, and the larger will follow in early 2013.  After a presentation by Dr. Rigas, we donned our construction site apparel and marched off to the test site.

The building is huge!!  They’ve just finished reinforcing the foundation, and the roof will be constructed soon.  The Graduate Center will be right in front of it, right on the Cooper River.  The design looks gorgeous, definitely makes me consider engineering… Maybe.  It was really exciting for us to visit this site because we love to physically see things in motion!