THE MAGAZINE OF FRANKLIN PIERCE UNIVERSITY spring 2013

SustainabilitySustainability initiatives at Franklin Pierce receivednew visibility in the fall of 2012 when SustainabilityCertificate student Corey Hogan ’12, along withSustainability Coordinator Jess Gerrior, representedFranklin Pierce at the Association for the Advancement ofSustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) 2012 AnnualConference & Expo in Los Angeles. The conference broughttogether thousands of students, higher education professionals,and partners from throughout the United States and abroad.Topics ranged from green revolving funds and carbon trackingsoftware to service learning and social justice. Corey used theconference experience to shape his semester-long SustainabilityProject, which focused on enhancing recycling on theRindge campus.During his three years as an Environmental Services (EVS)student worker, Corey observed that there was room forimprovement with regard to collection and disposal of materialsin classrooms and offices. A high percentage of recyclablematerials such as paper, cardboard, aluminum, plastic, andglass were being tossed into trash containers instead of beingrecycled, while non-recyclable trash frequently contaminatedthe recycling containers. Franklin Pierce then switched to singlestreamrecycling in early 2012. The single-stream system makesrecycling easier and more efficient by eliminating the step ofsorting different materials – trash in one container, commingledrecyclables in another. However, Corey found that not everyoneunderstood the new system, so he decided to research ways toimprove awareness and outreach across campus.The Sustainability Certificate program gave Corey a platformon which to pursue that goal. Corey’s interest in sociology andcommunity building led him to think about the human sideof recycling, and in his Sustainability Seminar, he developeda proposal for a project that would address not only theenvironmental and economic aspects of recycling, but the socialissues as well. Working with members of the SustainabilityCouncil and EVS staff, Corey became a strong and informedadvocate for better communication about recycling amongall campus stakeholders. He learned about community-basedapproaches to environmental problem solving and used his EVSexperience to collect data, conduct interviews, and make a pitchfor sustainability. Corey feels that people listened and attributedmore weight to his suggestions regarding the recycling programonce he became a Sustainability Certificate student.At the AASHE conference, Corey attended the StudentSummit, which included student presentations, facilitatednetworking, and workshops. He learned from the pitfallsand successes of programs on other campuses and returnedto campus with focused and evidence-backed strategies forFranklin Pierce. Many of the recommendations in hisSustainability Project are now being applied, such as new signsabove recycling containers that communicate the singlestreamrecycling process graphically. Printing for the signs was ajoint effort between the offices of Jess Gerrior (SustainabilityCenter), Bob St. Jean (Purchasing), and Barbara Peloquin(Environmental Services).Corey says the recognition for his work with the recyclingprogram was a rewarding aspect of the program, in additionto traveling to the conference and networking with otherstudents and professionals. He believes earning the SustainabilityCertificate shows his seriousness about sustainability, and heis proud of serving the Franklin Pierce community with theknowledge and skills he gained.www.franklinpierce.edu 11