Menlo-Magazine-Fall-2014

Tania Equiha ‘16 gives a creative touchup to campus recycling bins.Menlo College Launches Sustainability Task ForcePHOTO: ANDRE POLIAKOVMenlo College student Katrina Ford, ’15 had to do someexplaining to bring the concept of a Sustainability TaskForce to the College campus. The campus had an electriccharging station for electric cars, and Zipcars to help studentsavoid owning cars, but there wasn’t a program to monitorplastic bottle usage and recycling, or a developed plan to decreaseutilities usage.To initiate her cause, Katrina partnered with Angela Schmiede,Director of Internships at Menlo College, to create Menlo’s SustainabilityTask Force (STF). Katrina’s first goal was to encouragestudents, faculty, and staff to ban the use of plastic bottles oncampus. To help educate the campus community, she arranged aviewing of the documentary, “Tapped,” to show that plastic bottlesare detrimental to health and the environment. In an effort to supportthe bottle ban, new filtered water dispensers were installed inseveral sites so that people can easily fill their own reusable bottleson campus. Katrina’s next project was to organize a group of studentsto refurbish a squadron of recycling bins. The campus alsoparticipated in a ‘lights out’ campaign on Earth Day to increaseawareness of the impact of energy conservation.Sustainability efforts have multiplied since spring as the facilitiesstaff implemented projects including additional water stations,electrical light conversions that have led to a 25% reduction inthe number of kilowatt hours used by the College, eco-friendlywashing machines, and low-flow dorm showerheads. The cafeteriaordered reusable “to go” boxes for lunches, and the parking staffcreated a bike pedaling incentive program. In addition, the Collegelessened its reliance on the public water supply by redirecting itswell water for landscaping.“This year, the students created Living Green, a sustainability clubthat will implement several educational initiatives to help reducethe use of water, energy, and other resources on campus,” said Dr.Schmiede. Katrina, an entrepreneurship major said, “Sustainabilityis a worthy outreach effort that not only fosters my dream butsignificantly impacts and inspires the community.”In early spring, Menlo College will participate in Campus ConservationNationals (CCN), the largest electricity and water reductioncompetition for colleges and universities in the world. In its fifthyear, CCN gives a common voice and motivation to hundredsof thousands of students across North America, all workingtogether to reduce consumption and mitigate the impacts ofclimate change.We look forward to reducing our environmental footprint throughthis competition in the spring.18 FALL 2014