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Sustainability in the News
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IUOS announces summer 2012 interns
 | | Interns from the 2011-12 Academic Year discuss sustainability issues during the program's seminar. |
The Indiana University Office of Sustainability has named 17 interns to continue efforts toward a more sustainable IU Bloomington during the summer of 2012. The student interns, selected from undergraduate and graduate student applicants, will work on a broad array of issues related to sustainability, under the mentorship of IU faculty and staff.In addition to their summer of service, the interns will be enrolled in a one-credit seminar, which will seek to place the individual interns' projects in a broader context and help to develop a learning community among participants in the internship program.
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Mike Keen receives Pinnell Award
A campaign for additional campus bike racks. A proposal for a Shakespeare-themed campus garden. An annual event that properly disposes of a quarter million pounds of computers and electronics. These are just a few of the effects of Keen's contributions to IU South Bend, where he is not only a professor of sociology but also directs the Center for a Sustainable Future.
For these and other contributions, President McRobbie awarded the W. George Pinnell Award to Keen at the Celebration of Distinguished Teaching dinner in April.
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IU Bloomington included in 'green colleges' guide
The Princeton Review has selected IUB for inclusion in the third annual edition of its free downloadable book "The Princeton Review's Guide to 322 Green Colleges: 2012 Edition."
Released April 17, the guide profiles the selected colleges and universities and provides facts, statistics and write-ups reporting on the schools' environmentally related policies, practices and academic offerings.
IUB received a score of 96. Schools that receive the maximum score of 99 are included in the "Green Honor Roll," which this year comprises 16 schools ranging from small liberal arts colleges to large research institutions.
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Hoosier to Hoosier Community Sale donation collection begins
 | | H2H Sale Day, 2011. |
The Hoosier to Hoosier (H2H) Community Sale officially kicked off its collection of reusable items from students on Earth Day, Sunday, April 22. The sale -- now in its third year -- accepts used clothing, furniture, housewares, books, electronics and nearly everything else except mattresses.
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IU e-waste collection program results in recycling almost 400,000 pounds of waste
Indiana University's 2012 Electronic Waste Collection Days event netted 385,000 pounds of computer and electronic equipment for recycling, organizers said. The event took place May 11 and 12 at IU Bloomington and IU South Bend, providing community members, businesses, schools and organizations the opportunity to dispose of unwanted or outdated equipment at no cost and in an environmentally responsible manner.
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Bloomington holds 2nd annual
bike summit
 | Gayle and Bill Stuebe look at a map of Bloomington to determine problem
areas for local cyclists. |
The 2012 Platinum Bike Summit was attended by approximately 50 local cyclists who came together to discuss "bike-ability" in Bloomington.
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Smithsonian Institution to put IU Research and Teaching Preserve forest into global research network
The Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute has partnered with Indiana University researchers to collect data for a project aimed at understanding the long-term dynamics of forests. Researchers will map and identify every tree in a 62-acre area.
The research will take place in Lilly-Dickey Woods, a 550-acre forest valued as a central hardwoods forest where human management has been minimal for the previous 150 years.
The data from the project will help monitor the dynamics and health of local forests and their role in the global carbon cycle.
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Trashion Refashion showcases green style
The 2012 "Trashion Refashion" show featured 50 designs made from recycled material by local designers. Event coordinators said the event had doubled in size from the previous year.
In celebration of Earth Day and the 20th anniversary of the Center of Sustainable Living, "Trashion Refashion" aimed to inspire thought about how clothing should be incorporated into sustainability.
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Winners of 2012 Spring Energy Challenge announced, IUB has most water savings in national competition
 | | IU Bloomington Provost and Executive Vice President Lauren Robel, right, presents trophies and plaques to challenge winners. |
Lindley Hall, Ashton Residence Center, Teter Residence Center, Redbud Apartments, University Apartments East and Kappa Kappa Gamma all took home first-place prizes.
This year marked the first time IU's residence halls competed in Campus Conservation Nationals, which pitted IU against 100 other colleges and universities across the country. IU Bloomington had the largest water savings in the country.
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WonderLab promotes gardening culture awareness
On April 6, foodscape designer and photographer Jami Scholl presented her exhibit, "Permaculture + Potager: An Edible Eden."
The exhibit at WonderLab is part of Scholl's Garden the City 2012 project. The project, which aims to promote sustainability and organic cultivation, will also include classes to help patrons learn how to garden in a city setting.
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Sustainability Research Grants focus on urban forestry, PCB impact
IUOS has announced the recipients of the Sustainability Research Development Grants for the 2012-13 academic year. Two teams of IU Bloomington faculty and graduate students will engage in new collaborative research projects on topics related to environmental sustainability.
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City youth participate in service day
On April 20, young adults participated in the Global Youth Service Day, a day of hands-on volunteering in Bloomington.
Students volunteered in sustainability-based service projects, including mural painting at The Warehouse, preparing a rain garden at the Community Kitchen, preparing bikes at Bloomington Bicycle Project-2, volunteering in the garden at Wonderlab, removing invasive plants at RCA Park and preparing for Memorial Day at Rose Hill Cemetery.
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National Bike Month
By Bill Brown
This May we celebrate National Bike Month as an opportunity to promote an activity that is fun, healthy and sustainable - three words not likely to be associated with driving to campus alone. Fortunately, we live in a community in which bicycle transportation is not only feasible but often the more convenient choice. Studies indicate that over 70% of faculty, staff and students live within 3 miles of campus, which is an easy distance on a bike.
In 2010, IU Bloomington was selected as one of the first twenty Bicycle Friendly Universities. The assessment rated us at the bronze level and came with a list of recommendations regarding where we need to improve to move up to silver, gold and platinum.
IUB has multiple groups moving toward better bike amenities. The IU Office of Sustainability Transportation Working Group, chaired by Perry Maull and Virginia Sojdehei, has worked in collaboration with sustainability interns and campus departments to develop bicycle amenities, incentives and programs to encourage bicycling. A Bicycle Steering Committee was started in 2010 and this past year an official student organization, IU Students for Bikes, was chartered.
Over the past year, we've developed improved bicycle infrastructure. Parking Operations and the University Architects Office have collaborated on better outdoor parking facilities and bike repair stations near Well's Library and Ernie Pyle Hall. In addition, bike repair kits can now be found at all parking garage attendant stations.
If you would like to join in the fun, improve your health, save money and lower your environmental impact all at the same time, contact our new bike intern, Kevin Sonoff, via bicycle@indiana.edu, follow @IUBikes on twitter, or visit the new IU Bike website at: http://www.indiana.edu/~sustain/bicycle/. Get involved and get on your bike!
Read the full article on our blog >>
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Profiles in IU Sustainability
This feature profiles a student, faculty member, staff member, IU alum, or community member who has inspired us as a sustainability leader. We hope you enjoy these stories, and we encourage you to send along your own! View this and past profiles at http://www.indiana.edu/~sustain/profiles/archives.html.
Jacqui Bauer is this month's featured sustainer: Bauer 101  | | Featured Sustainer Jacqui Bauer |
- Position: Sustainability Coordinator for the City of Bloomington
- Hobbies: biking, playing the ukulele
- Favorite things about Bloomington: B-Line Trail, Lotus Festival, Little 500, Bloomingfoods, Bloomington Ukulele Club, Sunny the dog
What does "sustainability" mean to you? Sustainability means common sense--it means taking a long-term perspective, anticipating what future limitations will be, and then trying to plan around those limitations. It's something businesses and households do all the time; we're just not used to doing it on a global scale. It's much harder when you can't externalize the impacts of your decisions. How do the city of Bloomington and IU collaborate to further sustainability in our collective community? We work together all the time-this happens very broadly across the City as we try to coordinate infrastructure needs and that sort of thing. As for me, I collaborate with Bill Brown and Emilie Rex and the intern program at IUOS in many ways. I co-mentor two IUOS interns - one focused on increasing sustainability in off-campus housing and the other coordinating the Hoosier to Hoosier Community Sale.
Generally speaking, the IUOS staff and I are in close communication all the time-we help keep each other informed of what's going on in two of Bloomington's largest local institutions, bounce ideas off of each other. I'm not sure what I would do if I didn't have a counterpart on the university side.
What do you see as the biggest challenge for sustainability in Bloomington? I think the biggest challenge is to focus as much on outcomes as we do on message. The great thing about sustainability is that there's never just one reason to adopt a sustainable behavior. What reduces your environmental impact is often also healthier, or more economical, or better for the community, or for national security, or all of the above. Instead of becoming attached to our own personal favorite reason for becoming more sustainable, we need to think about what messages work best for which audience. That is, global climate change might not move me, but creating sustainable local jobs might. Have you had a favorite sustainability-related project or achievement in Bloomington? It's hard not to be impressed by the Hoosier to Hoosier Sale-it's been embraced by the community and the satisfaction has been immediate. Something like 47 tons of stuff diverted in just 2 years, and we hope to pull our average up even higher this year.
There are a lot of other achievements too, but a lot of them are much more gradual. We hope to obtain LEED certification for City Hall this year, and we're also making big strides in installing bike infrastructure across the community. I just keep moving forward, and try to appreciate the small steps that are moving us in the right direction. Read the full interview >> |
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This summer, the Green Teams program welcomes a new Coordinator, Shar Fish, a Master of Public Affairs candidate concentrating in Nonprofit Management at the School of Public and Environmental Affairs. This summer, Shar and Sustainability Director Bill Brown plan to communicate with current Green Teams to discuss successes and challenges, and faculty, staff, and students interested in forming new Green Teams will also have an opportunity to meet with Bill and Shar to learn about the program. With an already strong foundation laid by previous interns, Shar is looking forward to creating new resources to help future Green Teams interns, and will be disseminating information to the university community on the status of Green Teams.
This spring, we congratulated the Green Team members of the Office of Environmental Health and Safety, which became the first unit on campus to achieve Tree Certification, the highest sustainability accreditation of its kind. Each Green Teams certification level includes a list of feasible sustainable actions distributed amongst education and outreach, resource use, recycling, sustainable computing, energy and built environment, transportation, and food. The categories correspond to both the IUOS working groups as well as categories included in the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education's Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System (STARS).
Interested in promoting sustainability within your department or academic building, and looking for the tools necessary to get more involved? The Office of Sustainability invites you to join Green Teams, an informal group of faculty, staff, and students who work collectively to promote environmentally friendly practices within their respective campus units. Over 30 Green Teams have been established by individuals dedicated to sustainability in the workplace across the IU campus. Starting a Green Team, or getting involved with a current team, is a great way for individuals at IU to reduce the long-term and short-term environmental impacts of their office or building. To learn how to get involved, visit the Green Teams webpage or contact Shar directly at iugt@indiana.edu.
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Events and Opportunities
Full event listing can be viewed on our blog
Upcoming Events:
Tuesday, May 22 IU Campus Garden Workday When: 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm Where: Hilltop Garden and Nature Center Description: No need to sign up ahead of time, just show up ready to play in the dirt and grow food for the campus community! Gloves and tools are provided. Email iugarden@indiana.edu with questions. Visit http://iugarden.wordpress.com/ for more information. Wednesday, May 23 Green Drinks Bloomington presents Marti Crouch When: 5:30 - 7:30 pm
Where: Banquet Facility of the Upland Brewing Company, 350 West 11th Street
Description: At 6 p.m., Marti Crouch, a biologist specializing in interrelationships of agriculture and technology, will provide a presentation entitled "Going Backwards: What the New 2,4-D Resistant Crops Will Mean for Indiana's Agriculture (And You)". Folks in Northern Indiana have proposed renaming their region the "Giant Ragweed National Forest" now that this prominent weed has developed resistance to Roundup after widespread planting of Monsanto's Roundup Ready crops. Dow AgroSciences, based in Indianapolis, has a "fix": they have genetically engineered corn and soybeans to withstand higher doses of their old, iconic herbicide, 2,4-D. We'll explore what the next generation of herbicide-resistant crops will mean for Indiana in this presentation.
Green Drinks Bloomington is a lively, informal social networking event for people from all walks of life who are interested in making a greener world. Folks gather every month to share libations and ideas, discuss, debate, explore and make new friends and business connections. It is held the 4th Wednesday of every month from 5:30 - 7:30 pm at the Banquet Facility of the Upland Brewing Company. There's a $5 suggested donation, some food will be provided. To receive a monthly reminder, write greendrinksbloomington@gmail.com. To learn more about Green Drinks visit www.greendrinks.org. The effects of deer on the forest community of Griffy Woods
When: 7:00 p.m.
Where: Monroe County Public Library auditorium
Description: White-tailed deer are commonly seen in and around the Bloomington community. In recent years, the deer population has become a hot topic. Dr. Angie Shelton, a postdoc at the IU Department of Biology and the IU Research & Teaching Preserve, will present "The effects of deer on the forest community of Griffy Woods" at the Sassafras Audubon Society's May program. The program is free and open to the public. Dr. Shelton has studied the effects deer have on the forest by examining the variety and growth rate of plants and trees in fenced and adjacent unfenced plots. The plots were set up in Griffy Woods between 2005 and 2010. Recently she has expanded her research to cover broader aspects of the forest community-including soil nutrients, soil mycorrhizal communities, salamanders, small mammals, ticks, and insects. Friday, May 25
IU Campus Garden Workday
When: 9:00 am - 11:00 am
Where: Hilltop Garden and Nature Center
Description: No need to sign up ahead of time, just show up ready to play in the dirt and grow food for the campus community! Gloves and tools are provided. Email iugarden@indiana.edu with questions. Visit http://iugarden.wordpress.com/ for more information. Hoosier to Hoosier Outreach Meeting
When: 10:30 am
Where: Pourhouse Cafe (314 E Kirkwood)
Description: Calling motivated volunteers! Be a part of planning and getting the word out for this summer's community sale. Visit www.Indiana.edu/~h2h or email h2h@indiana.edu for more information. News, ongoing events, and opportunities:
The IU Campus Garden Initiative announces summer programming, Garden Leader opportunities
There are several ways in which you can become involved with the Initiative this summer:
(1) Weekly workdays will take place on Tuesdays from 5-7PM and on Fridays from 9-11AM. No need to sign up ahead of time, just show up ready to play in the dirt and grow food for the campus community!
(2) You and at least three of your friends, peers, and/or co-workers can "Adopt-a-Day" at the Hilltop Garden! Monday from 9-11AM, Wednesday from 2-4PM, and Saturday from 10-12AM are ready for adoption each week! To adopt a workday, send an email to iugarden@indiana.edu that includes your group name, primary contact (email and phone number), and expected number of participants (minimum of 4 required).
(3) Our Summer Planting Day will take place on June 16th from 10am-12pm! Check the calendar for details about other exciting garden events as they are planned.
(4) We're looking for volunteer Garden Leaders to help make the campus garden more vibrant and educational. In addition to helping with workdays, Garden Leaders can choose to specialize in a number of areas, including irrigation, soil management, and photography. No experience is necessary! The full program description can be found here.
Moving this summer? Have too much stuff? DONATE IT!
The Hoosier to Hoosier Community Sale will take anything*-clothes, furniture, housewares, non-perishable food-and all funds raised support local non-profits. Check with your landlord or contact us for a pick-up (h2h@indiana.edu) starting in May. We need a few days notice. Visit www.indiana.edu/~h2h for more info.
*Except mattresses. Check out sustainability courses for summer and fall 2012! Plan for the fall semester or add a summer course with sustainability-focused and sustainability-related courses through the IUOS web site or Office of the Registrar . Contact aiwg@indiana.eduwith questions or suggestions for the listings. Live in the Bloomington Coop: Affordable housing for sustainability and social empowerment Bloomington Cooperative Living in a member-owned and -operated non-profit in Bloomington. We house three dozen people, equal parts undergraduate, graduate, and townie. In exchange for paying dues, doing chores, and attending meetings, you get a diverse community, fantastic regular meals, more beautiful people in your life, and stake in an enterprise providing one of the most affordable, sustainable, and empowering lifestyles in town. Check out http://bloomingtoncoop.org. We're currently working to buy a 20 person building downtown: you own it, you run it. Our other open properties are on Atwater, right next to campus. Openings are available for summer and fall, first-come, first-served. Dues, including all rent, utilities, and food, range between $500-$600 per month, depending on the size of the room. For comments or questions, write bloomingtoncoop@gmail.com, or stick your questions in along with your application: http://bloomingtoncoop.org/apply.
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About Us
The mission of the Indiana University Office of Sustainability is to advance sustainable human-environment interactions within the Bloomington campus and community by facilitating collaborative academic and operational initiatives.
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Contact Us
IU Office of Sustainability
E-House
704 E. 10th St.
Bloomington, Indiana 47408
812-855-1822
www.indiana.edu/~sustain
sustain@indiana.edu
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