At the beginning of January, Luther students set off for their three week trips around the world, many of which focused on the environment and conservation studies. Trips included: Ecology of the Southwest (Arizona), Environmental Ethics in Holden Village (Washington), Subtropical and Marine Biology in the Bahamas, and People and Parks: Pastoralism and Conservation in East Africa (Tanzania). First year students staying on campus also had the opportunity to explore some of the biggest issues we face through seminar classes such as "Global Climate Change: Science & Society", "Sustainable Cities?", and "Food for Thought: Healthy Diet". To read off-campus J-term blogs, click here.

The Luther College Break Shuttle Program has been expanding since its start in 2007, and this year more students than ever are taking advantage of it. The shuttle service is designed to provide efficient, low-cost transportation for students as they travel to and from the Minnesota, Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin areas for breaks. Ridership has increased greatly in the past few years alone from 1,075 passengers in 2011-2012, to 1,445 in 2012-2013, to 1,326 for the first half of 2013-2014 alone. The Luther shuttle service is just one program designed to help Luther students reduce the need for individual travel. For more information about the break shuttles and other transportation initiatives, visit the sustainability transportation website.   

FFI is a combination of six rural counties in Northeast Iowa working together to improve the health and well-being of children and their families in the region. To be most effective in serving vulnerable children and families, FFI focuses efforts on four strategic areas: K-12 schools, early childhood, local food systems, and active living. Some of the highlights from last year include: 

• Sales of local food were $7.3 million, up from $3.6 million the previous year.
• School purchases of local food were up by 40% to $20,236.
• Rapid progress in developing a food hub, which supports the aggregation and distribution of foods produced in NE Iowa to schools, grocers, and workplaces in NE Iowa and surrounding regions.
• Luther FFI School Outreach - worked with 16 active school wellness teams
• FFI Resource Contacts (AmeriCorps and FoodCorps volunteers) and work group leaders spent 599 hours on nutrition and local food programming in schools and the community.
• Ten new walking schools buses were added for a total of 17 buses in the region.
• Interviews with 10 former FoodCorps or AmeriCorps service members who served with the Initiative reported their experience with FFI influenced their decision to continue working in areas related to food, health, or education and taught them valuable professional skills.

For more information about the NE Iowa Food & Fitness Initiative, go to the FFI website.