Keen to be Green
Kenyon's turning green, and it's not with envy. Campus and community groups--the Environmental Campus Organization (ECO), People Endorsing Agrarian Sustainability (PEAS), and Kenergy, to name a few--as well as members of the College administration--are taking a turn toward environmental consciousness by improving energy efficiency, considering "green" building designs, expanding recycling and composting, and developing the local food program. Even the Bulletin was printed on recycled paper.
Here's a sampling of environmental groups and initiatives on campus:
- Kenergy, a group including Kenyon employees and community members and headed by professor Scott Cummings of the chemistry department, promotes energy efficiency and environmental responsibility both in homes and in the dorms.
- ECO promotes and organizes environmentally friendly initiatives and awareness on campus by sponsoring speakers, various activities, and energy-efficient initiatives.
- After showing the movie Kilowatt Ours last fall, Kenergy teamed up with ECO in the spring to promote an effort helping Kenyon community members switch from incandescent to compact fluorescent light bulbs.
- Sponsored by ECO, the Week of Sustainability began on April— with "Step it Up: National Day of Climate Action," which was followed by speaker Peggy Barlett of Emory University, panel discussions, local food sales, and a Saturday morning viewing of Captain Planet at the Crozier Center.
- The week culminated in the April 22 Earth Day celebration, featuring exhibits and a marathon.
- PEAS, founded in the fall of 2005 with the help of community member and Kenyon alumnus John Marsh, promotes awareness of where our food comes from and attempts to connect farmers in the community to students and professors at Kenyon.
- PEAS sponsors local food brunches, speakers, and farm tours, while Marsh works closely with AVI Foodsystems, Kenyon's food service, to buy local food for the dining halls.
- One of PEAS's goals is to expand the Brown Family Environmental Center to include more gardens where students can farm throughout the year.
-- Naomi Blaushild '10
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