Different Shades of Green
More recently, students concerned with global warming have focused on ways in which Colby can reduce its carbon footprint. One group, led by Andy Smith ’11, initiated an organic garden
Students started the Colby Organic Garden, above, which will supply dining halls with local foods.
that students will tend in the summer. The locally grown foods will be used in the dining halls, eliminating the need to truck that food to central Maine. Aime Schwartz ’08 is working with students and local residents to establish a co-op in Waterville. Among the benefits will be that local food can be sold, reducing carbon emissions. Patrick Roche ’09 is exploring a bicycle lending program, so students can take a bike for the day or just for a ride into town. Jamie O’Connell ’08 conducted a greenhouse gas inventory, and the information she gathered informed Colby President William “Bro” Adams’s decision to sign the American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment. “I am continually awed—and that is the right word—about the energy and initiative and capability of our students to make changes,” said Tietenberg.
Take Alaina Clark ’08. Her senior thesis involved making graduation a greener event. The project, which had the support of the administration, encouraged recycling and composting, reducing waste that can’t be recycled, using biodegradable forks and knives made of potato starch instead of plastic, educating visitors about sustainability, and more. Clark and her “green team” also planned to educate visitors about renewable energy credits to offset travel. Clark speaks passionately about “our moral responsibility in our community and the state to mitigate climate change.”
Environmental Studies Program Coordinator Beth Kopp sees projects like Clark’s at all stages. Her role includes being a go-to person for students, helping them get initiatives started.
Trayless Thursdays, a pilot program for complete trayless dining, reduces food waste as well as water and energy used for washing.Clark’s project shows how the college is willing to support projects like this, said Kopp. “There hasn’t been resistance from the folks who have to change what they do to make this happen,” she said. In fact, Dining Services and the Physical Plant Department have gone out of their way to help make it work.
Environmental studies majors Barnwell and Hansen agree that environmentalism is collaborative at Colby. They work alongside members of the administration to create change. “It’s a real blessing that this is an issue that Colby takes really seriously,” said Barnwell. The Environmental Advisory Group (EAG), which is composed of students, administrators, faculty, and staff, keeps the collaborative process open. It also gives the student members the opportunity to experience working on an advisory board. “Students are encouraged to voice their opinions, and the administration is very receptive to student ideas,” said Barnwell.
While some initiatives involve employees, others are more independent. One starting place for environmental issues is the green house—Goddard-Hodgkins, AKA GoHo—which has been a powerful stage for sharing ideas with the Colby campus. It is also a place for students to both learn and implement strategies for living sustainably. GoHo started as a student proposal, and, with planning and coordination with the administration, students were granted the opportunity to create it as Colby’s first “dialog house.”
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