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SUSTAINABLE SCOTS NEWSLETTER
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| Sponsored by the Macalester Sustainability Office | 03
04 November, 2010 |
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 Hey, everyone!
How's it going? The weather's starting to get that wintry bite at night, and while it makes me a little sad when I go outside and realize I forget my gloves (I know, I know, I'm a sissy, but I can withstand heat quite well!), it makes me really happy to gather 'round a big pot of steaming stew with root vegetables and pumpkin and other wonderful fall foods... Which brings us, quite conveniently, to the focus of this newsletter: Food Month! That's right, guys, this month, November, the Sustainability Office is focusing on food and food awareness. Food is more than the stuff we put in our mouths when there's a rumbly in our tumbly or we're starting to feel irritable (that low blood sugar gets me every time). It's also the manifestation of how we relate to the environment, and it's the substance upon which our existence depends--literally. So, take some time to think about where your food comes from, where your food goes, and what it means to eat how you do. AND... Check out the events and resources below and stay tuned for more!
Happy Eating,
Ariel Herrod
aherrod@macalester.edu
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Food Month!
Sustainable CRSL Cookies
All Month Long!
Have you ever had a hankering for home-baked cookies, but found yourself away from home and too poor to buy the butter? How 'bout home-baked local or organic cookies? Well, the Center for Religious and Spiritual Life can help you out. The ingredients for this month's oatmeal-honey cookies are almost exclusively local and/or organically sourced! Visit the CRSL (the basement of the Chapel) Mon-Thurs 9am-10pm and Fri 9am-4:30pm to bake one batch of these wonderful little morsels with--and read up on the ingredients while you're at it! The CRSL provides the space, the utensils, the recipe, and the ingredients; co-sponsored by the Sustainability Office.
Harvest Fest
Friday, Nov. 5, 6:00pm until...
Join MULCH in Weyerhauser for an end of the season celebration of food and fall. There will be a dinner, music from Macalester's very own Flying Fingers, and a demonstration and teaching session from the Wild Goose Chase Cloggers, a Twin Cities Appalachian clogging group. Clogging is a style of American folk dancing and music with African, Native American, and English roots, and the Wild Goose Chase Cloggers will also lead us in choreographed contra dances later in the evening. Stop by; it's bound to be good!
Scrape-Your-Own-Waste Days at Cafe Mac
Tuesdays; Nov. 8, 15, 22, and 29; 11:00am-1:30pm
Everyday, after you put your plate on the conveyor rack that carries it into the steaming bowels of the Cafe Mac kitchen, workers scurry about, separating your waste into food scraps, paper napkins and other non-compostable trash, and, strangely enough, caffeinated beverages. Why? Well, the food scraps are fed to pigs, the trash is treated conventionally, and the caffeinated beverages... turns out, pigs don't like coffee. In honor of Food Month, however, every Tuesday this process will take place in front of the conveyor belt, and you will have the honor of scraping your own plate clean! See how much waste Cafe Mac generates, become more intimate with your food post-lunch, and aim to become a member of the Clean Plate Club!
Screening of Troubled Waters: A Mississippi River Story
Tuesday, Nov. 9, 7:00-9:00pm
The Mac Geography Dept, Environmental Studies Dept, Economics Dept, Preventing Harm Minnesota, and the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy are sponsoring a screening of the controversial documentary Troubled Waters: A Mississippi River Story. The film traces the development of America's bountiful heartland and its effect on the legendary river. Through beautiful photography and inspiring narrative, the film offers solutions to the river's troubles through fresh ideas and concrete solutions. This film was produced by the University of Minnesota's Bell Museum and generated a great deal of controversy when it's release was initially blocked by the U's College of Agriculture and the Public Relations Dept. Come see this great investigation of water pollution and agriculture in Minnesota! It will be shown in the JBD Lecture Hall Tuesday evening.
Cutting Back the Cost of a Healthy Diet
Saturday, Nov. 20, 12:00-3:00pm
Meet at the Cultural House for an epicurean journey to grocery stores in the Macalester neighborhood. Especially designed for students living off-campus and doing their own cooking (but all are welcome, of course!), this trip, led by student Rayanatou Laouali of the Civic Engagement Center, will focus on price comparisons to help you successfully navigate the challenge of providing yourself with a healthy, low-cost diet. We will be taking a van from the Cultural House to several local grocery stores, such as Whole Foods, Kowalski's, Mississippi Market, and Rainbow. Contact Rayanatou, rlaouali@macalester.edu, for more information.
Screening of As We Sow
Tuesday, Nov. 23, 12:30-1:00pm
Join us for a veiwing of this short documentary about the disappearance of family farms in the Midwest. Produced by Jan Weber, who is of farming background herself, this film exposes some of the important social and personal consequences of our industrial food system. For more information about the film, see http://www.aswesow.com/ or http://cookingupastory.com/as-we-sow. The documentary will be shown in the John B. Davis Lecture Hall in the Campus Center.
Proposed Project: We're looking for help!
A Friday evening?, 5:30-8:30pm
This month is also Hunger and Homelessness Month, so we're trying to plan a specifically coordinated event. The idea, as it stands, is to volunteer with Project Home, which provides nightly shelter for homeless families, in the evening (click here for a description of the program and volunteer duties) and to fix a healthy, nutrient-rich, local/organic meal for the families. If you want to help coordinating this, are interested in volunteering, have suggestions, or know of a way we could get ahold of yummy produce/ingredients (for little money, of course--I've tried asking the WEI Organic Farm for donations and am waiting for more info), please contact me at aherrod@macalester.edu. I really want to make this work!
Anything Else? Of course!
Cafe Mac does tons of things to incorporate sustainability into the food system and waste disposal. First of all, all the food scraps are separated from the rest of the waste generated at the cafeteria (wooden chopsticks, paper napkins, etc) and delivered to Barthold Recycling, which converts the scraps into pig feed that is delivered to family farms in the area. Isn't that neat?!
The milk is from a local creamery that doesn't use antibiotics on their cows; the coffee is Peace Coffee--fair trade, distributed via bicycle in the Twin Cities, and organic; the beef is grassfed and from a local farm--Thousand Hills Beef; and more!
At the Sustainability Office, we have more information about making sustainable food choices. Stop by to pick up a pamphlet about preferable choices for eating fish, or learn about the "Dirty Dozen" and "Clean Fifteen" to help you prioritize buying organic and conventionally-grown produce. Join MULCH, the Macalester Urban Land and Community Health Garden, a student org that cultivates two small gardens p lanted with a variety of edibles near the language houses. You can play in the dirt, plan gardens, and learn about how to grow food! Meetings are Sunday afternoons; email mulch@macalester.edu to get on the mailing list.If you're looking for a job or internship in the sustainable food field, check out this resource: http://sustainablefoodjobs.wordpress.com/. It lists information about job openings nation-wide that range from farm-work to web design. Check it out!And more! Stay tuned for further updates and information in the next newsletter--it'll still be Food Month, and we'll still be thinking about food!
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Macalester News and Events!
"Ponder Before Printing" Awareness Campaign
Weeks of Monday, Nov. 8 and Nov. 15
Sustainability Student Workers Kaija Bergen (in the Library) and Emily Pancoast (with ITS) are leading a campaign to increase printing awareness and decrease extraneous printing. Sign the pledge to reduce your printing, or at least think before you print, and learn ways to read documents online more effectively, or print multiple pages per sheet!
America Recycles Day
Monday, Nov. 15
November 15 is America Recycles Day, the only day when recycling awareness takes the stage nationally! Keep your eyes out for information about what Macalester will be doing to get involved.
Campus Ecology Class in Spring 2011
Whenever you're registering for classes!
Sustainability Manager Suzanne Savanick Hansen will be teaching "ENVI 294: Campus Ecology" this spring. In this course, students will explicitly link the operations of
Macalester College with urban ecology. The class will explore the connections between buildings and urban stormwater, transportation and greenhouse gas emissions, as well as other resource and energy flows. The class will also explore how decision on campus affect ecology both locally and globally. Students will have the opportunity to put theory to a real-world test though on campus sustainability projects. Sound like fun? Of course! So, keep this class in mind as you're registering for the spring semester--it'll be great!
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Off-Campus Happenings!
Efficient and Renewable Home Heating/Energy Use Workshop
Sunday, Nov. 7, 1:00-2:30pm
Local homeowner Todd Fink will give a tour of his energy-efficient home and go over the steps he takes to save money and the environment. He'll discuss insulation, air sealing, and his solar heating system. Take this opportunity to get a homeowner's perspective and ask questions about what energy use and heating techniques would work for your own home. There is a $10 registration fee; to register click on http://www.doitgreen.org/content/gardening-v-food-preparation-and-preservation-part-ii.
Building Resilient Communities: Preparing Together for a Changed World--Neighborhood Sustainability Networking Fair
Saturday, Nov. 13, Noonish-5:00pm-ish
Learn how you as a community member can live more sustainably and meet other people that are doing the same thing in the Twin Cities. The keynote speaker will be Richard Heinberg, journalist, educator, member of the core faculty of New College of California, and author of The Party's Over: Oil, War, and the Fate of Industrial Societies and Powerdown : Options and Actions for a Post-Carbon World. The event will also host speakers and panelists on urban agriculture and chicken-raising, solar and other renewable energies and youth activism. The fair will be held at South High School in Minneapolis. For more information and to pre-register (so they know how much food to provide!) visit http://www.afors.org/. There is a $5 suggested donation.
FWEF Political Panel and Networking Event
Wednesday, Nov. 17, 5:30-7:30pm
Join the Forum of Women in the Environmental Field and the Center for Global Environmental Education for a light dinner and a panel discussion highlighting environmental issues facing our cities. Hear from women at the city level, whether they are elected officials or city staff, who are working to improve the environmental health of our communities, and ask questions during the Q&A session. The event will be held at Hamline University and cost $12 for students. For more information and to register, visit http://fwef.org/.
Green Gifts Fair
Saturday, Nov. 20, 10:00am-5:00pm
Kick-off this holiday season by going green at the 5th Annual Green Gifts Fair, held at Midtown Global Market. Come shop 70+ local retailers and artists for green, recycled, and organic gifts. Learn about green holiday decorating, wrapping, and food and party ideas. Eat a local lunch at many of the restaurants at the market. Celebrate the new 2011 Do It Green! Magazine's kick-off, attend the eco fashion show, low carbon cook off with local chefs, or listen to local musicians. This event is brought to you by Do It Green! Minnesota; www.doitgreen.org for more details.
Do It Green! is also looking for volunteers: you could help set up the night before or the morning of, act as a greeter, or even be a model for the ecofashion show! Contact Ami Voeltz - ami@doitgreen.org or 612-345-7973 for information. Volunteers will receive a recycled T-shirt and a copy of the new 2011 Do It Green! Magazine for their time.
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Grant Opportunities!
Fruit Tree Planting Foundation
Rolling Deadline
The Fruit Tree Planting Foundation (FTPF) is an award-winning international nonprofit charity dedicated to planting fruitful trees and plants. FTPF programs strategically donate orchards where the harvest will best serve communities for generations. If you know of someplace that will be improved by the introduction of an orchard (and where wouldn't be?) consider submitting this application--www.ftpf.org/application.doc--to have FTPF fund your project. FTPF seems to prefer that you work within an institution; if you want our support, contact the Sustainability Office, and we'll see what we can do for you.
Garden Club of America
November 15 - February 15 Deadlines
The Garden Club of America is offering a whole slew of scholarship and fellowship opportunities for research and work in the disciplines of botany, horticulture, ecology, wetlands conservation, landscape design, urban forestry... including a study experience in Rome! (Quick, that one's due on November 15!) I personally intend to see if they can fund my unpaid summer internship on an urban farm as soon as I finish this newsletter, so if you like plants, I'd hurry up and check out their website at http://www.gcamerica.org/scholarships.php3.
National Wildlife Federation's Chill Out Competition
December 19 Deadline
You've seen this before; you're seeing it again; it's still going on! So, are you making an initiative to reduce global warming on campus? Do you want to win grant money? (Yes, yes, of course!) Consider entering in the NWF's Chill Out competition by submitting a 2 minute video outlining your project. Winners will receive grant money and national publicity. For contest rules and the entry form, go to http://www.campuschillout.org.
EPA's P3 Program
December 22 Deadline
The EPA's P3--People, Prosperity, and the Planet--Program is a really awesome grant opportunity meant to give college and university faculty and students the chance to design scientific, technical, and policy solutions to sustainability challenges around the world. Apply for a $15,000 grant by December 22, and use the 2011/2012 school year to implement your project. In the spring of 2012, present your findings to a panel of judges in DC; three of the presented projects will be chosen by the EPA to receive an additional $90,000 (!) for their continuation. Check out the website--http://www.epa.gov/ncer/p3/--for more info, and follow this link--http://www.epa.gov/ncer/rfa/2011/2011_p3.html--to request an appllication.
Prairie Biotic Research Small Grants Program
January 7 Deadline
Prairie Biotic Research is a nonprofit that supports research on America's prairie landscape. They're offering small grants of up to $1000 dollars for independent or institutionalized researchers that are interested in exploring any US prairie or savanna species. Go to http://prairiebioticresearch.org/SmallGrants.aspx for more information.
Davis Projects for Peace
January 19 Deadline
Design a grassroots project for peace anywhere in the world, and spend your summer carrying it out with the help of $10,000 from the Davis Project for Peace. You can apply as an individual or as a group, and at least one grant will go to a Macalester applicant. See http://www.macalester.edu/igc/awards/projectsforpeace.html for details and application information; students are also strongly encouraged to meet with Eily Marlow--marlow@macalester.edu--to discuss their proposals.
Sustainability Small Project Fund
Rolling Deadline
The Sustainability Office has designated a portion of its funding to support small on-campus projects that promote sustainability through creative and innovative action. If possible, projects should encourage collaboration between staff, faculty, and students. An individual or group can apply for up to $1,000 in funding. Applications are rolling but funding is limited. Click HERE for the application. Questions should be directed to sustainability@macalester.edu or x8138.
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NEED HELP?
Contact the
Sustainability Office We are located in Kagin Commons, 124. Contact us: sustainability@macalester.eduContact Sustainability Manager Suzanne Savanick Hansen: shansen2@macalester.eduSend one of your student workers to the
Sustainability Student Worker Network! Assign one of your students to work on sustainability issues for
your department and send the Sustainability Office their contact
information. We will assist with
project planning and connect them with a twice-a-month sustainability network
meeting. * * * * * To submit something or make a correction to the Sustainable
Scots Newsletter please contact: Ariel Herrod - aherrod@macalester.eduThis Newsletter is sponsored by the Macalester
Sustainability Office, which can be reached at sustainability@macalester.eduBack to top |
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