Gustavus students dream green
From student vegetable gardens to a 15 percent reduction in campus electrical usage since 2007, Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota, is serious about environmental issues. Its results have earned it a place on “The Princeton Review’s Guide to 286 Green Colleges.”
Gustavus students Harrison Blankenship and Emily Seelen are holding a Watts Up device, one of the tools used to measure energy consumption by the vending machines. The Watts Up is plugged into the outlet and then the vending machine is plugged in it. Photo provided by Jim Dontje,
“Institutions need to teach by doing,” observes Jim Dontje, director of the one-person Gustavus Johnson Center for Environmental Innovation. Dontje teaches introductory student courses, as well as coordinating the college’s conservation and environmental efforts. The teaching role helps him to get to know students and their interests.
At Gustavus, activities have gone beyond turning down thermostats and turning off lights, an interest that goes back several years. Students had plans for campus gardens; then a devastating tornado struck the St. Peter campus 10 years ago. That proved merely a bump in the road for environmental action.
Interest extends beyond the current student body, faculty, and staff. After it was determined “to-go” containers students used for their meals generated too much waste, a Gustavus alum developed containers called “GustieWare” that students use to pick up their food at the college’s a la carte food service called “Marketplace.” These containers can be run through dishwashing machines and reused. more »
