Blog post by Audrey Ochtrup-DeKeyrel
Photo by Alex Terpkosh
As the weather warms and new life begins, the Sustainability Interns have found renewed vigor in their respective projects! Taking advantage of the warm days we’ve been experiencing, the interns opted to have their weekly office hours out in the arb (see very cute evidence below).
Interns Alex Terpkosh, Melanie Kistnasamy, and Collin Carlson are continuing their work to reach out to individual departments requesting information regarding sustainability as it relates to the AASHE (Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education) STARS Report (Sustainability Tracking, Assessment, and Rating System). The three have also begun to catalogue the data they have received into spreadsheets! Big number stuff!
Interns Kendra Held and Audrey Ochtrup-DeKeyrel have continued their collaboration with Residential Life to plan an Inter-hall Waste Sorting Competition (based on accuracy), alongside an informational campaign on waste sorting accuracy and energy reduction. This competition will take place the 12th through the 19th of April, the week prior to Earth Week. Additionally, Kendra presented to the Student Senate about getting compost bins in all residential dorms! Kendra’s presentation can be accessed here! !
Intern Aviva Meyerhoff has been working with members of the Office of Advancement to develop channels for Sustainability Fundraising. Aviva has also been analyzing materials from other colleges to learn more about web design and sustainability communications. Wow, Aviva is smart :). Interns Lindsay James and Tessa Johnson have been working diligently on the new Gustavus Sustainability Instagram (which can be accessed here)!! The two have created two weekly specials, Waste Wednesdays and Sustainability Saturdays, keep your eyes out for those weekly posts.
Intern Lily Kinglsey has been busy collecting compost samples biweekly. The compost is being analyzed for carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, pH, and conductivity. Make sure to compost as much as possible, so Lily can rummage through it later. Last, but certainly not least, Intern Lily Engebretson has been an eBike fiend! Lily has been in recent communications with Carleton College to learn about their eBike program, as well as securing ebikes for Campus Safety use! Additionally, Lily has been working with UW-Madison on collaboration for the Solve Climate state-level webinars. Learn more about Solve Climate here.
Email ameyerho@gustavus.edu with questions or learn more!