Community Garden Interview

 What exactly is a community garden?

The campus garden is actually not going to be a community garden.  A community garden like the one that exists near the Innovation Center in Whitewater sells plots to individuals to garden during the season.  They share water and tools, but have their own plots.  Our campus garden will be managed by the same larger group of individuals as one large plot.  This could be more accurately be called the “campus organic garden.”

What is the point of a community garden, why should I care?

A garden is important for providing local, organic food inexpensively.  Organic produce is important because conventional produce uses intensive farming methods that are highly reliant on fossil fuel inputs as fertilizer, pesticides, and fuel for equipment.  Not only does this produce have a high carbon footprint as a result, but it also can have adverse health effects through pesticide exposure.  Eating organically helps avoid the pesticide exposure and lowers the carbon footprint, but often the produce is still shipped in from hundreds, or even thousands, of miles away.  Given the more intensive methods, but many of the same transportation costs, often the prices are significantly higher than conventionally grown produce.

A garden helps provide this superior produce to individuals at a much lower cost because the fossil fuel inputs are often nearly zero because of the local, small-scale production.

Where is this going to be located?

The garden will be located in several circular plots located in the vacant lot between Moraine Bookstore and Ambrose Health Center.

How big will it be?

The nine circle plots total approximately 1440 square feet.  We plan on cultivating seven of the nine plots in total for vegetables, and will put flowers for cutting and for bird seed in the remaining two.  We will also be assisting the Children’s Center in Roseman to get their garden beds set up.

Who will take care of and plant the garden?

The garden is being planned and implemented as part of a Service Learning course through Geography, with Tom Karthausser and Kara Meissen as advisors.  Since then, we have recruited a team of students, faculty, and staff interested in helping us maintain the garden over the summer while the Service Learning students are gone.  I am providing logistical and planning support and Cameron Barker, an RA and VP-elect of SAGE, is functioning as our student manager and has been helping Tom in the Upham Greenhouse getting our plants started.  We have gotten a great response and team of people interested in helping and will be looking for more people looking to get involved.

What will be grown in the garden?

We have a variety of seeds already started for transplant, including broccoli, swiss chard, tomatoes, basil, cucumbers, and zucchini.  Some items, such as carrots, will be planted directly in the ground.

Where will the produce go?

During the first year, the garden will be substantially grant funded through the Student Sustainability Fund.  The produce for our first year will be primarily donated to the Whitewater Food Pantry, but we will be exploring partnerships with UW-W Dining Services and other local restaurants to help make the garden financially sustainable in future years.

How can I get involved with the garden?

You can email me at sustainability@uww.edu or call me at 472-6709 to express your interest and discuss your level of knowledge about gardening.  We welcome all interested people, regardless of experience, as much of the garden will be a learning process for those of us who are planning it as well!  We are specifically looking for people who will be in Whitewater during the summer, when most of the help is needed.

Any other questions you think should be answered please just add them!

Earth Week Recap

UW-Whitewater’s Earth Week 2013 has come to an end with very successful results! We’d like to thank everyone who participated in the week long celebration to support sustainability and environmental protection. Numerous events took place throughout the week which encouraged students, faculty, and community members to make a difference and really understand how important sustainability is to our local community and each community on Earth!

Here ‘s a recap of some of the Earth Week events:

Photo and Video Contest

We would like to thank everyone who participated in the Earth week Photo and Video Contest! During the Recyclable Fashion Show all the beautiful pictures submitted were able to be viewed on the big screen in Hyland Hall. They attracted a huge crowd!

Earth Week Tabling

April 22-24^th, 2013

The UW-Whitewater Earth Initiative hosted a table at three locations on the campus. We had a table at the University Center, Hyland Hall, and Esker Dining Hall. The tabling event consisted of informing students about the UW-Whitewater Earth Initiative as well as to play “Race to Recycle.” The Race to Recycle game was a crowd favorite to help the students actively engage in common items that are mistakenly recycled on a daily basis. This was able to reach students as well as faculty. Overall, there 80 water bottles given away throughout the duration of all the tabling events. The tabling achieved communication and participation between UW-Whitewater students and faculty, created awareness of common recyclable mistakes, and made recycling accessible and easier to understand for students, in a fun and creative way!

The Chancellor even stopped by and won a water bottle by participating in Race to Recycle. Hopefully he will start using the water bottle more so that students as well as faculty have more exposure to the UW-Whitewater Earth Initiative!

Recyclable Fashion Show

April 24^th, 2013

The UW-Whitewater Earth Initiative hosted an All Campus Recyclable Fashion Show on April 24th. Prior to the event, there was a recycle drive to gather enough materials for the students to use and then they were given 30 minutes to construct an outfit and then were judged by three “celebrity judges” in several different categories. Overall, there were 8 teams, consisting of 5-7 people on each team. The participants were given a UW-Whitewater Earth Initiative water bottle. The winners of the competition were given the Geo Location of the trees that were planted by “Treenewal” which is being done by CEO. There were a total of five trees donated to the winners. In the end, 20 large trash bags of recyclable materials were also able to be recycled. This event actively engaged students in the practices of recycling while at the same time helped to create relationships between several organizations on campus!

Make-A-Difference Day

April 26^th, 2013

This not only involved campus involvement but community participation as well! Some of the main goals of Make-A-Difference Day include developing brand awareness and increasing student engagement.

Do-One-Thing Pledge “Sustainability Wall”

April 22-24^th, 2013

The Sustainability wall encouraged students to pledge one thing they would do from now on in order to be more sustainable here on the UW-Whitewater campus. The premise of this activity was to encourage students to become more aware of what they can do to be more sustainable. The Chancellor was even able to stop by and sign the wall! Students could either actively participate, by signing the wall and taking the pledge, or passively participate, by seeing the wall in the UC and Hyland.

Movie “YERT”

April 25^th, 2013

The ecological movie “YERT” (Your Environmental Road Trip) is a movie about three friends who hit the road with the goal of using the least amount of garbage possible. On Thursday, April 25^th it was shown in Summer’s Auditorium at the University Center. Participants were sure to have gotten some laughs throughout the movie while learning some great waste reducing tips.

Thank you for joining the Conservation Conversation!

Do you really think the recycling on campus gets recycled? I heard the garbage and recycling just goes to the same place anyways…

 Have you ever heard a friend or fellow student say something like the statement above? My guess is yes. These rumors have been circulating around UW-Whitewater for quite some time. Many students believe the recycling bins around campus and other sustainability efforts are just for show, and that the university does it just to promote being sustainable even though they aren’t. Even students living off campus are sometimes suspicious as to whether or not recycling is even worth it. Whitewater, being a relatively small college town, seems susceptible to such false accusations.

To get the truth of the matter, I contacted John’s Disposal Service and asked them directly if collected garbage and recycling is separated, or if these rumors may have any merit.

Brent Flikkema, Sales Manager at John’s Disposal had this to say:

 I can absolutely and unequivocally state that this rumor is false!  Here is why!

1.) Separate trucks pickup the recycle dumpsters full of recycling.  It would not make sense to take this to the landfill when our recycling sorting facility is right here in Whitewater.

 2.) Johns must pay for the garbage that is brought to landfills by our garbage truck.  Because of that, our driver(s) and our company are very proactive in trying to reduce the amount of recycling that ends up in the garbage.

3.) Johns has been recycling as a company for many years…long before the recycle laws were put in place.  Our ‘single-stream’ recycle program is one of the most inclusive in the state.

4.) The materials that we collect from the University are sorted, baled and shipped all over the world to be used in making more consumer products. 

 I appreciate all the help in getting the rumors stopped and also to encourage everyone to recycle properly.

Please start spreading the rumor that there is still a lot of recycling in the garbage bags that people are throwing in the garbage.  This is actually true and would make a big difference in our landfills if it could be corrected.

It is clear that rumors about dumping all trash collected into the same area are false! Point number two really helps you understand that John’s Disposal is set to profit more when they have less recycling disposed of in their garbage, which in turn is incentive to promote recycling.

Make sure to keep recycling and encourage other to do the same!

Earth Week is only days away! The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater will be kicking off Earth Week 2013 on Earth Day, Monday April 22^nd. The events will last through Friday, April 26^th. The UW-Whitewater Earth Initiative invites all students, faculty, and community members to participate in this week long celebration to support sustainability and environmental protection. Make sure to check out the events running throughout the week and get involved!

Take a look below and see what is going on during Earth Week to spread sustainability awareness throughout our community:

Race to Recycle

Where: University Center

When: Monday (4/22) 8:00am-1:00pm Tuesday (4/23) 8:00am-1:00pm

So you think you know how to recycle? Think again! In today’s day and age, the use of plastic has become commonplace in packaging. Race to Recycle is an activity designed to create valuable crowd engagement. Common recyclables are given to participants, who then must attempt to sort the recyclables into their respective recycle bins. Participants are rewarded with a sustainable reusable water bottle. Race to Recycle is a fun interactive game that was a crowd favorite at the recently held WellFest 2013.

Do One Thing (DOT) Campaign/ Sustainability Wall

Where: University Center

When: Monday (4/22) 8:00am-1:00pm Tuesday (4/23) 8:00am-1:00pm

The success of the Free Speech wall on campus is being transferred to sustainability. The UW-Whitewater Earth Initiative wants students to pledge one thing they are going to do to be more sustainable throughout their career at UW-Whitewater. Students will have the option to write on our Sustainability Wall, post on the Facebook Wall, or tweet us. It’s a new way for students to engage in sustainability.

Plastic Bag Collection

Where: University Center

When: Monday (4/22) 10:00am-4:00pm Tuesday (4/23) 10:00am-4:00pm

Plastic bags are regularly just thrown out, so S.A.G.E. has decided to take them off of student’s hands. During this event, S.A.G.E. will have a table in the UC to collect plastic bags. A person can receive one reusable bag for every ten plastic bags that he or she turns in. During tabling at this event, students and faculty will also have the opportunity to take a pledge to not use plastics for a day or two or even an entire week.

Do It for the Kids

Where: Roseman Building

When: Wednesday (4/24) 8:00am-2:00pm

Like working with kids? S.A.G.E. will be working with kids from the Local Whitewater Elementary School on ecological activities. These activities will help kids learn ways to be more sustainable like what types of trash can be recycled. This activity is great for education majors who plan on working with kids in the future as well.

The Eco-Workshop

Where: University Center 264

When: Wednesday (4/24) 1:00pm-4:00pm

S.A.G.E. will be hosting a fair in which people can learn ways to be more sustainable. There will be multiple booths set up to teach various tips and tricks. Students will be able to do everything from mending clothing to learning how to decrease their ecological footprint.

Recyclable Fashion Show

Where: Hyland Hall 1000

When: Wednesday (4/24) 4:00pm-5:30pm

This is no ordinary fashion show! In order to show support for Earth Week, our fashion show is a friendly competition among orgs to see who can create the best outfit made from everyday recycled materials. This competition will be held on Wednesday, April 24^th in Timmerman Auditorium (Hyland Hall 1000) at 4pm-5:30pm. Each group will have 30 minutes to design an outfit, made out of as many recyclable items. We ask that you please bring your own recyclables with you, in order to ensure you will have all the supplies you need to create your outfit masterpiece although we will have all supplies for putting them together and some recyclables provided. After 30 minutes, a member from each group will model the outfit in front of a panel of three “celebrity” judges. The judges will score the outfits based on creativity, use of recycled items, and overall appearance.  The selected winner will receive a prize! This fashion show is a great way to show your support for Earth Week, while having fun along the way!

Birds of Prey

Where: Outside University Center

When: Thursday (4/25) 10:00am-2:00pm

Wildlife conservation has become an increasingly important practice due to the negative effects of human activity on wildlife.  The Northern Illinois Raptor Center will be visiting the UW-Whitewater campus to not only talk with students about harmful effects on the environment, but also the BIRDS who are also affected.  They will be bringing birds to do demonstrations and provide a more sentimental view on sustainability and the environment.

Sculpture Contest

Where: Center of the Arts 2057

When: Thursday (4/25) 1:00pm-3:00pm

Students will be creating masterpieces out of what most of us would see as everyday trash. This will be interesting!

Movie: ”YERT”

Where: University Center- Summer’s Auditorium

When: Thursday (4/25) 5:00pm-8:45pm

The ecological movie “YERT” (Your Environmental Road Trip) is a movie about three friends who hit the road with the goal of using the least amount of garbage possible. This critically claimed, award-winning film is a must-see for anyone looking for a good laugh while learning great waste reducing tips.

Photo and Video Contest

Where: Whitewater

When: Monday-Thursday

See something awesome outside? Submit photos of anything outside involving nature or sustainability and the best ones will be on display on the big screen in Hyland Hall! Send your photos to: earthweekphotos@gmail.com

Green Team Clean-up

Where: Starin Park

When: Friday (4/26) 11:15am-3:00pm

Join S.A.G.E. members in cleaning up trash around and outside of campus. This activity is a great way for students to get actively involved in Earth Week while meeting a few new people along the way. It is also a great opportunity to pick up community service hours for graduation.

Imagine companies dumping waste wherever they wanted.  Imagine factories allowing black clouds of toxicity to spread like wild fire into the air we breathe.  Now, after taking a moment to come back from those horrible thoughts, be relieved.  Relieved that there was a man sensible enough to generate the idea of regulations to protect our environment.  That man was Gaylord Nelson.

Nelson was born on June fourth in the year 1916, in Clear Lake, WI.  He attended the University of Wisconsin’s Law program where he received his degree in 1942.  Gaylord began his political career running on a progressive Republican platform for a position in the state legislature.  Nelson lost his first race, but it was not enough to discourage him from trying again.

The next time Nelson ran, he ran on the Democratic platform for a position in the Wisconsin State Senate.  Gaylord Nelson served 10 years in this position until he became the governor of Wisconsin in 1958.  Once Nelson became governor, he developed a program entitled the Outdoor Recreation Acquisition Program.  The plan was to increase state-protected areas through a small tax on a pack of cigarettes.  How small you ask?  The tax consisted of a single cent being added to the total cost of a pack of smokes.  Gaylord Nelson’s tactics to support and encourage environmentalism didn’t stop at a penny tax.

Nelson is credited with the development of Earth Day.  For those who don’t know, Earth Day was founded in 1970 as a day to further educate citizens on environmental issues.  Earth Day is a growing movement even known to extend so far as Earth Week.  However, when the original Earth Day was held, it was Nelson who made it work.  It was the 20 million demonstrators and thousands of schools that participated in the event.  According to Nelson, “Earth Day worked because of the spontaneous response at the grassroots level.”

In a brief summary, Earth Day was founded by Gaylord Nelson a Wisconsin State Senator and Governor.  The movement wouldn’t have worked if it hadn’t been for the participants.  This is a perfect example of how great ideas can spread like wild fires and ignite the minds of the people of the world.

On campus, for Earth Week, there will be a Recyclable Fashion Show held in the Timmerman Auditorium in Hyland Hall at 4pm on Wednesday, April 24.  Students will be designing outfits and accessories from recyclable materials and will then show them off on the runway.  Make sure to come out and show your support and even join the movement that is Earth Week.

Thank you for joining this week’s Conservation Conversation!

– Michael Jaworski

Bottled water is a big business.  It has been estimated that water bottle sales worldwide range between $60 and $100 billion.  These large sales are due to great marketing.  Bottled water is often thought of as the freshest, most healthy water one can drink.  It isn’t uncommon to see water bottle labels containing words such as, spring water or majestic alpine streams.  The copy seen on labels often reassures consumers that the water they consume is somehow much more pristine than the water that comes out of a faucet or drinking fountain.  However, bottled water isn’t so different from tap water as many think.  Most bottled water differs from tap because of the process used in bottling it.  Bottled water is run through large purification machines and then have minerals added to help with the “taste” of the water.  This minor point only goes to show that bottled water is hardly as majestic or pristine as marketers make it appear.

To shed some insight on the big business of bottled water, Elizabeth Royte will be coming to the UW-Whitewater campus on Monday, April 8, 2013 to lecture on “Bottlemania: Big Business, Local Springs and the Battle over America’s Drinking Water.”  Elizabeth Royte’s writings on science and the environment has appeared in many well known publications such as The New Yorker, National Geographic, Outside, and The New York Times Magazine.  Her first book, The Tapir’s Morning Bath: Solving the Mysteries of the Tropical Rain Forest, was awarded Notable Book of the Year for 2001 by The New York Times.  This lecture will be fun and full of insight on bottled water from a well-known writer.

Let us know what you think of the lecture on our Facebook page or Twitter.

Facebook: facebook.com/uwwsustainability

Twitter: @sustainable_uww

Thank you for joining this week’s Conservation Conversation.

– Michael Jaworski

On Sunday, March 10^th, W3 – Working for Whitewater’s Wellness – held their second annual WellFest. Wellfest took place within the Whitewater high school. The event was a huge success; over 15 local businesses, 4 presenters, and 150 participants joined in on the fun. W3 worked extremely hard to implement yet another successful WellFest by providing a multitude of activities promoting Wellness and Sustainability.

Activities conducted included yoga, boot camp, Zumba, Tai Chi, and “Minute to Win It” games.  Presentations on healthy eating, financial planning and cooking were also available to benefit all of those attending. The “Minute to Win It” games were a favorite among the younger generation. Kids from the ages of 6 to 14 loved the various challenges put on by members of Creative Marketing Unlimited.  Even residents of the university residence halls tried to apply their skills to the various mini tasks.

The “Minute to Win It” challenge included 7 activities. The winners would be chosen based on their times; the lower your time, the more competitive your chances for a prize. The first challenge was “balloon juggling” best described as keeping 3 balloons airborne as long as possible. The “balloon challenge” worked conversely to the other activities because the time the balloons were off the ground was deducted from their final score.  The hardest game was the “quarter catch” or rolling a quarter on an uneven table and having it stop in the prongs of a fork. Every person who gave the competition a try found a game they were naturally skilled at as well as one that challenged them.

Along with helping conduct the “Minute to Win It games,” CMU members also manned a UWW Earth Initiative table. The table was a huge success and extended the sustainability initiative to members outside of the college campus.  The main goal of the table was to share what the university was implementing to promote and initiate a sustainable campus. Not only did the table provide information but also hosted a “race to recycle” activity to get the community engaged with recycling. 35 water bottles were also dispensed in exchange for participants using social media to promote the Facebook and Twitter aspects of the initiative.

Overall, WellFest in 2013 grew from last year. There was more involvement and activities compared to the previous year. Everyone in attendance voiced appreciation for the hard work involved with putting on a successful event.  Kids, college students, and the community all found something tailored to their interests during their time at WellFest and look forward to what next year will hold.

In Carrizo Springs, Texas, ranchers are raising questions about the sustainability of hydraulic fracking in the region. Fracking is a technique used to extract natural gas and oil from deep underground. The technique is used to extract oil and natural gas with greater efficiency. This efficiency comes with a cost – massive water usage, dangerous chemical compounds being pumped into the ground, and large risks to our water tables. According to the article, “As Fracking Increases, So Do Fears About Water Supply,” the fracking industry is extremely dangerous for the environment.

Fracking involves pumping millions of gallons of water down a well to extract oil and natural gas from porous rock.  A single well utilizes between 4 million to 6 million gallons of water.  This water comes from the aquifers of the region. In Carrizo Springs, the Carrizo-Wilcox Aquifer supplies the nearby fracking efforts of Dammit County. A study of the Aquifer shows fracking “reduces the amount of water by the equivalent of one-third the aquifer’s recharge.” Drainage of this magnitude is unsustainable and causes other stockholders that use the aquifer to be pushed aside. Take Hugh Fitzsimons for example. Hugh states that one well from his ranch fell by two-thirds due to fracking.

If the water used in fracking is never recovered. Unfortunately, the water used is contaminated with minerals and other unknown highly toxic chemicals. Contaminated water must be hauled off site to be drained into a disposal well. Disposal wells are highly unregulated and could possibly contaminate nearby wells and aquifers.

All in all the fracking is terrible for the environment. Regulations and laws must be passed in a rapid fashion to prevent irreversible damage.  As a nation we need to learn from our mistakes. We have had devastating oil spills within our nation due to weak regulation and unethical corporate decision-making. Take the Exxon Valdez disaster or the Gulf oil spill for instance. Fracking could have similar effects as far as overall damage in the form of aquifer depletion and well contamination. For Texas being a region that lacks water as a whole, a decision must be made to determine the best allocation for the available water supply. Hopefully the aggregate economy is favored rather that the corporate checkbook.

Check out this person’s kitchen sink water starting on fire from fracking:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LBjSXWQRV8

Thank you for joining the conservation conversation.