Committee on Sustainability announces Green Fee awards for fall 2013
The Committee on Sustainability (COS) at William & Mary has agreed to fund 10 proposals from students, faculty and staff totalling almost $52,000 his semester.
The proposals, which were finalized last week and will be implemented throughout the coming months, run the gamut from new bike racks to enhanced paperless document management, campus gardening and the promotion of native plants found on campus.
Brief descriptions of the 10 projects follow:
Paperless Document Management Expansion - $22,445 to Martha Higgins, Swem Library reference and instruction librarian
In 2011, COS granted $18,950 to Swem library for the purpose of purchasing a Bookeye scanner to reduce the use of paper and minimize printing costs for students and faculty. Since then, the scanner has reduced paper usage by 18,000 pages per month and saved students and faculty about $1,800 a month. Now COS has awarded Swem Library another $22,445 to purchase an additional Bookeye scanner.
Expanded Garden Maintenance - $6,500 to Colleen Swingle and advisor Patrick Foley, College Sustainability Fellow
COS is funding a student intern for this project. The intern will maintain the gardens to ensure that the gardens are utilized to the fullest extent while also serving as the key liaison between students and campus management. Part of the award will also go to garden development and research.
America Recycles Day - $200 to Amanda Morrow and advisor Patrick Foley, College Sustainability Fellow
With these funds, students will run an educational demonstration to raise awareness about on-campus recycling by conducting a trash sort. This trash sort will show students the various items that are often thrown into waste bins instead of being recycled.
Augmented Reality Sandbox - $3,500 to Dave Malmquist, Virginia Institute of Marine Science
This sandbox will serve as an important educational tool for VIMS as it helps spread the message that “All-drains-lead-to-the-Bay.” With this tool, children, adults and students will be able to visualize watershed dynamics that can inform the public on stream flow, erosion, sedimentation, sea-level rise and topographic mapping.
{{youtube:medium:center|j9JXtTj0mzE, How an Augmented Reality Sandbox works}}
Native Plant Nursery - $500 to Hannah Goad, Gus Tate and advisor Beth Chambers, EcoAmbassador instructor and curator at the W&M Herbarium
This funding will help create a pilot program for promoting the use of native plants on campus and also serve as a foundation for research on the role of native plant propagation and its relationship to sustainability.
Bike Racks at Sadler Center - $2,400 to Richard Thompson, associate director of operations
The grant will be used to purchase four ribbon bike racks to be placed in front of Sadler Center. These bike racks will promote the use of more sustainable transportation methods.
Bike Racks in the Sunken Garden - $6,000 to John McFarlane, associate director of gardens and grounds
Five ribbon bike racks will be installed by McGlothlin Street, Washington, James Blair and Ewell halls. The current demand for bike racks in the Sunken Garden is greater than the availability.
Permaculture Project - $1,665 to Ben Olinger and advisor Marjani Dele, adjunct professor of environmental science and policy
The goal of permaculture is to create self-regenerating ecological systems that require less maintenance and are more sustainable in both the short and long run. By funding this project, COS renews its commitment to developing more sustainable gardening methods on campus.
Exterior Recycling Cans - $4,500 to Robert Avalle, director of operations and maintenance
These recycling cans will be placed in convenient outdoor locations around campus, reducing the amount of recyclable materials that are thrown into trash cans. Creating convenient access to recycling cans will reduce the amount of waste going to landfills while also promoting the importance of sustainability around campus.
Reusable Bookstraps for Interlibrary Loan- $4,000 to Katherine McKenzie, coordinator of interlibrary services and reference librarian at Swem Library
The grant should decrease processing time and materials used in the interlibrary loan and reserve process by as much as 50 percent.
