sustainability now

SUSTAINABILITY NOW

April 14, 2015 Volume 1. Issue 1. La Crosse, Wisconsin

La Crosse, WiMARSHby Ian Wright

Students For Sustainability

A group of passionate students who strive for a sustain-

able world. Students from across campus with a shared

love for the outdoors, and meeting regularly to discuss

ways to promote a “greener” campus. We organize events

to educate the student body on a broad range of environ-

mental issues and how we can make a great difference in

our time in college. We also have fun outings (canoeing,

caving, hiking, etc.) to keep close connections with the

our members and community.

Every Tuesday 7pm 2214 Centennial Hall

IN THIS ISSUE

Education Events DIY Recreation Business Recycling

Outdoor Recreation in the SpringBy Laura Berry

Winter Farmer’s Marcket By Laura Berry

Earth Week By Shelby Roberts

BioBlitz By Jackie Davis

Student Resarch / InvolvemntBy Alysa Remsburg, Shelby Jacobson & Daniel Liska

New Ecotourism Class Fall 2015By Brittany Maule

DIY By Marina Dvorka

Take a Minute: Review Your Recycling Practices Part IEnvironmental Health 101 By Kate Noelke, MPH, CHES

Green Business By Brittany Maule

Car Share By Maggie Reuteman

Bike SwapBy Skyler Schoh

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Editor’s Note:

Welcome to the first issue of Sustainability Now!

I’m very excited to be sharing the first ever e-news-letter on sustainability put out for your education and enjoyment at UW-L. As our world is faced with more dynamic environmental issues, it is essential for all of us to understand how sustainability can be incor-porated into our lives. The purpose of Sustainability Now is to inform UW-L students about what exciting things are happening in our campus and local com-munity relating to sustainability in all of the factors

that affect it: environment, economy, and well-being.

This newsletter will not only be a great resource for past events and programs, but also for future oppor-tunities to get involved! I hope from this newsletter you can get a sense for some of the things we have

going on at UW-L that really have a big impact, and how you can be a part of them.

Look out for more issues starting Fall 2015!

Editor in Chief

Brittany Maule


Outdoor Recreation in the Spring

The Outdoor Connection (OC) located in the Recreational Eagle Center is the per-fect place to start. The OC provides equip-ment rentals at an unbeatable price to both students and members of the La Crosse com-munity. Do you want to try something new? Get a group of friends together and head over to Pettibone Park to try out disc golf at the 18-hole course just built in the last few years.

In the midst of the sub-zero Win-ter months, we all dream of the first “warm” day that signals Spring is on its way. Once the thermometer hits

40° Fahrenheit, we throw on a pair of shorts with a T-shirt and stroll outside. After be-ing cooped up for the past four months, we yearn to breathe fresh air and feel the sun on our skin. Many are content with just lounging on a picnic table bench, while oth-ers seek adventure. Whatever your style may be, resources on campus and in the community are armed and ready to help you make the most of the warmer weather.

Or if you just have the afternoon free, rent a pair of inline skates and hit the paved Three-Rivers Trail which winds through Myrick Marsh. Is biking more your style? Then rent a bike and explore one of La Crosse’s many bike trails. If you’re an adrenaline junkie, maybe mountain bik-ing is more your thing. The bluffs offer miles of trails for hikers and bikers alike! If you want to test your endurance, bike to Perrot State Park in Trempealeau, just a little over twenty miles North of cam-pus. Of course, if you would rather take the short drive up and spend the afternoon enjoying the view of the Mississippi River from atop a 500 foot bluff, that’s fine too!

Here’s just a small fraction of the gear the Outdoor Connection has to offer.

Equipment One Day*

Inline Skates $5

Bike-Cruizer $5

Mountain Bike $5

Bike Helmet $2

Hammock $5

Frisbee Golf Disc $1*Price increases based on the number of days gear is rented

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By Laura Berry

IN EVERY WALK

WITH NATURE ONE

RECEIVES FAR

MORE THAN HE

SEEKS -John Muir

La Crosse, WiMarsh

by Ian Wright

Many of you know about the annual fall Farmers Mar-ket that was set up on cam-

pus every Monday from September through October, but few know what happens to these vendors during the Winter. You may think that once the snow starts to fall, the market shuts down until Spring. Lucky for us, that was not the case this year. Camer-on Park Market Association partne red with Students for Sustainability to bring the Winters Farmers Market from the Eco Park where it had been held in past years to UWL. If you hap-pened to walk into the States Room in Cartwright Center on a Saturday morning in the late fall, you may have been greeted by dozens of tables over-flowing with seasonal produce, pas-tries, locally raised meats, and crafts such as jewelry, soap, and ceramics. The winter farmers market began No-vember 8 and was held every other Saturday morning from 10 am – 1pm until January 17.

Winter Farmer’s Market By Laura Berry


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I volunteered at the market a few times before Winter break and was amazed at both the variety of products offered as well as the community participation. All the vendors and customers were so friendly and it was an overall warm atmosphere.

I look forward to both the Spring Farmers Market starting on March 23rd which will run from 10am-4pm every Monday at the UWL Clock Tower, and the Cameron Park Farmers Market starting up again on May 1st in Cameron Park. If you were not able to make it to the Winter market this year, I encourage you to check it out next year. Whether you are looking for fresh ingredients for dinner, or gift shopping for the holi-days, you will be able to find just what you need. Better yet, you can feel good know-ing you are buying locally to support the community and treading more lightly on the Earth.


La Crosse, WiFarmers Market

by Ian Wright

By Shelby Roberts

Earth


Week

Something is changing on our cam-pus. The days are finally getting longer and the birds have come

out of hiding to let their calls be heard. This can only mean one thing: spring is coming! With this exciting time of year also comes UW-L’s annual Earth Week celebration. Earth Day, April 22nd, is a national holiday set aside to bring aware-ness and appreciation to everything our planet has to offer. It’s almost too easy to get caught up in the hustle of our tech-nology-heavy lives, and forget to take a moment to thank the ground beneath our feet. That is precisely why this week is so important. Especially with the ev-er-warming weather, get outside! Run through the marsh! Grab a camera and capture the beauty! But, most important-ly, come to Earth Week! This week gives students the opportunity to engage with the community in fun, pro-earth events.

This year’s Earth Day celebration at UWL is going to be bigger than ever. The week’s festivity will span

April 20-24 with different events being showcased every day. Local sustainability groups and organizations are coming to be a part of this week, giving students the op-portunity to get involved and gather more information about local opportunities.

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Some main attractions include the ev-er-popula r Spring Farmers Market on cam-pus, the marsh cleanup happening on the 25th of March, as well as many more to be announced. watch for posters and TV slides across campus as the date grows closer.

Be sure to look out in the weeks before Earth Day for the Count-down to Earth Week Film Fes-

tival. Put on and organized by Students for Sustainability, the week’s films were picked due to their diversity and aware-ness of environmental issues plagu-ing our world today. The first film will premiere Tuesday March 31st at 7:00. All films will feature organic popcorn and are free and open to the public. This is the Earth’s week to shine. Come join the campus community and celebrate!


BioBlitzBy Jackie Davis

The La Crosse County Solid Waste Department will be holding its 2nd Annual BioBlitz event this year with a tentative date of May 2nd.

The BioBlitz is an event where volunteers, researchers and surveyors work together at the landfill to identify as many animal and plant species as possible in one fun-filled day. By identifying all these organisms the biodiversity of that land can be better appre-ciated and documented. The event will take place from 9am-3pm, and will take place on landfill grounds and other various habitats open for study.

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Last year the event was successful in identifying a variety of birds, plants, fungi, mammals, insects and amphibians. Volunteers from the Audubon Society, Green Drinks, Sierra Club, Department of Natural Resources, and the Mississippi Valley Conservancy were of great help in making this event a reality. Those interested in performing species surveys should contact Jackie Davis with the habitat and organisms they are hoping to sur-vey for. We also have a species list available for those who are interested. The La Crosse County Landfill covers over 350 acres, most of which is disturbed land; however 300 acres are some natural and semi-natural habitats. The following are some habitats we have on the site: forest, prairie, wetland, and grasslands. You MUST RSVP before the event with your name and surveying plan. All data collected from the event will be compiled and made available to those who wish to use it. The site is also available for long-term and short-term research projects.

In addition to having volunteer surveys, outreach education will be a big component of the event including volunteer booths, scavenger hunts, tours, and face painting. Anyone looking to host a booth should contact Kate Noelke or Jackie Davis.

Kate Noelke, Wellness [email protected]

Jackie DavisLa Crosse County Solid Waste Department(608)[email protected]

Feel free to contact me with any questions or comments at:


Students in Alysa Remsburg’s ENV 301 course, Environmental Sus-tainability, are tackling four different projects that all help the campus work towards its sustainability goals. Professional sustainability work

often falls into distinct categories: quantitative/engineering work, and social/promotional work. Similarly, this course enabled students to choose be-tween quantitative and promotional projects.

The quantitative projects involve tracking down numbers for a campus-wide accounting of total greenhouse gas emissions from university operations. In particular, students are analyzing mileage from business travel and other department travel in order to help calculate a campus carbon footprint and to make recommendations for efficient campus operations.

The sustainability promotional projects include creation of short videos to help students make choices for ‘green’ living while on campus, and a web-site with a self-guided walking tour to highlight ‘green’ initiatives on cam-pus. Student-friendly videos will include tips for using composting, recy-cling, car share, and other opportunities on campus. The walking tour will pull together a variety of campus improvements such as water bottle filling stations, low-flow shower heads, efficient lighting, and other successful Green Fund-enabled projects.

Through completing these real-world projects for several clients on campus, students have the chance to practice skills such as project organization, per-suasion, and presenting data. UW-L also gains data and points toward its application to the STARS program (Sustainability Tracking and Rating Sys-tem), in which 650+ other college campuses in the U.S. are also participat-ing.

Student Research / Involvement


By Alysa Remsburg, Shelby Jacobson & Daniel Liska

Student Research / Involvement

In February of 2014 La Crosse and Onalaska, Wisconsin implemented a residential single stream recycling cart system to dispose of its recyclable materials. A research project was conducted to determine the success of the new single stream recycling cart system and to see

what ways it can be more beneficial in the future. A comparison of Janesville, Wisconsin’s sin-gle stream recycling system was utilized in the study as a benchmark. Determining the success of single stream recycling led this research to see the effects on material being diverted to the Xcel Energy French Island Generating Plant. Furthermore, two separate surveys were conducted to receive citizen input on single stream recycling and on the citizen drop-off site at the landfill. It can be concluded La Crosse and Onalaska have had a successful transition and an even more successful tonnage turn out than originally predicted. Recycling has increased by a 137% with Harter’s Quick Clean-Up looking for more ways to make the program more sustainable and more efficient for the communities. Efficiency does not simply cover time for residents to par-ticipate but extends to the cart system because it almost always allows drivers to remain in their vehicle, and allows for a one pick-up rather than multiple pick-ups for sorted material like with the dual sort system. Upon receiving suggestions on improvement from Janesville, La Crosse and Onalaska hope to increase their recyclable tonnage collection while also increasing the number of participants recycling in the community. - Shelby Jacobson, Undergraduate Student

Becoming a zero waste society is a great idea, but not very realistic right now. We rely on waste disposal groups like the La Crosse County Landfill to safely contain our waste and protect the environment. The silver lining to Landfilling is the opportunity to recover

energy from some of this waste by collecting landfill gas as a fuel. My Landfill funding research project deals with the long-term environmental protection and economic goals of the La Crosse County Landfill. -Daniel Liska, UWL Microbiology Graduate Student.

April 14th, 2015 SUSTINABILITY NOW13 14

La Crosse, WiMARSHby Ian Wright

UW-L offers several courses for students interested in sustainability, and while several of them are of-fered in the Environmental Studies minor, a new course will be offered in the Fall in the Recreation Management Department.

Ecotourism, named as REC 375, will be offered by Dr. Laurie Harmon in the Therapeutic Recreation and Recreation Management Department. Students interested in understanding how tourism development can be sustainable in physical and cultural environments will benefit from this course. REC 375 will offer a history of ecotourism, a foundation of how ecotourism and sustainable tourism compare and contrast, and also explore the theories that drive ecotourism development. Other aspects of the course include bringing the international options, experiences, and issues about ecotourism to campus for students. According to Dr. Harmon, students interested in career paths such as re-sort, commercial tourism, and even leading outdoor adventure trips would benefit from learning about career options and strategies for developing ecotourism in their future employment. This class has no prerequisites and can be taken by any student from any major. Contact Dr. Harmon at [email protected] to inquire if this course will count as an elective for your program of study.

New Ecotourism Class Fall 2015 By Brittany Maule


Here’s some other courses focusing on interesting topics available this fall:

ENV 303: The Environment and Food Systems

Where our food comes from and where it all goes has major consequences for the environment. What are the behind-the-scenes policies and practices that influence things like crop acreage, pollinators, fish, air quality, and climate? Can organic farm-ing practices feed the world? What can we learn from Wisconsin growers and vendors who contribute to local, national, and inter-national food supplies? In order to investi-gate these kinds of questions, this class will incorporate interviews, short lectures, di-verse readings, films, student presentations, field trips, and small discussion groups.

ENV 303: Skills for Eco-friendly Living

This course will focus on practical skills and knowledge for adapting our everyday lives to be more sustainable and eco-friendly in ways that are easy and affordable. What are the small steps we can take to make big change in our own lives that are both better for the environment and healthier for us? What impacts would our individual chang-es have on our community? This class will focus on the “how-to” knowledge and skills of creating a smaller environmental footprint in our everyday lives, and have it still be practical, affordable, and easy. Weekly hands-on projects will give student the opportunity to learn skills in creating or identifying environmentally friendly and healthier alternatives to a variety of every-

day products or activities.

Class will incorporate field trips, diverse readings, guest speakers, small projects, some lecture, large and small group discussions, films, and student presentations.

Other Courses Focused on Sustainability Topics: ENV 201: Introduction to Environmental SustainabilityREC 306: Environmental Ethics, Outdoor Recreation & Natural ResourceBIO 341: LimnologyBIO 306: EcologyGEO 200: Conservations of Global Environments


The Beauty Industry makes about $500 billion a year, but there are a few problems with our per-sonal care products. First, many skincare prod-

ucts contain chemicals toxic to skin and contain known carcinogens. Look at the back of your favorite beau-ty product and count how many ingredients you can identify. Additionally, the amount of waste produced by packaging of personal care products is overwhelm-ing our landfills. So what can we do to manage this problem? DIY! The internet is full of Do-It-Yourself eco-friendly, cost effective, and safe beauty alternatives.

The harsh Wisconsin winter months are ex-tremely hard on our skin. Here is a simple DIY recipe for Vanilla Chai Sugar Scrub:

Ingredients:contents of 5 chai tea bags½ cup brown sugar½ cup white granulated sugar½ teaspoon ground cinnamon6 tablespoons coconut oil (room temp) – expeller pressed (unscented) coconut oil is best for this recipe1 teaspoon honey2 teaspoons vanilla extract OR 12-15 d http://www.diynatural.com/wp-content/uploads/Sugar-Scrub-Recipe.jpg rops vanilla essential oil

DirectionsCut open tea bags and empty into a medium sized bowl. Add sugars and cinnamon and mix well. Add vanilla, honey, and coconut oil. Mash coconut oil in with a fork and stir until all in-gredients are thoroughly mixed. Transfer to jar, seal, and label. Shelf life is about one year.

To Use

Apply after cleansing in the shower. Rub sugar scrub gently on whole body in a circular motion to slough off dead skin cells, boost circulation, and moisturize. Rinse. Pat skin dry with towel.

(diynatural.com) Don’t have enough time to make beauty prod-ucts yourself? Check out local business Full Circle Supply to refill natural personal care and cleaning products. Simply bring in your emp-ty containers to refill them with locally made, safe, and sustainable products! You will feel great knowing what you are putting on your body and that you are preserving our landfills.

DIY By Marina Dvorka

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This issue’s Green Business High-light is La Crosse’s Full Circle Sup-ply. Located now at their new down-

town location, 521 Main Street, Full Circle Supply offers a variety of products that can help students both decrease their environ-mental impact, and use healthier products.

Full Circle Supply operates by a “sell by ounce” principle, so students can only buy as much as they need or want to try out. When shopping at the store, there is no extra packaging or bottles: everything is in large containers that can be dispensed into any container you want to bring. If you don’t have a container with you, you can purchase one at the store. With this system, the store cuts down on plastic use. To date, they estimate they’ve filled around 4500 containers. That’s 843 pounds of plastic kept from being incinerated in the La Crosse area. In addition, as pack-aging accounts for 20-40% of a product’s price, that’s also a lot of money saved.

Full Circle Supply offers essentially all per-sonal care products including over 40 types of shampoos and conditioners, body wash, lotion, and even cleaning supplies. All prod-ucts are completely plant-based meaning that harmful chemicals are staying off our your skin, and out of the Mississippi River. According to Josh Larson who owns Full Circle with his wife Mary, what can be put into many cleaning products and personal care products aren’t regulated, and most wastewater treatment plants aren’t equipt to filter out harmful chemicals that get washed down the drain. By shopping at Full Circle, students can reduce this chemical pollution. They also offer many other home goods products, with most of their inventory being made either locally or in the United States. Look for coupons in your student plan-ner, or stop in and get a 5% discount with your Student ID. From cutting down on cost to cut-ting down plastics and chemicals, Full Cir-cle is this issue’s Green Business Highlight.

Green BusinessHightlight

By Brittany Maule


La Crosse, WiDown Townby Ian Wright

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Reduce, reuse, recycle, repurpose, and refuse. It used to seem so simple, but those who have made the commitment to proper disposal of waste know that it can be a lot of work. We have recyclable plastics, numbered 1 to

7 and plastics with no symbols. We have PETEs, HDPEs, Vs, LDPEs, PPs, PSs, and OTHERS. What does it all mean?! How do these symbols translate to human health and the health of the environment? Plastics: Though it’s important to try to avoid purchasing one-time use plastic bottles, they often end up in our waste from salad dressings, to water, to personal care supplies. So, what do the numbered recycling symbols mean?

The recycling symbols designate which types of chemicals are used, how likely it is to leach, how bio-or un-biodegradable the plastic is, and desig-nate the potential threat to human health. #1s are PETE or PET (polyeth-

ylene terephthalate) and are generally considered safe, commonly found in soda, water, beer, salad dressing, peanut butter containers. #2s are HDPE (high density polyethylene) are opaque like a milk jug and has a low risk of leaching.#3s are V or PVC (vinyl), are common in shampoo bottles and cooking oil bot-tles, and may contain DEHA that is carcinogenic with long-term exposure. #4s are LDPE (low density polyethylene), are found in squeezable bottles and bags, and are generally considered to be safe. #5s are PP (polypropylene), are used in yogurt containers, syrup bottles, and medicine bottles and are also considered safe. #6s are PS (polystyrene or Styrofoam), which poses health risks and leaching toxic chemicals especially when heated. #7s are others that may include the dangerous BPA (bisphenol-A) that has been linked to reproductive problems and other health issues, and should be avoided.

Take a Minute: Review Your Recycling Practices, Part I

Environmental Health

By Kate Noelke, MPH, CHES


In summary, avoid plastics with recycling symbols 3, 6 and 7. Number 1 is consid-ered safe, but is known to allow bacteria and flavor to accumulate resulting in that

yummy plastic-flavor. Plastics with symbols 2, 4, and 5 are considered safest. Many municipalities are moving to single stream recycling, but this doesn’t mean we can stop being mindful of the plastics we purchase and how we get rid of our garbage. Environ-mental health involves knowing how you affect the health of the world around you, and also how the world around you affects your health. Know your city’s plastics recycling policies so that you can ensure proper disposal and recycling of these materials and en-sure that these chemicals stay out of our bodies, waterways and our gardens


Join other students in reducing our campus’s carbon footprint by becoming a member of Enterprise CarShare on UW- La Crosses’s campus! Enterprise has long committed to preserving the environment and has a strong corporate sustainability initiative. We can help create a greener campus by reducing the amount of cars people own and offering alternative forms of transpor-tation. In the first semester alone, this new program has almost 50 members and almost 9,000 miles driven. Membership and usage are increasing and reducing the need for more vehicles on campus. This Spring you can join Enterprise CarShare for only $1 with hourly rates as low as $5 until March 15, 2015.

Go where you want, when you want.Enterprise CarShare is excited to invite you to join an exclusive car sharing program on your campus. We have two dedicated parking spots on campus (Rec Center/ Stadium Lot) with two Nissan Altimas that are available 24/7 for running errands or visiting friends.Our low, hourly rate includes fuel and damage/liability protection, plus you only have to be 18 years or older to rent!

Once you’re a member, car sharing is easy:

· Log in and reserve the vehicle you want.

· Use your membership card to unlock the car and go!

CAR SHARE

By Maggie Reuteman


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UW-Lby Ian Wright

On February 28, the City of La Crosse held their annual Bike Swap in Lo-gan Middle School. This was the third year of La Crosse hosting this event and again it was a great turn out. The event is sponsored by Wis-

consin Bike Fed and Logan Bike Works; two companies who are very passionate about their love of bikes. It was an open event where anyone who wanted to pur-chase or sell a bike and all the accessories to go along with it, were free to stop in. Basically it is a time where sellers are looking for new homes for what they don’t use anymore. At the event there were so many things to look at and learn about!

By Skyler Schoh

Bike SwapBike Swap

La Crosse, WiMarsh Trailby Colleen Sovey


There was specialized riding gear for you to purchase, bike parts, and so much more. They had multiple tables around that had pamphlets available to you that informed you on what was popular to do in cities nearby and

also where all the bike trails were located in those said locations. The most inter-esting part that I found would be that you could walk around and talk with multi-ple professionals who take used bikes and recreate them into something suited just for you and hear their process. Two of the gentlemen that were there to sponsor their businesses were , Daniel Gilbertson, a man who refurbished old bikes that people want to have look brand new again, and Jim Cavanaugh, produces designer “rear view mirrors” for bicyclists to attach to their glasses or helmet. But to sum this up, if you are looking for a used or new bike I would highly suggest keeping your eyes open for the date next year and stop in! You won’t want to miss out.


La Crosse, WiMississippi River by Ian Wright

Sustainability Now StaffEditor-in-Chief : Brittany Maule Managing Editor : Ian WrightCopy Editor : Brittany Maule Creative Director : Ian WrightFeature Writer : Laura Berry, Shelby Roberts & Skyler SchohColumnist : Marina DvorkaContributing Writer : Jackie Davis, Kate Noelke, Maggie Reuteman Alysa Remsburg, Shelby Jacobson & Daniel Liska

Contact [email protected]

Meetings Every Tuesday night at 7pm in 2214 Centennial Hall

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