Idaho @ Play!

Check out this video featuring the play day events AmeriCorps members in Idaho put on as part of a state-wide initiative to get kids outside and playing more often.   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMnYF6XgxrY&feature=youtu.be

Lewis-Clark State College Alternative Spring Break 2012

Students from Lewis-Clark State College and the University of Idaho spent five days during their Spring Break in Hells Canyon, Idaho volunteering to do habitat restoration with the Department of Idaho Fish and Game. The work was done to help restore an area damaged by a wildfire in 2007. This is the second year LCSC has coordinated a trip like this with Fish and Game and we hope to make this collaboration an annual tradition!

Kids are Smart!

I learned a lot during LCSC Earth Week.  For instance, the majority of this campus is in favor of sustainability.  One Earth Week project involved petitioning for a $2-3 student fee to be put toward campus sustainability programs.  Many students expressed frustration with LCSC’s recycling program or lack thereof.   One student pulled out his wallet and was ready to donate his $3 right there.  It’s clearly an issue that LC students care about.

However, what were even more impressive were the kids.  Kids are smarter than we give them credit for!  During my service at LCSC I once had a man, whom I did not know, dressed in a suit, looking important, tell me that there was no way I was going to get kids to recycle.  Based on my observations at the Lewiston Recycler’s Earth Day Celebration, that man was very wrong!  In fact I would say I have more confidence in kids recycling and doing it properly than adults.

As part of the LCSC Sustainability Action Team booth at the Lewiston Recyclers event, we set up a recycle bin toss game.  We had a bin for cans and a bin for plastic bottles (we also had a bin for paper airplanes but decided, due to lack of space, this could be a bad idea).  The object of the game was to toss the can or bottle into the correctly labeled bin.  The prizes were reusable shopping bags and compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLS).

Not only did the kids love this game, they needed little instruction.  They saw the sign and knew exactly what they were supposed to do.  They saw the sign that said Cans Only! with a picture of a can on it and knew the can went in that bin.  It’s not rocket science but it sure seems like it for some adults.

One kid was so confident about his knowledge of recycling and sustainability that when I asked him why he thought it was important to use a reusable shopping bag, he responded by reciting the CO2 cycle.  He was maybe 10 years old.  Another confidently stated that using plastic bags is bad because they end up in the oceans and suffocate jellyfish.  His mother’s response was, “Really?  I didn’t know that.”  Yeah!  Kids are smart!

And so are their teachers.  It gives me hope that because teachers are educating kids about this important issue while they’re still young, these kids are developing the habits necessary to make our Earth a cleaner place.  Unfortunately, we still have a generation that didn’t learn these good habits at a young age, so, for now; it’s going to have to be up to these kids to teach their parents.

LCSC Earth Week

Thank you to all of the volunteers who helped make Lewis-Clark State College’s first ever Earth Week a success!  LCSC students, faculty and staff proved that they want a more sustainable campus. 

Recycling police monitored the recycling stations and garbage bins to make sure people recycled and recycled properly.  There were also informational booths as well as music, games and a recycled art craft table, where students got creative and turned items such as glass jars into beautiful candle holders.  The recycle bin toss game was a huge hit with the kids!  Make recycling fun and kids will do it!

We also petitioned for $2-3 per student per semester to be added to student fees.  96 students already signed this petition in just two days.  The majority of LCSC students say they want a better recycling program at LCSC and an overall more sustainable campus.

The week concluded with volunteers collecting and sorting campus recyclables.  This included the recyclables from the LCSC Reslife Recycling Challenge.  They then took the recyclables to the local recycling center.  $8 was made off of the cans, which was donated to Reslife to be put toward the prize for the recycling challenge. 

Great job LCSC!  Let’s keep the momentum going because everyday should be Earth Day!

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LCSC Recycling Challenge!

The students in the LCSC dorms are competing to see which dorm can recycle the most during LCSC Earth Week.  Sadly, the LCSC residence halls do not have recycling bins, so the students have to use cardboard boxes instead.  Despite this, these students are doing a great job and we love their enthusiasm for recycling!  The winner of the LCSC Reslife Recycling Challenge will be announced this Friday afternoon!

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“I” Am AmeriCorps!

Want to learn about what AmeriCorps members do and who they are?  Check out this short video!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPmMEdYC2Mg&list=UU73ON5IelFqzY_-tVuDMRCg&index=1&feature=plcp

Schedule of Events for LCSC Earth Week!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 LCSC Announces Earth Week!

A week of environmental awareness, community service and fun at Lewis-Clark State College!

Lewis-Clark State College – Monday, April, 16^th, Lewis-Clark State College is making Earth Day more than just a one day celebration!  Join Lewis-Clark State College for its first-ever Earth Week; a whole week of environmental education, service projects, games and live music!  The week kicks off with a service project and wraps up with the announcement of the LCSC residence halls Recycling Challenge. 

Monday, April 16 from 2-4:30, students, faculty, staff and community members are invited to participate in a recycling service project.  Volunteers will be collection recyclables from the various recycling stations on the LCSC campus, sorting the recyclables and then taking them to the recycling center.  This project aims to educate the public on what it takes to run a successful recycling program on a college campus, how it benefits the campus and why it’s important to recycle correctly.

Tuesday, April 17 from 11-2, volunteer recycling police will be in the LCSC SUB dining area making sure folks recycle and recycle properly.  Members of the Earth Week planning committee will also be on-hand to answer questions about LCSC’s sustainability program and to petition for a two to three dollar student fee to be put toward these programs.

Thursday, April 19 from 11-2 outside the LCSC SUB near the fountain there will be booths hosted by the Lewiston Farmers Market, Modie Park, the Sustainability Action Team (SAT), the LCSC Learning Garden and more.  In addition, there will be live music, a recycled art craft table and games.  Also look for the LCSC booth at the Lewiston Recyclers Earth Day Celebration.

Friday, April 20, members of LCSC Res Life will announce the winning residence hall in the week-long Res Life Recycling Challenge.  Residence halls will compete to see which residence hall recycles the most during Earth Week.  Residents in the winning residence hall will receive a gift certificate, which has yet to be determined.

A sustainability initiative was started at LCSC during the summer of 2010 with the formation of the Sustainability Action Team (SAT), a team consisting of LCSC faculty, staff and students.  LCSC hosted its first Earth Day celebration in 2011.  Due to the success of this event, the 2012 student planning committee decided to expand the event to a whole week celebration.

Schedule of events:

Monday, April 16 (2-4:30)  Recycling service project (Meet at LC Service Corps office 826 7^th St.)

Tuesday, April 17 (11-2 in LCSC SUB dining area) Recycling Police and information table           

Thursday, April 19 (11-2)  Booths and entertainment outside the LCSC SUB and then join us at the Lewiston Recyclers Earth Day celebration that evening from 4-7 p.m.

Contact:  Lindsey Davies                                

 lldavies@lcsc.edu                                       

208-792-2740                     

Why is it so Hard to Recycle?

I’m generally not much of “ranter” when it comes to blogging.  I usually use it as a tool to inform people, but when Earth Day approaches, I tend to feel the need to get opinionated!  Last year the topic was “make everyday Earth Day,” but isn’t that cliché?  It’s sad to think that people need to be reminded to appreciate and treat the environment they live in with care every day.  That should be a no-brainer.

However, after a recent peruse of the contents in the LCSC recycling stations, I decided that this year I’m going to get more specific and focus on recycling.  For some reason recycling pushes buttons on so many levels for people.  They almost take it personally when asked to recycle; like someone is trying to control them.  The act of recycling isn’t just about showing appreciation for the environment; it’s about testing one’s level of determination and character, and that’s why I think people tend to get defensive when asked to recycle.  They’re fearful that the number one human flaw they possess, laziness, will be revealed!

Well, I say good!  Especially after having to retrieve a molding sweet roll out of a recycling container labeled for “cans only!”   As I continued to sift through the bin of half trash, half recyclables of all varieties, my emotions shifted from anger to just plain disbelief.  This is happening on a college campus, so illiteracy is NOT an excuse.   When the bin says, “plastic only!” it means plastic only!  Why is this so hard?  Oh wait, the “L” word comes to mind and a bit of apathy too.

What some might not realize is when trash gets thrown into a recycling station at LCSC, the whole bin becomes trash.  Physical plant doesn’t have the staff or time to sort through all of that garbage.  It’s the responsibility of the people on this campus to make sure that garbage doesn’t end up in the wrong bin in the first place and as a result, the recyclables in the landfill.  The LCSC Sustainability Action Team has added new recycling signage to the bins with hopes of improving this problem, but it will still be up to folks on this campus to take the initiative to recycle.

I do think there is hope for LCSC.  The new recycling stations have folks talking.  Faculty and staff members no longer have to stash plastic bottles in their office to recycle later (I’ve talked to several people on campus who admit doing this).  Recycling just one aluminum can saves enough energy to watch TV for three hours!  And it could mean more money for LCSC!  Aluminum is worth money at the recycling center, but you have to recycle a lot of it to make it worth something.

College students are busy no doubt, but there is no excuse for being too busy to take a moment to show a little appreciation for the environment.  When one becomes neglectful and takes something for granted, it eventually becomes damaged or disappears.  Let’s not continue to let that happen to our beautiful Earth.  Life is about much more than just us humans.

LCSC Earth Week Schedule of Events!

Give Back to the Earth During LCSC Earth Week!

Volunteer During LCSC Earth Week! 

Monday, April 16 (2-4:30 p.m.)  Help collect recyclables from recycling stations around campus, sort the recyclables and take them to the recycling center.  This is a great opportunity to support the LCSC recycling program, learn how the process works and how you can help to improve it.

Where?  Meet at the LC Service Corps Office (826 7^th St….the little yellow house)

 Tuesday, April 17 (11-2)  Calling all “recycling police!”  Help make sure people recycle and recycle properly during the lunch hour in the SUB.  Volunteers can choose to sign up for a 1 hour time slot or for the entire lunch hour.  This is an opportunity to help educate LCSC students, faculty and staff on what can and cannot be recycled on the LCSC campus.  All volunteers receive a FREE meal card from Sodexo.  Please RSVP prior to this activity.

 Thursday, April 19 (11-2) and (3-7)  Volunteers are needed to help with the booths/games and activities on the LCSC campus from 11-2 (10 a.m. for set-up) and at the Lewiston Recyclers Earth Day event in downtown Lewiston from 4-7 (3 p.m. for set-up).  Volunteers will assist with set-up, games and a recycled art craft table.  Hours are flexible.

 Contact: Lindsey Davies, lldavies@lcsc.edu, 208-792-2740