APPA

Facilities Manager | Mar/Apr 2017

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FACILITIES MANAGER MARCH/APRIL 2017 23 SLIPPERY ROCK UNIVERSITY Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania Submitted by Scott Albert, Assistant Vice President, Facilities & Planning, and Paul Scanlon, Director of Sustainability COOPERATION CREATES GIS MAP PROMOTING SUSTAINABLE CAMPUS FEATURES As part of a class project, a Parks and Recreation faculty member wanted to create a map of campus hiking trails, only to find mul- tiple campus groups had "taken over" undeveloped areas, causing conflicts among different outdoor activities and damage to environ- mentally sensitive areas. e Sustainability Office wanted to pro- mote sustainable features of our campus, including 150+ acres of Audubon Sanctuaries and sensitive wetlands. Facilities staff wanted the ability to quantify basic campus grounds information, and the Geography, Geology, and the Environment faculty were looking for real-life experiences for its GIS mapping class students. e result? Cooperation among these entities yielded a "Campus Sustainable Features Map" promoting sustainable features on campus, with descriptions of each type of feature and its benefits to SRU and the environment printed on the backside. e map also serves to remind campus users of environmentally sensitive areas that require a land-use approval. Facilities received multiple layers of data that can be used to quantify mowing and snow removal areas, and to analyze potential steep-slope no-mow zones, among many other applications. Student workers gained valuable experience, and campus departments can now access map layers that locate speci- men trees, outdoor classrooms, and more. e next step—creating a smartphone app to allow users to view sustainability-related information as they walk the campus. THAYER ACADEMY Braintree, Massachusetts Submitted by Emily Schweitzer, Senior Project Manager, Coalesce WEIGH THE WASTE CAMPAIGN Food waste diversion is a priority at ayer Academy, an inde- pendent co-ed day school located in Braintree, Massachusetts. ayer's Sustainability Committee implemented a composting program in the Dining Hall in spring 2016. At the onset of the project, the committee recognized that student and employee education and engagement were critical to the program's suc- cess. erefore, a week-long "Weigh the Waste Campaign" was organized, during which all who ate in the Dining Hall sorted food waste into uneaten food, compostable waste, and landfill, then weighed each, and reported findings to the entire school. e program generated great excitement; however, compost bins were not able to be installed for a few months, leading to a bit of confusion around the status of the program. Lessons learned: logistics of installing the compost bins must be timely, and communication with the waste hauler around frequency of pick- ups, number of compost totes needed, and the cleaning of the totes is critical. A clear and shared understanding of the management of food waste and cleaning of totes ensures longevity of the program. ayer continues to divert food waste from its Dining Hall and kitchen and engage students in the improvement of this initiative.

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