APPA

16 MARCH/APRIL 2018 FACILITIES MANAGER AUGSBURG UNIVERSITY Minneapolis, Minnesota Submitted by Allyson Green, Chief Sustainability Officer INTRODUCTORY ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES COURSES LEARN TO "LOVE LOCAL WATER" Augsburg University has a multipronged approach to imple- ment a policy phasing out bottled water, including infrastructure changes, education, and culture shift. Using the campus and community as lab, Environmental Studies faculty participated by integrating experiential learning into two courses, one focus- ing on the global water crisis and one on water quality. Students undertook learning projects to address knowledge gaps, percep- tions of health and safety, and infrastructure needs on campus. Environmental Connections, an introductory environmental studies course, spent the semester exploring sustainable water use and our local Mississippi River watershed. Environmental Science students conducted water quality testing, taking samples from taps and fountains across campus. Minneapolis city water consistently exceeds clean drinking water standards, but build- ing trust in our own taps is identified as a priority as we move away from bottled water. Alongside experiential learning with community partners, including a trip in Voyageur canoes with Wilderness Inquiry, conducting surveys, and water "tasting" at Water Bar, these stu- dents also took action on campus. Students helped shift culture through blogs, our own "water bar" taste-test, waste audit, and reuseable water bottle sharing program. All efforts to shift the entire campus culture in recognition of local water as a valuable, safe, human right. BROWN UNIVERSITY Providence, Rhode Island Submitted by Jessica Berry, Director, Sustainability Initiatives OFFICE OF ENERGY & ENVIRONMENTAL INITIATIVES COMPOSTING PROGRAM Brown University's Office of Energy & Environmental Initia- tives implemented a composting program in FY17 after two years of planning, piloting, training, and infrastructure place- ment. With the University's increased focus on greenhouse gas mitigation and waste diversion, and the RI landfill expected to be at capacity by 2038, adopting compost program at the University was a natural fit to Brown's commitment to sustainability. Each dining facility has a pre-consumer composting program, and three facilities are piloting post-consumer programs. Additionally, three office compost pilots are underway and, as momentum grows, more are expected to be added. In an ef- fort to promote RI's economy, a key component to the program was for the life cycle of the material to stay within the region. e material is hauled by a locally owned small business to an aerobic facility in RI. e compost is in turn sold as a locally owned small business product. e successful implementation of the program can be attributed, in large part, to the many student interns and volunteers who dedicated their time to marketing, training, and education efforts. In FY17 Brown University di- verted 485 tons of material to be composted, and the University is slotted to reach about 550 in FY18.

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