Green Summit produces goals for working groups

Colgate students, faculty, and administrators attending the recent Green Summit are ready to move forward with the action plans they designed at the meeting, which aim to reduce environmental impacts on campus.

Many working groups from the summit meeting, held last Friday, will launch their efforts to execute their action plans in the next few weeks. Some have already begun, building on the enthusiasm and momentum generated at the summit.

The summit is one piece of the larger Green Strides effort on campus, which seeks to promote better environmental citizenship on campus.

The meeting was organized and mediated by Molly Baker, co-director of the Outdoor Education Program. She was assisted by Jennifer Martin, manager of environmental health and safety, and students Ellen Frank ’06, Sarah Caban ’07, Bob Filbin ’05, Jessi McGowan-Vanderbeck ’06, Doug Park ’05, Beth Weick ’07, Lindsay MacKenzie ’05, and Jess Winans ’06.

Baker was enthusiastic about what was accomplished at this year’s summit, which drew about 90 people, including students, faculty, staff, and administrators.

The participants had three principal goals going in: To build on progress made last year, to strengthen and extend the Green Strides community, and to position the community to implement more environmental impact-reducing goals for next year.

Baker noted the first two goals were definitely met; the third remains to be seen over the course of the year.

As of now, the Green Summit concentrates its efforts on campus proper. But Baker noted that the summit hopes to extend its projects to the village and surrounding area. She also hopes to include a bigger cross-section of students, as well as include alumni and community members at the next summit meeting.

Participants in the summit were divided into 10 ‘working groups’ with topics that ran the gamut from air and water impacts to dining hall food. The groups worked for two and a half hours, and had to accomplish four tasks, including identifying their focus, creating action plans, and projecting how they can implement those action plans on campus.

‘I found that the discussions really focused on what is best for Colgate, not just what would make thecampus greener,’ said sophomore Nicole Kinsman.

Most groups came up with three to five action plans to implement over the course of the next year.  Examples of plans included installing low-flow shower heads, encouraging professors to take environmentally friendly actions in the classroom, and improving recycling facilities at the O’Connor Campus Center and Reid Athletic Center.  It is up to the working group to see these action plans into fruition.

‘The summit created a lot of excitement surrounding our hopes for Colgate’s environmental future.  Hopefully, the delegation of responsibility at the summit will turn that excitement into action,’ junior Bob Filbin said.

Perhaps the most notable aspect of the summit, Baker said, was the sheer number of people in attendance, the energy that was created, and the communal desire to ameliorate environmental issues on campus.

‘Just to look around the room and see people at a table working towards a common goal is exciting,’ Baker said.

Baker could not project how successful each working group would be in implementing their various action plans.  All working groups are run on a volunteer basis; how successful their action plan is depends on the group’s participation.

‘That’s really the biggest roadblock for us structurally,’ Baker said.  ‘We need to get a more formal structure in place,’ which is one goal of next year’s summit, she said.

Baker and the summit hope to establish an environmental council that would oversee the Green Strides effort at Colgate.  The council would be similar to one at Middlebury College, which guest speaker Nan Jenks-Jay of Middlebury described in her presentation.

In the meantime, each working group will have a lead contact that will report to Martin on a monthly basis to keep tabs on groups’ progress. ‘We want to ensure forward momentum with these action plans,’ Baker said.

‘Holding this year’s summit after the semester already began allowed more people in the community to get involved, and it really symbolized Colgate’s commitment to environmental sustainability.  It put out the message that Green Strides isn’t just a Students for Environmental Action or Outdoor Education thing, but something that concerns the entire campus,’ said junior Mia Mabanta. 

Baker noted the host crew of students did an exceptional job facilitating the summit.  They had worked for several months to coordinate the event and they gained a lot of knowledge throughout the process.

‘I never realized the work that was involved in planning such an event and I feel that the experience has left me with skills in organization and management that will continue to be useful throughout my life,’ said sophomore Winans.

‘I thought it went really well.  I was on the water committee, so we came up with some concrete strategies for reducing general water use on campus, which we’re going to try to implement this year,’ said junior Chris Ross.  ‘I was really impressed with the amount of effort the staff put into it. I was also impressed by the turnout: there were a lot of students, but also a considerable numbers of faculty staff, and administrators.’

Ross and many other participants are planning to attend next year as well.

‘I’d like to see how it improves over the year.  I’d like to see more presence from the administrators as well,’ he said.

Considering the success of this year’s summit, Baker and most others speculate next year’s gathering will prove just as fruitful.