Friday, Nov 13, 2009
Northampton Community College, Southside Bethlehem Campus
511 E Third Street Bethlehem, PA
A special conference by and for students in the Lehigh Valley, but open to all. Based on the success of the Spring 2009 LVAIC Sustainability Conference, a group of students organized this conference that focuses on the projects they are working on at their respective colleges.
Keynote speaker Alex Grosskurth discussed how to organize for change on campus, including the importance of recognizing barriers, reaching out to allies, and resisting administration attempts to reframe the issue in ways that weaken or dilute the impact.
Student presentations:
- Paul Ferry [Lehigh ’10] discussed the process of completing the greenhouse gas inventory at Lehigh University using the Clean Air-Cool Planet calculator.
- Mickey Adelman [Lafayette ’10] described the process by which Lafayette College is moving towards composting all their food waste, starting with a student-designed pilot project, winning a DEP composting infrastructure grant, and pending installation of two Earth Tub composting systems.
- Codi Gauker [Moravian ’11] discussed the extensive evidence showing the devastating health and environmental impacts of the industrialized food system and the importance of eating naturally-grown food; Suzanne Walzer [Muhlenberg ’10] spoke on the importance of local food and getting our institutions to serve healthier food.
In addition, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Region III Office of Innovation presented a special panel discussing the value of internships in preparing for a career. The panel featured EPA interns Megan Kerr and Melissa Linden and Alliance intern Brenna Bowman [Lehigh ’10]. Brenna completed the campus sustainability internship in the spring semester and is currently working on sustainability in healthcare with St. Luke’s Hospital and Health Network.
We thank the Lehigh Valley colleges and universities and other participating organizations for their support that made this conference possible:
- Cedar Crest College
- DeSales University
- Lafayette College
- Lehigh University
- Moravian College
- Muhlenberg College
- Northampton Community College
- Johnny’s Bagels & Deli
- Northampton Community College Dining Services
- Parkhurst Dining Services
- Rumsey Electric
Campus Sustainability Initiative