GREEN FUND
"It's not easy being green", said Kermit the Frog.
But Wellesley has made great strides since our last reunion in 2007. There is even a new position - Director of Sustainability - to which Patrick Willoughby has been appointed (he was one of our panelists on the Sustainability Program at our 50th reunion).
I like to think the Class of 1957 Green Fund provided impetus to these efforts.
However, some of us were concerned about whether the Green Fund was being used constructively, and even whether there was any point to continuing it. So Ann Jackson O'Sullivan, Doss Miller Philips, Jane Bindley and I met with Pat Willoughby, Beth DeSombres, the chair of the Environmental Studies Department (another of our panelists) and a representative from the Development Office to discuss the matter.
We were delighted to hear the response! Beth said, with great energy and enthusiasm, that student initiatives would not be possible without our class' Green Fund. She added that the Fund provides the seed money for pilot projects developed by students, many of which lead to campus-wide adoption, such as low-flow shower heads - a pilot project in which 300 shower heads were installed, which led to a 40% reduction in water usage (Pat Willoughby said he never would have thought of it!).
The entire list of all the projects for which the 1957 Green Fund was used can also be found on the class website. One significant example was partial funding for replacing existing lights in the parking garage with fluorescents, resulting in a reduction in electrical consumption of approximately 60%.
Also on the website is a spreadsheet showing how much has been donated to the Green Fund from its inception through the fiscal year of 2010 ($216,162!) and how much has been spent. The numbers for FY2011 won't be available until August.
The Sustainability Advisory Committee (SAC) has set a maximum of $10,000 that can be used for any single pilot project, but other parameters are deliberately broad to encourage creativity. In response to our request to include at least one alumna on the SAC, we were told that since the Committee meets every two weeks, it would be difficult for an alum to attend. (We could suggest that an alum who lived in the Boston area could be available, but there was no positive response about a member of the committee who was not on campus.) Beth did mention the idea of our forming an "interest group" that could meet at reunions, open to all alums from all classes who are interested in sustainability.
It was so exciting to see and hear Beth's expression of gratitude for the 1957 Green Fund. Both she and Patrick stressed the importance of providing seed money for projects that could be expanded campus-wide that would reduce the impact on the environment, reduce the college's expenses for energy - but even more significant, provide a stimulating educational experience for students.
We should feel very proud that the Class of 1957 has played a role in the development of a "green" policy for Wellesley. We've fulfilled a mission of the college "to make a difference" - I hope we will continue to do so through future contributions to the 1957 Green Fund.
WELLESLEY COLLEGE - CLASS OF 1957 GREEN FUND PROJECTS - FY08, FY09 AND FY10
| FY08 |
Low-flow shower heads - a pilot project investigating 6 different shower heads to determine which ones would be best to conserve water (which led to the installation of the selected shower head campus-wide) |
$1,710.00 |
|
Brita filters on taps in Shafer - a pilot project aimed at discouraging use of bottled water |
$6,600.00 |
| "Zip Cups" - cups "to go" for students to take from dining halls which are then returned and cleaned for re-use - so popular that it was expanded to some of student-run eateries |
$5,475.00 |
| Parking garage lighting - a portion of the existing lights were replaced with fluorescents to test the quality of the light - as a result, all existing lights were replaced with fluorescents, resulting in approximately 60% reduction of electrical consumption |
$37,436.00 |
| 4 Dyson Airblades, energy-efficient hand dryers using high velocity air - 2 in a ladies' room and 2 in a men's room in the campus center - a trial project to reduce waste, improve hygiene, eliminate need for custodial department to restock or remove used towels |
$6,600.00 |
| "The Low Carbon Diet" - 40 copies to be read by administrators and then shared more widely on campus, followed by survey instruments to measure whether there was an increased awareness that resulted in changes in behavior |
$433.00 |
| 2 composting containers installed in Stone Center kitchen to teach people about the benefits of composting |
$63.00 |
| Incremental cost of printing reunion program on 100% reusable paper with non-petroleum-based inks |
$2,900.00 |
| Metal reusable drinking vessels - 600 purchased for incoming class of 2012 to decrease use of plastic water bottles |
$2,850.00 |
| Onsite storage units to allow student group to collect clothing and non-clothing items during end-of-year move-out |
$2,148.00 |
|
Recycling bins - put in each dorm room in addition to the standard trash can |
$2,750.00 |
| ESTIMATED |
$68,965.00 |
| FY09 |
Pedal-A-Watt - a pilot package to connect to exercise machines to generate electricity to power an electrical device such as a TV |
$1,600.00
|
| 5 Pietzo Breeze electric bikes, 2 for use by campus police, 2 by other staff members and 1 for demonstration purposes or emergency needs |
$6,000.00
|
| 2 Farm Justice fellowships for 2 students to work during summer on 3 plots of land designated for sustainable farming at Wellesley |
$3,500.00
|
| TOTAL |
$11,100.00 |
| FY10 |
Partial funding of ground mounted solar panel photovoltaic system, part of program to install highly visible renewable energy and energy efficiency projects near the athletic fields on the west campus |
$25,000.00 |
| Solar powered streetlight at Dower, used for Admissions parking |
$8,000.00 |
| Big Belly solar powered trash compactor |
$6,280.00 |
| Educational art exhibit and workshop with artist who works with found paper, in order to foster awareness about the responsible use of paper on campus |
$4,250.00 |
| TOTAL |
$43,530.00 |
| TOTAL THROUGH 6/30/2010 |
$123,595.00 |