Voice!

Hey all,

I wanted to update you all on the efforts of students, faculty and the university to go green. Last night we had our weekly EON meeting, and it was exciting to see the progress that has been made over the last several years. EON stands for the Environmental Organizers’ Network – it’s basically the place where students come together to talk about environmental stewardship on campus and in the community. We then break up into smaller ‘campaigns,’ where we will work with the community to get a specific goal accomplished.

I’ve been going to EON meetings since my RA (resident advisor) dragged me to a meeting my frosh year. I had never been interested in environmental activism before, but I kept coming to meetings because it was a group of incredibly passionate people, and they had a track record for getting things done. The group has become a big part of my experience at Wes – and I think it proves the point that if you come to Wes, you will undoubtedly get interested in something that you never could have predicted back in high school.

OK, back to the green. EON has worked closely with administrators to become more environmentally conscious. Walk into WESHOP (grocery store on campus) and you will without thinking buy organic, cage-free eggs – thanks to an EON campaign that occurred even before my time. Walk through the dorms and you will see nifty labels for cans/bottles and paper, thanks to pressure from students and support from administrators. We also have an up-and-growing composting program that has taken off thanks to the help of Bon Appetit, the new food service, which will compost all pre-production waste from Usdan.

Most exciting is that the university has started a Sustainability Committee, again with the help/prodding of students. Together with faculty and staff (and the people who hold the purse-strings), we meet to talk about new initiatives and how we can improve sustainability as a school. We have had a couple good meetings and we’re looking forward to the next one, where we will be discussing the possibility of President Roth signing a university commitment to combating climate change.

I’ll keep updating you all on the progress we’re making as a school. But look out on your next visit for recycling labels and compost bins, or ask a student what they think of the environmental awareness here. And, of course, you can do your own part in making your own lifestyles more sustainable.

Izaak Orlansky ‘08
Senior Interviewer

P.S. If you’re interested in following EON more closely, check out our blog at http://www.wesleyaneon.blogspot.com

So, it’s been said that Wesleyan students are movers and shakers — founding projects, starting movements, speaking our minds, using our voices — you can see all around campus that students are fleshing out the real meaning of the word ‘creation’. But not only do Wes students build from the ground up, we build from the ground in too. Wesleyan’s student initiated, founded and run farm is called Long Lane Farm, a totally organic project. Long Lane blossomed from a club created in 2004 for students to come together and learn about food security issues every Monday night at 7 pm, to a full acre piece of land chock full of vegetables and flowers, which also operates as a farmstand, a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) accessible on a sliding scale, and the site of an educational internship program for high school students.

This time of year, Long Lane is overflowing with baskets of tomatoes, swiss chard, eggplant, pumpkins, carrots, beets, and more…it’s warm from the cobb stove baking pizza with fresh veggies on top, buzzing with the bees making honey, and full of students from all years biking, walking, jogging out to the farm for Saturday workdays. The Long Lane Farm project has community gardens around town as well. During my freshman spring, I took a student-led forum on sustainability during which I brought a class of students from a local elementary school to the Washinton Street community garden, some of whom had no idea where their vegetables at dinner came from and definietely no idea that they could in fact eat that which they themselves planted! That day I helped them plant a plot with lettuce, carrots and flowers, and then met them back at the garden a few months later to see the progress and harvest their crops.

Long Lane has worked to develop a relationship with the Middletown community through events at the farm such as Harvest Festivals and May Day celebrations in the fall and spring with lots of kids and families, student bands, a may day pole, apple pies, pumpkin painting and harvesting. It’s donated food to the St. Vincent De Paul Place Soup Kitchen, sold veggies to Its Only Natural Market in town, and generally worked to explore and embody the spirit of local, organic foods, sustainability, community-orientation and fun. The best part of it all is that the farm continues to be powered by student energy, commitment, digging, tilling and planting. Students involved with Long Lane still meet weekly to talk about farm planning and issues around food security, but now also have regular potlucks and make jam, pickles and tomato sauce. The farm is always open, with a chalkboard on the side of the shed listing all of the tasks for the week….so, anytime you’re on campus feel free to put on your overalls, grab a hoe and get in the dirt, or simply lie on the hammock and take a breather. Hope to see you out there!

Grace Lesser ‘08
Senior Interviewer