131 photo(s)Earth Week 2013

We were thrilled with a very successful and fun Earth Week! Several environmental documentaries were shown with much enthusiasm from the student body, such as Island President, Garbage Island, Thin Ice and Vegucated. The Stride into Spring 5K went very smoothly and had high attendance despite the cold weather; two students and two non-students won a free pair of shoes from Herington’s Shoes, a local shoe store in downtown Bemidji. Official Earth Day, April 22nd, held lots of fun for all students! We had live music from Pitches and Hoes, Radical Fun Time and Caige Jambor, and free bike tune ups. Several prizes were given away as well: a bike package, longboard package, fishing package as well as organic groceries from Luekens! We had a huge turnout for our Sustainable Tuesdays, hosted by our own GreenCorp member, Caitlyn Schuchhardt. A GMO Food Labeling panel discussed the future of our food and got the word out to the public about the harmful effects of genetically modified food. At the vegetarian food panel, we had lots of yummy vegetarian foods to sample, such as wild rice hot dish, fresh veggies, hummus, pasta and vegan cookies; we discuss our experiences with vegetarianism, and showed the documentary Vegucated. The still-frozen ground on the shores of Lake Bemidji didn’t stop enthusiastic students from volunteering for the annual Lakeshore Cleanup! They worked hard to clean up the litter that piled up along with all the snow we got this year. The MN Food Charter got together at the beginning of the week to gain support for a public policy that would make good, healthy food available everywhere for everyone; this initiative has huge local support from our community. And finally, Thursday May 2nd was the day of our E-Waste Collection at Paul and Babe. 5R Processing will be accepted computers, printers, laptops, cell phones, microwaves, stoves, and appliances from the Bemidji Community. Earth Week has been sponsored by Students for the Environment, the Sustainability Office, Horizontally Challenged, ARAMARK, the Outdoor Program Center, MN GreenCorp, Indigenous Environmental Network, Bobcat of Bemidji, Herington’s Shoes and the Green Fee.

4 photo(s)CERTS Conference

Four BSU students as well as the Green Corp member, Caitlin Schuchhardt, and BSU's Sustainability Coordinator, Erika Bailey-Johnson traveled to St. Coud Feb. 20-21, 2013 for a conference about clean energy.

6 photo(s)Student Scholarship & Creative Achievement Day 2012

The Sustainability Office presented at the 2012 SSCA day on April 4th in Hagg-Sauer Hall.

12 photo(s)Sustainability in the Curriculum Conference

BSU hosted several faculty from across Minnesota for the Sustainability Across the Curriculum Workshop held March 29 - 31, 2012. Several prominent speakers shared their knowledge about sustainability related to social justice, energy, politics, and leadership. Workshop participants spent time touring campus sustainability projects and the BioHaus at Concordia Language Villages. The co-facilitators of the workshop were Erika Bailey-Johnson, Sustainability Coordinator at BSU, and Ana Davis, English faculty at North Hennepin Community College.

8 photo(s)Cold Tub

23 photo(s)Vermiculture Feasibility Study

A pilot vermiculture study is progress for Wally's. All of the pre-consumer vegetable and fruit waste was being pulped in the Dining Facility. Now, we take it in whole chunks and feed it to our works in room below Wally's. We are hoping to work out all the kinks before school starts up in the fall! Our office is working with a local worm expert to assist with this project.

17 photo(s)Low Mow Pilot Project

The purpose of this project is to replace the existing traditional turf grass with a low mow grass. Low mow grass requires little if any mowing. This will have many benefits such as: Less cost for gas and equipment. Less time for maintenance. Less noise pollution from lawn equipment. No fossil fuel emissions. No watering once established. Native plants will be installed that do not require; pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers.

12 photo(s)CERT's Meet 'n Greet

Northwest Clean Energy Resource Team (NW CERT) convened a “Meet ‘n Greet” tour of BSU’s improvements May 26th. Over 70 people joined the tour around campus. The campus garden, retrofitting of lights, and the vermiculture were just a few of many topics covered in the tour.

47 photo(s)Campus Garden

The Campus Garden officially started in Summer 2011 and has had great reviews! It started with an idea and along with lots of help, has grown into something great with a total of 28 plots. There was lots of manual labor put into it by students, faculty and staff. Bemidji State's Campus Garden is across the campus library on Birch Lane and 16th.

12 photo(s)Our Energy Future

A panel of energy experts, idea created by Erika Bailey-Johnson, was put together on April 15th, 2011 to discuss and answer questions regarding what our energy will be in 50 years. The panel included: Rep. John Persell, Lynette Nieuswma from Beltrami Electric Co-op, Chris Waltz from Franklin Energy, Dr. Tim Kroeger from BSU-Geology professor, Jason Edens from RREAL, Brian Drexten from Ottertail Power Company, Tom Goldtooth from Indigenous Environmental Network, Marc Huot from the Pembina Institute in Edmonton Canada, and Joel Haskard from CERTs.

9 photo(s)Education on Bottled Water

In the Spring of 2010, a student named Crystal Rayamajhi started a campaign to reduce the amount of bottled water consumed on campus.

6 photo(s)New Bus Shelters

With the help of these shelters, BSU is promoting using public transportation and trying to get less cars on the road.

9 photo(s)Morsoul

A band from Boulder Colorado. Their music is original rock funk jazz alternative! They came to Bemidji State on October 6th, 2010. Check them out on myspace (http://www.myspace.com/morsoul) or go to their website (http://www.morsoulmusic.com/)

4 photo(s)Composting Audit

Trevor Plendl and with the help of Students for the Environment, performed a compost audit in September and November of 2009. On average, there was 110 punds of food waste per day generated. Some of the waste was post-consumer, but mostly, it came from pre-consumer.

19 photo(s)Do It In the Dark

This is an energy saving competition started by the student organization, Students for the Environment

3 photo(s)Donate, Don't Dumpster

Donate, Don't Dumpster is a program that was started in Spring 2010. It happens at the end of each semester and was started by the Hobson Student Union. The items donated go to the campus FreeStore.

33 photo(s)Earth Day

The Earth Day Celebration is put on every year by the Students for the Environment, with the help of the campus and community. There is music, food, speakers, and games available.

43 photo(s)Traditional Skills Workshops

In Fall of 2009, the Sustainability Office started Traditional Skills workshops that are designed to teach campus students, faculty, staff, and community members skills that make them more self-sufficient.

4 photo(s)Lighting Retrofit

Bemidji State received the Schools Cutting Carbon Grant in December of 2009. With the money from the grant, along with other donations, BSU retrofitted the light fixtures in the John Glas Fieldhouse gym, the Bangsberg theater, and the faculty building, Deputy.

11 photo(s)Outside Bemidji State

Pictures from around the Bemidji State Campus and North Country Trail

13 photo(s)Habitat for Humanity

In October of 2009 and May 2011, some students, faculty, and staff came together with Habitat for Humanity to build a home for a family in Bemidji.

45 photo(s)Other Sustainable Endeavors