Sustainability at Lake Superior College

Meeting Minutes 1/21/2011

Environmental Council
Meeting Minutes
January 21st, 2011
9:00 Student Life Conference Room

Faculty/Staff members present: Cliff Koski, Deanne Roquet, Dave Olson, Dick Haney, Kevin Futhey, Kristi Heintz, Theresa Hornstein
Students present: Janelle Ide, Tom Deschenes
Guests present: Heather Grillo, Patty Dorn, Sandy Peterson

Announcements
Patty Dorn has received a grant to bring musician Michael Monroe to LSC April 12th-14th.  He will perform on the 12th in the Commons area, host a series of workshops for students and the public all days and his stay will culminate in a concert on the 14th in the Commons.  Patty would like to see collaborations with area schools, LSC students/faculty, and a collection of media materials highlighting Michael’s commitment to sustainability through ecology and technology in music.  LSC will schedule its Earth Day events for the 14th and utilize Michael’s evening public performance as the focus for the day’s events.  Patty will also inquire with Michael about the possibility of him doing an afternoon performance, on the 14th,  powered by his solar powered trailer for students/staff.
Sandy Peterson will work on graphic design components, Mat Gilderman will be contacted about public information, and Brandon Leno will be contacted to put together a video to be played during the final performance.  The Environmental Council will also help with costs for advertising.  This will take the place of bringing in a key note speaker for the day.
Patty will attend the next EC meeting to continue talks for Earth Day planning.
The EC may also use the Earth Day opportunity to unveil the Sustainability Plan of Action as it is due to be submitted April 15th.

Please visit the Strategic Planning Portal (on the employee portal) and comment on materials Hanna posted related to our SPA presentation.

This year’s WLSSD sponsored Rain Barrel Sale will be paired with the Annual Watershed Festival and will take place on June 4th in the LSC parking lot.

Sub-Committee Reports
None.

Old Business
SPA Student Senate meeting update:  Kristi met with the Student Senate last week to discuss their concerns related to the SPA.  In their December meeting, they went through the Plan and sent Kristi 18 questions and topics they wanted to discuss further.  Kristi discussed these concerns with the Council and will make necessary changes to the SPA.
From this list of concerns, came ideas for things the Council feels strongly about following up on.  Many of the concerns are facilities related and may be applicable to the new building.  All agreed that a “wish list” be put together at the next meeting and forwarded to Gary A. and Mark W.  We will also ask for Student Senate support in putting together this list.

“Northland Sustainability Folks” meeting recap:  Kristi met with sustainability representatives from UMD, CSS, and Northland College at the new UMD Bagley Nature Classroom.  Mindy would like to extend and invitation to any student groups that would like to tour the 2,000 square foot super eco-conscious LEED Platinum building.  Mindy is also interested in pooling resources for future events open to the community for example, the Living Green Conference.

New Business
LSC Earth Day will be April 14th.  More discussion at the next meeting.

Sustainability e-newsletter:  Kristi brought the idea of putting together an informational sustainability newsletter in some format to inform and engage employees and students in projects that are going on around campus which are sustainability related.  Deanne suggested some of the topics also be posted on the “Husky Tabloids”.  The EC agreed a newsletter would be beneficial and it may need to be distributed in many formats.  The Wave will be a good place to start and we’ll also send an email link to check out the article there.  Since many of the projects are facilities related, Kristi will discuss the idea with Gary A. and work with him to get the information.  Kristi has already spoken with Mat G. about possibly helping with format and layout.

Campus Food Committee:  The Student Senate has a food committee which is currently looking into healthier and cheaper options for the cafeteria.  They are meeting with Mark Winson soon and Kristi has asked to be included in this conversation.  Kristi has also contacted Jamie Harvie, Executive Director of Institute for a Sustainable Future and has asked some preliminary questions on where to start to solicit change.  Deanne suggested we ask him to meet with the Food Committee as well.  The group also showed interest in a campus garden; Theresa will stay in contact with Kristi and the committee to develop his idea.  It was also noted that Duluth’s Community Garden Program has shown interest in the past of using our lawn space for gardens.  Past Administration was not inclined to look into this idea, but it will be brought up again.

Parking Task Force:  Cliff reported that the Parking Task Force met again last week and has asked for trail maps to include in the upcoming process to update the Facilities Master Plan.  Kristi will forward maps from Matt W. to Cliff to pass on to the Task Force.

Budget Report

EC Budget YTD: $4218.82

Motions
No motions made at this meeting.

Next meeting
Next EC meeting will be on February 4th at 9:00 in the Student Life Conference Room.

Submitted by Kristi Heintz