Coe College Communications

Hey Guys!
So I've made e-mail contact with Kali Rietcheck, who is the president of Coe
College's Environmental Club. Would people be interested in meeting up with
her and possibly professors from their Environmental Studies department so
that we could compare sustainability efforts?

I was thinking that if they had a club meeting during the week we were there
that we could sit in on that and possibly get dinner before/after with some
of the officers of the club/important people who are working on their
sustainability efforts. Or if they don't have a meeting scheduled, we could
always arrange to meet somewhere else with these people.

Stacey

Count Down - IOWA here we come!

Hi Team!

It was great sharing some laughs last night! Since we are a small group I think our trip experience will be like no other! I’m glad it is coming together so nicely! So we are at a countdown with 10 days remaining until we leave for Iowa! Samantha thought of a great idea to get together to see The Curious Case of Benjamin Button at the Smith Opera House on Friday, March 13 at 7 pm. Tickets for students are $3. If you are interested in going, let me know and I will send out a reminder email of where to meet that night. Maybe everyone will be too busy last-minute packing!

Stacy, our HWS Campus Greens President, brought up Coe College last night because they are located in Cedar Rapids, IA and have a great ‘going green’ program on their campus just as HWS does! Their website mentions how their president has also signed the Climate Commitment and that the Coe campus is participating in RecycleMania too! Time to meet our competitors! We may have a lot in common and could possibly try to connect with a few of Coe’s students to exchange new ideas for campus sustainability! Stacey is going to work on this and hopefully make arrangements for a meeting on one of our free evenings! This website gives an overview of Coe’s sustainability efforts! Pretty impressive! If any other team members have ideas of how to spend our evenings –please post them here!! We should do some homework on Cedar Rapids!

So I thought I would give you a heads up as to what ‘must haves’ you should pack for this trip--- (please use a duffle bag since suitcases are to boxy for the van)

• Rain gear (let’s hope we don’t have to use it
• Knee-high rubber boots – they sell them at Tractor Supply/ LL Bean/ Bass Pro Shop and range from $17-$50+
• Clothes that WILL get dirty (there is a laundry facility so keep it minimal)
• Small backpack –to carry belonging each day to site
• Warm layers –there is no fashion statement needing to be made! LOL
• Spending cash for meals (~$90) and fun money
• Baseball cap and Sunglasses –good for the boat and bad hair days
• Snacks for the road to share
• Hat and gloves –wind and rain can take a toll after a day outside working

(Post anything else you can think of, Martyna and Deirdre –my returnees)

OKAY! We are hoping for great weather, right!!? See Cedar Rapids, IA the 7-day forecast! I see 57 degrees!!! Let’s keep it that way!!!

I found this website that describes the experiences of flood victims and the river that we will work hard to recover. Check out these images and videos to get a feel for the difference you are going to make by volunteering your time over Spring Break! Something to really be proud of! Thanks, team!

OK! I am putting the finishing touches (confirmations) on our trip plans! Thanks for all of your timeliness with payments and meetings! I really appreciate it! See you again on the morning of Saturday, March 14^th! (I’ll post a time and place to load the vans) ---Sarah :)

Game Night March 2

Hi All,

I thought it would be fun to meet up as a group before we depart for our trip. I hope you have saved the date for game night! Since your second payment is due that same day (this coming Monday), you can hand it in to me that evening or drop it by my office that day.

ASB Game Night

March 2, 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm (however long you want to play)

1^st Floor Student Activities Center (by the pool table and loveseat)

***Bring board games, Xbox, Wii, cards, etc.

Please let me know if you will attend…

Sincerely,

Sarah A. Meyer

It is a new year and the Finger Lakes Institute and Living Lands and Waters will partner again to host an Alternative Spring Break Trip in Cedar Rapids, Iowa March 14-21. Visit the HWS Crew's website to learn more! http://fli.hws.edu/asb.asp

If you like the outdoors, getting dirty, and love seeing the friuits of your labor, this trip is for you! Roll up your sleeves and get ready to get dirty! Students will join Chad Pregracke of Living Lands and Waters for a fun week of hard work clearing pollution from the riverbanks of the Cedar River.

June 2008 floods left nearly 1,300 Cedar Rapids city blocks inundated with over 4,000 homes evacuated and 24,000 people displaced. The flood took out many homes and businesses; washing an astonishing amount of debris into the Cedar River, that later settled along the shorelines. Student volunteers will spend time traversing the Cedar River both on foot and in boats while working to remove debris (tires, appliances, barrels, etc.) that is polluting the Cedar River and impairing the habitat of indigenous fish, birds, and wildlife.

This is a substance free trip. The trip will begin on Saturday, March 14 with a drive to Lucas, OH for an overnight stay at Malabar Farm Hostel, a 900-acre organic farm. The Malabar Farm Hostel was once the home and farm of Louis Bromfield, the Pulitzer Prize winning author, agriculturist and dedicated conservationist. Today it is part of Malabar State Park with hiking trails, an aviary and an opportunity to learn about sustainable agriculture and care for the animals. On Sunday, students will load vans again for the second leg of the trip to Cedar Rapids, Iowa where we will meet up with LL&W crew that night. Students will work along the Cedar River Monday through Thursday 9am to 4 pm. Friday, March 20 the group will depart early for Lucas, OH again for an overnight at Malabar Farm Hostel. The trip will conclude in Geneva, NY on the evening of Saturday, March 21.

Should be Shared!

I have been totally impressed with the responses from our student participants to provide feedback about our Alternative Spring Break Trip! I love the feedback and it helps me plan for years to come. Some of the stellar students went the extra mile and compiled their trip reflections into an article and personal web page that I thought should be recognized.

Dealva's Website

Picking up Garbage Ya’ll
An HWS Herald Article by Katherine Hoering and Lauren Ellmers

While many people spent their spring break lounging along pristine blue waters, seventeen Hobart and William Smith students choose to volunteer their week in muddy water picking up trash. The trip involved traveling to Louisville, KY for an Alternative Spring Break organized by the Finger Lakes Institute. As a volunteer, we helped clean the Ohio River with Living Lands and Waters. LL & W is a non-profit organization that focuses on protection, preservation, and restoration of America’s major rivers. Their projects include collecting garbage from major rivers, educating their volunteers through workshops, removing invasive plants such as honeysuckle, and to helping to restore native vegetation by planting river bottom trees, such as oaks and hickories.

Chad Pregracke, founder of Living Lands and Waters, grew up on the Mississippi River and worked as a commercial fisherman and commercial shell diver during his teenage years. It was during this time that he noted the severely polluted river and shoreline. In 1998, he founded Living Lands and Waters. With a four-fleet “garbage barge” and several small skiffs, him and his crew travel to various shorelines of America’s rivers. The crew along with the assistance of volunteers devote their time and energy to help clean the Mississippi, Illinois, Ohio, Missouri, Anacostia and Potomac Rivers.

Throughout the week (March 16-22, 2008), our group, along with thirty other volunteers from SUNY Geneseo, travelled to five different sites to pick up garbage. As a volunteer, we started the days early by boarding into boats and traveling down the river to the pick-up sites. We spent our days walking through islands and flood plains searching for trash, and climbing among log jams picking up plastic bottles. We collected an array of items including oil barrels, TV’s, refrigerators, hundreds of plastic bottles, pieces of Styrofoam, and, not to mention, an occasional buried car. Overall, we accumulated an estimated 20 tons of garbage!

Working with the crew from Living Lands and Waters was inspiring. They were all light-hearted, funny, and hard working individuals dedicated to making a difference. Whether it be cleaning a river, or picking up trash on the side of the road, we all can learn from their actions. Collectively, we should do a little more to help clean our environment. Need some ideas as to how to contribute? Pickup trash you see around campus, participate in Recyclemania, or attend the FLI's Seneca Lake Beach Cleanup September 20, 2008.

If you are interested in learning more about Living Lands and Waters check out their website at http://www.livinglandsandwaters.org/
If you are interested in learning more about future Finger Lakes Institute Alternative Spring Break Trip opportunities or other public service programs, contact Sarah Meyer at smeyer@hws.edu.

Thanks again! Also, if any other trip participants would like to add their reflections to this blog or would like a link added, just let me know.

-Sarah :)