What would Grand Valley do to help lower the cost of buying new planting soil every year, reduce the amount of fertilizer used, decrease the amount of watering needed, and make campus plants look more healthy, naturally? Compost, of course! That’s the idea behind Grand Valley’s latest composting project, headed up by Steve Snell, GVSU’s Arborist.

While Facilities Services has implemented composting for paper and organic food waste, this composting project will focus specifically on yard waste. Though the project is still in the initial stages, Snell has high hopes that composting our campus’ waste, whether leaves, branches, old flowers, or old potting soil, has potential to accomplish all of the previous listed benefits and more. “I always wanted to compost our debris,” said Snell, “but from all the reading I did, [it] required more man hours than what GVSU could afford to do.” There are quite a few ways to compost, but most options cost too much in either labor hours or equipment expense.

Facilities Services and the Arboretum Department, who are collaborating on the composting project, have found a way to save both money and labor while testing the project. A local farmer has lent a composting machine for the summer, providing project leaders with an inexpensive way to decide whether the project is a practical venture.

So how does it all work? “The composting machine is essentially a big drum that rotates slowly, mixing the material inside and breaking it down,” said Snell. He went on to say, “The more air you provide for it, the faster the material will break down.  After one or two weeks, we remove the material and either stock pile it for later use, or use it right away.”  Put simply, rather than pushing old debris into the woods (the previous waste removal strategy), campus plants will be sustained through natural recycling. Snell hopes the project will prove to be both financially and environmentally beneficial, allowing Grand Valley a more sustainable means to keep campus plant life flourishing.

The composting drum is located near the radio tower on GVSU’s Allendale campus and will remain there for project testing through the summer. More information on GVSU’s composting initiatives can be found on Facilities Service’s and Campus Dining’s websites.

After a year and a half of research, fundraising, and numerous cross-discipline discussions, Grand Valley’s first hoophouse has finally become a reality. Beginning construction on August 12^th, Levi Gardner, GVSU Sustainable Agriculture Project Manager and a group of volunteers finished construction in three days. A ribbon cutting ceremony was held on Friday, August 19^th.

For those unfamiliar with the term “hoophouse,” it functions much like a greenhouse except its only source of energy is the sun. While greenhouses allow less transportation pollution and offer an opportunity for non-farmers to grow their own produce, many still require a good deal of energy to run. Overhead lamps and heaters—both which require an alternative energy source—are used to create an artificial growing season in the winter months. Hoophouses, in contrast, rely solely on the sun. A double layer outer wall allows more heat to be trapped and thus a warmer growing environment for the plants inside. Most significantly though, “Hoophouses are intended to extend the growing season, not avoid it,” emphasized Gardner.  With the newly constructed hoophouse, farming will be able to continue into December, and the new growing season will be able to begin as early as February.

This is exciting news for individuals like John DeRuiter, GVSU’s Farm Club President. When asked what inspired him to push for the hoophouse, he stated, “The hoophouse is the best way to farm on campus during the winter. I liked the idea of the hoophouse because it gave us a chance to extend Farm Club into the school year. There is quite a bit of interest among students to be involved with Farm Club, but so many of them leave GVSU for the summer, so this was the best way to get people involved year round.”

The process was a combined financial effort between the Student Senate on behalf of the Farm Club, Brooks College of Interdisciplinary Studies (BCOIS), and the College of Liberal Arts & Studies (CLAS), coordinated by Gardner. Each supported a portion of the total $16,000 bill, making the dream of a Grand Valley hoophouse a reality.

While the Farm Club will be able to take advantage of the new facility, Gardner hopes it will also be a place for educating students on sustainable farming practices. In addition to class visits, the hoop house will be a place for student interns to gain hands-on knowledge of agriculture techniques. “Eventually, I would love to see more research come from the hoop house,” Gardner stated.

For now, though, the focus is on getting the first planting season under way. The hoophouse is located at the GVSU Sustainable Agriculture Project on Luce St. For more information on sustainable agriculture practices and volunteering opportunities, check out the Sustainable Agriculture Project and Farm Club web sites.

You may often hear that composting is good for the environment, but do you know the reasons why? In an effort to learn more about the ecological and personal benefits of composting, 50 Niemeyer residents have signed up to take part in a composting project, organized by SCDI campus sustainability manager Bart Bartels.  A composting bin has been placed outside of the Niemeyer Living Center in the garbage collection area. As the sign states, the bin is for “Everything but plastic, metal, and glass.” This includes all food waste, pizza boxes, paper, etc.

But why separate your waste; doesn’t it all decompose at the landfill anyways?

What you may not know about your biodegradable material is that when it combines with non-organic material in our landfills, harmful toxins are produced. These toxins seep into the ground (as approximately 75% of American landfills do not use plastic lining) and contaminate our water sources. On the other hand, the composting process known as “hot composting,” which GVSU is conducting, can break down the material in weeks vs. the decades it would take to decompose in a landfill. One of the benefits of using compost in our gardens and fields is that it cools the soil and alters the rate which water passes through it, slowing erosion. Composting also increases the soil’s pH by increasing nutrients, which help plants to thrive.

In addition to ecological benefits, composting also helps Grand Valley to be more sustainable. Compost collected from the Niemeyer project is processed and then used for fertilizer at the Sustainable Agriculture Project, which in turn yields produce that GVSU students can purchase at the Farmer’s Market. In this way Grand Valley students have an opportunity to contribute at every point in the cycle and not only gain understanding on the practice of composting, but also experience a richer perspective on life.

Leading sustainable innovation; dairy farm in southern Michigan completes installation of 19.2 KW Solar PV Power Plant

Michigan based Sustainable Energy Financing, LLC (SEF) recently designed, financed, and installed a 19.2 KW Solar PV project on a 300 cow dairy farm in Jonesville, Michigan.

The ground mounted solar array will produce around 10% of the farm’s annual electricity demand with little ongoing operations and maintenance costs. The owners of DenningSons Farms, Steve and Doug Denning, installed the project because it made sense from both an economic and environmental perspective. In addition, all components were manufactured from companies in the United States, and labor to complete the installation utilized local companies and firms contributing to the overall sustainability of the project. Jonesville based Heath Electric, LLC managed all electrical connection and installation of equipment for the project.

Through a combination of electricity savings and government grants secured by SEF, the farm was able to realize a strong return on their investment as well as leverage low interest financing through a government loan program for renewable energy projects on dairy farms.

The farm expects the project to have a life of at least 25 years. In conjunction with the Solar PV, numerous energy efficiency measures are being taken to lower electricity demand. SEF works with agricultural entities throughout the country to help them address rising electricity costs. According to Dan Kuipers, SEF Managing Director, the company’s main focus has been with greenhouses, crop farms, dairy farms, and other agricultural businesses with high-energy demand and an ability to take advantage of the depreciation and tax credits available for renewable energy projects. “Often clients are surprised at the wide range of solutions, technical and financial, that we are able to present in our energy audits and project feasibility studies. Additionally, clients appreciate that we are a solutions based organization, working with them to secure financing and install the project.”

Sustainable Energy Financing, LLC is based in Holland, Michigan and provides renewable energy financing solutions throughout the United States. The firm has secured millions of dollars in grant funding, tax incentives, carbon credits and renewable energy credits on behalf of clients implementing renewable energy and energy efficiency projects. For more information visit http://www.sef-llc.com.

As anyone working to bring change knows, inspiring the public is often the most important part. Derek Plumb, a graduate student at Grand Valley State University, understands this concept from both sides. Inspired, himself, by the film The Story of Stuff, Plumb and the Housing Staff Sustainability Group that he oversees created a short video titled Reduce – Reuse – Recycle at GVSU to inspire change on our campus.

In addition to Plumb, Resident Assistants Douwe Driehuis, Joel Mounts, Michelle Allmayer, Lisa Dickinson brainstormed the idea, focusing on the specific issues of reducing, reusing, and recycling, but also on the interconnectivity of people and the products they use. Plumb summed up the main purpose of their creation stating, “The aim is the core aim of all of sustainability; to get people to live more consciously.”  

The film executes this aim through statistics on trash, recycling, and compost, as well as by mentioning specific events like the SEC Dumpster Dive. In the film’s conclusion, the narrator points out simple steps Grand Valley students can take to make the campus more sustainable.

In addition to prompting individual actions, Plumb also hopes to see changes made within facility practices: “Ideally, I think it would perfect if next to every trash bin, there was a recycling bin next to it.” This ideal is rooted in Plumb’s belief that people want to do the right thing and recycle, but often the “wrong thing” is far more convenient.  We can definitely achieve maximum recycling rates,” states Plumb, “if the students begin to raise their voices about getting more recycling bins around campus.” This can be as simple as sharing this video or others like it with friends on Facebook and Twitter, or perhaps by creating your own campaign to carry the message forward. The Reduce – Reuse – Recycle at GVSU video can be found on YouTube, the SCDI Facebook page, and the SCDI Website.

BetterBuildings for Michigan is pleased to announce that nearly 125 people have signed up for home energy audits since the program began on January 18. According to Ann Erhardt, program manager, this is a good start. “It means 125 people will know more about their home,” she said. “Still, we can and we should improve upon that number.”

To do so, Ms. Erhardt is reminding people that BetterBuildings is not a program reserved only for Grand Rapids residents. In fact more than half of the current program participants live outside of Grand Rapids. “It’s true that people living within city limits have access to additional benefits, but any member of GVSU’s faculty or staff can sign up for and take advantage of the program” she said.

Now BetterBuildings is expanding the applicant base to include homeowners referred to the program by individuals already taking part in it. In other words, GVSU program adopters may invite up to five potential applicants, none of whom need be directly affiliated with the University.

For more information visit www.bbmgr.org/gvsu  or call (616) 451-3051 Ext. 24.