Sustaining Middlebury One Cereal Box at a Time

Author: Nicha Rakpanichmanee

There are plenty of people who love the environment, but fewer who actually work to keep it. Even before attaining its official student organization status, the Middlebury Initiative for Sustainable Development (MISD) has spent the past six months condensing environmentalism from having a worldwide focus to a more localized scale.

Many of us are aware of the dangers of pesticides and the value of composting, but MISD members are actually proposing a plan to create Middlebury College's own organic farm. We all know about the overflowing landfill, but MISD members have walked many dormitories, knocking on doors and scavenging Proctor dishes to avoid more trash from disposable dishware.

"Even though we say we are an environmental campus, there are still many things that students can do to use less and make Middlebury College and the Middlebury area more sustainable" said Chris Howell '04.5.

Howell and Bennet Konesni '04.5 were inspired to found MISD by their first semester course, "Geographic Perspectives on International Development" with Professor of Geology Tamar Mayer. The course, according to Howell, challenged him to redefine development. It appears that MISD wants to push Middlebury towards sustainability, which the club defines as: "balancing ecological, economic and social concerns in deciding how we will build and grow our communities."

MISD received official club status and an approved budget last month, but its project goals are already ambitious. The variety of ideas come from members' initiatives, such as the Middlebury Organic Garden, the Dish Recovery System and the Forward to Your Roots Crafts Fair.

The Middlebury Organic Garden is the main reason Jean Hamilton '04 joined MISD. She met Konesni at a farming conference this past summer and discovered that her dream project could indeed be realized. Now, she heads the MISD campaign to establish a student-run garden that is both environmentally and economically sustainable. Hamilton and a few other MISD members have interviewed local organic farmers, conducted a survey for faculty input and are hoping to have their proposal approved and the ground broken by next fall.

"It will give students a connection to their food," said Hamilton. "There is a link between farmers and consumers that is being lost."

The Dish Recovery System (DRS) is Howell and Konesni's plan to save Midding $40,000 a year for paper cups and plastic utensils. Howell's face reflected excitement as he described the 50-plus collection bin sites and the bike trailer, which will serve as the environmentally sound transport.

Forward to Your Roots was the public debut of MISD's six months of hard work. Having attended various environmental fairs and conferences over the fall, MISD members set up their own three-day workshop in Proctor's Woodstove Lounge over the last week of Winter Term.

Char Carlson '05 and Emily Berg '05 were the lead organizers of the fair, which invited students to make their own lip balm and paper, sew up their own notebooks from recycled materials, create junk art and knit their own accessories. MISD members lingered around the crafts table, and curious students crowded around with their dinner trays.

Howell was enthusiastic to reuse and recycle materials "in order to empower people to create and use their own things and not be as reliant on buying."

MISD promotes grassroots activism both in the community's environmental conduct and in its own club structure. Howell and Konesni serve as liaisons to the administration and plan the long-term future of the club, for example in expanding membership. However, various members lead all the campaigns.

"[Howell and Kenesni] really stress the idea of each person taking initiative to be in charge of their own projects in MISD," said Carlson. "It never feels as if the club is based on the efforts of one person."

Of the 117 students on the MISD e-mail list, about 10 to 15 regular and new members show up at the weekly meetings on Wednesday nights in Coffrin Annex Lounge. With the commitment of MISD members, the new club promises to improve tree-huggers' idealist reputation through concrete action. With every recycled cardboard box, MISD makes Middlebury campus that much greener.