EC Digest
Fall 2014: Issue 6
FLC's freshest crop help with the EC Campus Garden Work Day!

Coordinator's Note:

By Rachel Landis

 

 

3... 2... 1... Blast Off! School has officially begun here on campus and the FLC Environmental Center team is looking forward to another amazing year! The year kicked off with  a great omen: This past Saturday, our Local Food Fellows - two FLC students who spent their summer studying food systems - engaged 43 incoming freshman in a day of volunteerism and education within our campus garden & orchard! Having planned on having 14 volunteers, the workshop was BURSTING at the seams, as was the energy brought by this latest crew of FLC students. 

 

This one day event was a great showcase of the Environmental Center's 'why': Here we had two Local Food Fellows who started the summer with a personal mission to reform our campus community through the power of local food, but no strategy for how they would achieve this worthy goal. Three months later, these two students have increased our student population's support of local food systems through a series of educational garden programs, decreased our campus' carbon footprint by replacing food traveling from other hemispheres to that traveling from the garden on the north side of campus, and - perhaps most potently - transformed themselves into skilled advocates of change. 

 

I invite you to read on to learn ways that you can help us to carry this work forward and ultimately magnify it: From signing on to assist with crop harvests to applying for student work study jobs to aiding the democratic process, now is the time to get involved.  

 

And to think, this is just the beginning...

 

In This Issue

Upcoming EC Events & Opportunities
 
Tuesday Sept. 2nd: Move In Free Store , 11-2pm

 

Free Stuff...without the Footprint! Forego the trip down the hill and come out to the Environmental Center's Move In Free Store - This special Free Store features everything you need to get you geared up for the school year from clothes, to books, to household supplies... and IT IS ALL FREE!

 

How does it work? People donate gently used, clean and functioning items that they no longer need to the Free Store. In turn, you are welcome to take any of these items. This 'alternative economy' helps us to repurpose/reuse items...thus keeping costs down, minimizing our waste stream and ultimately reducing our consumption.

 

Join us at this special Move In Free Store located on the Student Union Quad or during weekly Free Stores throughout the School Year.  

 

Contact Rachel at rllandis@fortlewis.edu for additional information

 

Saturday Sept. 13th: Trail Work with the EC & Outdoor Pursuits

 

Happy National Public Lands Day! Get outside and into the mountains with the Environmental Center and Outdoor Pursuits. We will be spending the day working to build and restore trails thus ensuring that you and future opportunities have the opportunity to enjoy our amazing wild places.

To Sign Up: Contact Outdoor Pursuits at 247-7293 or visit their office in the Student Life Center after 9/8

 

Wednesday Sept. 17th: Hops Harvest & Beer Brewing 

 

The Fort Lewis College Environmental Center's Local Food Fellows invite you to the FLC Campus Garden to harvest organic hops and participate in the art of drafting wet-hopped beer. All participants will take home their very own fresh harvested, hand-crafted taster pint.

Please join us Wednesday, September 17th from 4-7p.m. in the EC Garden. Cost is $7/person. To register, please contact Rachel Landis, FLC Environmental Center Coordinator at rllandis@fortlewis.edu or (970) 247-7091

 

Tuesday Sept. 23rd: Crop Mob: Apple Harvest & Ice Cream Making


The Fort Lewis Environmental Center has partnered with local artisanal ice cream maker, Cream Bean & Berry, to harvest unwanted fruit from neighborhood trees (This process is know as gleaning)... and then make ice cream from it! Our efforts will help to 1) increase the amount of local food available to our community, 2) work to reduce the possibility of bear/human conflicts by reducing the number of fruit attractants in town, 3) build a culture of gastronomy, and 4) raise money for a great cause!

 

Please join us on Tuesday, September 23rd at 3p.m. To register, please contact, Rachel Landis, Fort Lewis College Environmental Center Coordinator, at rllandis@fortlewis.edu  or (970) 247-7091

 

 

Community Events & Opportunities

 

Thursday, Sept. 11th: Film Screening 7p.m., Chemistry 130, FLC Campus:  

Film Screening of Dear Governor Hickenlooper. Please join Brad Clark and the ENVS Department for this great film regarding fracking in the Front Range. The director/producer will be in attendance to address questions.  http://www.deargovernorhickenlooper.com 

 

Thursday, September 13th: Old Fort USDA Commodities Harvest

 The Old Fort farm in Hesperus has planted an entire bed to donate to the Fall Commodities Distribution which provides food staples to low income families in our area. This year, they need help harvesting beets, onions and other root crops. To Sign Up or for more details, contact Beth Lashell, Old Fort Farm Manager at (970) 385-4574 at lashell_b@fortlewis.edu

 

Saturday, September 15th:USDA Commodities Distribution

The crew organizing the Commodities Distribution will need help sorting, washing, and processing all of the gleaned food (extra food in the fields) that is being delivered to supplement the Commodities Distribution. If interested in helping, contact Erin Jolley at ejolley@strength.org  

 

Ongoing: Campaign Internships

State Representative Mike McLaughlin's office is looking to hire a group of interns to assist with day-to-day campaign operations re-election campaign. Additionally, they are looking for community volunteers to help with all aspects of the campaign. To learn more, contact Matthew Sheldon at Matthew Sheldon at matthew.sheldon9@gmail.com

 

 

 

Announcements:

FLC Crop Mob: Crop mob is primarily a group of young, landless, and wannabe farmers who come together to build and empower communities by working side by side. The FLC Environmental Center will rounding up volunteers to make weekly trips out to area farms where you will help with harvest, sheer sheep, who knows!?! In exchange, you will be working to actively build a healthy community, get to know our amazing area farmers, and get your pockets stuffed full of free, local food.

 

To sign up to receive Crop Mob alerts (dates, etc) and register, visit the FLC Environmental Center or contact Crop Mob Coordinator, Danielle Duni at  dmduni@fortlewis.edu 

 

Campus Garden Grown Lunches!: As part of Fort Lewis College's Real Food Challenge and in celebration of Eat Local Month, our campus' San Juan Dining Facilities will feature produce grown by students in our organic, on-campus garden and the Old Fort Farm each day during lunch. San Juan Dining is located within the FLC Student Union and is open to the public for lunch between 11:30-1:00p.m. with a la carte pricing

 

Find out what is for lunch by visiting the EC Facebook Page: Environmental Center at Fort Lewis College or check out the Campus Garden Grown board located in San Juan Dining.

 

 

Save the Date:Thursday, October 23rd, the 13th Annual REEL Environmental Film Experience will showcase the award-winning documentary, DamNation at the Smiley building. Ben Knight, film director and Telluride local, will be on hand to supplement the film and tell the story of why vibrant, free-flowing rivers are a necessity...and how YOU can help. In true REEL style, this night will feature an amazing film, great food & drink, the opportunity to take action...and, of course, a massive amount of fun!

New EC Assistant Coordinator: The EC is incredibly excited to welcome Erin Murphy to our office as our new Assistant Coordinator. Erin is an FLC alumna who holds her Master's Degree in Community & Regional Planning. She has spent the last several years as a project manager and educator with the Everblue Training Institute, an educational entity focused on providing LEED training to industry professionals.  

 

Here at the EC, Erin will fill the vital role of assisting with student management and leadership development, overseeing several of our projects including our campus composter, and also take on office management. Please join me in welcoming Erin to the EC!

 
 

 

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