ELSAH - Principia College students and faculty are focused on sustainability.
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Principia was recently recognized as a top performer in Sustainability Research by the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education. Two professors break down what this means for students and the Riverbend community.
“Being one of the smallest colleges in the country, it’s pretty neat to be recognized for research!” said Dr. Karen Eckert, Director of the Center for Sustainability.
Eckert and Dr. Nick Johnson, Chair of the Sustainability Department, noted that students do a lot of work with sustainability initiatives both on campus and in the surrounding area. Students have completed several research projects to promote more environmentally-friendly practices at Principia.
But some of these students have also expanded their work to address sustainability in Elsah, Alton and beyond. Eckert and Johnson noted the importance of students working off campus to connect to the communities in which they live. Not only does it support more interaction between the college and the community, but it also encourages students to make a home in the community after they graduate.
“There are students around town doing things, and we think that’s important for them to be connected to the area,” Johnson said. “Having these system thinkers in our community who are actively trying to solve problems and work with others to address some of the challenges we have in our cities and environment and local society, it would be really nice.”
Eckert echoed Johnson and noted that “one of the many brilliant aspects” of Principia’s program is the requirement for students to complete a capstone project. These projects are “very often globally-focused,” she said.
One student recently created a Clothes Closet. Students can donate clothes they no longer wear and pick up gently-used items of clothing without having to leave campus, which eliminates the transportation or financial barriers that some students face in acquiring new clothes.
Other students discovered that there were several unclaimed bikes on Principia’s campus. They decided to organize a Bike Rental and Repair Shop. This allows students to rent bicycles and ride them around campus.
These projects promote circularity, which Eckert describes as “one of the foundational principles of sustainability.” Instead of using items once, the idea of circularity is to reuse and recycle.
“The planet is a wonderful resource for us, but it’s not an infinite resource,” Eckert said. “Ultimately, we’ve got to get away from the silliness of throwing everything away and expecting the planet to continue to provide whatever we need. The students are always thinking about how to practice circularity on campus.”
Students have also pushed for use of greener cleaning chemicals and the planting of native plants on campus. Principia is currently in the process of installing solar panels, which will be surrounded by native plants. The school also plans to meter their buildings so they can monitor energy use more closely.
Eckert and Johnson hope that the sustainable practices on Principia’s campus will stick with students after they graduate. They want to see their students “act for the betterment of humanity.”
“[It is about] helping them understand how to solve problems for themselves and for others going forward,” Johnson said. “So as they move out into the world, they’re thinking about process, thinking about building community and allies, how to consider the viewpoints of different stakeholders, how to build consensus when possible, and how to actually utilize the skills and information they’ve learned in classes and their extracurricular activities. How does that translate into whatever they’re doing after graduation that’ll let them be successful and help other people?”
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