The effort in creating a green dorm
In October, students had the opportunity to “eco-certify” their dorm rooms. Eco-certification is a survey that tests the environmental aspects of students’ dorm life. It is exciting to see positive change on campus. Many students, including myself, have felt doomed from the environmental sacrifices, so the outlet that eco-certification and other dorm plans offer is a refreshing one for many.
“Overall, the dorm certification process encourages students to engage with themselves and their roommates about sustainable practices that can be implemented into everyday life. It is a way of bringing conversations on sustainability back to your dorm and thinking more about individual actions in an accessible way,” Lena Hanschka ‘21 mentions, an EcoRep herself.
The process behind eco-certification is pretty straightforward. The end goal is to use the data collected and compare dormitories across campus. However, the data collection begins on a more individual level. Eco-reps start by reaching out to students. Each roommate is required to fill out a survey with various questions regarding sustainable living. Then, the responses are combined to see who receives certification and also to see a holistic view of the dorm.
Some questions that you would find concern themes of waste management, energy usage, and community engagement. The questions are attached with a certain score, like driving a low emissions vehicle results in three points. All the questions answered “yes” are then added together, creating an overall score.
Sarah Haynes ’22, a community advisor (CA) in Woodman, spoke on sustainability in the dorms.
“A big fear at the start of the semester was about all the plastic and single-use containers. So, how do you create a sustainable campus in these times?” she ponders.
On this issue, there is a level of toughness in creating a sustainable campus, given the precautionary COVID-19 measures. A way to partially assuage this fear is through the eco-certification check-up.
“It may not be the most effective way to make change. Rather, it is more of a point of reflection and starting point,” remarks Haynes.
Her point makes sense; by offering the eco-certification, the campus's environmental problems will not just disappear. However, there is great importance and meaning within the act of analyzing one's own relation to sustainability.
The same survey gives readily available options where students can see what sustainable practices in dorms look like. Haynes continued, mentioning that this should not be a singular effort to create more environmentally friendly dorms. There are many current and future issues requiring the leadership of both the CA's and EcoReps, so it is essential to evaluate our environmental presence on campus continually.
Haynes lists a recent issue that has risen in Woodman: an overflow of trash. This issue occurs most intensely during Sundays after residents find their rooms overflowed with trash and food waste from dining halls. Due to the time we live in, eating out is sometimes necessary to ensure space in the dining halls. This raises the question: how can we work around to reduce food waste and foster emptier trash bins?
Haynes offered a few suggestions herself. She found great value in the implementation of a compost bin accompanied by proper labeling. For example, the ones you find in the Spa are deliberate in showing what bin to throw what in. With this system, two goals are simultaneously accomplished: improving living quality and implementing more green practices.
“We need to be thinking about this all the time,” remarks Haynes. There is importance in longevity. Environmental issues are not a phase or something to be considered during an awareness week. In the dorms, it is vital to make sustainability a constant battle.”
In conclusion, from the eco-certification system to Hayne’s included perspective, it hopefully is easy to see the importance of checking in on your position in the campus’s initiatives for sustainability. It can be easy to lose track of your goals, and the survey was a great way to evaluate your standing. However, as Haynes and Hanschka note, eco-certification is not the end goal, rather it is a start. Whether you filled it out or not, you can still think about your future impact on the environment at the College.
~Adrian Visscher `24
