Country View Science Exploration Day

Students from the Southwestern College Green Team helped to educate students at Country View Elementary school about the basics and importance of wind energy this past Wednesday. The Green Team taught principles about electricity, basic energy conservation and how a wind turbine works to nearly 150 K-4th grade students throughout the afternoon.

To demonstrate how a wind turbine works, Sydnee Nelson and the other Green Team students led the children in the construction of paper pinwheels. Green Team students who participated in the afternoon were Nelson, Briana Cathcart, Elle Nguyen, Sarah Rommelfanger, Kelcie Parrish, Daniel Van Sickle, Shea Wilson, and Paul Swisher.

The Green Team presentations were part of the Country View Science Exploration Day, originally scheduled to take place at Island Park. Due to the weather forecast of rain, the Field Trip was moved to Country View. The day featured a total of 7 rotations for the students including the Green Team, a nature walk, a soybean and food presentation by the extension office, a demonstration of wind, water and erosion by the Cowley conservation office, a talk by Dr. Charlie Hunter and several Southwestern biology students, a leaf rubbing exercise and some time at the playground.

Green Team Students Master High Ropes

Sunday, October 2, Green Team Southwestern students went to Camp Horizon near Arkansas City, KS. Each month, the Green Team gets together for team social activities. This month's activity was to have a cookout and then brave the Camp Horizon high ropes course. The students performed 4 high ropes elements at a height of 25-30 feet above the ground.

The high ropes were an excellent team building activity. We learned to trust each other, challenge ourselves and our fears and encourage each other on to success.

Clint preparing for his jump

Tendai reaching for the trapeze

Clint on the balance beam

David and Daniel working together trying not to fall

Green Team Hosts Leader in Pollution Prevention

On Monday, October 3, Green Team Southwestern hosted a speaker during the annual Lunches with Leaders event at Southwestern College. Lunches with Leaders is put on by Leadership Southwestern and allows campus organizations to bring in experts from their specific fields to share their thoughts on leadership development and how they became the leader that they are today.

The Green Team presentation was given by David A.Carter, pollution prevention specialist from Kansas State University. Carter has served as a pollution prevention specialist with the Kansas State University Pollution Prevention Institute since June 2006.  Prior to coming to K-State, Carter was in private consulting, assisting federal facilities and private organizations in environmental compliance and implementing the ISO 14001 Environmental Management System (EMS) standard.  Carter is certified as an energy manager by the Association of Energy Engineers and is a RABQSA-certified ISO 14001 EMS auditor.  Carter received his B.S. in Biology from Florida Tech and his M.S. in Toxicology from Kansas State University.

Carter spoke to a group of 23 Southwestern students. He spoke about his time in the military and how ways to become a leader are to be willing to speak your mind and be available to do what is needed. Carter got his start in the environmental industry in the military and said that it was the best decision he ever made. He has an intense passion for the betterment of the environment and he strives to live out his beliefs and values in his everyday actions.

Carter, while he was on the SC campus, also taught the students in the Introduction to Sustainability I class about energy efficiency later that afternoon. Carter and Green Team Southwestern Director, Jason Speegle became acquainted with one another during their interactions in the Resourceful Kansas program.

Southwestern Partners with Numana to SWIPE Out Hunger

Winfield, Kan., October 2, 2011 — Southwestern College partnered with Numana this year to package 33,912 meals for the Horn of Africa in a program called SWIPE, (state-wide packaging event). The event took place in the Roy L. Smith Student Center and over 350 SC students participated in the event from campus organizations Green Team, Leadership, Discipleship, All Athletics Teams, SGA and Stufu.

Numana provided 20,000 meals. The remaining 10,000+ meals were funded by SC. Each meal consists of rice, soy, freeze-dried beans, and a vitamin blend. At 30 cents a meal, the fundraising goal for the college was $3,000. Leadership, Discipleship, Green Team, SC Athletic teams, SC Chapel, Student Government, and Student Foundation all contributed financially to the cause as well as physically. Other donors included Winfield’s First United Methodist Church, Central Baptist Church, and the Kiwanis Club.

World hunger is one of the most dismal situations facing our world today, according to Lindsay Wilke, assistant director of Leadership Southwestern. Nearly 1 billion go to bed hungry every night and 25,000 people die every day from hunger related issues. But in just one hour, 10 people can package 1,200 meals and help save countless lives.

Green Team participants of Numana SWIPE event

"Service is ingrained in the culture of SC, from students to faculty and staff. To serve in a way that helps to decrease poverty, even a little bit is a tremendous honor, says Jason Speegle, director of Green Team Southwestern.

“We appreciate the community’s support as SC attempts to live out its mission of service and allow college students to contribute to a greater cause,” says Lindsay Wilke, director of Leadership Southwestern.

Southwestern College Receives Sustainability Award in Topeka

Jason Speegle - Director of Green Team Southwestern accepts Sustainability Education Award

Topeka— Friday, September 30, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment’s (KDHE) Bureau of Waste Management held its fourth annual Kansas Green Team Assembly in Topeka. This assembly celebrates the success of the state’s Green Teams and to shows appreciation for the commitment to environmental stewardship made by businesses in Kansas.
‘This annual event is a great way to showcase the green work taking place year-round,” explained Megan MacPherson, KDHE’s State Green Team Coordinator. “These business and individual are doing their part to not spoil Kansas and keep it clean for years to come.”
The following Green Teams were recognized at today’s assembly and received Green Team awards:

Dream Team Award – Hyatt Regency Wichita
This award recognizes a Kansas Green Team that has incorporated sustainable practices and principles into many aspects of its operations. The Hyatt Regency Wichita recycles 6,000 pounds of cardboard and 1,350 pounds of paper each month; the hotel also recycles plastic and aluminum. They have installed compact fluorescent lights in all their guest rooms and use t8 fluorescent tubes in their meeting rooms, all of which are recycled. Since 2006, they have reduced their gas, electric and water consumption by 9 percent. Each guest room has two bars of soap which potentially could be thrown away on a daily basis. They recover the soap from each room and ship approximately 400 pounds a month to a recycling company for sanitizing and distribution to organizations assisting those in need.

Continuous Improvement Award – SRS Record Center
This award recognizes previously honored Kansas Green Teams that have demonstrated a continued improvement in their program. The SRS Records Center has a four member team working to improve upon the shredding and recycling of records for SRS. The SRS Records Center headquarters a high capacity Allegheny industrial shredder which allows a large amount of paper to be diverted from the landfill. To date, a total of 92,490 pounds of shredded paper and 1,280 pounds of cardboard have been recycled.
 
Sustainability Education Award – Southwestern College
This award recognizes a Kansas Green Team that is an outstanding leader in the education and outreach of sustainability. This Green Team is heavily involved in campus sustainability education. Green Team members lead sustainability trainings in the residence halls and various institutional departments each year. They are also involved in community outreach sustainability efforts. In 2010, in collaboration with USD465, the Green Team began a community garden in Winfield. The purpose of the garden is to emphasize the importance of locally grown food and to support the local food bank. To commemorate Earth Day, they have planed activities such as Park-It-Week, Plant-a-Tree Day, a nature hike, various educational speakers and Sweep Winfield.

Leadership Award – Becky Carter, Larned Juvenile Correctional Facility
This award recognizes each year a Green Team leader who is a sustainability champion and agent of change within his or her workplace. Becky Carter has been a member of the Green Team at Larned Juvenile Correctional Facility since it was created. She has been instrumental in keeping their recycling program running and continuing to thrive.  Her main focus has been on educating the youth on the importance of recycling and how to do it properly. Carter also single handedly kept the recycling program at Larned Juvenile Correctional Facility operational since budget cuts discontinued the pickup of materials. She takes time every week to gather items around the facility and enlists the help of Green Team members help to deliver the recycling material. Carter has also been instrumental in the maintenance of the community garden.