Earth Hour

The next Earth Hour will take place on Saturday, March 28, 2009 at 8:30 pm, local time. Earth Hour is an annual international event created by the (World Wide Fund for Nature/World Wildlife Fund), held on the last Saturday of March, that asks households and businesses to turn off their non-essential lights and electrical appliances for one hour to raise awareness towards the need to take action on climate change. Currently, 82 countries and more than 2100 cities are committed to Earth Hour 2009, a huge increase from people participating in 35 countries for Earth Hour 2008.

I hope that everyone will take part!

Logo Design Contest!

Enter the
Emerald Earth Environmental Fair
Logo Design Contest
Submit your logo to Student Life by 3/13/09.
The winning design will be printed on Limited Edition t-shirts and the winner will receive a $100 gift card to the South Shore Plaza in Braintree!

Contact the Student Life Office for more details!

Massasoit Community College's Canton Campus deamed "good site" for a Geothermal Heating/Cooling System

As part of the Massasoit Community College Energy and Water Conservation Proposal, the Division of Capital Asset Management (DCAM) has determined that the Massasoit Canton Campus may be a good site for a Geothermal Heating/Cooling System. This system would involve a Ground Source Heat Pump (GSHP) that extracts heat stored in the upper layers of the Earth and delivers it to the building. During the summer, the GSHP system rejects the heat removed from a building, into the ground rather than into the atmosphere. This new system can potentially reduce the energy costs for the Canton Campus by 25% to 40%.

DCAM is paying for a test well at the Massasoit Canton Campus. The test well will be approximately 1500 feet deep. Drilling activities will begin this week. On Tuesday, January 13th at noon, rigging and heavy equipment will be arriving to complete the site orientation. On Wednesday, January 14th the first day of drilling will begin. On Thursday, January 15th we hope to take a video to share with our students. The drilling is expected to take approximately two weeks and when completed, we hope that our students will be able to witness the installation of the induction tube.

Massasoit's "Chair-ity" Project

The Massasoit "Chair-ity" Project is the result of a sustainability grant that was offered at the beginning of the Fall 2008 semester to art students at Massasoit's Canton Campus. The money ($250) awarded to Professor Janet Tooker, was used to buy sandpaper, brushes and paint to redo used, donated chairs.

Professor Tooker's assignment to the students was as follows: "You will be refurbishing an old wooden chair to create a unique piece of art which will reflect the influence of a particular artist from one of the periods we will study in History of Art II this semester." The sustainability issue is based on a statement from the Global Environment and Technology Foundation: "Rehabbing an existing piece of furniture requires 85 to 95 percent less energy than producing a new one."

The chairs will be auctioned to the public at the first Massasoit Community College Arts Festival held at the Canton Campus on May 16th and 17th, 2009. Proceeds from the sale of the chairs will go to the Canton Food Pantry.

MassRIDES Improves "Ridematching" Service

MassRIDES has upgraded its Ridematching service to feature instant ridematching! You can find others who share your commute! This ridematching service will scan a 15,000-member database for a match! Just create a profile and check if you have a match!

A free service of the Exective Office of Transportation, MassRIDES is the comprehensive transportation resource for people traveling in and around the Commonwealth.
MassRIDES can help you accomplish all of these things and more:
- Reduce your commuting costs
- Travel together in a carpool or vanpool
- Receive current transportation information
- Reduce traffic congestion within your community or at your worksite
Our database of thousands of commuters connects those who share similar commutes and are interested in carpooling or vanpooling. Whether you live or work in Massachusetts, sign up now.

Beware of Invasive Plants

The Landscaping Subcommittee hosted Kate Pawlin (right) of the New England Wild Flower Society. It was a very informative meeting!

One of the handouts that Kate provided was on “Invasive Plants.”

What are invasive plants? According to the New England Wild Flower Society “these non-native plant species are “overachievers.” Once established in natural areas, they outcompete native species. Invasive plants cause profound environmental and economic damage and are a major threat to native habitats worldwide. Some invasive plants have escaped from our home gardens and public plantings into natural areas. Each state has different problematic plants. Listed below are the top two dozen offenders.”

Although experts have determined that these plants are invasive in most of New England, and harmful to the region’s native plant communities, the plants listed in bold are still widely available through nurseries, in catalogs and on the Internet.

Norway maple
Bishop’s weed
Garlic mustard
Japanese barberry
Oriental bittersweet
Swallow-warts
Autumn Olive
Burning Bush
Glossy buckthorn
Himalayan jewelweed
Yellow flag iris
Blunt-leaved privet
Shrub-like honeysuckles
Japanese honeysuckle
Purple loosestrife
Japanese stiltgrass
Water-milfoils
Common reed
Japanese knotweed
Mile-a-minute vine
Common buckthorn
Multiflora rose
Water chestnut

For a list of recommended alternatives and information about removing invasive plants, visit www.newenglandWILD.org

New Sub-committee hosts meeting

The Brockton Sustainability Task Force Committee is pleased to announce that its new subcommittee, the Landscaping Subcommittee, Melanie Trecek-King, Chair, will be hosting the next Brockton Sustainability Task Force Committee meeting on Monday, December 1st from 12:00 – 1:00PM in the Science Building, Room S538. 

The meeting will feature Kate Pawling from the New England Wildflower Society. Ms. Pawling will be talking about Sustainable Landscaping featuring native plants and flowers.
 
This meeting is open to the college community. Please feel free to bring your brown bag lunch to the meeting.