The Standard and Holly Mills, Director of Sustainability

TS: What projects has SGA been doing to promote sustainability on campus? Are there still previous projects that are still being used on campus? How have they made campus more sustainable?  What do these projects cost?

HM: Last year, several SGA committees worked to increase sustainability efforts on campus. The Senate established an ad-hoc committee to explore the idea of Missouri State joining the Tree Campus USA program which promotes effective tree management and increased connection with the local community.

As the year closed, the Research and Development committee planned a campus-wide yard sale to reduce the amount of waste during move-outs. The event took place at the parking lots across from Plaster Sports Complex. Students and organizations were able to purchase tables for $3 each. All proceeds went to Ozarks Greenways and The Kitchen picked up any unwanted items that were not sold.

SGA also facilitated the sale of recycled notebooks made by Students for a Sustainable Future (SSF) in the campus bookstore. The organization has a committee that puts together the notebooks biweekly. All proceeds from the notebooks go to SSF for educational outreach and awareness on campus.

The Sustainability Fund reviewed and accepted several proposals. Descriptions are below:

The Sustainability Commission granted $500 to a Sustainability Tracking Assessment & Rating System sponsored through AASHE Stars. The assessment program is a transparent, self-reporting framework for colleges and universities to gauge progress toward sustainability. We registered for STARS and began collecting data from all areas of campus. The data will be submitted in December for review.

The Sustainability Commission granted $8,929 towards a water bottle proposal. John Krygiel wrote the proposal to distribute water bottles to incoming freshmen in an effort to reduce wasted created by plastic water bottles. The Commission is waiting on information concerning the distribution of the bottles.

The Sustainability Commission granted $3,950 towards a bike rental program through the Residence Hall Association (RHA). The program will provide students an opportunity to check out a bike for the semester.

The Sustainability Commission granted anywhere from $7,643 to $15,247 towards two student worker positions. Jeff Brown, the university’s Sustainability Coordinator, acquired grant funding for the purchase of additional recycling stations similar to those currently housed in Siceluff Hall. The proposal submitted by Cedric Egbers created two 1000-hour student worker positions to maintain the additional bins. The jobs were filled over the summer, and the two students started working last week.

TS: Are there any new projects in the works this year? If so, what are they and how would they help?

HM: This year, SGA has established a legislative Sustainability Committee that will work to increase sustainable practices throughout the entire campus community. The committee has a long list of projects to address during the year. As SGA’s Director of Sustainability, I chair the committee which will meet every Tuesday at 4:45 in PSU 308B. I hope that students interested in promoting sustainable practices join SGA and work through this committee!

As for a few of the larger projects, we’re working to establish a campus garden which will create additional food resources along with providing opportunities for students to learn valuable skills. We’re also hoping to bring a Farmer’s Market to Missouri State and to research different software packages that promote sustainable computing.