Many move-out programs rely on volunteers. Top: CCU volunteers with a few random finds from Campus Salvage (image courtesy Sustainability Initiative of CCU). Bottom: Skidmore College volunteers help with 7th annual Give+Go (image courtesy of Riley Neugebauer, Sustainable Skidmore).

• Coastal Carolina University, Conway, South Carolina:  Campus Salvage. In its fifth year, Campus Salvage collects just about anything, including clothing, furniture, mini fridges, cleaning products, school supplies and non-perishable food. The purpose of the program is to collect unwanted, good items from the 3,000 students moving out from campus and save it from going into the landfill. There are five locations of PODS setup throughout the residence halls during move-out week. Items are either donated to local charities (men’s and women’s shelters, animal shelters, food banks, etc.) or sold at the Community Sale. The Campus Salvage Community Sale is open to the public a week after collection and includes between 12 to 15 PODS full of donated items from students. Most items are $1 each, with the exception of high ticket items such as mini fridges and microwaves. A lot of the people that come to the sale include public school teachers and parents with children heading to college in the fall. Campus Salvage grows more popular every year and it’s very rewarding to be able to keep all these items out of our local landfill!–description thanks to Jennifer Sellers, Sustainability Coordinator at Coastal Carolina University

• Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY:  Give+Go. Skidmore College recently launched the seventh annual “Give+Go,” a two-week program that collects and donates items left behind by students at the end of each academic year. The program prevents thousands of pounds of usable items from going into the landfill by donating them to organizations that support individuals and families in need, including the NY/NJ Chapter of Goodwill and Backstretch Employee Service Team (B.E.S.T.), a local organization that supports over one thousand racetrack workers in Saratoga Springs, NY.  In order to collect unwanted items, Sustainable Skidmore partners with the college’s waste hauler and Goodwill. These organizations provide collection bins for each residence hall and apartment building on campus. Goodwill and B.E.S.T. also assist in collecting donations during two of the busiest move-out dates. Volunteers provide the majority of the labor required to make Give+Go possible each year. Over the two-week collection period, Skidmore staff, faculty, and students volunteer time during lunch and on weekends to collect items from the campus residence halls. Nearly 20 volunteers came to campus on Saturday May 11th, to sort through and collect items for B.E.S.T. and Goodwill. The final collection day for this year’s Give+Go is the day after commencement.–description thanks to Rachel Willis, Sustainability Fellow at Skidmore College

In addition to the help these types of move-out programs provide to the community, some programs save students money and eliminate the need to buy new by hosting back-to-school yard sales. In addition, student-run move-out programs build valuable skills in leadership and event management!

• Northland College, Ashland, Wisconsin: SCRAM! Sustain. Conserve. Recycle. And. Move-out. SCRAM! is the move-out theme at Northland College. The Sustainability Office figured a clever acronym and a recognizable mascot (Sesame Street’s Oscar the Grouch) would attract more attention from the students and encourage residents to be thoughtful about their move-out habits. In an attempt to limit waste, Northland College is boosting opportunities for single-stream recycling and donations. SCRAM! runs in the final week before dorms close. As part of the program, each residential building is equipped with two side-by-side 12 yard dumpsters. One is for trash, one is for recycling. Each building also has a designated indoor space for donations (clothing, linens, furniture, housewares, etc). The donation sites are located in convenient, well-traveled locations (namely 1st floor lobbies and lounges), to increase participation. The majority of the donated items are added to the inventory of the ReUse Room. The ReUse Room is located on campus and is set up as a secondhand store – the only difference is that everything is free! If and when the ReUse Room reaches capacity, the rest of the goods are donated directly to the community.–description thanks to Sarah Christofferson, Sustainaibility Fellow at Northland College

• University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH:  Trash 2 Treasure. Approximately half of the 13,000 undergraduates attending the University of New Hampshire live on campus; each month they throw away about 25 tons of trash. However in May, that number rises dramatically to 120 tons due to move-out waste. In 2010, UNH had 13 extra 30-yard dumpsters delivered to campus just to handle move-out waste. The mission of the Trash 2 Treasure (T2T) program, started by the UNH Student Environmental Action Coalition (SEAC),  is to reduce this move-out waste and reduce UNH’s overall contribution to landfills. Each May, T2T collects all of the usable stuff that students donate or throw away (all T2T members are official dumpster divers!), store and clean it over the summer, and then hold a 3-day yard sale during move-in weekend, selling it all back at reasonable rates to incoming and returning students. The income generated from the yard sale is used to pay for the costs of running the program over the next year. This model makes T2T the first student-run, self-sustaining program of its kind. T2T’s founder Alex Freid, and other T2T leaders are now working with students at other campuses to build similar, self-sustaining programs and the overall movement of students committed to waste reduction as part of the Post-Landfill Action Network (PLAN).–description adapted from “About UNH T2T;” additional information thanks to Alex Freid, Founder and Executive Director, PLAN

Tell us how YOUR campus reduced waste during move-out 2013. Share photos on our facebook wall or comment below.

Related Reading:

• Find out how to bring PLAN to your campus: http://www.postlandfill.org/
• Graduate with zero carbon debt! NWF and CarbonFund.org partnership to bring your campus premium-priced carbon offset opportunities.
• Like Campus Ecology on facebook, and follow @CampusEcology and @YouthforClimate on twitter.

Photo: USFWS

But if the proposed Pebble Mine is built, it could have devastating consequences for this wilderness paradise, according to a newly revised watershed assessment on large-scale mining in Bristol Bay by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)—which considered 233,000 public comments, consulted with tribes, and received input from independent scientists and peer reviewers. The report finds that even in a best case scenario—with no leaks or failures—the massive mine would destroy up to 90 miles of salmon streams and up to 4,800 acres of wetlands, and produce acidic and toxic-laden waters.

As a result, local grizzlies, wolves, bald eagles, and other wildlife that consume salmon will all be impacted. So will Alaska Natives, who have relied on subsistence fishing for thousands of years. And so will the commercial fishery, which, according to a new report by researchers at the University of Alaska’s Institute for Social and Economic Research, provides 12,000 jobs and about $500 million annually in direct income to workers across the country.

All of this is at risk from Pebble Mine, the colossal gold and copper mine proposed at the headwaters of Bristol Bay that would generate up to 10 billion tons of toxic mine waste stored in massive earthen dams covering over 10 square miles. Even under the best conditions, it would be virtually impossible to keep the toxic waste from leaking into rivers and streams, putting salmon—which are highly sensitive to the slightest increases in certain metals like copper–at great risk.

And if the dams break, it would be absolutely devastating to the river and wildlife downstream. Just last month, a massive landslide at Bingham Canyon mine in Utah—which registered as a 5.1 magnitude earthquake  and engulfed tens of millions of dollars in mining equipment and infrastructure—was a preview of the disaster that could occur if Pebble Mine is built. Incredibly, Pebble Mine would be twice the size of Bingham Canyon mine and located in an active earthquake zone.

The EPA’s review provides more than enough information to know that Pebble Mine would pose enormous, irreversible harm to this critically important watershed, and the wildlife and people that depend on it. Yet, despite these risks and the overwhelming opposition to Pebble Mine, foreign mining corporations are charging full steam ahead.

Now is the time for the Obama administration to act. We only have until May 31^st to comment on these new findings and urge the EPA to use its power under the Clean Water Act to stop this disastrous project. If we don’t speak up now, Pebble Mine could devastate this wilderness paradise and the rich community of wildlife that calls it home.

Help protect salmon and grizzlies from toxic mining waste—send a message to the EPA today.

Dick Forehand saw this bison calf be born long before sunrise at Yellowstone National Park.

Anti-Bison Bills Halted

This spring, NWF joined tribes, other sportsmen’s and conservation groups and wildlife advocates to defeat a barrage of anti-bison bills sponsored by Montana lawmakers.  The bills that didn’t die in the Legislature were vetoed by Gov. Steve Bullock. The bills could have blocked returning the bison to its home on the plains – to tribal lands and the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge. The proposals ranged from a ban on transferring wild bison anywhere in Montana except the National Bison Range to a bill that would make the state Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks liable for any damage to private property by wild bison. Another would have allowed county commissioners to ban restoration of wild bison in their counties, even on tribal and federal lands.

Opponents rallied at the state Capitol in Helena to protest the bills. Leaders and members from five tribes participated in a peace-pipe ceremony on a bison hide in the center of the Capitol rotunda. Tribal leaders stressed that the bills reneged on commitments made in the last legislative session and, in some cases, threatened treaty rights. “They would starve our people of a vital cultural icon,’’ said Mark Azure, Fort Belknap’s director of Fish, Wildlife and Buffalo.

One of the worst of the anti-bison bills was killed after tens of thousands of you responded to appeals from NWF. The bill by State Senator John Brenden would have changed bison hunting regulations, allowed private landowners to shoot bison if they wandered onto their land, and prohibited the relocation of bison anywhere in the state, including the transfer of bison from Fort Peck to Fort Belknap as previously agreed upon by the tribes. Brenden recently remarked, “Why do you want to spread this creeping cancer, these woolly tanks, around the state of Montana?” This type of anti-wildlife rhetoric was also seen in House Bill 396, vetoed by Montana Governor Steve Bullock, that would have required county commissioner approval before any bison were relocated. Clearly, many more people see bison as an important wildlife species to be preserved and recognize their value to grassland ecosystems and other wildlife.

Governor Bullock vetoed the two remaining bison bills. Senate Bill 305 would have prohibited using bison that have ever been privately owned for restoration to other lands. Senate Bill 256 would have made Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks liable for any damages resulting from wild bison that had been relocated or released.

Historic Restoration of Bison to the Fort Peck Reservation

Last March marked a historic step forward in the campaign to restore wild bison when Yellowstone bison were released on the Fort Peck Reservation in eastern Montana.

Tribal members from Fort Peck and Fort Belknap, NWF staff, conservationists, and their supporters braved a cold, snowy night to watch as the animals bolted out of the trailers that had carried them 500 miles to their new home. It was a huge milestone in efforts to restore bison to the wild. The bison is the one large mammal driven to near extinction that hasn’t been re-established on the Western landscape.

Last year’s bison release on Fort Peck followed two decades of work by the tribes, conservation groups, and state and federal officials. The Yellowstone bison’s genetics date to an era when millions of bison roamed North America and were fundamental to Plains Indians’ physical, cultural and spiritual nourishment.

Yellowstone bison are special to the tribes because they are the last wild, free-ranging herd. For years, the tribes, NWF and other groups have urged that bison wandering out of  Yellowstone be transferred to tribal and federal lands rather than be gunned down because of fears they’ll spread the disease brucellosis to cattle. The disease can cause pregnant animals to abort, but there have been no confirmed cases of bison transmitting brucellosis to cattle. Bison transferred from Yellowstone have been quarantined and are brucellosis-free.

You Spoke and Montana’s Leaders Listened

NWF members and activists, and our tribal and conservation partners, stood up for bison, and the Montana legislature and Governor Bullock listened. With a swipe of his pen, Bullock demonstrated that he agrees with NWF that bison belong on Montana public and tribal lands, along with all the other wildlife that are crucial elements of the ecosystem, our heritage and culture.

TOGETHER, we killed the bad bills, and now bison have a new future in Montana. Join us as we continue to work with tribes to restore bison and find new homes for the bison on public lands.

The work will continue until bison return home – to tribal and public lands.

Do you know how to properly fit a life vest?

We hope that you get outside and run and play this weekend, and if you are riding your bike or boating that you wear a properly fitted helmet or life jacket. The US Coast Guard has a lot of information on safety rules and how to select the correct life jacket, and here in Seattle there are a lot of resources available for bicycle safety.

Endangered Short-Tailed Albatross

My favorite quote is from Baba Dioum, “in the end, we will conserve only what we love, we will love only what we understand and we will understand only what we are taught”. We haven’t all been taught the significance of the Endangered Species Act, or the importance of supporting listed species. Therefore, the greatest thing we can do to honor Endangered Species Day is to educate ourselves and those around us to raise awareness.

Find out what’s in your state. Find out what endangered species live near you, learn their story and find out how you can help: http://www.fws.gov/endangered/

Also check out this interactive map of species success stories: http://www.fws.gov/endangered/map/index.html

I chose to learn more about a species in my home state. The Borax Lake Chub is unique to a single lake in Oregon. I learned the lake is one of the most unusual fish habitats in the United States because it is fed primarily by thermal springs. Drilling for energy development threatened the survival of the fish, and emergency listing as endangered saved the species. Great first date conversation material.

Let people know on Facebook. This is the place to really show people what’s important to you. We’ve designed a few Facebook cover photos for you to use, or design your own! Post information and photos about endangered species and tag @National Wildlife Federation to share with our community. I’ll be using this cover photo.

Here’s an example of a Facebook cover photo supporting an endangered species.

Finally, take a loot at these 5 Ways to Celebrate Endangered Species Day.

At the National Wildlife Federation–we want to know about the endangered species you care about, whether you tweet it, share it on Facebook, post a blog or even a comment below! (Also- be sure to join the fun even if you aren’t in the US! We would love to hear from you too)

If you are on Twitter, help us spread the word! Copy and paste this into your “tweet” window:

Happy Endangered Species Day!

NWF volunteers spent the day planting native grasses to help rebuild dunes devastated by Hurricane Sandy

On May 4, 2013, National Wildlife Federation and the National Park Service brought in some people who know something about buildings to help us do some building.  On a sunny Saturday, 15 employee volunteers from Cushman & Wakefield, one of the biggest commercial real estate firms around,  joined us to work on a dunes restoration project. Part of a series of Ranger Rick Restores Days being held throughout the tri-state region, the volunteers spent the day planting shoots of Seaside Golden Rod in rows on the beach to start a new foundation for a 1000 foot long sand dune.

Park Ranger Dan Meharg explained to the group that these plants and the dunes not only provide habitat for local wild birds but for migrating monarch butterflies that are in a state of decline due to habitat loss and the use of commercial pesticides.  These vegetated sand dunes outside NYC give the monarchs a stopover safe haven that can help to build their numbers thousands of miles away.

The restoration work required kneeling in the sand and digging with seashell or one’s hand to create a place for one plant at a time.  Each small plant in the sand was a building action: the foundation for new physical protection for millions of people from future weather, the start of new habitat for local wildlife and for a species moving across the hemisphere, and for each planter kneeling in the sand, the building of a new connection to nature.

Van Jones gets the crowd excited about creating a green collar economy.

NWF Campus Ecology’s Julian Keniry and I hosted a workshop related to NWF Campus Ecology’s forthcoming student conservation leadership recognition program, sharing our observations and perspective on the current and future needs of students, and gaining even more insight on these and other topics from the fine folks who attended our session.

It’s interesting to me that campus sustainability leaders, in general, express similar frustrations and obstacles at initiating campus projects and pushing forward climate-smart policies. Fortunately, at our workshop and throughout the conference, we heard a ton of innovative solutions to integrate concepts of ecology and environmental responsibility into the curriculum, as well as campus-wide policy and planning decisions with great importance to reducing the college and university footprint:

• At the University of Maryland, for example, faculty can attend the Chesapeake Project, a two-day workshop ”to integrate broad issues of sustainability into diverse courses.” Since 2009, over 111 courses, representing all 12 of UMD’s colleges, have been revised to include lessons or assignments about sustainability. Many of the professors help students draw the connection between local environmental issues and their studies, increasing their connection to the Chesapeake.
• Eastern Connecticut State University addresses the problem of low student attendance at campus-sponsored events by awarding involved students “priority points.” The points help boost a student’s housing lottery number, offering them first dibs on the most coveted campus housing. We of course were curious about students getting the points and then leaving halfway through a guest lecture or film, but it sounds like for the most part, the opportunity for points gets students to the event, but the content is interesting enough that they stay! Our workshop team suggested this point system could undergo some “greening” by asking resident assistants to host sustainably-themed events several times year, and increasing environmental programming overall.

We were also happy to host an exhibit booth displaying our resources to help campuses become even smarter and more sustainable. It was a pleasure to talk to so many people who are so enthusiastic and working in so many ways to reduce the ecological impact of their colleges and universities and to increase environmental literacy among students, faculty, staff and administrators. If you missed us, you can download and view NWF Campus Ecology resources here. See below for other ways to keep in touch with NWF Campus Ecology through email and social media.

Keynote speakers included Van Jones and Colin Beavan (aka “No Impact Man“) who both had encouraging, inspiring messages to share. I’ve seen Van Jones a fair amount of times (and by “fair amount of times” I mean 5), and he always has something new and motivating to say–this time, he pointed out that the last really big cultural environmental revolution here in America happened in a span of ten years. Ten years! There is hope for our immediate future, folks! Having done my fair share of blogging over the past several months, I was especially enthused to hear advice on communicating about climate and the need for climate action (or really just effective communication techniques regardless of topic) from Colin Beavan–I appreciated his reminder to inspire readers or listeners to action, rather than lay down a lot of facts in an effort to persuade. At the core of his message, Colin Beavan encouraged us to tell the stories of the everyday climate heroes–people who are leading or supporting projects for a specific, personal reason, in ways that might encourage others to step up and jump in, too.

It turns out that the conference proved valuable not only as an idea share for all sorts of campus folks, but resonated with the hotel management and staff where the conference was located–at the request of the event planners, attendees of the conference enjoyed locally sourced foods and carried their own mugs. The hotel chef has begun a local foods dinner once weekly, and the event staff will request that all future conference attendees also bring their own mugs to reduce glassware use!

Many thanks to the University of Maryland and all the fine folks who organized the 8th annual Smart and Sustainable Campuses Conference!

• View the slide presentation from the NWF Campus Ecology workshop, “Certified National Student Conservation Leaders for Sustainable Communities:  How You and Your Students Can Benefit” (under the “Monday Morning Workshops, 8:40-10 AM” heading)
• Learn more about the annual Smart and Sustainable Campuses Conference
• Like NWF Campus Ecology on facebook, and follow @CampusEcology and @YouthforClimate on twitter
• Sign up for the NWF Campus Ecology e-newsletter for news on the upcoming student leadership program and more!

Return to our page on May 15th to donate to National Wildlife Federation through GiveBIG!

Here are three reasons why we hope you will choose to support us through GiveBIG on May 15^th:

Photo: USFWS

* Exciting Great American Backyard Campout events this summer, including events serving people with limited resources and veterans.

* Our work with the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission to increase public awareness and support of our state park system, which is being impacted by severe budget shortfalls that are leaving wildlife in jeopardy and impairing our ability to enjoy the outdoors.

* Outreach to new communities and training programs for volunteers through our Certified Wildlife Habitat® program, which helps maintain and build biodiversity in the Pacific Northwest.

2. The more you give, the more National Wildlife Federation receives! All donations made through The Seattle Foundation’s website on May 15^th will receive a percentage of the matching funds (or “stretch”) pool from GiveBIG sponsors.

3. You could be randomly selected for a “Golden Ticket” that gives NWF an extra $1,000 from The Seattle Foundation and other sponsors. You’ll also be eligible to win airline tickets, gift cards, and more!

Stay tuned for details and like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for GiveBIG reminders and updates!

Read on to learn more about the inspiration nature provides for Taylor, and why she feels it’s important that we take care of the planet. When you’re done, you can find out about this year’s Conservation Achievement Award honorees, including former EPA Administrator William Reilly and NBC News’ Chief Environmental Affairs correspondent Anne Thompson.

Finally, when you’re finished, tell us about the ways nature inspires you!

Tell us about your favorite animal (or plant)?

There are so many mighty and noble animals with whom we share this beautiful planet.  I love them all. What is not to love?  The fur, the scales, the feathers!  But my heart beats especially for a bivalve that lives in the sands of the ocean floor;  the quahog, the hard shelled clam.  Why do I love this creature of the sea so much, it’s relatively small, it doesn’t move, it lives and grows and reproduces in the same spot it was born?

Quahog from the Narragansett Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve. Flickr photo by NOAA.

Oh, and I love bees.  Oh wait, then there are the hummingbirds and the elephants.  And the wolves.

My favorite plant?  How do you pick a favorite plant?  You love them, they love you back.  Maybe I’d say a redwood tree was my favorite plant if I were to get to see one.

What’s a natural place you’ve always wanted to visit?

Yes, I would love to go to a redwood forest.  I would love to go to the Russian tiaga.

Redwood grove in California’s Humboldt Redwoods State Park. Flickr photo by Michael Balint.

What’s your favorite childhood memory of nature?

My brothers and I had many happy hours in the woods and by the creek near the house where we grew up.  We spent all seasons with these trees, and this gentle rushing water was our playground.  And we’d go to the sea sometimes, and we were light-hearted by the shore.

Sandpipers along Fire Island National Seashore. Flickr photo by Andrew Mace.

Has nature ever inspired any of your music?

It’s my most favorite thing to sing about.

Why do you think it’s important for us to take care of the earth?

We’ve got one home planet.  It is beautiful and generous.  We are surrounded by life.  It is what sustains us.  It is what makes it possible for us to nurture this body we’ve been given to live in, to grow in and to realize our spirit with. What a gift. Why would you want to mess that up?  This is a moral issue.

As part of Campus Conservation Nationals 2013, NWF Campus Ecology hosted a video contest encouraging students to creatively showcase their energy and water-saving initiatives.

In 2013, the 300,000 student competitors saved 2,114,844 kilowatt-hours of electricity, enough to power 187 U.S. homes for a year, and equivalent to 2,426,040 pounds of CO2! Students were also able to save 1,681,241 gallons of water, equivalent to 11,208 shower hours. That’s almost 31 years of taking a one-hour shower every day–and nearly a 100 shower-hour increase over the 2012 water savings!

CCN gives students a common voice and motivation to hundreds of thousands of students, all working together to reduce consumption and mitigate the impacts of climate change. Upon registering for CCN, colleges and universities tailored the contest to their specific preferences–choosing to pit on-campus residences against each other, or to rally the entire campus to save more than other schools in their region or state. Schools in New York, California, Kentucky competed in small groups to see which could take the top prize. In California, the Alliance to Save Energy hosted a PowerSave Green Campus competition. California State University Chico won, having reduced electricity use 12.8%, beating out nine other CSU and UC school to take home the prize.

NWF’s Campus Ecology program hosted a CCN video contest, offering a $1,000 grand prize to the school with the best video documenting students taking positive actions on their campus. Earlham College in Indiana won best video, featuring strategies to reduce energy and water usage on campus with more than 500 votes from CCN participants. Watch the 2013 CCN video program featuring campuses competing this spring below, or visit the Campus Ecology facebook page.

Celebrate CCN 2013 by watching the CCN video program! Click the image to watch on YouTube.

“The video submissions this year were really tremendous,” said Kristy Jones, senior manager, Campus Ecology. “The videos are inspiring documentation of the kind of creative actions students are taking to address climate change and improve the sustainability of their universities.”

Congratulations to the 9 video contest entrants, and to all the resource-saving winners who participated in Campus Conservation Nationals 2013! Stay tuned for updates and get ready for CCN 2014!

NWF’s Campus Ecology Program has been a lead partner on Campus Conservation Nationals since 2011. Before 2011, NWF hosted its own green campus competition, Chill Out, showcasing students, faculty and staff taking action for the environment. NWF’s Campus Ecology Program works with more than half of the nation’s 4,100 colleges and universities to advance climate action and sustainability on campus and in the community.

Further Reading:

• Learn more about the results of CCN 2013, please visit: CompeteToReduce.org/results
• Learn more about the NWF Campus Ecology program at www.CampusEcology.org
• Like Campus Ecology on facebook and follow @CampusEcology and @YouthforClimate on twitter