SEA Fall Reflections

Hi there -- SEA here! We've been very busy bees here on campus the past few weeks. We we move from fall to winter, we thought it might be a good idea to reflect on some of the great things we have done, and some of the great things we have to look forward to. Here a few highlights so far from the Fall 2011 Semester.


Sunday-morning seed gathering - what a great day to be outside!

Annual Native Seed Harvest (October 3) - What could be more pleasant than meeting in the rain garden on a Sunday Morning? On that fateful day, we shook, thrashed and picked seeds from native flowering species in the EIC rain garden and collected them in bags. After that, we sorted, dried and packaged the seeds for the SEA's Native Plant Fundraiser.




Campus Ecology Discussion with National Wildlife Federation's Juliana Goodlaw-Morris (October 19) - How do you coordinate sustainability initiatives on college campuses? Julianna Goodlaw-Morris, Campus Field Coordinator for the National Wildlife Federation’s Campus Ecology Program, was able to shed some light on this topic at UMD just in time for our Sustainability Week. Miss Goodlaw-Morris works throughout the Midwest region assisting college campuses with campus sustainability programs, finding ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and works with students and faculty to bring sustainability to the forefront of all campus activities.



Soaring Bird, by Sara Cole - A creative work made of materials in the UMD Natural Area

Sense of Wonder Open Art Exhibition (October 19) - This was a sustainability-themed art show co-sponsored by the Student Environmental Association and the Lyceum at the University of Michigan - Dearborn. The SEA was well-represented in the show with a good percentage of the works being submitted by current or past SEA members. Artwork displayed for the day on the University Center stage.



Professor William Seacrest, Professof from Henry Ford Community College, participating in group discussion

Earth, Ethics, and Religion Roundtable Discussion (October 20) - More than forty people showed up to this special event, making it one of our most successful events of the semester. The main goal of this roundtable discussion was to explore the intersections that exist between religion and environmentalism, and the commonalities/differences between different faiths and the ways they regard the Earth. Featured guests included William Seacrest from Henry Ford Community College, UMD Biology Professor Orin Gelderloos, and UMD Professor and Ecotheology Scholar David Skrbina. (Look forward to a "Suggested Reading List" made of titles gleaned from this event -- we should have it compiled by the end of the semester!)



The first SEA Bake Sale of the season was held in the Fairlane Center.

Fall Bake Sale (October 27) - We made over $90! Thank you to all who provided or purchased some of our delicious baked goods. See more photos here. (If you missed our first bake sale, don't worry -- we have another bake sale coming up soon!)

Currently in the works:

• Keystone XL Pipeline Photo Petition
  

• Keystone XL Pipeline Research Document (created in partnership with the Student Environmental Group at Fordson High School and the Student Environmental Action Leaders at Wayne State University)
  

• SEA Bioswale Proposal

Did you notice that our blog also has a new look? Let us know what you think.

Cheers to a warm, plentiful, and productive November!

UM President Mary Sue Coleman declares University Commitment to Sustainability

"We will be aggressive and relentless.
As a campus, a community, and a planet,
there is no other approach to take.

I want the message to be clear:
Sustainability defines the
University of Michigan."

- Mary Sue Coleman,
University of Michigan President

Source: http://sustainability.umich.edu/news/going-green-staying-blue-sustainability-michigan

A few observations about her speech:

1) Coleman seems to view sustainability as something specific to environmental programs only. This view ought to be updated--clearly social justice and economic issues are integral to our relationship with the world we live on. Reading "The Death of Environmentalism" might be a good way to start out: http://thebreakthrough.org/PDF/Death_of_Environmentalism.pdf

Comprehensive sustainability in Institutions of Higher Education like the University of Michigan can provide a coherent focus for educational programs to address real world problems on the local and global level, while encouraging people to understand the interconnections between the scales. Advancing sustainability with exclusive focus on environment denies the opportunity for better insight to complex issues--how does one implement solutions justly to all communities concerned (social)? What is the most prudent course of action (economics) for doing so?

2) For those wondering, her hesitation to sign the President's Climate Change Commitment in the past seems to arise solely from legal concerns:

"After seeking expert counsel, we have concluded we cannot set a date by which we will achieve carbon neutrality. There is simply no viable way forward at this time to achieve such a feat, and I will not place an undue burden on the backs of future presidents of this great institution."

It's interesting to see that some of the legal pushback regarding accelerated anthropocentric climate change was carefully considered here. Perhaps I'll have more substantial comment about this later, but I wonder what recent climate change litigation (perhaps the communities bringing suit to major petrol industries?) prompted this statement.

3) A friend said: "Wow! So what does that mean for Dearborn? She talked a lot about Ann Arbor." Maybe she forgot about Dearborn and Flint; more likely, however, I suspect she doesn't have a good feel for what's going on in the way of sustainability at these other campuses.

Either that or she relied almost exclusively on the results from the report for the Ann Arbor campus "integrated assessment" for her speech.

In any case, this is a good opportunity for all of our campuses to take the lead and demonstrate what comprehensive sustainability at a University ought to be about. It would be nice if the three major campuses got together for a meeting of the minds between interested students, faculty, and staff finally.

Juliana Goodlaw-Morris of the National Wildlife Federation offered her support to help coordinate or moderate between the three campuses so we can flesh out a comprehensive framework for sustainability as The University of Michigan, but also so as to inform our particular needs at our specific geographical locations (Ann Arbor, Dearborn, Flint).

We've invited several key individuals from U of M Ann Arbor and U of M Flint to join us at Campus Sustainability Festival and hope that they'll join us there. We'll be as politely relentless and aggressive about getting something coherent going (as aggressive and relentless as civil students can be at least). We just need some reciprocal lovin' to come from them in the form of a "yes, let's do something together".

As an aside, I've got mixed feelings about that "aggressive and relentless" statement from President Coleman--it sounds more like an angry battle cry than anything else. In any case, it certainly was fun to use in this post!


Edit [Nov. 5 2011]:  I just found a separate article outlining additional goals for "The University", which brings forth additional questions and suggestions:

How do they define "The University"?

• Protect the Huron River through best-in-class storm water control strategies and by applying 40 percent fewer chemicals to campus landscapes, and ensure that at least 30 percent of stormwater runoff does not flow into the Huron River.

Why wasn't the Rouge River watershed considered for better storm water control strategies?  The native garden/bioswale project is an excellent fit for meeting or surpassing the goal of a 40% reduction in chemical applications and 30% stormwater runoff reduction.

• Promote sustainable foods while supporting more Michigan farmers and producers. From the residence halls to the unions and hospitals, the university is introducing new purchasing guidelines and making a commitment that at least 20 percent of U-M food comes from local and sustainable sources.

How does this affect our campus?  Do these policies apply to all UM campuses?  Where can we access these purchasing guidelines?  When does this take effect, and how does our contract with Aramark get adjusted?

September SEA Events

September is going to be a busy month for the SEA! See the "Resources" page on SEA's blog for a map of the campus. Come when you can, go when you must.

Tues. 13th 12:00-3:00pm: Student Organization Fair

Thurs. 15th 4:30-6:30pm: SEA Meeting/potluck meet and greet

Fri. 16th 11:30am-1:00pm: Sustainability Fest planning meeting and pot luck with EverGreenTeam

Sun. Sept. 18th 9:00am to 2:00pm: SEA Working Day

Thurs. Sept. 22nd:
10:00 am: City of Dearborn’s Adopt-A-Watt program launch at (RSVP required by Sep. 19)
4:30-6:00PM: SEA Meeting and Officer Elections

Welcome to the new semester! The autumn winds bring a rush of events for The Student Environmental Association here at UM-Dearborn, and you're invited to join us!

Tues. 13th 12:00-3:00pm Student Organization Fair--Can you help us greet incoming students and spread the word about SEA at our table behind the University Center? Please let us know, 15 minutes of your time can make a big difference in recruiting and finding out what's happening on campus!

Thurs. Sept. 15th 4:30-6:00pm Our semester kick-off meeting takes place -- let's make this one a meet-and-greet potluck for sustainability. We'll pick up on the summer's events and talk about the new semester, too.

Fri. 16th 11:30am-1:00pm: Sustainability Fest planning meeting with EverGreenTeam room 1070 Administrative Building (at UM-Dearborn's campus)

Theme for this year: Fresh Water. Join us as we plan and coordinate the events with various campus and community allies for this year's week long October festival on sustainability! (We'll make a better image for this year's festival theme)...

Sun. Sept. 18th 9:00AM to 2:00pm* SEA working day at the Environmental Interpretive Center! Help us out with various projects, make/distribute fliers, learn about native/invasive species, meet and greet friends new and old! We're hoping to finish up around 2:00 or 3:00 pm, but this depends on who will be available, what gets finished, and whether we decide to eat on campus or off.

Thurs. Sept. 22nd: TWO MONUMENTAL EVENTS IN ONE DAY!! (two exclamation points to denote two significant things!!)

City of Dearborn Adopt-A-Watt program launch at 10:00 am on the West Parking Structure on West Village Drive in Dearborn’s west downtown

Launch of the City of Dearborn’s Adopt-A-Watt program at 10 a.m. on Thursday, Sept. 22, 2011. This public ribbon-cutting ceremony will recognize Adopt-A-Watt charter sponsors for their efforts to save energy and reduce City expenses through their adoption of new energy-efficient lights in one of our parking structures. The SEA helped the Dearborn Sustainability Coalition promote this program this summer at the Dearborn CARES Festival. Attached is a press release issued earlier this month by the Adopt-A-Watt organization.

Media will be invited, as will suppliers of energy efficient products and the Adopt-A-Watt founder, Thomas A. Wither.

Additional details about the program and organization are available at: http://adopt-a-watt.com/

Kindly confirm your attendance before September 19 by email (bcampbell@ci.dearborn.mi.us) or by calling the City of Dearborn Department of Public Information at 313-943-2285. Parking is free. Please show your invitation at the entrance.

SEA Meeting and Officer Elections at 4:30-6:00PM
The SEA has a meeting once again, elections for officership take place at this time, but you can also vote online (more on that this Thursday). We're looking for individuals interested in any of the officer positions. If you are interested in running for a position please let us know either via facebook or by e-mailing us confidentially at greenwolverines (at) ymail (dot) com .

We have many exciting projects and opportunities in the works for this term and we need some people to step up to the plate for leadership opportunities. If you have any questions please reach us!

Saturday Sept. 24th We will be selling our native plant seeds at the Master Gardeners Association of Wayne County conference here at UM-Dearborn and meeting many of the regions greatest greenthumbs.

As always, we welcome your interest and inquiries--feel free to reach us via facebook or e-mail!

Cheers to a fine new semester!

The Student Environmental Association at The University of Michigan-Dearborn

http://bit.ly/SEAbloghttp://on.fb.me/ SEAFacebookFanpage

Plants to know and a cup of joe...our second science cafe!

Cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis)
is a native Michigan plant.
Its roots can grow to 8 feet!
Image compilation by Ian Tran,
coffee cup credit to Flickr user BallistikCoffeeBoy

Join us for a cup of bird-friendly coffee and discussion about the role of native plants in our communities!  


Ethical and legal concerns about landscaping? 


Find out from an individual who navigated them and made it happen in Dearborn Heights!

Curious about what plants can make a great habitat for many to enjoy? 


Let's further the dialog!


Thursday, August 25th 
6:00 pm
in room 116
UM-Dearborn Environmental Interpretive Center 
4901 Evergreen Road Dearborn, MI 48128

You're invited to join us for this informal discussion on native plants, landscaping, and our connection to it all to make a more vibrant ecosystemic and human community in the Southeast Michigan area via the landscapes we live with.

This science cafe features special guests, among them Steve Ray of the Dearborn Heights Watershed Commission, Martha Gruelle of the Stewardship Network, and of course: YOU!  Dearborn's Sustainability Coordinator and esteemed alum of UM-Dearborn David Norwood will also be joining us.

Also, we're hoping to serve Bird Friendly Coffee again, and will have fresh UM-Dearborn made honey.

Please RSVP to the Student Environmental Association at The University of Michigan-Dearborn here on our facebook event or at greenwolverines (at) ymail (dot) com so we can better plan the event.

Footage and Photos from 10/10

The Cool Cities Dearborn Sierra Club brought together several groups to host events on 10/10 as initiated under 350.org.

Dearborn's Community Television Channel also got footage of some of our activities and interviewed us:

http://dearbornvideo.org/videos/271/dearborn-journal-#243

I'm finally uploading pictures from 10/10!  It was a great event with upwards of ~45 people joining us to enjoy the outdoors for the Global Work Party Climate Action Day to walk, learn about the area, put bottled water to the test against tap (LWVDDH report no significant difference in preferences, but tap is 1,000 times cheaper!), paint pumpkins and gourds, and meet other community members.

Jenni Dunn of the Dearborn/Dearborn heights League of Women Voters at the blind tap vs. bottled water taste test table. Find out more about their actions and findings at their blog post on the 10/10 tap water taste test! 

Attendees gather for opening remarks on environmentally conscientious recreation, sustainability, and climate action from Ian Tran and Shannon Morrow before touring the Environmental Interpretive Center rain gardens, natural areas, and Rouge River Henry Ford Estate.

Pumpkin!  Apple from Apple Charlie's!  Cider and donuts also came from Apple Charlies, and we had attendees use compostable cups as planters for wild mountain mint (Pycnathemum pilosum) seeds collected by SEA--it was a leave-no trace event so all other items were composted or taken back for recycling/reuse.  The Fordson High School Environmental Club came forth in strong numbers and hosted the pumpkin painting table.

350.org participants gathered in all kinds of shapes, we made an Evergreen 1Sky, and the Sierra Club have signs up.

Several local parents hiked with their children, literally!

Global+Local=GLOCAL! 10/10 Global Work Party happening in Dearborn!

The Dearborn Sierra Club Cool Cities Group, Dearborn/Dearborn Heights League of Women Voters, Student Environmental Association (SEA), and Fordson High School Environmental Club are getting ready for 350.org's  international "Global Work Party" day this Sunday 10/10 2:00-4:00 at the University of Michigan-Dearborn Environmental Interpretive Center (4901 Evergreen Road, Dearborn MI 48128) and you're invited to join us for the event!


You can join us for a low-carbon walk through the Henry Ford Estate Grounds/Natural Area to the community organic gardens, cider and donuts from Apple Charlie's, a discussion on environmentalism, trade tips with other cool citizens on energy conservation, sustainable food options, gourd painting (perfect for Halloween preparations!), you even can plant some wild mountain mint collected by the SEA to take home.

What's even more exciting is that over 7,000 events like this are going to happen world wide on the same day (but none are quite the same as our adventure in the making!).  Perhaps "glocal" would be a good way to describe this kind of event.  It's a coordinated local activity with global impacts--a conjugation of the phrase "think global, act local"... Global+Local=Glocal.

All of these events revolve around themes of community building, climate change action, and enjoying what you're doing in the process.  You can find out more and RSVP at 350.org .  Of course, you can just stop by and join us too.

People of all ages are welcome, unfortunately pets are not because the walk goes through a research area at the University.

The Vegan Sub Sandwich Option

Do you like healthier, affordable, environmentally and ethically responsible food options?

If yes, then we're pleased to inform you that Dr. Skrbina's vegan sub sandwich proposal to the campus Subway as a viable way to make it happen sooner.  These arguments are applicable to campuses everywhere, but you may have to check the prices.  Our campus subway charges a bit more across the board than most other subways do.  Here's a bit from Dr. Skrbina:

At present there is only one way to buy a vegan sub: the Veggie Delight (all fresh vegetables), with vinegar and oil dressing. This sells for $5.29, the same price as if the customer included cheese, egg-product, and dairy
dressing. By comparison, the ham sub is $5.89—just $0.60 more. Subway’s (and Aramark’s) profit margin on such a ‘vegan sub’ is undoubtedly huge—surpassing every other product they sell, given that the ingredients are the lowest-cost. And given that a ‘$5 footlong’ is a viable product, and 3 for $12, we should expect a sub-$5
price on the vegan alternative.

In effect, buyers of a vegan sub are subsidizing the non-vegan and meat subs. Based on the above facts, it should be the other way around: vegan subs should be the cheapest, and the cost burden placed on the meat.

 Full paper below:

Liveability, walkability, and public hearings that could make it happen sooner!

Have you ever thought "Gee, crossing Evergreen Road and Hubbard as a pedestrian can be mighty dangerous!  I wish I could safely walk
from the Main Campus to the Fairlane Centers..." after class ended and the shuttles stopped running?

 

The following public meetings are opportunities to make the University of Michigan-Dearborn campus more walkable (maybe even less liable!), and the city more livable (which also helps reduce regional vehicular emissions) are coming soon.  Also, ask Dr. Bazzi if the public hearings merit ESCI/ENST 385 seminar credit.

Earth Day tidbits for any day

A while back the SEA provided counsel to UM-Dearborn's English Club to develop a small pamphlet for Earth Day.  Some of our recommendations made it in, a lot didn't fit on the paper, and some were hastily put together.  Earth day also happened near a hectic time of the semester, so we didn't get around to sharing them online until now.  Besides, every day is a great day to do things for the earth!  Below are my thoughts:

Campus Sustainability Integrated Assessment Public Forum

(Sigh)

Some day notice of other U of M sustainability events will trickle over to UM-Dearborn and UM Flint more than a week before the event happens, and people from all campuses will rejoice...

I just found out UM Ann Arbor's holding a Campus Sustainability Integrated Assessment Public Forum at the Ross School of Business Monday, July 26th 3:30-5:00 pm in the Ross Building.


http://www.graham.umich.edu/outreach/event.php?nid=418

You may want to see if this counts for ESCI/ENST 395 credit.  The deadline to register is the 23rd (this Friday), and if you're unable to attend, you can submit ideas and suggestions online.  It should be a substantial event for that campus, it'd be interesting to see what you can take back to apply in Dearborn.  Also, if anyone attending can help build relations between campuses I'm certain it would be a benefit to all.



Time to subscribe to their mailing list...

Invitation: Dearborn Sustainability Round Table June 16th

To whom it may concern,

I've been working closely with the Dearborn Sierra Club Cool Cities Group to bring institutional, not-for-profit, corporate, academic, governmental, and community leaders together for comprehensive sustainability efforts in the Dearborn area.

We cordially invite you to join us for a moderated round table discussion in room 1225 of the University Center at the University of Michigan-Dearborn on Wednesday June 16^th, 2010 from 6:00-8:00 pm.

This event is open to all, please RSVP to Mary Ann Baier: maturtle (at) gmail.com

Come when you can, go when you must.  If you believe this invitation may be suited for other individuals or organizations, please share it with them.

Our immediate objectives for this meeting is to increase sustainability awareness and foster informed coalition building and network development in the city.  We hope attendees will have a clear understanding of the local groups currently at work, as well as the regional initiatives which may influence events happening within the Dearborn area.

Among our longer-term goals, we aim to organize interest in establishing a sustainability panel for the city and formalize the University of Michigan-Dearborn's task force to coordinate efforts in sustainability to increase meaningful impact locally and globally through the community.

Feel free to bring a dish to share (it's also a potluck for sustainability) as well.

Below is the agenda overview:

-Greetings
-Introduction and objectives
-Organizational introductions, activities, accomplishments, goals
-Local event opportunities
-Mingle, network, etc.

-Next steps and meeting closure

Thank you for your consideration and we look forward to meting you,

Ian D. Tran

--

President, The Student Environmental Association at The University of Michigan-Dearborn

http://sustainableum-d.blogspot.com/

http://www.rcampus.com/Clubhomeshellc.cfm?xsite=sealeader

What's up at the University thusfar in sustainability...

There's a lot of stuff going on under the radar, so I thought I'd let you all know about some of it here as it pertains to the SEA and UM-Dearborn:

• Campus food reform

In response to Provost Davy's Urban Farming summit, a food panel was formed to examine and guide action on changing our campus food system and impacts. 

One agreed upon goal was to offer healthier food options, and to ensure ethical/responsible/sustainable food system practices.  This has also on Student Government's platform of agenda items, but both the panel and vice versa didn't know that they were working on the same thing.

Two visible action items are growing out of this:
-a comprehensive sustainability policy (I think I'm the only one looking into it right now, feel free to prove me wrong)
-a proposal for a cheap vegan sub sandwich to offset environmental and health impacts (a brilliant brainchild of Dr. Skrbina's)

After unsuccessful attempts to reach and join the United Students or Fair Trade via SEA (I'm guessing spotty internet connection when I pressed submit--I'd try again, but it was a detailed form to fill out so maybe later), we have reached out to food justice groups like the Coalition of Imokalee Workers to see what's going on with our current food contracts and food service's operations.  Aramark is at the table with the CIW and recently made an agreement to pay more for tomatoes as of January, so we can move on to watch for Kroger (the grocery store) some time on the horizon.

Through a very helpful person named Meghan from the Student Farworkers Alliance/CIW, I recently came across the Real Food Challenge's resources and was delighted to find a plethora of useful things:  We can find out about all of UM-Dearborn's contracts via FOIA requests (here's a useful guide for food services)  and add them to the contract database!  Plus, there were examples for Sustainable University Policy (Huzzah!!!), which brings us to the next point...

• University Sustainability Policy

We've joined the University of Michigan Student Sustainability Initiative and are waiting to catch up by phone with what's going on at the big campus in A^2.

To strengthen our actions in the food initiatives and other activities in the community, we're proposing that the University passes a sustainable charter that would be used to hold all future contractors to the University's standards of ethical operations within sensible time frames.

The great news is that we don't have to reinvent the wheel--The University of California and Brown University already passed comprehensive Sustainable University Policies and Student Government resolutions!

Eventually, things like sustainability and civic minded curriculum will be at the forefront of the agenda for the University, but one thing at a time...

• Community outreach and engagement

As part of the University sustainability policy and per the discussion at the "End of Suburbia" screening this past month, dissemination of credible education (aka science, and ways to civilly discern and communicate credible information) are key to enriching the community at and around campus.

The Sierra Club Dearborn Cool Cities group is looking to ask the mayor to formalize a sustainability panel for the city (in accordance with the city's proposal for comprehensive sustainable education and outreach) and at the same time, UM-Dearborn's EverGreen Team have been waiting to do the same with the university.  The Detroit Regional Chapter U.S. Green Building Council Green Schools committee is also checking out Dearborn to offer educational consulting services... might I add that the word "coalition" is under discussion?


In other things, SEA's being promoted in several places:  you can find us on the Engineering Society of Detroit's Affiliate Council (we're an affiliate society, which has really nice benefits like meeting lots of non-profit groups in the region, tasty discounts, and other stuff), at idealist.org under the affinity groups, at greeningdetroit.com next to MSU's sustainability group, and the blogs page of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE)
I've also found a few articles in The Reporter mentioning our events and activities (Thanks Jennifer Thelen!).

• Habitat restoration/preservation (invasive species removal right now, native plantings June 5th--assuming we have a landscape plan in place)

The past two weeks were all about Garlic Mustard removal, and it's an ongoing challenge.  Six people have removed over 300 pounds of the invasive plant in a beautiful nature preserve nestled inside of Livonia MI--ferns, trillium, spicbush, jack in the pulpit, and some very old elm trees are a mere smattering of the wonders to be found there.  We've been reporting our "harvests" to the Stewardship Network's Garlic Mustard Removal Challenge.

Henry Ford Estate (yes, the one on our campus) is also looking for help--and it's not too late!  They plan to remove more Garlic Mustard this Friday, and are.

JUNE 5th:  SEA and Volunteer Dearborn are hosting UM-Dearborn's Rouge Rescue Day (and all are invited to join!).  Before then, we're figuring out how we could squeeze in some bioswale site surveying and are looking for some landscape architects who'd be willing to contribute some time in coaching us on how to make a viable remediation plan so that we can propose the bioswale to campus Facilities Planning and Management.

That's all for now I think...

Henry Ford Estate and Grounds transfer approved by Board of Regents

As some of you may have known, the Henry Ford Estate and its grounds have been given to the Edsel & Eleanor Ford House (tax exempt non-profit private ownership).  You can view the official press release here: http://www.umd.umich.edu/fullstory/article/University_unites_with_Ford_House/ 


The University will retain much of the land surrounding the Estate, but it looks like everything from the Rose Garden and Jensen's Meadow Southward will be part of the new ownership (see the University Action Request to the regents here ), with exception to the forested areas.

I honestly didn't know what to do with the news as there was very little information in all publications that would clarify how the grounds would be used and apportioned.  I found it contentious, not so much because of the sale, but because very few people knew about it until after the deal was made.  Several students and I would have at least appreciated knowing what it would be used for, and what the terms of agreement would be as we've been regular visitors to the forest--it's open to the public and the field biology class regularly uses it as their classroom.  That's why the grasses in Jensen's Meadow grow out every summer, it makes a great example for early ecological succession.  It's also a fair example of how you can get a lawn space to look good without intensive treatment.

But there's some great news!  I just realized that we can at least find out what went into the terms by requesting to see the contract via the Freedom of Information Act.  (I'll tell you how this crossed my mind in another post)

However, it doesn't make the University's procedures any different from before unless new policies are adopted to inform faculty, staff, and students about major exchanges like this.  All organizations benefit from engaged membership, and UM-Dearborn especially stands to do so.  Having short or late notice of these events minimizes the opportunity for participation, and many if not most students don't know how to engage the process even if they are interested and available to do so.

I guess I'd be aiming for something akin to shareholder's rights... we pay the school every semester, and it would seem reasonable that we should be allowed the opportunity to have a say in what happens to the educational assets of the community (campus and beyond--the estate and forest are open to the public).  Also, we'll bear the institution's name for the rest of our lives as attendees and graduates so we certainly do have some kind of stake in its future as its representatives.

The second thing I'd like to see is a comprehensive guide to the University Administration and their general roles online and in print issued to every student at orientation or as part of the student handbook.  Most students don't understand what the Provost, Deans, Vice Chancellors and Chancellor do.  However, some do know when there are gaps in their educational experience, and can concisely articulate their insights given the appropriate point of contact.  It might even save Ombuds services some time.


First things first, anyone else interested in reading up on the contract with me?

You can view all Board of Regents meeting minutes here: http://www.regents.umich.edu/meetings/04-10/index.html

[edit 12 July 2010]  There will be a Board of Regents meeting this Thursday the 15th  at 3:00 pm.


Thanks to Ken Kettenbeil, UM-Dearborn Director of Communications, for his clarification, sharing the Regent's minutes, and link to the press release.  Anyone interested in the status of the Henry Ford Estate are encouraged to reach the Office of University Relations:

PHONE: 313-593-5518
The Office of University Relations
Room 1040, Administration Building
University of Michigan-Dearborn

New registrars to be interviewed

FYI I just found out via e-mail and thought you should know too.  I personally don't know a lot about this end of University Administration, but I can safely say that this is a good opportunity to express your desire for administrative/academic transparency and accessibility (you know, like how it's near impossible to find out what lab fees are used for what class, or to see an itemized credit by credit cost estimate by class).

Our food system: Aramark and the Imokalee FL issue

Finally catching up with the old posts!

The University sent out a food services survey under momentum of the Provost's Urban Farming Summit. Aramark is our Campus' contracted food service provider.

After almost a year of on and off searching, I finally found the news I've been looking for:
http://www.ciw-online.org/
What's this place have to do with Aramark?

Aramark's buying practices drives legal slave-like conditions for farmworkers in Imokalee Florida (where most of the tomatoes in America are grown).

[edit 14 Apr. 2010] Having read relatively recent news, the question now is whether Aramark's agreement to increase pay for tomato farmworkers is sufficient to put the issue at rest.

My response to the survey (was long...):

Michigan Reptiles, Amphibians, and citizens?

This Thursday, Jim McGrath and his son Glenn of Nature Discover returned to our campus to present their Michigan Reptiles and Amphibians exhibit at Global Fest.

Having heard some of his comments about environment and citizenship (which he articulates very well), I'm writing them here along with some observations:

The Bioswale Project READ: FREE RESEARCH IDEAS!

Bioswale project: We hope that the bioswale project will illustrate how native plants can be used as traditional garden plantings at the bridge between the ScienceBuilding and the Mardigian Library.  Using similar principles described in the Native Seeds Project, we hope to provide signage that encourages students to interact more intimately with the ecosystems found on accessible areas of the campus.  We aim to establish and increase inter-organizational coalition strength, leadership, and demonstrate interdisciplinary place-based project learning.

Here are some experiments I came up with that others might be interested in trying (fair warning to UM-Dearborn, I'll offer this to you guys first, but don't be surprised if I put up research projects on Craigslist and open it up to the rest of Michigan academia):

2009 Campus Sustainability Fest Overview and Events

Festival overview:
Topics of people, planet, and profit are everywhere you go. Find out how they’re relevant to your campus during Sustainability Fest 2009 Mon Oct. 19th-Fri Oct. 23rd at U of M-Dearborn. This year's theme is on "Sustainable Food Systems".

All events are OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.