Baking bread, canning food, creation care, and growing your own food in a sustainable and environmentally friendly way are some of the topics to be covered during the annual Food and Farming Week, Oct. 3-7, at Eastern Mennonite University (EMU). Sponsored by the Earthkeepers student club, the event encourages students t ...More
Judging by its performance over the past 10 months, the solar energy system at Eastern Mennonite University (EMU) will exceed the annual guaranteed power production by 12 percent, according to officials at Secure Futures, the company that owns and operates the system at EMU. Secure Futures guaranteed an annual output of 126,783 kilowatt hours of electricity from the solar photovoltaic ar ...More
Posted with permission from Daily News Record, Sept. 13, 2011 HARRISONBURG – When Matt Lohr, commissioner of the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, decided to open a corn maze on Lohrs Farm, his grandfather didn’t think the business move would pan out. “ ...More
Eastern Mennonite University (EMU) remains on the forefront of the “green movement” among U.S. universities, with having the first residence hall in Virginia to attain LEED “gold” certification—one of 33 to achieve this coveted certification in the United States. A year ago, EMU gained the largest solar deployment in Virginia, with 328 photovoltaic panels instal ...More
Sustainability will be front and center during the fall semester at Eastern Mennonite University (EMU) as Jonathan Lantz-Trissel, sustainability coordinator, announced a full slate of activities, from singing and storytelling to seminars. “The events make use of different media formats—music, film and guest presentations—in covering sustainable topics,” said Lantz-Trisse ...More
HARRISONBURG, VA. – The latest trend in fashion is usually found inside a magazine – not composed of the magazine itself. But for trash fashion designer Sophia Mast, fashion is found in materials we use everyday. “I have always loved fashion and creating things,” said 15-year-old Mast, a native of Lancaster, Pa. ”I’ve noticed dresses made out of magaz ...More
HARRISONBURG, VA. – Future Eastern Mennonite University (EMU) students will not have to go far to enjoy an apple, pear or fig on their way to class. Will Hairston, EMU grounds supervisor, and his team, have worked throughout the summer to cultivate and maintain edible gardens on campus. “A few of the trees are already bearing fruit and we hope to have more plants produ ...More
Alex Ivanitsky ’02 and A. Neal Lewis, class of ’01, started a construction company in Harrisonburg, Virginia, soon after their college years. A few years later, after Lewis took coursework in sustainable design at EMU, the pair renamed the company Sustainable Solutions of Virginia and refocused their business on sustainable construction p ...More
At the Landis Homes community in Lititz, Pennsylvania, Dr. Richard ’60 and Ruth Slabaugh ’63 Weaver were the first couple to move into one of nearly two dozen cottage homes built with a number of simple green features. These include rain barrels, tubes to let sunlight into dark areas of the house, geothermal heat pumps, and solar-powered attic fans. ...More
Lester ’71 and Mary Beth ’72 Lind were undergraduates at EMU when the environmental movement was taking off. They were on campus when the first Earth Day was celebrated. They took part when the college offered a January term focused on environmental issues. And they drew inspiration from a popular saying of the time – “live simply so others can simply live.” “We decided to ta ...More
