A pair of local colleges had two of the best \u201cgreen projects\u201d in the nation for 2012, the National Wildlife Federation announced last week.<\/p>\n
Case studies detailing the projects from Blue Ridge Community College and Eastern Mennonite University are among the 112 chosen for the federation\u2019s Campus Ecology database.<\/p>\n
Established in 1989, the database shows the measures universities and colleges have taken to make campuses more sustainable.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are pleased to have been listed as a case study and look forward to sharing that information with others,\u201d said Eldon Kurtz, physical plant director at EMU.<\/p>\n
Schools included in the database have made \u201csubstantial investment in the sustainability of their campuses, communities and their curriculum,\u201d a statement from the NWF reads.<\/p>\n
Water Saver<\/strong><\/p>\n EMU\u2019s project, a $90,000, 100,000-gallon stormwater harvesting tank, collects water runoff across 15 acres of campus to supply irrigation to four athletic fields and vegetation, and helps prevent erosion in Park Woods forest on campus.<\/p>\n \u201cWe do like the idea of being able to use rainwater to irrigate our fields rather than using water that has been treated by the city,\u201d Kurtz said. \u201cThat is costly and it also seems like a bit of a waste to use water that is good drinking water for irrigating fields.\u201d<\/p>\n Annually, 1.7 million gallons of water are expected to be collected, saving the university around $3,825.<\/p>\n At BRCC, students are exploring sustainable agriculture through a series of on-campus living laboratories: essentially small gardens that include blueberries, kiwi, tomatoes and corn, beans and squash grown using a technique pioneered by Native Americans.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re trying to showcase plantings that would be relatively native to the area, but also show that you can actually landscape with edibles,\u201d said David Wiggins, workforce services program manager for BRCC. \u201cWe hope to use these laboratories in the spring for some actual edible landscaping classes.\u201d<\/p>\n The yields from the project \u2014 which received funding from a $3,000 grant \u2014 benefit the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank.<\/p>\n Wiggins said the college was able to present its project several weeks ago in a nationwide Web seminar hosted by NWF.<\/p>\n \u201c[It was] very exciting to \u2026\u00a0 showcase to the rest of the country what good things Blue Ridge is doing,\u201d Wiggins said. \u201cWe\u2019re hoping to expand in the spring \u2026\u00a0 it\u2019s only going to get better.\u201d<\/p>\n