Denison Announces Sustainability Project Grant Winners

The Campus Sustainability Project--an initiative funded by the Great Lakes Colleges Association Academic Leadership Institute--has provided small grants to Denison, Kenyon and Wooster to implement sustainability initiatives on each of the three college campuses.

Three Denison faculty/student teams received grants to support the following innovative environmental projects:

Wind Monitoring:   Dr. Tod Frolking along with students Nicki Jimenez '12 and Juliana Lisuk '12 received grant funds to install anemometer wind monitoring equipment on top of campus buildings in order to collect data and complete a feasibility study on the wind energy potential at Denison.

Night Light Watchman/watchwoman:   Denison students Lauren Sabo '11 and Holly Burdorff '11 will be working under the direction of Dr. Joyce E. Meredith to implement a creative project to reduce energy consumption on the academic quad. A student worker will be employed as a "Night Light Watchman or Watchwoman" in order to patrol the academic buildings at night and turn off any lights in unoccupied classrooms and other common spaces.  The effort also includes a data collection component as well as an education campaign aimed at modify behaviors.

Inverter upgrade to solar power system:  Dr.  Linda Krumholz, Co-Chair of the Homestead Advisory Board along with students Kyle Plummer '12 and Caitlin Splawski '10 received funds to install a DC to AC power inverter at the Homestead, an intentional community focused on ecological sustainability. The upgrade will enable the Homestead to power the most energy efficient appliances available through their on-site solar power system.

Grantees will present progress on their projects at the Sustainability in the Great Lakes Colleges Association: What Works? What's Next? Conference to be held on Saturday January 23, 2010 on Denison’s campus.