Lawrence University
EN-3: Student Life

Greenfire is a student-run organization that seeks to educate the Lawrence University community of environmental issues, advocate for environmental justice, and promote environmental policy. The group lives in a themed-house on campus.

Bird and Nature Club seeks to foster a greater appreciation for nature in the Lawrence community by providing opportunities to learn about nature and conservation. The club recently installed a pollinator garden on campus.

Biodiversity and Sustainability Club works to reduce invasive species and restore native plant biodiversity to campus. They aim to promote awareness of the value of biodiversity among Lawrence students and the local community.

Outdoor Recreation Club organizes and leads outdoor trips for students throughout Wisconsin and the nation. Trips often include hiking, climbing, camping, kayaking, and sometimes community service.

SLUG grows fresh produce for the Lawrence community using sustainable agricultural methods in the garden, orchard, and apiary. SLUG actively educates and fosters dialogue within the Lawrence and Fox Cities community about sustainable agriculture in order to create a more just food system and a stronger community. The group lives in a themed house on campus.

https://www.lawrence.edu/students/activities/directory

The Sustainable Lawrence University Garden (SLUG) is 0.25 acre organic garden that is entirely student-managed and staffed by student volunteers. In addition to growing food for the campus cafeteria, SLUG composts approximately 35 tons of pre-consumer kitchen waste from campus annually. The gardens consist of a five hive honeybee apiary, perennial fruit tree orchard, and 1/4 acre annual garden with a 90-foot hoop house.

https://www.lawrence.edu/students/activities/directory

The Sustainable Lawrence University Garden (SLUG) is managed as a student-run sustainable business, including a long-term contract with the campus dining facility to provide food and accept compost kitchen waste. The income generated by the garden pays the salary of 3-4 garden employees and has allowed for the addition of a fruit orchard and bee-hive.

https://sustainablelawrenceuniversitygardens.wordpress.com/about/

In 2011, the student government voted to create a $5 per term ($15 per academic year) "Sustainability Fee" for all students. The fund was approved by the Board of Trustees and is now managed by the Sustainability Steering Committee. The fund is open to student project applications at any point throughout the year.

https://www.lawrence.edu/admissions/about/sustainable-lawrence/apply-for-funding

The Spoerl Lecture Series is an endowed lecture series meant to bring speakers and scholars to campus to educate the community on sustainability and environmental issues. In 2018, the Spoerl lecture series, in partnership with the Center for Community Engagement and Social Change, hosted activist and organizer Claire McClinton to speak about her efforts and an organizer during the Flint Water Crisis. In spring of 2019 the Spoerl lecture series partnered with the Sustainability Steering Committee to host Jacklyn Bryan, an Equal Justice Works Fellow advocating for environmental justice on Wisconsin tribal lands.

https://www.lawrence.edu/academics/study/environmental_studies/course_descriptions

Water and Time: Contemplating environmental change through music, art and geology

This collaborative project was undertaken by the departments of piano, art, and geology at Lawrence's northern campus, Bjorklunden. The visual artists made sculptures on the beach, the geologists explained the landscape that had evolved over billions of years and the musicians contributed pieces that evoked the eternity of nature. A performance was held on the main campus on May 1, 2018.

https://www.google.com/url?client=internal-uds-cse&cx=000199681718178194994:h-xjlna9ulq&q=http://faculty.lawrence.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2018/11/LU-water-program-2018.docx&sa=U&ved=2ahUKEwiV8tv6zM7kAhUHqp4KHQ9WD28QFjABegQIAxAB&usg=AOvVaw0wLT0tC-vIoYHwa4ljxpJ4

The Outdoor Recreation Club (ORC) is a student organization that regularly organizes outdoor trips including kayaking, camping, hiking, trail running, and orienteering. ORC provides gear for all excursions, opening opportunity to the entire student body. ORC follows leave no Trace principles on their excursions.

https://www.lawrence.edu/students/activities/directory

Lawrence's hosts 3 notable themed semesters that consist of taking a series of courses and then applying that knowledge during a off-campus study experience. The themed semesters include: Sustainable China (one term devoted to understanding sustainability in China and ends with a culminating experience in 5 different cities in China), the Sierra Leone experience (students take a class titled: Environmental Challenges in Africa and are then encouraged to conduct their own research during the field study trip to Sierra Leone), Marine Term (Students take 3 courses on coral reef ecosystems, ecology and human effects on reef environments in preparation for a two week field study in the Caribbean).

Lawrence also has a history of hosting community reads, in which students, faculty and staff (at times, community members) read a common book and join in discussion, sometimes bringing the author to campus for a reading. In the 2018-19 school year Lawrence hosted two community reads focused on sustainability. One example includes Dan Egan's The Death and Life of the Great Lakes.

https://blogs.lawrence.edu/luinsider/2018/10/25/winter-2019-community-read-the-death-and-life-of-the-great-lakes/

Students that want to decrease their environmental footprint while living on campus can apply to live in one of three of Lawrence's small houses focused on living a sustainable lifestyle. SLUG (Sustainable Lawrence University Garden) House, Greenfire House, and the Co-op house. All three of these houses work to eat local food and practice sustainability through actions such as waste reduction, recycling, and water and energy conservation.

Viking Ambassadors in Service and Engagement (VASE) is a program offered by Lawrence's Center for Community Engagement and Social Change. The program aims to get first-year students volunteering, making connections and learning about issues in the Fox Valley early in their time at Lawrence. In Fall of 2019, the 10-week program was focused on Environment and Sustainability. The Center planned outings each week to introduce students to organizations in the Fox Valley that are focused on sustainability. As a part of the program student volunteers would volunteer 1-4 hours a week.

https://www.lawrence.edu/students/volunteer/vase#environment-and-sustainability

Students hired as Residence Life Advisors are assigned to one of five educational focus areas based on their interests. One focus area is sustainability. Approximately 15 students fit into this educational focus area each year. Additionally, The Volunteer and Community Service Center employs a student Environmental Sustainability Program Coordinator to facilitate relationships with local environmental organizations where students can volunteer.