St. Lawrence University
ER-T2-1: Student Group

The Environmental Action Organization (EAO) is a student led organization that strives to create a more environmentally friendly campus addressing issues of waste, food, energy and education. The Green House (Low Impact Living Theme Cottage) seeks to create a comfortable living space for ecologically-minded and environmentally-conscious individuals on campus. They strive to be a leader in environmental activism at St. Lawrence and involve the student, employee and local community in their efforts. The Environmental Conservation Committee of Thelmo (the student government) works to bring greener practices to campus, while raising awareness of the importance of these issues, through student government members talking with their constituents. The Barn Good Thrift Store is a student run business that was developed to prevent usable items from ending up in the dumpsters when students move out of their dorms at the end of the year. The store is open when school is in session and sells donated items.

EAO held 'Trash on the Lawn' Day where they collected one day of trash from the common areas of the Student Center and then sorted it into categories such as compost, recyclable plastic, paper, etc. on the quad outside the student center. The students determined that the University could do a better job of recycling and that if SLU had a food composting system the University could cut down on an estimated 30% of trash produced. The Green House worked at a local CSA farm in the fall and spring, sourced food from the farm and cooked meals with local, season and organic ingredients Monday through Thursday each week of the semester. Rotating members of the campus and local community are invited as guests to these meals. The Environmental Conservation Committee of Thelmo proposed the 'Bottled Water Resolution' which resolved that the student body would support policies choosing municipal water services over bottled water and provide support for programs like hydration stations which provide filtered tap water to campus. The committee also secured funding from the student government to install another hydration station on campus. The Barn Good Thrift Store helps divert 2-3 tons of usable items from the waste stream each year during move out and they run a thrift store when classes are in session.

More relevant websites: http://www.stlawu.edu/green/environmental-action-organization; http://www.stlawu.edu/green/green-house; http://www.stlawu.edu/green/thelmo-ecc; http://www.stlawu.edu/green/reuse