Meat Free Monday: Round 2

Welcome back to school, everyone!

The Meat Free Monday station is once again being launched this year, and to celebrate healthy eating on Grounds (and not just on Mondays), Dining is hosting an information fair featuring a number of groups that represent different facets of living a healthy and sustainable lifestyle at our University and in our greater community.

Where: O'Hill Dining Room
When: Monday, August 29th, 5-8pm
Who will be in attendance:
Green Dining
UVa Community Garden
Morven Kitchen Garden Project
UVa Dining Nutrition
UVa Green Challenge
N-Print Project
Local Food Hub

All are invited to attend and to learn about, and perhaps even get involved with, these various groups that all seek to promote sustainability and healthy living at UVa.

Don't forget to try the O'Hill Meat Free Monday station while you're there, too -- for dinner they'll be serving a tasty sounding Tofu Pho, which consists of Thai noodles simmered with vegetable broth, tofu, and seasoned fresh vegetables.

Morven Farm Tour & Farm Bill Discussion Tomorrow

On Tuesday, August 9th (tomorrow), a group of Food & Water Watch organizers will be in Charlottesville to lead a roundtable discussion about the upcoming 2012 U.S. Farm Bill, with a pre-talk tour of UVa's very own Morven Kitchen Garden Project.

More information and registration details can be found on the Food & Water Watch event page:

Join Food & Water Watch and Morven Farm at the University of Virginia for a garden tour at Morven Farm's Kitchen Garden. We'll talk about why small-scale, organic farms are essential to rebuilding our local food infrastructure and how Virginia is redefining the landscape of local food! The tour will start at 6 pm.

Then, we'll head over to nearby Henderson Farm (2310 Monacan Trail Road, Charlottesville, VA 22903) for refreshments and to hear from more small-scale farmers and food advocates in the region. The roundtable will start at 7:30 PM.

The Morven Kitchen Garden serves as a research and teaching laboratory at the University of Virginia that provides a sustainable food source for Morven-based programs and staff. It provides UVA faculty members and students with hands-on opportunities for studying food production cycles and the impact of agriculture on community and economics.

Early seaon planting session at the Morven Kitchen Garden, mid-March

Fair Trade and the Environment

Fair Trade USA is working on a brief series of mini-documentaries about Fair Trade certification and its impact on the three realms of sustainability: economics, equity, and environment. They just released the environmental video, and it's worth a watch.



As their video description says, "Fair Trade is not just about earning a higher price for the harvest, it's about learning techniques for sustainable agriculture that help protect the environment and make the world a better place for future generations. To become Fair Trade Certified, farms must adhere to a strict set of environmental standards, including but not limited to: no use of GMO's, minimal and safe use of chemicals, elimination of slash and burn techniques and responsible disposal of waste and water runoff. These standards not only ensure sustainable production practices, but also worker health and safety.

Additionally, while Fair Trade does not require organic certification, it does encourage organic conversion to further enhance environmental commitment."

Just something to keep in mind next time you stop in Crossroads and are deciding between a regular chocolate bar and a Green & Black's Maya Gold Fair Trade and Organic bar!

Save the Date: On Grounds Bike Sale August 22

UVa is hosting its first ever On Grounds Bike Sale on Monday, August 22nd, the day before classes start, and you should check it out!

It's being held from 11am to 4pm over at the parking lot outside of the Student Activities Building (near the intersection of Alderman and Stadium Road, across the street from Hereford and Gooch/Dillard).

The sale will feature three of Charlottesville's premiere bike shops: Blue Ridge Cyclery, Blue Wheel Bicycles, and C'ville Bike & Tri. These vendors will have everything you need to get around Grounds. Helmets, pumps, tubes, lights, reflectors, clothing and more. Demo bikes will be on site for fitting and testing. Most major credit cards will be accepted on site.

Register to win great prizes from:
Blue Ridge Cyclery
C'ville Bike & Tri
Relay Foods
And More To Be Announced

Mark your calendars and RSVP on the Facebook event page. Hope to see you there!

Sustainable Campers

Last Friday, a group of campers from Triple C Camp just south of town came to UVa for a sustainability tour of Grounds. Nina Morris, UVa Sustainability Outreach Coordinator, and I had a great time showing the students a few highlights of Dining and Facilities Management sustainability. We spent an hour with the campers and only had time to stay on the western edge of Grounds (namely O'Hill and the Recycling area) -- lots going on even in this sub-section of UVa.

Nina talks about the National Building Contest

We started in O'Hill and demonstrated the brand new hydration station outside of Crossroads, and brought the campers up to speed on our participation in the EPA National Building Competition.

Our attentive and inquisitive guests

Then we ventured upstairs and chatted about our reusable to-go container program, our new energy efficient hood fan controls, and our composting initiative. Everyone got to see the big pulping machine - though not in action - and the barrels filled with organic waste waiting to be hauled off the loading dock.

Showing off a reusable to-go container

Chef Brett explains how the new hood controls work to save energy

Once outside, we headed over to the UVa Community Garden and took a look at the bountiful produce in full production mode. It's in great shape this summer!

Admiring the beautiful student-run garden

The tour's grand finale was over at the R.O.S.E. program, where everybody loaded up on free goodies (you can never have enough folders or paper clips, right?). Thanks, Triple C, for spending some time with us and learning more about our sustainability practices!

Water Bottle Refill Station

You might have seen - or used! - a water bottle filling station tucked into the far wall in the Pav sometime last year when you went in to eat. Those so-called hydration stations are an easy, motion-sensored way of refilling your reusable water bottle and cutting down on the number of plastic water bottles you would otherwise need to purchase.

A few weeks ago a second refilling station was installed over here in O'Hill, on the ground floor right next to the Crossroads entrance. I fill my own water bottle up there several times a day. It fills really quickly, at a fill rate of 3 times faster than a conventional drinking fountain, is hands-free, and offers refreshing and thirst-quenching cold water.

One cool feature of this particular station is that it tracks landfill diversion, or the equivalent number of plastic bottles that haven't been used as a result of going this reusable route. At the time of hitting 'publish post', the O'Hill refill station has diverted 1047 plastic water bottles! Be sure to bring your reusable bottle and fill on up next time you're in O'Hill (just like all the thirsty campers in these photos).

Where else would you like to see a water bottle refill station on Grounds?

UVa Power Hour

...One of the energy saving variety, that is!

Tomorrow, between 2 and 3pm, employees across Grounds are being encouraged to reduce their energy consumption by powering down appliances where possible. The University is aiming to reduce electricity usage from the grid by six megawatts, or 11% of UVa's peak electrical demand.

When UVa had a similar event last summer, it reduced its draw by just under three megawatts, both by reducing demand and using generators in some cases. Both methods will be utilized tomorrow, and with more members of the University community aware of this conservation effort, it is UVa Sustainability's hope that individuals will make an even greater difference by choosing to switch off lamps and appliances that aren't in use.

For more information, check out the UVa Today article on tomorrow's power hour.

Try to switch off just one item in your work space -- maybe saving energy will become a habit. As an additional incentive, UVa Sustainability is giving away LED desk lamps to people that share their plan to reduce power on the Sustainability Facebook page or by emailing sustainability@virginia.edu. I know I'll be checking the page to see what good ideas people have in mind for tomorrow!

Update: Virginia Tech is hosting their own demand response program this Thursday from 3 to 4pm, and they have the same reduction goal as UVa. Perhaps this will spark a bit of friendly (and productive) competition...?!