Here’s one last reminder to fill out the Office of Sustainability’s annual survey! It only takes a few minutes and those who complete the survey can choose to be entered into a raffle to win a gift card. 

As part of the Office of Sustainability’s goals and commitments, we have created a sustainability survey to gather data regarding the current sustainability initiatives on our campus and within the Chapman community. Specifically, the survey includes information about the following: transportation, food resources and insecurity, energy and water conservation, and sustainable resources around campus. Please use this survey as an opportunity to share your thoughts on how we can make Chapman more sustainable. The survey will close in a few days at the beginning of November. 

Take the survey here.

October marked Campus Sustainability Month. Here’s what we’ve been doing to increase our presence within the Chapman community and encourage engagement in sustainable practices!

During the month of October, we hosted Ecolympics, a water conservation competition between the on-campus residence halls. We shared tips on how residents could conserve water in the kitchen, laundry room, and bathroom. The competition was fierce as seven teams competed for the gold medal. 

The results are in! Morlan & Harris have brought home first place, with Davis and Pralle following closely behind in second and third place. View the leaderboards from all four weeks on the Ecolympics page on our website.

Although the competition is over, we hope that residents continue making water-conserving strategies a part of their everyday lives.

On October 12th, we had a successful tabling event sharing information on water conservation. Students had the opportunity to tally what sustainable practices they already partake in to save water. Participants could also play a game where they had to match the amount of money saved annually when participating in those sustainable practices, and many were surpised to learn the cost savings associated with each water-saving activity!

Catch up on the recent article released by the Chapman Newsroom on our initiatives to conserve water. Learn a little more about the transition to more sustainable landscapes around campus and what the Office of Sustainability has been working on! 

Find the article here.

On October 14th, The Office of Sustainability partnered with Contra Coffee and Tea to host a reusable cup discount day. Customers enjoyed $1 off their drink and an extra stamp on their sustainability stamp card when they brought a reusable cup! Contra’s sustainability stamp cards allow customers to get a free small pour of their choice after purchasing ten drinks with a reusable cup.

Look out for our next partnership with Contra next month, on November 16th from 11:30 AM – 1:30 PM, for another chance to get a discount on your drink! Correctly answer some trivia questions regarding sustainable habits and the environment to win a $0.65 discount on your drink, equivalent to the price of a plastic cup, lid, and straw. And don’t forget to bring your reusable cup and stamp card to work towards a free small pour and get an extra stamp for attending our event!

On October 26th, we hosted another Weigh the Waste event at Randall Dining Commons. We collected 207 pounds of food waste during the lunch period. The rate of food waste per person was down 21% compared to the Weigh the Waste event we hosted in September.

Sodexo’s “Just Ask” program helps diners continue to reduce the amount of food waste produced by allowing people to request a personalized plate at any station – Don’t want the scoop of rice? Request a plate with chicken and veggies. Only interested in the cheeseburger? Ask for no fries on your plate.

Students have been hard at work cultivating their garden beds in the Chapman Community Garden. There are a variety of plants being grown, from tomatoes to basil to various herbs. Keep it up, we can’t wait to see what else sprouts through the end of the semester!

Emperor penguins recently joined the Endangered Species Act, as advancements in climate change are shrinking their sea ice habitat. With no change in our carbon emissions scientists predict that 99% of the world’s emperor penguin population will become extinct by 2100. The heat trapping greenhouse gases produced by humans are causing the ice to further break and melt, impacting not only emperor penguins but also polar bears, two species of seals, and 20 varieties of coral. Emperor penguins play an integral part of the Antarctic food chain, preying upon squid and small fish and being preyed upon by leopard seal and killer whale. As chicks and young penguins, they have not developed their adult feathers and thus cannot swim in the freezing waters or will die, contributing to the necessity of their sea ice habitat.

If you’re interested in learning more about the emperor penguin, you can read this NY Times Article. Chapman students are eligible for a free NY Times account through this link.

Slight additions and modifications to the genes of Lemna japonica, duckweed, have shown to produce oil at almost 10% of its dry weight biomass. By adding a specific gene, it “pushes” the synthesis of fatty acids to create higher amounts of oil. The oil rich duckweed could then be easily harvested to produce biofuels or other bioproducts, making it an efficient feedstock for renewable and sustainable oil production. Since the aquatic plant wouldn’t need to compete with food crops for prime agricultural land, it wouldn’t require land space and could be grown on runoff from pig and poultry farms. This could potentially clean up agricultural waste streams as it produces oil and poses less of a threat to nearby ecosystems. 

For more information, read the findings in this article.

 

Know a fellow Chapman student/faculty/staff interested in sustainability and the environment? Forward this e-mail and have them subscribe here! Also, make sure to follow us on Instagram @sustainchapman!