As a Top Ten finisher, EMU was awarded the grand prize of a one-year license to equip two buildings on campus with competition sponsor 鈥檚 energy monitoring hardware and software.

The accomplishment was particularly notable. “As a first-time participant, EMU placed solidly in the top 10 reducers, consuming 21% less electricity in just three weeks,鈥� said Lucid CEO Vladi Shunturov. 鈥淭he commitment from EMU鈥檚 students and staff is truly inspiring.”

The win is 鈥渁n affirmation of the 草莓社区’s long-running commitment to reducing our school’s energy use,鈥� said campus sustainability coordinator .

The end result of the CCN competition not only raised awareness about individual consumer habits, but resulted in a substantial savings of resources and finances. The competition monitored 1,374 buildings used by approximately 345,000 student, faculty and staff, and reported a total savings of 1.9 million kilowatt hours, 394,000 gallons of water, and $290,000.

According to the CCN website, this is the equivalent of removing 182 homes from the grid for one year, saving 1.5 million one-liter bottles of water, and averting 2.4 million pounds of carbon dioxide.

CCN, in its fifth year, is hosted by the at the , Lucid, the and the .

Campus ‘climate’ contributes

From March 8-28, ten campus buildings were monitored for energy usage. Roselawn came out on top with a 40.2 percent reduction, followed by Maplewood (39.7 percent) and Elmwood (37.3), Hartzler Library (28) and Cedarwood (23.2).

The results make sense to Lantz-Trissel: such as Roselawn, and the LEED-certified dormitories 鈥渁re carefully designed to heat and cool efficiently in small zones, where older buildings have fewer thermostats and less flexibility and response to users or outside temperature changes.鈥�

However, plays a large role in this success. 鈥淲e also have a strong community ethic to conserve and care for creation, which means in a competition the community responds to the challenge to reduce energy or recycle and EMU usually outperforms our peer schools.鈥�

, whose job is to implement energy management, efficiency and sustainability measures as EMU鈥檚 building automation coordinator, had some idea of how competitive faculty, staff and residents were getting when he heard some voicing disappointment during March that 鈥渢heir building wasn鈥檛 doing better.鈥�

That bodes well for next year, Sachs said, when he plans to implement a social media campaign to raise awareness and get more people involved.

The competition also includes regional sub-competitions, such as the Big Ten Unplugged, the New York Negawatt Challenge, the California State University Conservation League, and the Campus ConseRVAtion Nationals, featuring three Richmond area schools.

Sachs hopes to invite Shenandoah Valley area universities and colleges to compete next year. He鈥檚 also pondering a friendly rivalry among Mennonite colleges.

鈥淚t鈥檚 amazing to watch the influence of CCN continue to grow,鈥� said Chelsea Hodge, director of programs at Lucid. 鈥淓very year, more and more students and staff prove through CCN that they are committed to using behavior change tools to achieve short and long term reductions in their campuses鈥� carbon footprints.鈥�

Publicizing user habits

The grand prize of Lucid hardware and software will complement the monitoring system already present on campus, according to Sachs. Preliminary plans will enable a more public showcase of campus sustainability efforts, with television screens projecting constant data to building users.

鈥淲e were planning to place one monitor in the , which gets a lot of foot traffic and would be a nice feature for that building鈥檚 users,鈥� Sachs said, adding that he鈥檇 also like to track energy use and trends in the newly renovated building.

That feedback will help users adjust their behaviors, 鈥渕uch the same way a fitness monitoring app might help a person be more active, lose weight, or work to improve in a sport,鈥� says Lantz-Trissel. 鈥淏ut in just the same way as a fitness app, data monitoring is only so useful, and improvement is up to the habits and behaviors of the building’s occupants.鈥�

EMU has a history of engaging its competitive spirit towards sustainability efforts: the campus recently , and has .

Last year, the university was awarded a silver ranking by the , based on its sustainability initiatives in operations, curriculum, planning and other areas.

And in participating in the Spring STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) Celebration poster session in the , Stoner practiced a few more practical skills he will need: graphic design and public speaking.

Stoner and partner Sarah Carpenter were winners of the upperclass division for their research titled 鈥淏ergton Stream Restoration: Stream Health Assessment Using Macroinvertebrate Sampling.鈥�

The poster session, which is preceded by an informal multidisciplinary science quiz-off and pizza feast, offers students 鈥渁 chance to share their research with fellow students, faculty, and the larger EMU community in a fun, social setting,鈥� says physics professor , who judged the contest with biology professor .

Poster sessions are commonly held at scientific conferences, in which 鈥渟cientists and students present and explain their own findings to those who are interested but are not necessarily experts in that field,鈥� said King, who is also an assistant professor in the program.

Posters were judged on quality of experimental design, quality of research analysis, and quality of presentation, said Herin, also with the biomedicine program. 鈥淭he presentation included the appearance, accuracy and clarity of the poster, as well as the presenters鈥� knowledge and explanation of the project.鈥�

Coursework and independent study represented

EMU鈥檚 poster session featured more than 90 participants showcasing research from a variety of courses such as electronics, general chemistry, organic chemistry, statistics for natural sciences, and environmental toxicology. Students in Herin鈥檚 advanced human anatomy class (BIO 437) also contributed 3-D visualizations of body systems.

Carpenter and Stoner were among several students presenting water quality research in the nearby Bergton area as part of . Biology professors and are supervising teams of environmental sustainability students working on water quality monitoring and stream restoration in two tributaries of the Shenandoah River and the Chesapeake Bay, with other facets of the project involving and graduate students.

Students in professor 鈥檚 general chemistry class focused on phytoremediation of a variety of plants, including carrots, forsythia, corn, cattails, and radishes.

Professor 鈥檚 statistics class explored the widest range of topics, including electronic devices owned by students; the fuel economy of cars driven by EMU faculty and staff versus those driven by James Madison University faculty and staff; cereal shelf placement based on sugar and price at Food Lion and Kroger; sustainability effectiveness in EMU residence halls; and a statistical analysis of the 鈥淪ettlers of Catan鈥� game.

Two unique projects with professor Steve Cessna explored the rhetoric of science and instructional techniques in the science classroom. In their plant ecophysiology course, Hannah Chappell-Dick, Eli Wenger, and Emma Beachy analyzed plant physiology research literature for changes in the 鈥渁ssignment of agency.鈥� For his biochemistry research course project, Kyle Storc investigated student comprehension and retention of biochemistry topics through the use of two-dimensional tools.

Several posters were the result of independent research that students conducted with faculty members. Camille Williams worked with biology professor to analyze the effects of fermented milk supplementation on gut microbacteria in mice.

Rachel King, who will be a research assistant on this summer, worked under chemistry professor on 鈥淎 Mixed Methods Approach to Green Chemistry Knowledge Gains in the Organic Laboratory.鈥� Kishbaugh also worked with Ben Stern, who studied the effects of barium toxicity on zebrafish.

Underclass winner links research to upcoming internship

Amanda Williams and Nader Alqahtani paired up to win the underclass division with their project that compared phytoremediation between native and invasive species.

For Williams, a first-year biology and secondary education major, the research project reminded her of how much she cares about the environment.

鈥淚 live in the wetlands in Delaware, surrounded by the plants we were experimenting on, cattail and phragmites,鈥� she said, adding that she鈥檒l continue her research in a summer internship with the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control. 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 important to understand the possible negative effects of invasive species, but also to know that sometimes they are just as important as native species.鈥�

Alqahtani, a sophomore biology major who is interested in medical research, said the hands-on learning experience 鈥渨as a more fun and exciting way to learn than reading and studying.鈥�

And the presentation? That was 鈥渢he exciting part,鈥� he said, even though English is his second language. 鈥淲e were聽confident that we knew everything about our project and we trusted each other’s ability to make a perfect presentation 鈥� when we started presenting and I saw how well we were doing, I got comfortable and started to enjoy telling our audience about our research.鈥�

Poster Session Winners: Upperclass Division

1st: Bergton Stream Restoration: Stream Health Assessment Using Macroinvertebrate Sampling – Sarah Carpenter and Sam Stoner

2nd: Keyless Entry – Stephan Goertzen and Jordan Leaman

3rd: Bergton Stream Restoration: Ecological Monitoring Using Wood Turtles (Glyptemys insculpta) – Jonathan Drescher-Lehman and Ryan Keiner

Honorable Mention: An ecophysiological study determining how three different invasive evergreen vines handle the varying winter temperatures by measuring their photosynthesis, transpiration, and Fv/Fm levels – Jonathan Drescher-Lehman, Chris Miller, and Abby Pennington

Honorable Mention: The Effects of Barium Toxicity on Zebrafish (Danio rerio) – Ben Stern

Poster Session Winners: Underclass Division

1st: 聽Comparing Phytoremediation between Native and Invasive Species – Nader Alqahtani and Amanda Williams

2nd:聽聽Phytoremediation in Forsythia – Tyler Denlinger and Jeremiah Robinson

3rd: Electronic Devices Owned by EMU Students – Sammy Kauffman, Josh Miller, and Roy Ruan

Honorable Mention: Phytoremediation in Various Plants – Aaron Dunmore and Kat Lehman

Read more: http://www.nwf.org/Campus-Ecology/Campus-Search/Eastern-Mennonite-University/Case-Studies/Eastern-Mennonite-Water.aspx

Case studies detailing the projects from Blue Ridge Community College and 草莓社区 are among the 112 chosen for the federation鈥檚 Campus Ecology database.

Established in 1989, the database shows the measures universities and colleges have taken to make campuses more sustainable.

鈥淲e are pleased to have been listed as a case study and look forward to sharing that information with others,鈥� said Eldon Kurtz, physical plant director at EMU.

Schools included in the database have made 鈥渟ubstantial investment in the sustainability of their campuses, communities and their curriculum,鈥� a statement from the NWF reads.

Water Saver

EMU鈥檚 project, a $90,000, 100,000-gallon stormwater harvesting tank, collects water runoff across 15 acres of campus to supply irrigation to four athletic fields and vegetation, and helps prevent erosion in Park Woods forest on campus.

鈥淲e do like the idea of being able to use rainwater to irrigate our fields rather than using water that has been treated by the city,鈥� Kurtz said. 鈥淭hat is costly and it also seems like a bit of a waste to use water that is good drinking water for irrigating fields.鈥�

Annually, 1.7 million gallons of water are expected to be collected, saving the university around $3,825.

At BRCC, students are exploring sustainable agriculture through a series of on-campus living laboratories: essentially small gardens that include blueberries, kiwi, tomatoes and corn, beans and squash grown using a technique pioneered by Native Americans.

鈥淲e鈥檙e trying to showcase plantings that would be relatively native to the area, but also show that you can actually landscape with edibles,鈥� said David Wiggins, workforce services program manager for BRCC. 鈥淲e hope to use these laboratories in the spring for some actual edible landscaping classes.鈥�

The yields from the project 鈥� which received funding from a $3,000 grant 鈥� benefit the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank.

Wiggins said the college was able to present its project several weeks ago in a nationwide Web seminar hosted by NWF.

鈥淸It was] very exciting to 鈥β� showcase to the rest of the country what good things Blue Ridge is doing,鈥� Wiggins said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e hoping to expand in the spring 鈥β� it鈥檚 only going to get better.鈥�

Courtesy Daily News Record, Dec. 4, 2012

EMU’s winning entry gives an overview of sustainability efforts at EMU and highlights the installation of a solar array on Hartzler Library roof in fall 2010. The two-minute video was produced by EMU’s marketing聽 and communications media specialists Lindsey Kolb and Jon Styer, both graduates of EMU’s Visual and Communication Arts program.

Among the university’s sustainability efforts highlighted in the video are a bicycle cooperative, integration of sustainability across the entire curriculum, dining hall composting that is used in the campus garden to grow produce for the dining hall, a residence hall built to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification standards and more. The video prominently features EMU’s solar power array installation, the largest solar deployment in the state of the Virginia to date.

The solar array has the capacity to generate 104.3 kilowatts of clean energy from 328 high efficiency photovoltaic solar panels installed on the library roof. Within the first six weeks of operation it offset emissions of more than 8,700 pounds of carbon and also reduced EMU’s energy consumption and peak demand from the grid. In its 35-year lifetime the array is expected to offset over 6,000 tons of carbon. Live data about energy generated by the solar array can be viewed at . EMU anticipates installing a second even larger array adjacent to the University Commons in the coming months.

“EMU has provided me with numerous opportunities to put my environmental idealism into practice,” said senior environmental sustainability major Emma Stahl-Wert. “Helping start the campus garden my freshman year, learning about LEED certification in the Green Design class, trying my hand at chicken keeping, and seeing how EMU strives to integrate sustainable practices into the cultural fabric of the way we do things, has taught me that there are ways to live other than the cultural norm. This has instilled in me the desire and the skills to find those ways.”

Other winning schools in the competition include: Central Carolina Community College, Pittsboro, N.C.; Baylor University, Waco, Tex.; Manhattan Comprehensive Night and Day High School; Missouri University of Science & Technology, Rolla, Mo.; and Montreat (NC) College.

The efforts of the six winners will be broadcast in on April 13 . The colleges will also receive a monetary award from the National Wildlife Federation to continue exploring innovative clean energy and climate action initiatives. This year’s webcast will be co-hosted by Tara Platt, voice and live-action actress, and Yuri Lowenthal, voice of Superman on CW’s Legion of Superheroes. The free program will celebrate this year’s award winners and showcase initiatives occurring on campuses across the nation. The webcast will be available for viewing on-demand after April 13.

“The passion that comes from these students, faculty and staff for a sustainable world invigorates the rest of society to continue the fight towards a clean energy economy,” says Jen Fournelle, Chill Out manager for National Wildlife Federation. “Chill Out is an incredible learning opportunity for campus leaders to see what others are doing and initiate positive changes in their own community. Academic institutions are an integral part of society. If if they don’t lead the charge against climate change, who will?”

Campus leaders all across the country are encouraged to host events on their campuses and in their wider communities to watch the webcast. The program will be part of a series of events scheduled on hundreds of campuses across the country, building excitement in the week leading up to Earth Day 2011 (Apr. 22). Visit for details on hosting a live screening party and to view the webcast.

“Chill Out: Climate Action on Campus” is supported by The Kendeda Fund and other partners including聽聽 Climate Counts, AASHE, Energy Action Coalition, Jobs for the Future, Campus Conservation Nationals, Earth Day Network and more.

mission is “to inspire Americans to protect wildlife for our children’s future.”

The winning video