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Connecticut College alumna funds student initiative for composting on campus

May 02, 2007

For immediate release - May 2, 2007 Contact: Eric Cárdenas (860) 439-2508; eric.cardenas@conncoll.edu

NEW LONDON, Conn. - An anonymous Connecticut College alumna has stepped up to fund a student-initiated environmental program to use commercial-sized compost units to reduce the amount of food waste generated by the campus community.

The project was originally developed for the Ecomagination Challenge, a contest sponsored by GE and mtvU that challenged college students to develop new, creative ways to green their campuses. Connecticut College was a finalist in the competition.

The alumna was inspired by the students' initiative and motivation. The alumna gave the college $25,000 to fund the project, which is planned to be implemented next fall.

Currently, the college pays a local pig farmer $425 a month to haul away the college's food waste. The plan is to reduce the amount of waste generated by the college by nearly 35,000 pounds a year. That waste would be turned into compost using an Earth Tub - a fully enclosed and insulated composting unit for commercial duty - then given to local farmers in exchange for produce to be used in campus dining halls.

Junior Misha Johnson and sophomores Tyler Dunham and Leia Crosby came up with the idea for the project, and were excited to learn that the project will be implemented.

"This will be a great example of an on-site environmental program that will involve the college and the community," Crosby said.

The alumna's funding will allow the students to buy two Earth Tubs.

President Lee Higdon said he believes the initiative is a great idea and is pleased with the excitement the students' project initiated. "The alumna was clearly impressed with the level of the students' commitment," Higdon said. "The commitment to be a model for environmental sustainability remains a high priority for Connecticut College, and this project illustrates our success in this important area."

Arthur Lerner, the program director for F.R.E.S.H. New London, an organization dedicated to encouraging the use of a local food system, said the composting project is a great example of using the local resources that exist but are underused to meet a local need.

"The average piece of food on your plate has traveled 2,000 miles," Lerner said. Using the college's compost to help grow local food that can be consumed on campus, "cuts out transportation, it cuts out a lot of the packaging and it creates jobs at home." Crosby says she hopes the initiative will also serve as an education campaign for the campus as well as the larger community. "A lot of people don't realize that their food waste isn't waste at all," she said. "It can be returned to the soil, to the earth, to grow more plants and feed more people."

Ranked among the most selective private liberal arts colleges in the nation, Connecticut College enrolls 1,900 men and women from 43 states and 45 countries. The college is known for putting the liberal arts into action through interdisciplinary studies, international programs, funded internships, student-faculty research and service learning. Founded in 1911, the college operates under an 85-year-old honor code. The college is located at 270 Mohegan Ave, New London, about two hours by car from Boston and New York. The 750-acre campus is an arboretum overlooking Long Island Sound. For more information, visit www.connecticutcollege.edu.

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For media inquiries contact: Amy Martin (860) 439-2526; a.martin@conncoll.edu