New sustainability coordinator prompts change

Dan Bellrichard (‘01) was appointed Luther’s new sustainability coordinator Aug. 1 of this fall. Replacing recent graduate Caleb Mattison (‘07), the sustainability coordinator oversees, develops and puts into action the campus endeavors that continually seek to improve sustainability at Luther.

Originally from Austin, Minn., Bellrichard graduated from Luther and joined the Peace Corps. He spent two years in Mali working in a village to create a mobile savings bank in which the villagers could invest small amounts of money to accumulate savings over the course of a certain period of time.

After several other jobs, Bellrichard returned to Decorah with his wife and became Luther’s new sustainability coordinator to manage and develop ideas with Maren Stumme-Diers (‘08), the new assistant sustainability coordinator.

Working directly with the Luther students to make changes on campus, Bellrichard oversees four work-study students who work on issues currently being tackled on campus. These projects range from trying to make the Luther gardens efficient and community-friendly to looking into Zimride, a carpool software program that can be used through Facebook.

“I’ve been doing a lot of evaluating right now just to find out current practices and how to improve them,” said Bellrichard.

But more than anything, Bellrichard is looking for a change in the way the Luther campus communicates.

“We want people to think about how you can incorporate sustainability into what you care about and what you are passionate about,” Bellrichard said.

This means looking for projects in unexpected areas and in all departments of the college.

“I really think people should look at sustainability as, what changes can I make in my life to make it more sustainable?” Bellrichard said.

One of the big projects in action right now is the recycling and composting program. Ten work-study students sort through and take out the recycling six days a week and closely monitor problems or trends occurring on campus.

One of the changes in the system is the Google docs site on which students report their daily findings. From the students’ comments on work, Bellrichard can go into action to change specific problems, such as the excess plastic found in the compost.

After Bell Richard attended a dining services meeting, his students report that the number of non-compostable materials in the compost has greatly decreased.

Bellrichard is also looking to further analyze data that Luther already has. Facilities keeps track of the waste on move-out days for the past few years and has noticed drastic decreases in waste.

In 2008, there were 16,060 pounds of waste and in 2009 there were only 7,720 pounds. Clearly, campus efforts to recycle or use the “Trash to Treasure” sales have impacted the students and Bellrichard can use these figures to encourage students to continue to improve end of year programs.

If you have any bright ideas on how to improve campus, look for the suggestion box on the Luther sustainability webpage.