Green Efforts Take Root at Otterbein

Group photo of students by Otterbein Lake

Students volunteer at Otterbein Lake

In the summer of 2004, Otterbein College made the decision to contract with Bon Appetit, a food service company well-known for its commitment to sustainable and socially-responsible practices. Bon Appetit is considered a leader in the "greening" of Otterbein, and the same can be said of Plan-It Earth, a student group going strong in its second year of environmentally-focused community service.

Founded in 2005 by Whitney Prose, a junior majoring in English, Plan-It Earth has an ever-increasing membership of concerned students and regularly draws volunteers for their service projects from the Departments of Life Science, English, Economics and Sociology, among others.

Recently, Plan-It Earth has been actively involved with the Otterbein Lake Project (www.otterbeinlake.org), which plans to turn a neglected 8-acre lake near campus into a scenic, environmental, educational and recreational natural resource. Members have also volunteered with the Friends of Alum Creek and Tributaries (FACT). Activities during fall quarter have included installing water plants, erosion control efforts and litter clean-up.

Cutting herbs to donate to the Otterbein food service.

Whitney said, "The volunteers are learning about native plants, erosion control, and most importantly how to turn a place into a community."

Additionally, Plan-It Earth volunteers have been learning how to write grants to support non-profit organizations.

Plan-It Earth also grows herbs and donates them to the Campus Center kitchens to help students eat in a more sustainable manner. After their first donation, Whitney said, "The cooks were ecstatic, and compliment Plan-It Earth on their amazing green thumb!"

Group shot of students wearing hard hats at the recycling plant

Plan-It-Earth members tour a recycling plant.

Other Plan-It Earth activities have included a tour of a local recycling plant, involvement in conservation efforts with the organization Sustainable Westerville, and working with campus contacts to incorporate recycling and conservation into campus life.

And the campus community is listening. "Around campus, one can now find places to donate cell-phones, books and ink cartridges for reuse. And household and other items can be purchased at or donated to the Otterbein Thrift Shop for reuse," Whitney said.

"Classes such as Dr. Terry Hermsen's Environmental Writing, and Dr. Hal Lescinsky's Environmental Studies are really expanding how far environmental education is reaching. Let's face it, there is nothing that the environment doesn't reach, from economics to religion to daily life. If we're aware of this, we can affect our environment to positively effect us," Whitney said.

A student holding a high efficiency lightbulb

Instead of candy, Plan-It Earth handed out high-efficency lightbulbs at Halloween.

Recently a new Recycling Coordinator position was created. Coordinator Paul Baldridge is planning on building upon a campus audit conducted by the Environmental Sociology class in winter 2007 to help expanding campus recycling programs. Paper, metal and glass recycling is now available across most of the campus.

In addition, as renovations move forward on the recently acquired building at 25 W. Home St., which will open as a residence hall in Fall 2008, a variety of "green" features to be incorporated are in the planning stages.