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August 15, 2018

Attendance: Pam Polloni, Stephanie Madsen, Holly Wilson, Ron Reif, Sebastien Bigorre, Kayleah Griffen, Alex Bocconcelli 

#1  Plastic Alternatives Ships + On Shore

  • Sarah Fuller, PJ (the Chief mate) and Stephanie met to address sustainability on our ships on August 7th(we left Sustainable Event Catering binder with Steward on the Atlantis)
    • At the STF Meeting- Aug. 15th Sarah, who is WHOI’s R/V Science COO, gave a comprehensive update regarding sustainability efforts underway on the Ships including: plastic alternatives, sustainable food purchases by Stewards, sorting of trash-recyclables-compostables, Atlantis upgrades in dry dock 2019, Unols sustainable efforts, and bird and mammal observers on ships)
    • Sarah, Pam + Stephanie are creating a Sustainable Ship flyer to post on Ships (work in progress)
    • Green Marine Program update – after discussion, we focused our goal on understanding the UNOLS sustainability initiatives before considering being a “Supporter” of the Green Marine Program. https://www.green-marine.org/  We would most likely fit in the Supporter category (Research/Education/Conservation: https://www.green-marine.org/supporters/
    • Demand Response events in August (Monday Aug. 6 was peak event 5-6pm) – ship participated by closing doors and shutting off lights
    • Green To Go options for the Buttery and the Community at large. Kayleah described the Green To Go program at WPI and listed the pros and cons (lots of Pros!)  Kayleah will meet with personnel at the Buttery to see if this program might work.  Example: https://farmsandfields.wordpress.com/2013/08/02/announcing-vt-dinings-reusable-to-go-container-program/

Action:

  • Generate the Sustainable Ships flyer (Sarah, Pam + SM)
  • Consult with Annette at UNOLs about Green Marine Supporter recommendations (SF)
  • Create Green-To-Go power point and pitch idea to Steve Senior and Buttery Staff (KG)
  • Share utility slides with ship focus with Marine Ops team on Sept. 13th at 9:30am (SM)

 

# 2  WSS Events  - looking for volunteers to sponsor new social events; lawns games, hikes, bike rides etc

  • Science Stroll – Saturday, August 11 – Event planners are making it as sustainable as possible
  • Sheep at Peterson Farm Lunch n Learn- Oct 12th at 12:15 Carriage House (new date!)
  • The Sea Around Us Celebration- Sat + Sunday, Sept 15 +16 (need volunteers for Anything But a Boat Race – Sunday 11:00-1:00pm)
  • Clean Commute Challenge (Seb + Cassia are planning event with Kyle Bonus on Friday, Sept. 21)

Action:

  • Recruit volunteers for Anything But a Boat Race (SM)
  • Plan Clean Commute Challenge – flyer and set up breakfast table (SB + CA)
  • Orchestrate field trip to Compost With Me -Ryther Farm (SM)

#3  STF Website – we plan to transfer STF Website content to a WordPress page

  • Mai, Dina + Steph plan to meet on August 14th at 2:30 (rescheduled)- turns out the Communications Intern moved a lot of the items over during the summer (thanks intern!!)

Action:

  • Add Green It Forward Program page to website (need to formulate this program) + add new resources (recycling interns)
  • Send pictures to Dina to add (SM-done)

#4  Electric Vehicles + Charging Stations – – WHOI + Personal

  • EV Fair for Employees! Date is Thursday Sept 20 from 10:00-1:00 in Clark Lobby. Sponsored by STF + Green Driving with Mass Energy. Great deals on personal Electric Vehicle purchases. Link to see chart of cost breakdown.

http://massenergywebservices.com/drivegreen/table-all.php#bolt

  • Sebastien reached out to EV drivers at WHOI and USGS – several are willing to share their EV stories and advice during the fair.
  • EV Make Ready Program sponsored by Eversource (application was submitted by SM) – we qualified and plan to install 2 new charging ports at School St. Lot and 2 at Clark Lot (front of building)

Action:

  • Order 2 dual charging ports with SemaConnect (SM)
  • Orchestrate + sign documents with Eversource (SM)
  • Cone off front parking spots at Clark on Sept 20th during the EV Fair – communicate with security guards (SM)

#5 Recycling – National Sword changes and cost implications

  • Recycling pipet box program at WHOI – should we offer this? VWR sponsors it

https://us.vwr.com/store/product/9227627/pipet-tip-box-recycling-program-terracycle

Action:

  • Solicit interest from WHOI staff in the pipet box recycling program (SM) – Several people in Redfield already expressed interest

Turns out that pipet boxes are #5 and can be recycled in our single-stream recycle bins…no need to pay for the program. 

#6  New Business

Chairs and tables outside on Redfield patio are a huge success! We heard lots of positive feedback, such as increased community interaction, social space, and access to outdoors + nature.