September 16, 2020
Attendance: Stephanie Madsen, Pam Polloni, Sebastien Bigorre
#1 Garden Plot – Fall cleanup scheduled for Friday, September 18th at 3:00 under tent behind garden plots (wear your mask). We’ll strategize cleanup, new fall crops, and winter maintenance.
Action:
- Send invite to Garden Plot Group (Seb)-Scheduled for Friday, Sep18 at 3:00pm
- Bring seeds and/or bulbs (garlic or onion) to plant (All)
- Plan watering schedule (All)
#2 WSS - Flax Food Coop Lunch & Learn – Wednesday, Sept 23 at Noon
Flax Food Co-op Lunch & Learn - Sept 23 at 12:00pm. Join us on Zoom to discuss a burgeoning local food co-op. Bring your questions, ideas, and passion for bulk buying! sponsored by the Sustainability Task Force https://web.whoi.edu/sustainability/ Meeting ID: 8 2 4 7 5 7 8 7 8 9 5
P a s s c o d e : 2 2 4 3 6 2
Other recent WSS activities include:
- Our presentation of WSS slides to a JP/Postdoc Diversity-Equity-Inclusion (DEI) Town hall on August 6, 2020 (over 50 attendees)
- And our draft of D+I Guidelines for all WHOI events (this one pager will be available to anyone planning an event, we have a draft, we just need people to edit)
- Help increase Diversity and Inclusion, make all people feel welcome.
Action:
- Schedule nature walk along Sandy Neck Beach (socially distanced w masks) -Seb
- Add socially distanced or Zoom activities (ALL)
We discussed the need for Additional Social Sustainability WSS activities especially because during Covid people feel more isolated and less community based. We talked about the voids that exist for new employees such as:
No New monthly Employee Orientations
No WSS events
No water bubbler or lunchtime conversations
Conclusion: WHOI is a difficult place to navigate and can often feel overwhelming and confusing…wouldn’t it be great if you had a Buddy to guide you periodically? How about we create a WHOI’s Your Buddy Volunteer Program? It would be less intense than a mentorship role, more broadly scoped to include social questions as well as ins and outs of WHOI’s workings.
Goal: partner up newish employees (New Buds) with an experienced WHOI employee (Buddy) to answer questions both professionally and socially - or at least offer guidance and contacts (if we can't answer questions).
Action:
- Create Google Drive spreadsheet as a brainstorming platform for the WHOI’s Your Buddy Program (SM)…already started it, please let me know if you’d like editing access
- Think about Buddy criteria – how many years experience should a Buddy have? How often should they reach out to their New Bud? (All)
- Develop plan with CDI group and HR (SM)
Because of small group attendance and our focus on this newly proposed Whoi’s Your Buddy Program, we are saving these agenda items for next month’s meeting:
#3 LED installations – prioritize 2020-21 projects to capitalize on Rebates (which disappear at the end of 2021)
- Note – Redfield LED project (June 2020) yielded a $75,000 rebate check!
#4 STF’s Instagram Account- sustainablewhoi account has been launched on Facebook and Instagram. Follow us, encourage friends to follow us, and help add to it by taking pictures and writing posts.
#5 Solar Updates– strategize next installation …NQF, Dorms, Carport?
- Ongoing project = Clark + Clark So roof install update – September installation (possibly) - permits were approved
- Future project = NQF rooftop and/or carport. We have cost estimates $ and now need to partner with Whoi’s Development team to discuss next steps. Cost estimates - Rooftop - $147,000 (138 panels)= $1,065/panel, Carport - $1.4 million (861 panels)= $1,626/panel
- Dorm D – updated proposal for the SMART Program cost $87,236 (80 panels) = $1,090/panel (this would cover 49% of Dorm’s energy kwh usage)
#6 New Business