• Environs Spring 2011 Dynamics:
  • Environs has so many people with so many great ideas that we feel it is most productive to split into 4 committees during most meetings. Each committee is specialized according to the interest of the coordinators and members within it. Every three meetings we hold a “Big Group” meeting where Environs brings in an educational guest speaker. Speakers in the past include Eileen Horn (Sustainability Coordinator for the City of Lawrence), Mike Caron (Wetlands Expert), Scott McVey (Energy Conservation Manager), and many more. We will also take field trips once a month to locations such as the Kansas Field Station or the Wakarusa Wetlands and of course host parties and potlucks.

–Here are our committees for the Spring 2011 semester. Please note that there are now only four instead of five committees:

We are focused on spreading awareness to campus and the local community through projects and events. We are excited to participate in activities such as Wetland Learners, fun and engaging Earth Day adventures, and advertising for and actively engaging in the new student farm. In addition, we will spend time promoting and tabling in hopes of increasing awareness about Environs and environmental events around campus.

The Local Foods committee has continued working this semester on various projects to educate and promote local foods. We are currently planning the screening of a documentary that will be shown later in the semester to increase awareness about the food industry in general. We also participate in many farm tours and recently attended the Kaw Valley Farm Tour to increase our knowledge of gardening techniques and healthier eating. And finally we are utilizing the University of Kansas Student Farm to learn from and grow our own produce!

We are building and continuing relationships with various environmental friends, both new and old–the KU field station with trail maintenance, the ECM with compost upkeep, the Potter Lake Project with pond restoration and cleaning, as well as the Wetlands Preservation Organization. Last semester we held a fundraising event at the Jackpot in support of Haskell’s eco-walk project.

Our committee is continuing the project to bring LED street lights to Jayhawk Boulevard, funding has been acquired and we are in the final stages of planning. We are also planning a bike safety awareness week in the spring to promote safe bicycle riding through the Lawrence community and campus. Our campaign for this year is to promote the use of aluminum and discourage plastic on campus. Our first step is to bring a filtered water bottle filling station to the Union which counts the number of water bottles saved while using the machine (just like the ones that already exist in the rec center).

Do you want to save energy?
Do you want to save money?
Do you need another reason to beat Manhattan?

Join us for the Take Charge Challenge Kick-off!
We’ll watch the KU/KSU basketball game on the big screen!

FREE admission, pizza and soda
Energy efficiency prizes

Activities for the whole family!

The Take Charge Challenge is a friendly competition to save energy, save money, and take charge of our energy future. In 2011, Lawrence and Manhattan will go head-to-head in this challenge, and the town that reduces its energy use the most will win an energy efficiency or renewable energy community project worth up to $100,000! Come learn about energy efficiency programs and celebrate the rivalry of the Jayhawks and Wildcats in a fun atmosphere.

*alcoholic beverages available for sale at the Liberty Hall concessions

For more information, please visit Take Charge Challenge
Contact: Margaret Tran

Education & Outreach

This semester, Education and Outreach has focused on promoting environmental issues on the KU campus.  Our committee continues to work with the Wetland Learners program, facilitating field trips for 2nd and 6th graders to the Wakarusa Wetlands.  Besides Wetland Learners and a demonstration for the 7th graders at Southwest Jr. High about wetland ecology, other campus projects include planning a day of service in collaboration with KU Alternative Breaks, a Sustainability Career Fair, and promoting Meatless Mondays.  Through the KU Center for Sustainability, Education and Outreach is organizing a “Lights Out Campaign.”  We are going to revisit the previous University efforts with stickers but also display additional energy facts above light switches.  The Education and Outreach committee will be assisting in additional projects at the request of the Center for Sustainability.  Lots of efforts are also going into planning the first Sustainable Career Fair that will take place in April next semester.  We have met with the Career Center and they are going to be a great resource for us in planning this amazing event!  We are eager to start work on the career fair now that we have booked the Kansas Union ballroom to host our this event on April 19th.   Our next step is to brainstorm potential businesses to invite to the career fair.

Creative Hands

Creative Hands is a new group as of the 2010-2011 school year. Constructed with the intent of improving Environs networking within the group as well as with the campus community, Creative Hands contributes through publicizing events and Environs’ projects. In the past few weeks we have begun working with KJHK, making public service announcements and producing commercials.  This fall we have worked with Local Foods group in creating a logo for the Student Farm.  Future projects include involvement with the Students Farm such as signs and landscape, Field Station trail markers, Campus Murals, Fundraisers, and Advertising such as chalking, fliers, and radio broadcasts to inform about future projects/events.

Local Food

The Local Foods committee has continued working this semester on various projects to educate and promote local foods.  We are currently planning the screening of a documentary that will be shown later in the semester to increase awareness about the food industry in general.  We also participate in many farm tours and recently attended the Kaw Valley Farm Tour to increase our knowledge of gardening techniques and healthier eating.  And finally we are utilizing the University of Kansas Student Farm to learn from and grow our own produce!

Environmental Preservation

We are building and continuing relationships with various environmental friends, both new and old–the KU field station with trail maintenance, the ECM with compost upkeep, the Potter Lake Project with pond restoration and cleaning, as well as the Wetlands Preservation Organization with a fundraising event currently in the planning stage in support of Haskell’s eco-walk project.

Environmental Conservation

Our committee is continuing the project to bring LED street lights to Jayhawk Boulevard, funding has been acquired and we are in the final stages of planning.  We are also planning a bike safety awareness week in the spring to promote safe bicycle riding through the lawrence community and campus.  Our campaign for this year is to promote the use of aluminum and discourage plastic on campus.  Our first step is to bring a filtered water bottle filling station to the Union which counts the number of water bottles saved while using the machine (just like the ones that already exist in the rec center).

Can’t wait to see you all there!

-Environs

P.S. Want to join our email list? Questions/Concerns?  Email us at environs@ku.edu.

Go to http://sustainableku.wordpress.com/2010/05/11/the-cushman-clan%E2%80%99s-romp-across-the-earth/

If you want you can check out our website afterward or join our Facebook page =o)

Wow! what a great week filled with events surrounding Earth Day.  It was a crazy week but all of the events turned out well and had great attendance. Thanks for those Environs members that helped out with the bike ride, the parade/South Park celebration, the surveying and tabling, the Flow showing, the Earth Day lecture, etc. We couldn’t have done it without you.  For some pictures, check out the latest photo album on our facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Environs/301840480093

Environs Benefit Show

In other new, Environs is having a benefit show!

Come support this local environmental and community service organization while dancing all night to some great music. Event starts at 8pm at the Gaslight Tavern. Lineup includes Brent Berry, Tin Horn Molly, and the Louisiana Street Band! There will also be an silent art auction with art from local artists. Check out the event on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=116148751742308

Campus Conservation

· Campus Conservation Film Showing: Alderson Auditorium is booked from 7-9:30pm on Tuesday, April 20th for our movie screening! We are working with Films for Action in getting a fun and environmentally related movie to show.

· Environs + Critical Mass + KU Cycling Bike Ride: To kick off Earth Day/Week we are going to put together a massive bike ride all around Lawrence on Friday, April 16th in the afternoon – likely around 5pm

· Bike Repair: Last year Environs brought a mechanic from Sunflower to Wescoe Beach and he fixed/tuned peoples’ bikes for free as an effort advocate for more bike riding. The committee is looking to do something similar during Earth Week.

Education & Outreach

· Wetland Learners: Education and Outreach is getting prepared to work with Wetland Learners this spring. There will be four trips to the Wetlands made in April, in which they will teach second graders, and four trips in May for 6th graders. The Lied Center will be involved in our April trips, and help to incorporate the arts and sciences. They will be volunteering to teach at a specific station, such as the water quality station, or engaging students in creative ways during 15 minute discovery walks.

· High School Science Education: Education and Outreach is contacting local high school science clubs. We hope to take them on various field trips to learn about Lawrence Ecology, and help them begin a science or environmental project.

· The Lawrence Earth Day Parade is on Saturday, April 17^th. Members from Education and Outreach are in the process of organizing the parade. We will also have a table at South Park and make recycled notebooks and do face-painting for the little kiddos!

Environmental Preservation

· Blue Sky, Green Earth event at Barrel House: We are teaming up with ‘Blue Sky, Green Earth’, a local magazine. It is going to be in the afternoon April 17th (after the earth day parade) for about three hours with speakers and music.

· Environs Benefit Show (Hunkey-Chunky Manic-Organic Green-Out April 29th): Environmental Preservation is working on a benefit show for Environs as student group. We are in the process of getting a venue and participating bands in place. There will also be a silent art auction. Over the last 25 Environs has held well over a dozen benefit shows in the area.

· Outings to Field Station: We will be going regularly every other week to the Field Station on Saturdays at noon starting April 3rd. We will do general trail maintenance and clean up, along with just being outdoors and enjoying the spring weather! Of course, everyone is welcome.

Local Food

· Local Food Brochure: Working with Checkers to draft a local food brochure and clearly label their local food. There will be a big kick off event when it all gets done where we plan to table Environs as the group that helped with it in front of Checkers. We could have activities and music too. The date is TBD, but probably within the next month.

· Market in a Market: April 22 lunchtime (about 11 AM-1 PM) in the Market, 3rd floor Union, helping Dining Services launch “Market in a Market” by tabling about local food.

· Rock Chalk Green Hawk Dinner: April 22 dinnertime (about 5-7:30 PM) at Mrs. E’s, Oliver, and GSP, helping Dining Services’ Rock Chalk Green Hawk local food dinner by tabling about local food/doing an activity

· Volunteering & Touring: Local food group will volunteer at least one Saturday morning at the Lawrence Farmers’ Market. We will also volunteer with the EARTH Campus Garden and the KU Student Farm. Once the weather permits we will also plan a tour of local farms. All dates TBA.

· EARTH + TRI Event: April 19 EARTH and the Transportation Research Institute (TRI) are planning a local food event with a speaker (Mercedes Taylor-Puckett with Local Foods and Farmers Market Project or Katherine Kelly with KC Center for Urban Agriculture), local food, and interactive workshop tabling in Alderson Auditorium.

After an extremely exciting and superbly successful fall semester, we are stoked to kick off this new semester!

We are holding our FIRST MEETING Tuesday, January 26th at 5:30pm at the ECM (the building at the far North end of Jayhawk Blvd, diagonal from The Oread Inn)

With so many events planned for this semester, we hope each and every one of you can find a time to join in Environs’ efforts to make KU and Lawrence even better. Our groups will remain – Education & Outreach, Campus Conservation, Environmental Preservation, & Local Food – but we encourage everyone that was around last semester to switch it up a bit and try another group on for size; the more we learn about different aspects of the environment, the better informed our decisions will be.

The only thing that will be really different this semester is we have decided to dedicate an entire hour every two weeks to large group projects/discussion, which means on the off week we will spend the entire hour doing our small group work. The intention is to have everyone in Environs feel more close and connected to other members in the group. This will all be explained more thoroughly (and probably more clearly) at our first meeting though. Can’t wait to see you all there!

Cheers!

Your Coordinators

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Environs/301840480093?ref=ts

Environs members have been keeping themselves incredibly busy and productive this semester. In the past 3 weeks alone Environs members have helped plan and execute KU Campus Sustainability Day, had a rally at the local coal plant for 350 International Day of Climate Action, cleaned up areas of the Haskell/Baker wetlands, volunteered at the City’s electronic recycling event, collected native prairie seeds for future planting at KU’s Rockefeller Native Praire, conducted a survey of street lights for ongoing research into LED lights on campus, taught a local middle school class on environmental issues,  and had a successful rally for the wetlands with other local organizations in front of Strong Hall.

Here is some recent press featuring Environs or its members:

October 29th. Article about KU’s grade on the Sustainability Report Card:

http://www.kansan.com/news/2009/oct/29/ku-receives-c-sustainability-efforts/

November 2nd. Environs prairie seed collecting action:

http://www.kansan.com/news/2009/nov/02/preserving-douglas-countys-prairies/

November 3rd. Wetland Rally outside of Strong Hall:

http://www.kansan.com/news/2009/nov/03/demonstrators-hope-stop-wetland-road-talks/

Video about above topic: http://www.kansan.com/videos/2009/nov/02/438/?popup=true&interactive=true

November 3rd. Environs members and projects featured in article about Campus Sustainability:

http://www.kansan.com/news/2009/nov/03/groups-continue-push-green-initiative-through-proj/

November 6th. Environs previous president, Juliana Tran,  in running to be the next ‘Green Girl’

http://www.kansan.com/news/2009/nov/06/alumna-green-girl/?news

Upcoming:

The semester is far from over. Here are a few more things on the plate–

November 14th- Game Day Recycling- November 15th is America Recycles Day, a nationally recognized day meant to encourage American’s to recycle. In order to pay homage to this day, Environs and Students for Bar Recycling are gathering volunteers for a major recycling effort at the Kansas vs. Nebraska home football game on November 14th. Volunteers will help Cans for Community, a local community organization, collect AS MANY CANS AS POSSIBLE from tailgaters and game-attendees.  Cans for Community will donate proceeds from the recycled aluminum to a local not-for-profit. We need volunteers! If interested, email environs@ku.edu  to get your name on the list and receive more information.

November 18th- FREE showing of Food, Inc.

7pm Woodruff Auditorium, KS Union. Environs, CCO EARTH, and SUA are showing the acclaimed 2009 documentary ‘Food, Inc’. This event is open to students and the Lawrence community. Local popcorn will be provided by KU Dining Services. Raffle prizes will be provided from The Merc, Louisburg Cider Mill, Greenability Magazine, and Blooming Lotus. Admission is Free.

Check out Trailer:

More upcoming events likely!

‘The Age of Stupid’ is the new movie from Director Franny Armstrong and producer John Battsek. Pete Postlethwaite stars as a man living alone in the devastated future world of 2055, looking at old footage from 2008 and asking: why didn’t we stop climate change when we had the chance?”

Trailer:

This is your chance to see this incredibly intense and motivating film about Climate Change… for free!

Time & Date: Tuesday, October 13th @ 7:00pm
Place: Alderson Auditorium, KS Union
Cost: Free!

See you there.

The Wild and Scenic Film Festival is sponsored nationally by Patagonia, Tom’s of Maine, Clif Bar, Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, and Osprey. Friends of the Kaw is hosting the Film Festival and thanks our local supporters: Café Augusta, KLWN, Kansas City Paddler, Bowersock Mills and Power Company, Kansas Sierra Club, Kansas Wildlife Federation, The Watershed Institute and Land Trust, Kansas Land Trust, The Land Institute, Ozark Wilderness Waterways Club, and K.A.W. Council.

The film festival will start at 7:00pm (doors open at 6:30) on Thursday, October 8th. Liberty Hall is at 646 Massachusetts St., Lawrence, KS 66044. Tickets are $10 in advance and $12 at the door and each person attending will have the opportunity to enter a drawing for great door prizes. Seating is on a first come first serve basis and doors open at 6:30pm. Tickets can be purchased on Friends of the Kaw’s web site www.kansasriver.org for $10@ or at Liberty Hall the day of the event for $12@.

The Film Festival will feature: Red Gold – compares the value of sockeye salmon, pristine rivers and historic lifestyles in Alaska to the economic value of new copper mining industry; Last Frontier – finds extreme kayakers raising awareness of Habitat loss in Papua, New Guinea: Papa Tortuga – loves sea turtles and makes a difference for them, and people, in Mexico; and Goldfish – hope one girl’s effort can save them.

All proceeds will benefit Friends of the Kaw a grassroots, not for profit, environmental organization whose mission is to protect and preserve the Kansas (Kaw) River for present and future generations. Friends of the Kaw also supports the Kansas Riverkeeper, a non-governmental advocate, who works in the capacity as a teacher, scientist, investigator and media spokesperson. (end)

Environs Local Food Potluck!
Friday October 2nd, 7pm – 9pm
831 Tennesee (Margaret’s house)
The potluck is open to everyone, not just Environs members. The theme is local, so whatever you bring must have AT LEAST ONE local ingredient. So pick something up at the Merc, the Farmers Market, Casbah, your backyard, etc…
We will likely have a small keg of local beer from Free State. If you can’t bring a dish, at least help out by making a cash donation to the keg fund.
Don’t forget to bring your own plate/bowl, cup/mug, and silverware!

After the potluck, we will be joining the Students for Bar Recycling Pub Crawl! Here are the details for that:

Students for Bar Recycling Pub Crawl
Friday October 2nd, 9pm
Wristbands are $2 and gets you in to Dempsy’s, Barrel House, 8th Street Tap Room, and Abe & Jakes for FREE
We will meet others at Local Burger at 9pm
Head to Dempsy’s around 9pm (no cover, $2.50 draws)
Move on to Abe & Jakes before 11pm (waiving cover, $2 Budweiser products, $2 jager bombs)
Move on to Barrel House (waiving cover, giving us our own ‘VIP’ private sitting area)
Also a possibility of 8th Street Tap Room before or after Barrel House

But first, students for Bar Reclycling needs help chalking for the Pub Crawl!

Chalking for S4BR Pub Crawl
Monday September 28th, 4pm
Meet on Wescoe Beach

See you there!

The Warren Bird presentation was great! A special thanks go out to Warren who volunteered his time to give advice to soon-to-be Environmental Studies graduates. Also to the Environmental Studies Dept for co-hosting with us.

On Sept. 8th, our Education & Outreach Committee helped out with a 7th grade persuasive speaking project. They gave gave a lecture on the environmental reasons to keep the Haskell-Baker Wetlands from further destruction. They worked extremely hard and even constructed a giant interactive Wakarusa River watershed model!!

We have also been volunteering our time for other causes so far this semester. Environs volunteers have helped with the City of Lawrence bicycle and pedestrian count, replanted native plants at the Student Rain Garden, helped clean the gunky algae out of Potter Pond, and a couple helped the city at the Lawrence Energy Conservation Fair.

The four committees within Environs are working on the fronts of Environmental Preservation, Local Food, Campus Conservation, and Education & Outreach. All committees are hard at work, so expect good things this semester!

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Here are some upcoming events:

**Wednesday, Sept 23rd we will be carpooling out to the Kansas Ecological Reserves north of town to see how we can help them with trail maintenance. We will meet at 5:15pm at Higuchi Hall and carpooling from there! Email if you have questions.

**September 26 and 27 (next weekend) in Salina. Some of us will be carpooling out to the yearly Prairie Fest. For more into go here http://www.landinstitute.org/ .. Wanna join the carpool? email environs@ku.edu

**7:00pm October 8th @ Liberty Hall– Pantagonia’s Wild & Scenic Environmental Film Festival hosted by the Friends of the Kaw! We are helping to promote this film fest that features exciting and inspiring films with an environmental theme. This is a must see! Click here for more info: http://www.kansasriver.org/content/wild_film

**Sometime between the 7th and 14th of October we will have a special showing of “Age of Stupid,” an environmentally related film which premiers globally Sept. 20th.

Synopsis: “Pete Postlethwaite as an old man living in the devastated world of 2055, watching ‘archive’ footage from 2008 and asking: why didn’t we stop climate change while we had the chance?”  –http://www.ageofstupid.net/

Thanks to the help of Greenpeace, we have the rights to show it to you for FREE. We will have information on the exact date and place as soon as it is confirmed.

**We are in the midst of planning on event for Lawrence on either the 23rd or 24th as a part of the larger 350 movement. Check out 350.org and stay tuned for updates as the planning unfolds.

Environs first meeting of the semester is upon us. Whether you are an Environs veteran or just looking to find out what the Environs is about, our first meeting is for you. This is a very important meeting to attend if you plan getting involved this semester, so try to make it!

If you haven’t heard yet, Environs is breaking up into 4 committees this semester. These topics will allow us to maximize our productivity, while attempting to accommodate to all environmental interests.

• Local Foods & Sustainable Dining: which will promote the benefits of eating locally grown foods and will work with local businesses and KU to ensure local foods are accessible to all.
• Campus Conservation: KU has made some great environmental changes recently, but there is room for improvement. The Campus Conservation committee will work on Consumer Waste Reduction, Energy Reduction, and Transportation Issues. There is no shortage of issues to deal with right here at KU.
• Environmental Preservation: This committee will work on preserving our natural world.  Protecting the Haskell/Baker Wetlands, cleaning up Potter Pond, dealing with regional and national issues, and planning some sweet outdoor activities are all on the agenda.
• Education & Outreach: This group will work hard to educate both KU students and the Lawrence community about environmental issues. Lectures, an environmental film fest, reviving the Environs newsletter, and renewing the consumer guide are in the works.

The info meeting will have more in depth look at committee happenings and how you can get involved.

There are absolutely no requirements to being a member except that you show up to the meetings, help out with event planning, and have some passion for what you do.

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Questions? Want to join the listserv? email us: environs@ku.edu

Warren Bird, a 1986 KU Environmental Studies Alumni and a founder of the KU Environs, has been kind enough to stop by KU to give a presentation titled “The Journey of an Environmental Studies Student: From the KBS Trailer to an International Environmental Auditor”. Warren currently works as a Senior Manager in the in the Global Compliance and Business Practices group of Schering Plough Corporation, which has taken him to nearly twenty different countries around the world! Warren will speak on his experiences after graduation, the path to his current career, and what he does at Schering Plough. He will also give insight into the status and future of the environmental field, and will give some tips for landing an environmentally related job.

We are super excited to have Warren, who helped establish the Environs, come back to share his insight.  This is a very rare opportunity, so don’t miss out!!

See you there,

Environs

Environs is starting fresh this semester with a new set of coordinators (save one :-) ) and lots of projects to attend to.

A possible list projects and doings would include (not limited to these!): local food awareness, alternative transportation, energy conservation, Haskell/Baker Wetlands, movie showings, speakers, campouts, hikes, trail maintainence,  potlucks, or whatever else comes our way. Many projects will be collaboration with other local and regional environmental groups. We get around!

We are looking for new faces to help out with the Environs for the coming semester.  There are absolutely no requirements to being a member except that you show up to the meetings, help out with event planning, and have some passion for what you do. Environs is made up of students from many different majors and backgrounds.  We think the talent diversity makes for a mutli-faceted, yet more cohesive group. We want anyone and everyone.

If you have an interest in getting active and joining the Environs, or just want some more information, email us (environs@ku.edu). If you were a member last semester and are still around, get ready!!

An official meeting time, including the first introduction meeting, is in the works and should be available later this week.

have a splendid rest of the summer,

Environs

Here is a list of events and activities we have coming up:

What: Bike Event
When: April 15th, 2009 10:00am to 2:00pm
Where: Wescoe Beach

Info: Come join us on Wescoe Beach to learn the advantages of riding your bike.  Sunflower Outdoor will be joining and giving free bike repair assessments!
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What: Lawrence Earth Day Parade
When: April 18th, 2009 11:00AM
Where: Starts at Buford-Watson Park, goes down Mass Street, end at South Park

Info: Last year was the biggest Lawrence Earth Day parade yet, and we want to do it again!

If you or your organization would like to participate, fill out the form here: http://lawrencerecycles.org/earthday09.shtml
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What: Earth Day speaker John Randolph
When: April 22nd, 2009 7:30PM
Where: Spencer Auditorium

Speech Title: Toward Sustainability of Energy, Water and Land through a Whole Community Approach

John Randolph is an expert on sustainable energy and environmental planning. He is coming all the way from Virginia Tech to give an exciting and very pertinent to Earth Day speech.

Talk description: Global resource sustainability requires international, national, and regional directives and green technology development. But sustainability begins at the local level. It is important to envision sustainable patterns of resource use in communities in order to help guide technology and policy. This presentation explores a vision for communities, addressing sustainability of our three most important resources, energy, water, and land. It builds on a concept of the Sustainable or Whole Community as applied to energy and extends that concept to water and land with mutual benefits.
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Work on Local Food:

Aside from event planning, the Environs are working with community and University members to spread the word about the environmental and health benefits of eating local.

Questions? Email us! environs@ku.edu

Local Veggie Lunch

EARTH will be collaborating with Environs to make Veggie Lunch at the ECM (1204 Oread) on November 13th using some ingredients from the Campus Garden and local farms.
Date: Thursday, November 13
Time: 11 AM-1 PM
Place: ECM

Lawrence Local Food and Localvores Event

Environs, EARTH, Oxfam KU, and Lawrence Fair Trade will be hosting a local food panel discussion on November 13th at the ECM (1204 Oread). The open discussion will be moderated by Simran Sethi, featuring local growers, entrepreneurs, and educators who will answer any questions about food production, local food/global food economics and the benefits or community and health to support local farmers.
Date: Thursday, November 13
Time: 6PM
Place: ECM

Date: Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Time: 7:30pm – 9:30pm
Location: Centennial Room, Kansas Union

The 11th Hour http://wip.warnerbros.com/11thhour/mainsite/site.html
is a documentary created, produced, and narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio on the state of the natural environment. With contributions from over 50 of the world’s most prominent thinkers and activists, including former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, physicist Stephen Hawking, Nobel Prize winner Wangari Maathai, and journalist Paul Hawken, the film documents the grave problems facing the planet’s life systems. Global warming, deforestation, mass species extinction, and depletion of the oceans’ habitats are all addressed. The film’s premise is that the future of humanity is in jeopardy.

The film offers hope and potential solutions to these problems by calling for restorative action by the reshaping and rethinking of global human activity through technology, social responsibility and conservation. Scientists and environmental advocates such as David Orr, David Suzuki, Paul Stamets, and Gloria Flora paint a portrait for a radically new and different future in which it is not humanity’s intent to dominate the planet’s life systems, but to mimic and coexist with them.

Let’s keep the T around to serve Lawrence.

If you support public transportation and the ‘T’ you can host a yard sign to encourage others to support the T as well. Yard signs must be placed in a yard that has the permission of all the tenants. It can not be placed in the public right of way which is between the sidewalk and the street. In the absence of the sidewalk this means that it can not be placed between the water meter and the street.

If you want a yard sign please let me know and I will hook you up! E-mail me at morty@ku.edu

Need more information:

Join our facebook group  http://tinyurl.com/savetheT

http://yesfortransit.org

http://lawrencetransit.org

http://kuonwheels.ku.edu

Minutes:
Introductions/Survey
Coordinators: Juliana Tran, Ryan Callihan, Bobby Grace, Amy Harris
Faculty Advisors: Chris Brown, Kelly Kindscher

History of Environs
Announcements:
Land Institute Prairie Fest September 26th-28th, Van carpooling for ESP students
Save the T by Jessica
Local food challenge for KU dining services
Campaigning against Coal Plants with GPACE
Greenpeace Climate Change Campaign
E Waste Recycling Sept 12th, Volunteers Needed ! Email johnrobertgracejr@gmail.com
Energy Fair (October 9th Stauffer Flint Lawn)
T-Shirts $8.

Also, our Local Potluck will tentatively be September 29th place TBA !

THANK YALL FOR COMING SEE YOU SEPTEMBER 22ND FOR OUR NEXT MEETING !

-Juliana

Come get to know other Environs members and find out what we’re all about.

What will be accepted?

Items accepted for recycling are computer monitors, desktops, laptops, keyboards, printers and other peripherals, televisions, copiers, scanners, telephones, cell phones, pagers, fax machines, VHS/DVD drives, and hand held devices. There is a recycling fee for computer monitors, $5 per monitor, and televisions, $15 per televisions. There are no charges for other electronic equipment. There is also an optional on-site hard drive destruction available for $5 per hard drive. Fees may be paid by cash or check.

Environs was there in April to volunteer and the City needs volunteers for this event as well. If you are interested in volunteering, contact Kathy Richardson at krichardson@ci.lawrence.ks.us.

The City is also holding a compost giveaway event. The event will be Thursday – Friday, September 25th – 26th from 8am to 3pm and Saturday, September 27th from 8am to 4pm at the City of Lawrence Wood Recovery and Composting Facility, 1420 E 11th Street (view the map). Be sure and get there early because this is only while supplies last.

For more information on both events, visit lawrencerecycles.org.

Thankfully you can learn from Jennifer’s trials.  She’s provided us with a guide on how to apply the 100 mile diet to life in Lawrence.  She provides some best bets on restaurants with local foods, what local brands to look for, the area’s CSAs, and how to cook all that local food you found.

Check out everything else Jennifer’s 100 mile diet guide has to offer.

Also check out the Lawrence Journal World article on Jennifer describing all the lessons she’s learned with her attempt at the 100 mile diet.

The group will discuss Lawrence’s current public transportation issue and possible solutions.

This site will be your source for all Environs news.  In our blog, you’ll directly from our members on what they’re doing.  You can also subscribe to the feed to make sure you’ll always updated.  You can also befriend us on Flickr and subscribe to the photostream as well.  We’ve also got a groups section where you can connect with other local environmental groups.  We found that no matter your interest, whether it’s business, engineering, or biology, there’s an environmental group on campus for you.  We’ve also got an archive section, a guide section… I’ll just let you look around.

If you want to join our email listserve or our Google Groups, shoot us an email at kuenvirons@ku.edu.

Oh and we’re on Facebook, too.