SUSTAINABILITY Newsletter
SPRING 2021
Spotlight
Leslie Eldridge
Leslie is a professor in the Environmental Science and Policy Department at SOU. She got her BA from Stanford University, with a major in Cultural and Social Anthropology and a minor in Psychology. She has a Master’s degree in Env Science and Management from UC Santa Barbara. Leslie has worked an assortment of jobs that relate to environmental science. She worked in Outdoor Education as an Outward Bound Wilderness Instructor and Watch Officer. She taught on traditional tall ships, crewing, and for semesters at sea. She sailed from Maine to Venezuela in a schooner for over one year. It was epic! As Leslie started working more on boats, she got interested in supporting science and got a job on an NOAA Oceanographic Research Vessel in Alaska. After grad school, Leslie got more involved with policy and worked on Capitol Hill in the US Senate for a year, then went to work for the National Marine Sanctuary Program, both in Santa Barbara and then San Francisco.
When connecting Leslie’s work and life to sustainability, Leslie aims to make little changes every day, such as riding her bike around Ashland, sourcing her produce and meat from local CSAs (The Farm at SOU of course!), and even leaving textbooks behind and moving to OERs (online e-readers). Leslie aspires to do the best she can and support students in their aspirations to being more sustainable. Leslie fills many roles when engaging with sustainability at SOU. She is on the Sustainability Council at SOU. She also serves on the Mt. Ashland Environment and Sustainability Committee and is the Ashland Parks and Recreation Commissioner. All of these positions help her connect to SOU and with the community to ensure sustainability is addressed on several levels.
Leslie’s favorite part about working with SOU is the students! She loves teaching ES 408: EcoAdventure series, which combines academic studies with field trip adventures all around the Rogue Valley and beyond. Students have camped in the Redwoods, whitewater paddled the Rogue and Smith Rivers, climbed volcanoes in Lassen National Park, snowshoed on Mt. Shasta, and spent summers in Costa Rica and Mexico. Leslie is an outstanding professor and wonderful active citizen. SOU is grateful to have her!
Rianna Koppel
Rianna Koppel majors in Environmental Policy and Science, and she is an at-large member of the Environmental Affairs Committee at SOU. Rianna works for the Ashland Food Co-op as the Sustainability Coordinator, and at True South Solar as an administrative assistant. Rianna is also a regional organizer for the Oregon Clean Energy Campaign, which is helping to advocate for clean energy bills during the 2021 Oregon legislative session. Rianna’s work connects with sustainability at SOU because as a student, she wants to write more proposals for solar arrays at SOU.
A current project Rianna is working on with the Environmental Affairs Committee is with Becs Walker, SOU’s Sustainability Manager, to put a solar array on the barn at the SOU Farm. The Farm was awarded a grant for this project from the Oregon Department of Energy, and there is a $5,000 incentive from the City of Ashland. This solar array will be funded by the Department of Energy grant, the city incentive, and the Green Fund. Rianna is looking forward to more solar projects after this one! There are many opportunities to put more solar all over the SOU campus.
We asked Rianna what is an aspect of SOU’s values and approaches to sustainability and Rainna says, “I appreciate SOU’s growing educational focus on the indigenous peoples of America. Intersectional sustainability must include native history as well as address current, regional projects that have impacts on tribes today, for example, the LNG pipeline proposal or eventual Klamath Dam removal. I am happy to be a student at a university that values sustainable agriculture in practice just like at the SOU Farm. I’m also glad to work with staff like Becs Walker and professors like Vince Smith to work on projects that create lasting change at SOU.” Rianna is an excellent student and an active citizen in her area. Shout out to Rianna for being inspirational and motivating!
Events and Opportunities
- Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) Program!
Beneficial way for community members to support local farmers (SOU) by investing in a share of crops for a reduced price, once a week. Pick up time is Thursdays 1 – 5 PM. You can sign up for CSA through this link here. Pricing options are as follows:
• Full Share CSA – $499 – Will feed 3-4 and be a total of $32.50 of produce on a weekly basis.
• Half Share CSA – $299 – Will feed 1-2 and be a total of $16.25 of produce on a weekly basis - Equity Roundtable: Addressing Systemic Racism, a Conversation with Law Enforcement | May 13th, 12:30 – 1:30 PM
This Equity Roundtable will focus on addressing the national coverage of systemic racism and how local law enforcement are responding. Come listen to a panel of local law enforcement representatives to discuss the changes they have taken on, and at the end we’ll all share ideas for what can be done at SOU to promote a sense of safety. For more details and to join on Zoom visit: https://tinyurl.com/roundtable6. - Farm Workshops
Join the Farm Team at SOU for these Friday afternoon workshops to learn basic gardening skills, get your hands dirty, and take home giveaways! Workshop time will be from 2 – 3 PM, and we encourage folks to stay afterwards to volunteer! For details and to sign up in advance, visit tinyurl.com/farmworkshops21.
• May 21st 2 – 4 PM, workshop will be on “Intro to Composting”
• May 28th 2 – 4 PM, workshop will be “Grow Your Own Pollinator Garden” - Market Farm Stand
SOU’s farm will have a farm stand on the corner of Siskiyou and Whigtman for students, staff, faculty, and community every Thursday from 1 – 5 PM. Come enjoy delicious fruits and vegetables sustainably grown by our very own SOU students! - Meditation & Yoga Club | Thursday’s from 5:30 – 7:30 PM
Free yoga and ice cream at La Casa Del Pueblo! - OSPIRG
This term, OSPIRG is hosting a clean energy campaign where they are working to commit Oregon to 100% clean electricity through virtual events, media work, and generating grassroots support. OSPRIG will be holding visibility and education events this spring term, and interested volunteers can help organize events, reach out to community groups to generate support, and increase visibility through social media. For more information or questions, you can reach OSPRIG by following this link here. - Rewilding Adventures
Apply now to participate in Cedar’s Senior Capstone for Outdoor Adventure Leadership! Join us for a day of reconnection with the wilderness where we rest our ever-thinking minds, tune in with our bodies and hearts, and learn from the more-than-human world. No experience needed, only a willingness to learn. Spots are limited to 8 people. The links for more information are attached in the dates below!
• Sunday’s 9 AM – 3 PM – May 16th & 23rd - Volunteer with SOU Farm! | Every Friday 1:30 – 4:30 PM
Learn sustainable agriculture practices and get your hands in the soil!
Location: 155 Walker Ave
Campus Updates
- Earth Month 2021:
SOU’s first full Earth Month has officially ended. We are so happy to have been able to help host so many amazing events from the Earth Day Panel with Climate Daisy and Climate Diva, to the Battle of the Food Pantry Bags Cookoff! It was amazing being able to connect with so many different people who all care so much about our Earth. Follow the Student Sustainability Team on Social Media to see more about Earth Month and other events!
Instagram: sou_studentsustainability | Facebook: Student Sustainability at SOU. - SOU and Climate Action in the community
Sarah Ross, SOU’s Student Zero Waste Coordinator writes about her experience participating in Southern Oregon Climate Act Now’s (SOCAN) Master Climate Protector Course and what we can do to work together to mitigate, and adapt to climate change. Check out Sarah’s article here. - SOU’s pledge to the Real Food Campus Commitment:
Throughout the pandemic, the Student Sustainability Team has continued to work with SOU Dining to assess progress made toward achieving the Real Food Campus Commitment. In 2018, SOU signed on to the Real Food Campus Commitment, which stipulates that by 2023 20% of the campus food budget will go toward items that are ecologically sound, fair, humane, and/or local/regionally sourced. Due to the interruptions in food services at SOU in the 2020-21 school year, the percentage of SOU Dining’s food and beverage budget that was spent on items qualifying as “Real” will likely be greatly reduced from the 8% reached in 2019-2020. SOU Dining is optimistic that, with the reopening of the SOU campus in 2021-22, they will be well situated to resume incremental progress toward the goal of 20% Real Food by 2023.
“Each one of us matters, has a role to play, and makes a difference. Each one of us must take responsibility for our own lives, and above all, show respect and love for living things around us, especially each other.”
~ Jane Goodall
Global Buzz
Environmental Equity
Sustainability is not just about recycling and preserving natural resources, sustainability is also about taking care of the people who live on this Earth. There are many environmental crises impacting today’s planet, people, and economy, but more importantly, these crises are impacting marginalized communities the most. Environmental Equity means “protection from environmental hazards as well as access to environmental benefits, regardless of income, race, and other characteristics” (Gonzalez, Pierce. 2021). This includes integrating policies that support communities (specifically low-income households) to access clean technologies and infrastructure.
This is a difficult time for many communities suffering from racial injustice and environmental inequity. SOU wants to assure our campus and community that we are here for you and will provide the appropriate resources you need to stay safe and healthy. Follow the link below for SOU’s available resources.
Equity, Diversity, Inclusion Resources: https://edi.sou.edu/get-involved/
