Projects included a team cleaning up debris along the Mississippi River and others planting a border and building a path in the community garden. There were five painting projects involving 45 faculty, staff, and students working in Marketing and Communication, Event and Conference Planning, Murphy Place, Lindell Library, and the tunnel beneath Christensen Center.

Tim Dougherty of the Center for Service, Work, and Learning, led projects in the community garden. Half of his crew — including President Pribbenow and his family — planted a border around the garden. Donations included day lilies and other plants from biology professor Ralph Butkowski’s yard, various perennials from Augsburg for Adults recruiter Judy Johnson, and annual flowers procured through Augsburg’s membership in the Minnesota Green Program (through the Minnesota Horticultural Society).

The other half of Dougherty’s team began building a stone path that will lead to both the labyrinth and the garden from the sidewalk on 20th Avenue. Dougherty said, “We couldn’t have gotten very far on this project without the leadership of Bruce Rowe and his summer grounds crew. Those folks are impressive!”

A group of 12 staff members (shown above with their haul) cleaned up a half acre of land along the Mississippi River. Staff member Matt Rumpza said, “Not only did we clean up our river edge, but I also met some great people.” Augsburg is a steward of a section of the river gorge through the Friends of the Mississippi River initiative.

Members of the marketing and communication department worked with Mike Magler and a team of painters to freshen up the walls of the tunnel. The Augsburg paint crew later added a maroon stripe to the walls and painted the handrails. Soon, signs will be added to the floor and walls.

At the annual staff picnic following the beautification projects, Augsburg College President Paul C. Pribbenow praised the campus community. “We at Augsburg are always mindful of caring for and helping our neighbors,” he said, “but we must remember that we are neighbors to each other. This day has demonstrated our commitment to making our campus a beautiful place.”

Pribbenow also offered thanks to the Staff Senate and Cherie Christ, who initially proposed the project as a staff service project and community-building experience. Christ said she hopes the efforts generated a sense of ownership in our workspaces and illustrated the importance of giving back to our internal as well as our external communities.

Christ said, “One of the best parts of the day, for me personally, was the opportunity to work with students on a different level. My work doesn’t always allow me to do this, and it was fun just getting to know the students.”

Special thanks to the Campus Beautification Committee: David Draus, Lisa Roe, Cherie Christ, Tim Dougherty, and Tom Morgan.

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Recently, a group of Augsburg students and facilities supervisor Tom Ruffaner got down and dirty and dug through two-days’ worth of our garbage. Their purpose? To get to the bottom of Augsburg’s well-intentioned recycling program.

Senior Donnie McCarthy was frustrated by the Augsburg community’s lackadaisical attitude toward recycling. In the wake of this spring’s successful Focus the Nation teach-in, McCarthy asked Tim Dougherty of the Center for Service, Work, and Learning for advice on how to show students what was happening.

With the help of Dougherty and Ruffaner, McCarthy and junior Jake Quarstad gathered students to conduct a trash audit. The group collected garbage from Christensen Center, Sverdrup Hall, Mortenson Hall, and the Science building. They opened the bags and separated the contents into four categories — cans and bottles, compostable materials, paper, and trash. Each portion was weighed to determine the percent of the total.

The results showed that 68.8% of the garbage is either compostable or recyclable. According to McCarthy’s calculations, out of an estimated 113,303 pounds of garbage per year, 77,953 pounds could be recycled or composted. McCarthy said, “I was hoping the results wouldn’t be so dire.”

Actually, Auggies do a respectable job, says Ruffaner. In a typical year, we collect 13.5 tons of cans and bottles, 66 tons of paper and cardboard, 280 cubic yards of yard waste for composting off campus, 4,483 fluorescent light bulbs, and numerous televisions, computer monitors, and other electronics. He also credits students in the residence halls for recycling about 400 cubic yards of cans and bottles between September 12, 2007 and April 30, 2008.

What can we do to improve our recycling efforts? Perhaps the simplest action we can take, says McCarthy, is to make use of the recycling bins available on campus. “Take the extra effort to separate your recyclables,” he suggests. “I know I can’t make people care,” he added. “Maybe we just need to tell people.”

The group plans to continue efforts to educate students, faculty, and staff about recycling. Information about reusing and recycling is available on the Environmental Stewardship Committee web site at .

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