Sustainable Landscape Design and RU’s Campus Plan

On Thursday, Feb. 17th, landscape architect Bill Bedrossian of Bedrock Earthscapes visited Mike Bryson’s SUST 210 The Sustainable Future class in Schaumburg and gave a special guest lecture on green landscaping practices. Bill is working with a faculty/staff/student green campus committee led by Paul Matthews, Asst. VP for Campus Planning/Operations, to design a new look and sustainable landscape plan for the Schaumburg Campus. This past Thursday, Bill updated us on this ongoing planning process as well as presented his knowledge about sustainable landscape design and maintenance, a topic that connects with a variety of themes in SUST 210 this semester. Also in attendance that night were members of Prof. Greg Buckley‘s seminar in natural science (who among other things are working on a project of identifying all the tree species on the Schaumburg Campus grounds), SUST major Alan Swartz, Paul Matthews, and a few other members of the Schaumburg Campus community.

Excellent discussion ensued about the advantages of various landscape design features for energy and water conservation, as well as about the in-progress ideas for the Schaumburg Campus redesign, which includes extensive native vegetation replacing the bulk of the current turf grass; a restored wetland at the detention pond site; native plant demonstration beds and a potential orchard; bioswales, a rain garden, a cistern, and pervious paving in the parking lots for on-site water retention; a composting site and possible “edible wall” vertical garden; and better outdoor recreational space, including a baseball field. Open areas near McConnor Parkway on the campus periphery will be planted in native grasses in the short-term, but could be re-developed later as a small-scale urban farming operation.  

A pdf version of Mr. Bedrossian’s presentation to SUST 210 is included here: Sustainable Site Practices and RU Concepts. Slides 46-49 address RU’s campus grounds planning process, and slide 48 is the current draft Sustainable Landscape Plan Map. Take a look at that map (zoom in on it to see details) and as you analyze it, ask yourself some questions:

  • Who are the various groups of people that would use and experience this landscape — students, staff, faculty, visitors, etc. — and what are their needs and interests? (Think about, for example, the value of a walking/biking trail that could wind through the campus.)
  • What kinds of learning and leisure activities should the campus landscape support and encourage? How can it connect the university to the surrounding community of Schaumburg?
  • What about the plan at present do you like, and why?
  • Is there anything missing that you’d like to see incorporated into the plan?

If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions about the plan, please post them here on this blog post (if you’d prefer to simply email me feedback privately, you may do so at mbryson@roosevelt.edu ). I’ll make sure your suggestions find their way to the Schaumburg Campus committee working on this plan. Thanks for your input!

Summer Offerings in Sustainability Studies

The Sustainability Studies program at RU is pleased to unveil the summer schedule, including the debut offerings of three SUST courses.

During the May 4-week session, Professor Greg Buckley will offer SUST 390 Special Topics — Sustainability of the National Parks at both the Schaumburg campus and in a 10-day trip to Theodore Roosevelt National Park.  Enrollment for this special seminar is capped at eight students, so we urge you to look at Professor Buckley’s preview of the course and indicate soon whether you wish to participate in this unique experience.

In the session running from May 31 to August 19, we will offer three courses.

We will announce more new courses for the fall very soon, but if you are interested in taking courses this summer, please contact your RU academic advisor for registration details and consultations on financial aid options. Registration for the summer session begins March 1. If you are not currently a Roosevelt University student, we encourage you to investigate our degree options, and our course listings.  For more information, please visit  our Sustainability Studies website, call 1-877-277-5978 (1-877-APPLY RU) or email  applyRU@roosevelt.edu.

Sustainability of the National Parks: New Summer SUST Travel Course

This exciting new course, offered for the first time at Roosevelt University by Professor Gregory Buckley of the College of Professional Studies, provides a detailed look at the sustainability of America’s National Parks. This course examines the historical impetus and individuals that launched our national park system, and how the mission of the National Park Service has evolved to reflect the emerging ideals of conservation, environmentalism and sustainability.

SUST 390 will also explore historical and contemporary issues of National Park sustainability, such as the historical threats to park wildlife and ecosystems, commercial and political exploitation, and the ever-increasing stress put on the most popular parks by an escalation in the number of visitors. Readings and discussions will also examine procedures put into place by the National Park Service to make  park facilities and their operations more “green.” Field trips include a visit to a local forest preserve, as well as a 10-day trip to Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota.

For more information on Professor Buckley’s course, including required meetings at RU’s Schaumburg Campus and the travel itinerary for the North Dakota trip, see his course preview page for SUST 390 National Parks.

Free Old-Time Music Concert at RU, Feb. 11

This coming friday, my friend and RU colleague Greg Reish is giving his annual recital in Roosevelt’s historic chamber music concert space, Ganz Hall, at 8pm. This is a free concert, and not one to be missed! Greg is an accomplished guitarist and banjo player, as well as a music historian / musicologist who is a recognized authority on American folk, country, and blues music. Check out his website, and better yet, see him in person if you’re free on Friday night!

Greening the Schaumburg Campus: A Presentation

A detention pond with native planting along its banks, one of the landscapes restored by Bedrock Earthscapes

 

During the Week 4 Thursday class session for my SUST 210 Sustainable Future class in Schaumburg, we will have a guest presentation by landscape architect Bill Bedrossian of Bedrock Earthscapes. Bill is working with a faculty/staff/student green campus committee to design a new look and sustainable landscape plan for the Schaumburg Campus. He will update us on this ongoing planning process as well as present his knowledge about sustainable landscape design and maintenance, a topic that connects with a variety of themes in SUST 210 this semester. 

All 210 students as well as Sustainability Studies majors are particularly encouraged to attend; RU students/faculty at large are also welcome. Light refreshments will be served. Please RSVP to me at mbryson@roosevelt.edu by Monday, Feb. 14th, if you plan to make it. 

When / Where:
Time: 6:30pm (45-min presentation followed by 20-min Q/A discussion)
Location: Schaumburg Campus, room 627
Travel Info: Check out the Shuttle Service from the Chicago Campus if you’re coming from downtown

RU Lecture by Activist Eli Clare on Feb. 8

Join the Roosevelt University community for a discussion with writer, speaker, and activist Eli Clare, author of Exile and Pride: Disability, Queerness, and Liberation. In his presentation “Stolen Bodies, Stolen Lands,” Clare will offer a fresh take on how environmental justice issues are connected to ableism, heterosexism, racism, and classism.

When/Where:
Tuesday, February 8th, 4:30 – 6:00pm
Congress Lounge (2nd floor), Roosevelt University, 430 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago

For more information please e-mail Prof. Ellen O’Brien at eobrien@roosevelt.edu

This event is co-sponsored by the Women’s and Gender Studies Program, the Social Justice Studies Program, the Department of Economics, Feminist United, RU Proud, the Delta Gamma Pi Multicultural Sorority, and the Mansfield Institute for Social Justice and Transformation.

Joliet Junior College’s Green Opportunity in Downtown Joliet

            Last week as I walked down Chicago Street in downtown Joliet on my way to work, a giant crane — the jaws of its bucket suspended high in the cold gray winter sky — began the demolition of The White Store.

            Here in America, we’re good at a lot of things. One of them is knocking down buildings we consider to be worn out, old-fashioned, and/or irrelevant. Some of these structures were admittedly unremarkable in their architecture; others, though, were beautiful in design and possessed historical significance. One need only study the sorry history of lost buildings in Chicago to realize this.

            The imminent razing of Joliet’s 102-year-old White Store signals an end to the occasionally controversial debate over its fate, but is also an apt moment to pause and reflect on what kind of building should take its place in Joliet Junior College’s downtown campus redevelopment.

            Fortunately, JJC’s project is not an isolated endeavor, but part of their comprehensive master plan for the institution’s growth and evolution. Another factor is that the building design has not been finalized, to my knowledge.

            Consequently, I offer the following humble suggestions to the project’s leaders, with the caveat that I am neither an architect nor an urban planner — merely an interested citizen.

            (1) Go local. The Chicago region has a long and illustrious architectural history, and is exceedingly rich in design talent and building innovation. The downtown campus redevelopment could be a showcase project for a deserving firm, tie Joliet’s contemporary cityscape into that regional architectural legacy, and in the process feed the northeastern Illinois economy.

            (2) Make it green. With its LEED-certified greenhouse as well as other campus sustainability initiatives, JJC is leaping to the forefront of environmentally progressive colleges and universities. Building a model green structure would further this momentum, and create an environmental destination in downtown Joliet (much like notable green buildings draw visitors and media to other cities).

            (3) Be bold. This building must be special — a visual statement possessing flair and integrity. It should be unique in character and well-fitted to its purpose, yet harmonize with the heterogeneous architectural landscape of downtown. The last thing the world needs is another functional yet blasé box of a building.

            (4) Get lucky. The State’s financial house, unfortunately, is crumbling as fast as The White Store is, leaving JJC’s funding prospects uncertain. A miraculous economic turnaround in Illinois wouldn’t hurt, would it?

This article was published as “JJC’s Plan Should Be Bold, Green” in the Joliet Herald-News on Feb. 3rd, 2011. I write a monthly op-ed piece for the paper on local environmental, culture, and political issues. This is the same newspaper that I delivered as a kid, on foot and on my bike — including the days after the legendary Blizzard of ’79 that hit the Chicago region with a snowfall nearly equal to this week’s storm.

Midwest Real Food Summit 2011

Here’s another great opportunity to learn about sustainable food issues and systems, with a special focus on urban food production and consumption. This one’s to be held at Northwestern University in Evanston.

Midwest Real Food Summit 2011: Urban Food Systems in Development
Northwestern University, Evanston IL, Feb. 18 – 20.

Food is culture, food is community. It is what unites us, sharing a meal together. However, the system that produces and distributes and controls food in this country is flawed. The Midwest is the epicenter of our commodity food system and as students learning in midwest institutions we have the responsibility and the power to educate ourselves and those around us about the issues in the modern U.S. food system. That’s where this summit comes in!

For details and registration (students can attend for $25), see the Food Summit’s website.

Help RU Win a $250K Sustainability Grant

You and your friends can help Roosevelt University win a $250,000 grant from Pepsi that will be used to make the Schaumburg Campus an environmentally sustainable facility.

All you have to do is vote once a day during the month of January at this site: http://www.refresheverything.com/rugreenrooseveltuniversity. You can also vote on Facebook. The organization with the most votes receives the grant.

Should Roosevelt win, we plan to use the grant money in Schaumburg for the following projects:
— construction of a LEED-certified greenhouse that is powered by solar energy
— development of an organic garden to teach students how to grow native plants that will enhance the surrounding landscape
— replacement of the present asphalt in the parking lot with pervious concrete.

Roosevelt’s application is sponsored by RU Green, a student organization which was established to promote ecologically-conscious students, staff and faculty. Please help us win this major grant by voting only once a day!

Paul Matthews, Assistant Vice President, Campus Planning & Operations
Address replies to: pmatthews@roosevelt.edu

Student Conference on Sustainable Agriculture

I just got word via email of an interesting academic conference for students to be held at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin, on April 2-3, 2011. The focus is on sustainable agriculture, and one of the keynote speakers is Milwaukee-based urban farmer Will Allen, founder of Growing Power. The conference is being organized by the Sustainable Lawrence University Gardens, and is described as

a regional conference for college students dedicated to sustainable gardening and farming initiatives (whether well established or not yet realized). SISA will facilitate a much needed exchange between students involved in and interested in agricultural projects at colleges and universities throughout the midwest. Interested faculty and staff are encouraged to attend as well.

 More information can be found at the conference website; the registration is inexpensive ($20) and lodging assistance is available.