INSIDE
Special Edition on
MAY 2017
Sustainability
Andrea Webster, M.S. ’13, works to make things cooler in Louisville – Page 3 Inside
Positive rankings pile up – Page 1 Burgeoning energy management major pulls in students – Page 2 Giving: Support for conservation on private land – Page 5
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We’ve Learned Our Lessons Well INSIDE ESF Special Edition on Sustainability
ESF’s Sustainability Drive Stays on Track — And the Journey Is Far from Over By Claire B. Dunn
Inside ESF is published by the Office of Communications at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry.
STAFF Editor Claire B. Dunn Art Director Wendy P. Osborne Writer Karen B. Moore Contributing Writer Taylor Watson SU ’19 Editorial Assistance Peggy Olrich Contributing Editor Mark Murphy Correspondence Office of Communications 122 Bray Hall 315-470-6644 www.esf.edu/communications InsideESF@esf.edu Cover photograph by Leigh Photography
Inside ESF is printed on recycled paper. 2 INSIDE ESF III MAY 2017
Joshua Arnold, ESF's first energy manager, stands in the combined heat-and-power plant.
Sustainability is part of the fabric of life at ESF. In this special edition of Inside ESF, we take a look at what we’ve done, where we are going and what our students — both current and former — are doing in the field.
ESF
senior Ethan Requardt —sustainable energy management major, Energy Club president and passionate promoter of sustainability — keeps a close watch on the College’s sustainability efforts. “We’re on the right track and we have a lot of projects in the works to make our school better. I think we’re doing really well overall,” said Requardt, whose favorite place to study is the LEED Platinum-certified Gateway Center. Over the past several months, ESF has garnered significant recognition for its sustainability and “green” efforts: The College received a STARS Gold rating, the second-highest distinction available, from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) and was recognized for its achievements in AASHE’s 2016 Sustainable Campus Index of Top Performers. ESF was ranked among the nation’s top “Cool Schools” by Sierra magazine, the national magazine of the Sierra Club. Sierra put the College at No. 2 among 200 schools surveyed. A month after the Sierra list was published, ESF was ranked No. 2 among the nation’s “green colleges,” according to The Princeton Review.
The ratings are rooted in actions ESF has taken over the past several years to increase the sustainability of its operations overall and, in particular, to reduce its carbon footprint. Michael Kelleher, who was ESF’s first executive director of energy and sustainability, looks at the growth of the College’s sustainability efforts and sees an institution that took some chances and made significant progress. “We tend to be self-critical, but we’ve actually tried a lot and we’ve done a lot of good things,” said Kelleher, who moved on to teach in the sustainable energy management program. “Ninety-nine percent of people out there would not have tried to do something like we did in building the Gateway Center, with its own power plant. But you’ve got to try things. You’ve got to reach for things.” ESF’s Department of Physical Plant and Facilities has played a significant role in the College’s sustainability efforts. Some of the work is broad, such as re-evaluating historic practices to verify the need for continued operation of energy-consuming equipment; some is ongoing, such as continuously maintaining and replacing equipment that contributes to excess energy consumption; and some has targeted specific improvements, such as replacing fume hood controls at Jahn Laboratory to reduce the volume of conditioned air being exhausted from the building. In addition, Brian Boothroyd, assistant director of physical plant for facilities, submitted the successful Operations and Maintenance Acceleration Program grant application to the New York Power Authority, Photograph | Wendy P. Osborne, ESF
thereby securing funding to support the hiring of ESF’s first energy manager, Joshua Arnold. The most visible piece of ESF’s sustainability effort is the LEED Platinum-certified Gateway Center. The key to the building’s impact on cutting energy costs is the combined heat-and-power (CHP) plant. Arnold said the CHP enabled the College to avoid $226,000 in utility costs between June and December 2016. This year, from January to June, the cost savings are expected to be $305,000 (without accounting for overhead). The CHP supplies steam to the Gateway Center, Moon Library, Jahn and Baker laboratories, and half of Illick Hall. Eventually, the CHP may be at least partially fueled by pellets that incorporate shrub willow grown as part of an ESF pollution remediation project on the shores of nearby Onondaga Lake. Other initiatives that are reducing ESF’s energy use: An energy audit of the main campus and the Ranger School is being conducted by Trane, part of Ingersoll Rand. The audit will provide information that will be the basis of a College energy master plan. A campuswide relamping project is underway, replacing existing bulbs with more energy-efficient LED bulbs. Energy-monitoring software called Building OS is being installed on campus so students, faculty and staff can see how specific buildings are performing in terms of energy use. The College is establishing a Green Revolving Fund to provide money for projects that will generate savings that go back into the fund. A Campus Sustainability Committee was established in April 2016. It has a charge to “plan, guide, develop, monitor and evaluate ESF’s efforts related to sustainability.” Mark Lichtenstein, ESF’s executive director of sustainability, credits his predecessors with building the foundation for success and ongoing improvements. “President Wheeler has asked us to develop a ‘Path to Platinum’ with the goal of achieving STARS Platinum status, and I am excited about what that means for the College. We have much work to do, but with our students, College-wide Sustainability Committee and faculty and staff working together, I’m confident we’ll achieve even greater things in the near future.” ESF President Quentin Wheeler said ESF’s sustainability work reflects some of the background of SUNY’s incoming chancellor, Dr. Kristina M. Johnson, who will take office in September. “Dr. Johnson brings a unique combination of experiences to her new position, including her work as an undersecretary in the U.S. Department of Energy and as an inventor and entrepreneur,” Wheeler said. "Her background in engineering and energy, and a deep appreciation and affinity for environmental sustainability align well with ESF. I look forward to working with her to advance the interests of both ESF and SUNY." INSIDE ESF III MAY 2017
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Energy Management Major’s
Enrollments Rise Sharply By Karen B. Moore U.S. Department of Labor lists wind farm technicians and managers as the nation’s fastest-growing occupations — an encouraging statistic for students in ESF’s sustainable energy management (SEM) major. SEM combines the technical understanding of energy and making energy resources more sustainable while training students as professional managers of those resources, according to Michael Kelleher, senior research associate and ESF’s former executive director of energy and sustainability. ESF’s program is the first in the nation to focus on the management aspect of energy systems, said Dr. David Newman, chair of the Department of Forest and Natural Resources Management, and that’s what makes it unique. “Most of the energy programs have either been engineering programs or energy policy but not really energy management,” said Newman. SEM is also the College’s fastest-growing major. In the fall of 2016, there were 102
students in the SEM program. As many as 120 students are expected to be registered for the major for the fall of 2017. Building off the success of the undergraduate program, the College is starting a graduate program in sustainable energy. “I think it will be beneficial and advantageous in attracting graduate students,” Newman said. “We’ve been graduating students doing energy-related topics for a number of years, but now we’ll have a program directly related to their interests.” Students who have graduated in SEM have found jobs as wireless regulatory specialists, photovoltaic technicians, energy analysts and energy conservation specialists. Others have entered graduate or law school. SEM is an interdisciplinary major, with students taking classes from all perspectives of energy, finance, policy, environmental impact, current events and management, along with some design.
“We read about nuclear power, hydropower and fracking, but most people don’t get the opportunity to see these sites in action.” — Dr. Tristan Brown
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Dr. Tristan Brown, an assistant professor teaches an energy resource assement class. Students learn about renewable energy and conventional energy pathways.
“This means they have to know this broad spectrum across all the disciplines that are involved in sustainable energy and also get that management perspective,” said Dr. Marie-Odile Fortier, an assistant professor who teaches in the program. “It allows them to become more effective as leaders in sustainable energy and energy management fields because then they can communicate across other disciplines.” The SEM faculty reflects that vision. The group comprises two attorneys with Ph.D.s, a former energy manager with National Grid, a willow biomass scientist and Fortier as the engineer. “If they have a specific interest in something, they can really build up their knowledge from all different perspectives and be well-poised to enter that industry,” she said. New this semester is the energy resource assessment class started by Dr. Tristan Brown, an assistant professor in FNRM. The class has a field study component through which students spend the semester learning about renewable energy and more conventional energy pathways. At the end of the semester, they visit a number of major energy systems including power plants and nuclear power plants. “Students get to see energy systems, pathways in action,” said Brown. “We read about nuclear power, hydropower and fracking, but most people don’t get the opportunity to see these sites in action.” Brown is also the lead investigator on a $906,000 U.S. Department of Agriculture grant investigating the commercial and environmental feasibility of converting willow and forest residues to bioenergy. The study will consist of a combination of primary data and a model to study the environmental impacts and the costs of the processes. Fortier and Dr. Timothy Volk, director of the College’s willow project, are also working on the study. Students are being recruited to assist the study, giving them another way to learn about renewable energy. “This is what the field is heading toward – interdisciplinary work where everything is connected,” said Fortier.
Photograph | Wendy P. Osborne, ESF
In Louisville, ESF grad and others aim to turn down the urban heat By Claire B. Dunn
Andrea Webster, M.S. ’13, works on an intensive green roof that was installed on a building owned by the Louisville Housing Authority. The soil is deep enough to support plantings that help mitigate urban heat.
When
Andrea Webster decided to leave her job with the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) and pursue a graduate degree, her goal was to study sustainability from every angle — political, economic, scientific and social. Having worked at the high-visibility nonprofit organization whose mission is to “inspire and catalyze higher education to lead the global sustainability transformation,” Webster had a special perspective on which university would be the best place for her to further her education. She enrolled in a dual program that comprises studying at both ESF and Syracuse University. She earned her M.S. in environmental studies from ESF in 2013, finding time to work in what is now called the Office of Sustainability and play an instrumental role in the College’s successful application to be recognized with a 2014 Second Nature Climate Leadership Award. She also earned a Certificate of Advanced Study in Sustainable Enterprise through SU, then finished up with a master’s degree in public administration from SU’s Maxwell School. “I knew I wanted to do government or nonprofit work,” Webster said. “Sustainability is not just environmental. It’s all encompassing.” She found her niche in Louisville, Kentucky, where she works as a sustainability project manager for Louisville Metro Government. She is part of a team responsible for implementing Louisville’s citywide sustainability plan, managing an array of projects. Much of Webster’s work is tied to Louisville’s efforts to deal with the urban heat island problem that drew national attention to the city. Research conducted in 2012 showed that Louisville has one of the most rapidly growing heat islands in the country. In addition to causing more energy consumption, heat islands create threats to human
Photograph | Leigh Photography
health; they make air pollution worse and vulnerable people are especially at risk. As a result of the research, a comprehensive urban heat management study was conducted. Most urban heat studies look at surface temperatures, but Louisville took a different approach. “Our study, conducted through a partnership with Georgia Tech, looked at conditions two meters above ground because that’s where humans experience temperature,” Webster said. To mitigate the effects of urban heat, the study recommends more greenery, the use of cool materials, such as white roofs, and reducing waste heat. Webster sees progress being made. A comprehensive urban heat mitigation strategy is under development; Louisville was recently accepted into the Rockefeller Foundation’s 100 Resilient Cities program; and Mayor Greg Fischer signed the Compact of Mayors, a worldwide effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, track progress and prepare for the effects of climate change. The challenge requires balancing the realities of economic and political feasibility with actions that are both socially acceptable and environmentally correct. “There are certain things you can only learn on the job, but I feel my ESF education — all my degrees, actually — prepared me well. I like that it’s a mission-driven job. And it’s a mission I can get behind,” Webster said. “It’s a place where change is needed, and it’s rewarding on a day-to-day basis. The work I do is intellectually stimulating at the same time.” To read more about ESF’s sustainability efforts, including feature stories about alumnae Sue Fassler ’10, M.P.S. ’12, and Hannah Morgan ’14, go to www.inside.esf.edu. INSIDE ESF III MAY 2017
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GIVING Dear Friends: Since 1963, ESF College Foundation has worked with alumni, friends and organizations to provide financial support for ESF students and academic programs. Brenda Greenfield We are deeply grateful for the consistent and generous commitment of donors to ESF. A top priority is to provide funding for student scholarships. ESF provides both need-based and merit-based scholarships. Need-based scholarships make an ESF education affordable to students who lack financial resources, while merit-based scholarships provide an incentive for high academic achievement. To attract and retain the best and brightest scholars, ESF needs to continue to increase scholarship offerings. In 2015-16, ESF College Foundation provided nearly $1.7 million in scholarships to ESF students. This includes awards from approximately 180 named scholarship funds. In addition, flexible funds allowed the Foundation and ESF to provide Presidential and National merit scholarships to 597 students. Our students have accomplished amazing things thanks to your support. In addition to scholarship support, our donors consistently provide the funds needed to enhance the quality of our academic programs. We are excited about a new privately funded course offering and field experience that will focus on private land conservation management. It is a privilege every day to witness the impact of your gifts at ESF. Thank you for making a difference in the lives of ESF students. Sincerely, Brenda Greenfield Assistant Vice President, Development Executive Director, ESF College Foundation
Heaphy Joins Development Leadership Team Nora Heaphy, a former major gifts officer for ESF, has returned to campus to help direct ESF’s development initiatives. Her new position creates opportunities to expand the College’s successful development operation in support of ESF’s mission.Heaphy will play a key role in the design and execution of a strategic development plan and oversee development functions that include major gifts, mid-level giving, the Annual Fund and stewardship. Heaphy most recently served as the chief development officer for Catholic Charities of Onondaga County. Previously, she worked with the ESF Office of Development for two years in the area of major gifts. In addition to her work at ESF, she has held senior level development positions at InterFaith Works and CUNY. Nora Heaphy
Scholarship Eases Financial Burden as ‘Jet’ Lewis Builds a Busy Life Lewis holds an Eastern garter snake she found during her summer at the Cranberry Lake Biological Station.
Jet’aime “Jet” Lewis is not one to shy away from an opportunity for involvement. She listed her current activities at ESF: chief communications officer in the Undergraduate Student Association, officer in the pre-vet club, resident adviser in Centennial Hall, researcher in Dr. Christopher Whipps’ wildlife studies lab and assistant in the sustainability office. “That’s it for right now,” she said. Lewis is a sophomore environmental biology major from Murrieta, California. She discovered ESF when she received a publication from the College in the mail. After looking at all of her options, Lewis chose to leave the West Coast behind and attend ESF because she liked the close-knit feel of the campus and felt there was room for her to grow within the field of biology. Lewis also liked ESF because it was the least expensive school on her list. She was the recipient of a National Scholarship from ESF. She said this helped to relieve some of the financial burden of going to college and keeps her motivated. “It's made a difference in making sure that I try to be especially on top of my grades since there is a minimum GPA requirement to keep the award,” Lewis said.
Lewis was in a general biology II lecture her freshman year when she learned her professor, Whipps, did research in a genetics lab. It sparked her interest, so she approached him and was an apprentice in his lab during the end of her freshman year. She has been doing research during her sophomore year on a project that tracks how pathogens transfer from biofilms and micro-bacteria to organisms, and how fish are affected. She said the research is opening her eyes to more possibilities. Lewis had planned on attending veterinary school, but because of the research she is doing, she is leaning toward getting her Ph.D. instead. Lewis hopes her activities will culminate in a career in wildlife rehabilitation, working with endangered species. She is interested in working for nonprofits such as the World Wildlife Fund or National Geographic, and focuses on networking with ESF professors to connect her with people who work in the field. “The professors and the faculty that are here are some of the best resources that I have, and I go to them more than my friends sometimes,” she said. “They have so much knowledge — they’re just like a vault of information and possibility.” —By Taylor Watson, SU '19
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Photographs | Wendy P. Osborne, ESF, and courtesy of Jet Lewis
Students John Short, left, Seaira Goetz and Julia Wozniacki measure the diameter of a large ash tree as part of a biological survey during their spring break in March. A gift from the Fuller Center funds a biodiversity researcher position for Sam Quinn, below, ESF ’07, M.S. ’10.
$500,000 Gift Funds Initiative on Conserving Private Land A $500,000 gift from the Fuller Center for Productive Landscapes “The idea is to tell the has established a new initiative at ESF, devoted to exploring with both landowners, ‘Here are the students and landowners the conservation opportunities that exist on numbers. Here’s how these privately held land. sustainable practices and The gift from the Fuller Center, which is a living laboratory for biodiversity conservation can exploring the role of place in cultural and ecological sustainability, is add to your bottom line as a the largest single gift ever received by the College’s Roosevelt Wild Life farmer or a forester,’” he said. Station (RWLS). The gift will be administered by the ESF College FounDuring spring break this dation, Inc. year, Quinn and 10 ESF Nora Heaphy of the ESF Office of Development described the support students spent 10 days at a as a “transformational gift” that will positively impact ESF students as large, private property in the Northeast, conducting a biological survey the college takes on a leadership role in shaping the relationship between while formulating land management recommendations. The students are private land management and biodiversity conservation. from several different academic programs at ESF, including landscape “Most land is privately owned. About 70 percent of the land in the architecture and conservation biology. United States is in private hands. The future of conservation is on private Eventually, the partnership between the College and the Fuller Center property,” said ESF Professor James Gibbs, director will generate and disseminate guidelines based on of the RWLS. “Most landowners we interact with the highest-quality science available for promoting “One of our primary goals are passionate about making sure their land sustains biodiversity conservation on private lands. The both their families and wildlife. A lot of landowners is to have ESF students explore project seeks to create a network of landowners, are asking for advice about how to deal with those landscape design firms and collaborating agencies the challenge of balancing combined challenges and opportunities.” biodiversity conservation with to spread the lessons learned. A key partner will be The Fuller Center’s gift, funded over five years, is Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects, which working landscapes.” aimed at educating private landowners about how has worked with the RWLS to integrate biological — Dr. Donald J. Leopold. they can use their land for productive purposes inventories into landscape design. such as agriculture, forestry or recreation while “One of our primary goals is to have ESF students enhancing and safeguarding biodiversity. The project is designed to explore the challenge of balancing biodiversity conservation with workgenerate appropriate guidance and provide trained professionals needed ing landscapes,” said Donald J. Leopold, chair of the ESF Department to manage private lands sustainably, and encourage mixed land uses that of Environmental and Forest Biology. “The Fuller Center provides a support land stewardship, including bolstering small-scale agriculture unique setting for immersive study given the complexity of fields, woods, that was historically so important in the Northeast. wetlands, lake, residential areas and small-scale agriculture, all at the The gift supports a position for biodiversity researcher Sam Quinn, property.” who earned his undergraduate degree in conservation biology from ESF ESF President Quentin Wheeler said ESF is honored to establish this in 2007 and his M.S. in conservation biology in 2010. Quinn’s experience partnership between the Fuller Center for Productive Landscapes and as a farm biologist in Virginia makes him uniquely qualified to take on the RWLS. “This provides an opportunity to advance science-based this new role. conservation of biodiversity in working landscapes,” Wheeler said. “As “As a farm biologist, you’re managing the landscape for both biodiverPresident Theodore Roosevelt once said: ‘The conservation of natural sity and economic benefit,” he said. “You can often do both with some resources is the fundamental problem. Unless we solve that problem it conservation knowhow. will avail us little to solve all others.’” Photographs | Sam Quinn, and Wendy P. Osborne, ESF
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Office of Communications 1 Forestry Drive Syracuse, New York 13210-2778
CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED
ESF EARTH WEEK 2017
Earth Week has long been an ESF tradition. This year, activities extended beyond campus as students, alumni, faculty and staff joined Earth Day and March for Science events in Syracuse, Washington, D.C., and around the country. Highlights on campus included a speech by author and environmentalist Bill McKibben. In the nation’s capital, Dr. Paul Hirsch led a teach-in on the National Mall and Dr. Robin Kimmerer gave an address on the main stage during Earth Day/March for Science observances.