Going
Green
ON A RAINY MARCH
day in Fort Collins, Colo., six students gathered around a neon green flatbed truck, trying to figure out how the heck to fasten a 300-pound chicken coop for the drive to Colorado State University Hillel. They made it. And when that 4 x 4 pulled up to CSU Hillel, it became the first Hillel in the country with a working chicken coop. “This is really a mansion for chickens,” said Alex Amchislavskiy, Hillel campus director at CSU. “Hillel is a home away from home for students. Now it’ll be a home for chickens as well.”
18
• Jewish Life on Campus
OK, but why? It’s the old chicken and the egg: Hillel feeds food scraps to the chickens, whose waste can be used as compost for the garden, which will grow vegetables for Shabbat meals, whose scraps will again be fed to the chickens. A virtuous circle. And a green one. Hillels are increasingly looking for ways to reduce their footprint on the planet. Three have installed solar panels on their buildings. Green activist and former congressional candidate Erin Schrode has also spoken at several Hillels about how individual students can reduce their carbon footprint.
Chicken coops and solar panels are helping Hillels become more sustainable BY HANNAH ELOVITZ PHOTOS COURTESY HILLEL OF COLORADO
“The Torah’s teachings around sustainability are especially enlightening,” Amchislavskiy said. “One is forbidden to eat before giving food to one’s animals. This teaches incredible sensitivity to others that is needed in this world. That is what I hope my students learn from caring for our chickens.” Made possible by a grant from Hazon, the chicken coop is the latest in CSU Hillel’s sustainability initiatives. CSU Hillel is also one of the first in the country to receive the Hazon Seal of Sustainability, which