There is a crucial intersection of collective demand and responsive action that helps Hamilton College become a further sustainable college and community. Hamilton’s Sustainability Coordinators (HSC) gather student sustainability desires, while Physical Plant plays a responsive and transparent role as the authority tasked with making these desires a reality.
At the beginning of November, Donald Craft pointed the Hamilton community’s attention towards new sustainability initiatives taken by Physical Plant and the Hamilton Sustainability Coordinators. These updates focused on managing the campus grounds, which may seem less than thrilling to some, but actually serve as the foundation of existing as an authentically sustainable campus.
Much of the sustainability work that goes on between Physical Plant and HSC occurs when no one is watching. This summer the Rogers Estate garage was renovated and Physical Plant discovered two beehives attached to the roof. Physical Plant took it upon themselves to safely (for them and the bees) remove the beehives from the garage and relocate them off campus.
Hamilton even has a new friend on campus. Physical Plant recently introduced a largemouth bass in the Kennedy Center for Theatre and the Studio Arts (KTSA) pond to prevent the spread of the gold fish population down to Oriskany Creek. Since largemouth bass are native predators they will naturally reduce the gold fish population, which is important since, as a non-native species, the gold fish could invade our local streams.
Campus foliage also has made some sustainable improvement, as Physical Plant began trial planting hasta around the bases of trees. Hasta is a shade-tolerant plant that allows Physical Plant to evade spraying herbicides. The hasta plant also offers a more aesthetically pleasing look to the campus trees, and can be seen around the trees in certain areas of the light side of campus.
Furthermore, Physical Plant was proud to announce that the pollinator gardens at Rogers field are currently experimenting with trial plots, and all the plots were cleared without any use of herbicides. The crew tried out different mulching methods and is awaiting the results in the spring. These efforts accompany a student revitalization of the Rogers Estate garden, an effort of the Hamilton Community Garden Committee to bring students back to the garden located behind the Co-Op.
In past years, this garden has served as a gathering place for students interested in agriculture, local food movements, or simply looking to use gardening as a method to de-stress.
Campus sustainability is undoubtedly a collaborative effort on campus. The work between HSC and Physical Plant shows what is going on behind the scenes to help Hamilton become a healthier campus. These updates may not be the most eyebrow raising or aesthetically pleasing as some green efforts, nonetheless, Physical Plant gets the job done when it comes to reducing chemicals on campus, protecting wildlife, and promoting local ecosystems. Thank you, Physical Plant and Hamilton Sustainability
