Committee Members Present: Michael McKay, Chair; Patrick Caddeau, Pablo Debenedetti, Katharine Hackett, Tom Kreutz, Paul Lewis, Jenna Losh, Tom Nyquist, Stu Orefice

Committee Members Absent: Robin Izzo, Denise Mauzerall, Cole Morris '10, Shana Weber, Derek Welski '11, Don Weston

Other Attendees: Mary Banfield, James Boehlert, Rick Curtis, Roger Demareski, Andrea DeRose, Jeff Domanski, Sandra Kearney, Chad Klaus, Lisa Leisinger, Ruth Stevens, Lang Wang '11, Eileen Zerba

Guest Speakers: Jim Waltman, Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association; Thomas Chen '11, Wesley Loo '10, Zack Burns '10

Meeting Theme: Community Education and Action

Michael McKay welcomed everyone to the meeting; introductions were made.  The following items were discussed:

1. Stony Brook Millstone Watershed Association

Jim Waltman, Executive Director of the Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association, gave a presentation about the history and the role of the association.  Jim stated that the mission of the Watershed is to protect the clean water and the natural environment in an area of approximately 265 square miles in Central New Jersey through conservation, advocacy, science and education.  The stream watch program, conservation and river-friendly partnerships and environmental education were discussed.  Jim explained that Princeton University has had a long relationship with the Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed on a variety of programs, i.e. PU Waterwatch, EPICS, Outdoor Action, the Program in Teacher Preparation and the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology.

Jim gave an update on the Watershed Master Plan and discussed areas for research collaboration with Princeton University on: (1) androgynous fish restoration, (2) water conservation and energy savings, (3) ecological research on grassland restoration, (4) carbon sequestration on 860 acres at the Watershed Reserve and forest/stream/pond ecology and (5) regional hydrogen energy systems.

2. Office of Sustainability Updates

• Eco Reps Program
  Wesley Loo '10 and Zack Burns '10, members of the Eco Reps Program, presented to the Committee updates on several of their campus-wide sustainability initiatives.  Wesley stated that the Eco Reps continue to promote recycling on campus.  The Eco Reps were represented at the Sustainability Forum, held on September 17, 2008 at the Frist Campus Center, where recycling rules and information about Recyclemania were displayed.  Wesley also reported that the Eco Reps continue to play a major role in Recyclemania, a competition between many schools, including Harvard, Yale, Brown and Penn, to see who has the highest recycling rate.  This year's competition ends in mid-April.
  
  A proposal to combine all year-end projects - clothing, book and furniture drives - by using colored plastic bags, i.e., orange for reusables, blue for recyclables and black for waste was discussed.  Zack stated that the Eco Reps continue to collaborate with the USG (Undergraduate Student Government) on the LED (light emitting diode) light bulb project and the "Pull the Plug" project with SURGE (Students United for a Responsible Global Environment).
   
• Rocky/Mathey Dorm Energy Competition
  Thomas Chen '11 reported on the "Do it in the Dark" competition, which was held at Rocky/Mathey College the week of December 8, 2008.  The goal of this contest, to decrease energy usage in the dorms, received support from the RCA (Residential College Advisor's), the College Council and the Rocky/Mathey College Directors of Student Life.  Tom also stated that the competition was advertised in The Daily Princetonian and the Princeton Alumni Weekly.  Tom explained that there were challenges using the old style electric meters in Witherspoon and Edwards and the need to spot check them as well as the shared meters for dorms such as Blair/Buyers and Joline/Campbell.  Tom also gave an update on the results of the competition.  He also said that the next competition is scheduled for the week of April 20 between Forbes College and Whitman College.

The meeting adjourned at 1:30 pm.  The next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, March 24, 2009  in the Wilcox Private Dining Room.

Respectfully submitted,

Mary Banfield
Executive Assistant
Facilities, Office of the Vice President