Go Green!

    I really enjoyed taking a drip to the compost site and EcoHouse which is a part of Ohio University that I had never had the opportunity to visit before. I never even knew where the compost site was! Annie Laurie Cadmus was our guide during our tour of the facilities and was very interesting and informative. Her job is partially funded by a grant for the compost facility. Funding from Ohio University also helps to sustain the compost and EcoHouse as part of the learning experience at OU.  I learned about the techniques that are used to compost and here at our facility, they use an in-vessel system. Food from the Central Foods Facility as well as Shively Dining Hall are currently are composting, by placing their food waste into separate trash cans that are picked up everyday and taken to the compost site off of Dairy Lane. Eventually, all of the dining halls will participate as space at the compost site expands with their new equipment. The compost is used for landscaping around OU as well as the intramural fields.

    The next stop was the EcoHouse where three students live and maintain the property while learning about what it means to live a sustainable lifestyle. Some of the energy that powers the house comes from the solar panels, and heat also comes from a thermic panel. The students that live there will take projects that they are interested in relating to sustainability in some way. There are also gardens around the EcoHouse where many different herbs and plants are placed. Garden plots are also available near the EcoHouse and are free-of-charge!