Just last year, Portland was rated the No. 1 city in the country for sustainability.

Linfield’s Portland campus is right on track with numerous sustainability projects and campaigns that have the whole campus eager to participate.

Similar to the Mac campus, they have composting receptacles and are piloting a composting program in the residential areas.

They also utilize compostable dishes and napkins at large events.

Their ASLC provides reusable silverware to students who commute and bring lunch (which is about 80% of their student body).

Campus events also offer extra raffle tickets at events with prizes to those students who bring their own plates.

Both of these efforts have had a large impact on their waste reduction.

To encourage bike commuting, Student Life bought u-locks that they loan out to students for free (similar to what we do at the Bike Co-Op).

They’re also looking into Bike Lockers to keep residential students’ bikes out of the weather during the winter months or when students are gone for extended periods of time (such as during Jan term).

Along the lines of transportation, they offer discounted or free tickets and passes for students to utilize the public transportation in Portland.

Even better, they have a monthly Commuter Challenge where students and staff who commute via bike, mass transit, and carpool get to log their alternative commuting and earn raffle tickets to win prizes – a successful program that has encouraged alternative transportation.

Moreover, their ResLife and Student Life sponsor trips on mass transit to local farmers markets, encouraging students to connect with local food sources.

And finally, the Mac campus Facilities department has been helping the Portland custodial services switch over to more environmentally responsible cleaning products.

Way to go, Portland campus!

We have a lot we can learn from them – perhaps we will adopt some of their ideas.

What do you think about the Portland campus’ efforts? What would help you participate in a more sustainable Linfield community?

Here’s at least one answer: participate in one (or all!) of the numerous Earth Week events taking place April 18th-26th!

Be on the look out for information regarding all of the events, including the second annual Earth Games (which you can sign up for here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/EarthGames.

We are always looking for new ideas to help improve our sustainability efforts on campus.

Let us know what sustainability efforts or ideas you are interested in seeing on campus.

We really want to make them happen!

Email [email protected] with your suggestions or stop by our office in Cozine.

Katricia Stewart

Office of Sustainability

The Office of Sustainability can be reached at [email protected]