Do you know the perfect spot for a rain barrel? Do you want to rid the campus of an unwelcome invasive plant? Or do you just think Earth Day deserves a BIG celebration?
For students with an idea that promotes sustainability at Goucher, you’re in luck. Goucher’s Green Fund offers grants to support any project, activity, or event that enhances the campus community’s ability to respect and protect the environment. Spearheaded by students in 2013, the grant program takes a $35 fee and applies it to student-led green initiatives on campus.
Erin Snyder ’17, an international relations and environmental studies double major, was awarded a grant last semester As the vice president of the greenhouse for the Campus Agricultural Co-op, Erin’s main responsibilities involve Goucher’s greenhouse and hydroponics system. She used the grant funds to reconstruct an on-campus greenhouse bed this past summer.
The original plan had been to build the new bed using old and recycled wood already in the greenhouse. “The wood was older and weaker; it would not have lasted very long as part of a new bed,” she said.
Instead, the green funding helped the group buy new materials. “We were able to make something that will really last,” she said. “In the end we designed and built a two-level greenhouse table, complete with a soil-mixing box.”
For other students who are interested in applying for a green grant, guidelines can be found here, and the application is here. Student organizations are limited to three applications per semester, and independent students may only submit one application per semester. The grants are open to students of all courses of study, and applications are due by Thursday, October 30.
Grants vary in amount. “It’s sort of project-specific,” said Gina Shamshack, assistant professor of economics, and a GESAC co-chair.
Decisions will be made by the Goucher Environmental Sustainability Advisory Council (GESAC), and applicants will be notified of their status within a few weeks of the deadline.
You can email your Green Fund application or questions to green@goucher.edu. Applications can also be mailed or delivered to GESAC co-chairs Therese Neal in Facilities Management Services or Gina Shamshak in Van Meter G38.
Photo: A new greenhouse table funded by the Green Fund.