Building Up a Sustainable Loras Community

Missy Wachuta, Neil Kane, Joel Schmidt, Nino Erba, Drake Graettinger,
Maggie Saenz Ruiz
Mentor: Dr. Benjamin Darr

Background and Purpose

Honors students who have taken on
the task of making Loras a more
sustainable campus. We have chosen
to focus our efforts on Water
Sustainability but recognize that any
topic within sustainability is part of a
greater whole. We have spent the past
semester researching the broader
topic of sustainability which includes
the areas of Alternative Energy, Water
Conservation, Cultural and Social
Implications of Sustainability, and
Environmental Awareness and
Education. With our research we would
like to offer knowledge of sustainable
practices and how we could
incorporate them not only at Loras but
the Dubuque community as a whole.
To do this we are engaged in a threeyear research project that takes us out
Sustainability
into the community
and broader
society through partnerships and
investigative research.

Strategy/Plan
1. Sophomore Year (Semester 1)
Broad research
History, Social
Impact, Alternative
energy, etc
Group website
2. Sophomore Year (Semester 2)
Topic narrowing
Community partner selection
and relationship building
Service learning
3. Junior Year
Service learning
Continuing specific research
Identification of specific
problems and solutions
4. Senior Year
Coordinating and implementing
solutions
Reflecting and analyzing upon
the effectiveness of the
solution

Community Partners

Based on our cumulative research, we

have defined sustainability as
conscious use and regulation based on
various resources within the
environment and the community that
provides for current and future needs.
Some dimensions of sustainability:

Waste management
Energy usage
Water conservation
Education
Transportation
Environmental resources
Community assets

As a group we currently have two community partners GreenIowa

AmeriCorps and the DMASWA who we will be working with, at least during
this stage of our project. Up to this point we have only worked with them
on a few occasions but we are looking forward to increasing our
collaboration and engaging in a meaningful , mutually beneficial
relationship with both organizations. We are also looking to increase our
partnerships as our project becomes more and more specialized.

GreenIowa AmeriCorps:
Mission statement: Helping make Iowans more energy efficient
through low-impact home weatherization, energy education, and
community outreach.

Dubuque Metropolitan Area Solid Waste AgencyEducation Office:

Examples of Guiding Principles:
Studying and identifying alternative solid waste management
methods, customer needs, and funding approaches, and
providing for the implementation of services to fill identified
voids.
Providing a structure for community/member input to
decisions and ongoing Board member education.
So far, working with these partners has not only given us insight into the
implementation of sustainability but has also connected us with further
individuals and resources within the Dubuque community. It has been a
great chance to get to know the people in our communities, whether they
be on campus at Loras or in Dubuque itself.

LORAS.EDU

Moving Forward
As our project continues we hope to
become more and more engaged with
our community partners and increase
our resource network through
community members here in Dubuque.
We do this with the goal of gathering
others expertise as well as our own
observations of what can be done in
the city and at Loras to increase the
sustainability of the buildings and
operations of each.
As we continue our research we will
zero in on best practices and models
for water sustainability from other
successful sustainable ventures. We will
pay special attention to practices done
by local and/or institutions with similar
situations.

We are moving forward with the goal of

implementing a measure to increase
sustainability on campus and through
Possibilities
our research and experience we will
work towards selecting and executing a
As a group and through our research
sustainable solution best suited to the
we have identified a few possibilities
needs of our community.
for our final implementation. Some of
these may be viable for Loras at this
time and others may not be. At the
moment we are expecting to look
further into these possibilities:
Educate not only Loras but the
Dubuque community on how to
reduce water usage
Look into installing eco-friendly
toilets
Water faucet aerators
Raising awareness of the campus
water monitors
Engage in community service which
overall assists in reducing water
usage
Join forces with
References
Sustainability Green
Team
http://www.greeniowaamericorps.org/
Get your feedback on water usage
at Loras
here
http://www.dmaswa.org/
http://www.sustainablelorascollege.w
eebly.com