St. Paul's Green Efforts Continue Through ASP

By JOE TARR

Members of both the ASP and SPS communites waste electricity every day, which increases emissions to the atmosphere. The faculty and maintenance staff work hard to reduce the campus’ carbon footprint in a time where global warming remains a critical issue.

St. Paul’s Schoolhouse alone has a $5000 monthly electric bill. Little signs are posted above most light switches asking people to, please, shut them off. Some light switches state the Schoolhouse monthly electricity bill. House supervisors and interns enforce that students turn off their lights whenever necessary. The dorms use motion sensor lights in the hallways to ensure they are off most of the day. In most dorm showers there are sand timers of three to five minutes to encourage students to use less hot water.

The Ecology class is working on avoiding fertilizers with chemicals at St. Pauls by making a compost pile, which will create life for more earth worms and strengthen the quality of the soil. With the use of fertilizers, St. Pauls takes the risk of the chemicals being washed out into the many ponds on campus, killing wildlife. Every day at breakfast, lunch, and dinner students are asked to throw napkins and food into marked barrels so the Ecology class can put it in the compost pile that they have constructed. “The barrels are not anything new. Previous ecology classes have done the same process over the summer, taking the job of the hands of the cafeteria staff as they take control during the normal school year,” said Ben Henry of Goffstown, an Ecology this summer.



The ecology class also tests the water in Turkey Pond. The Ecology class came to the conclusion after many tests for oxygen content, carbon dioxide, alkalinity, conductivity, turbidity, and pH that Turkey Pond is safe for recreation. “Just not to drink,” said by Sarah Vivinetto, another Ecology student from Salem. The lake was tested in four different areas according to Vivinetto. “All around the pond, it is safe for recreation.” Vivinetto said. This was concluded after many “vigorous water tests”, added Vivinetto.

Saving energy is largely enforced in dorms too. Interns and house supervisors are required by Michael Ricard, the program Director, to encourage students to be green by turning off lights and fans during the day when they are out of their rooms. “Students are also not allowed to have personal air conditioners nor personal refrigerators in an effort to help lower electricity use on campus. This along with other small requirements, such as lights being turned off whenever they can be, help a lot with keeping the cost of electricity down,” says Ricard. He adds, “The maintenance department also tries to remind the students wherever there is a light switch by posting some kind of note above the switch. I agree that global warming is a crisis, and is something we take very seriously here at St. Pauls. We are trying to do everything we can to keep our environment clean.”