NOTES FROM THE FIELD

Spring 2008 - Food is Elementary

Spring 2007- Hopkins Takes Steps Towards a More Sustainable Campus

Fall 2006- South African Summer Project Blends Public Health with Homewood Engineering

SPRING 2007

Hopkins Takes Steps Towards a More Sustainable Campus

How often do people gain inspiration for their jobs simply by walking across campus? For Davis Bookhart, Johns Hopkins University’s Manager of Energy and Environmental Stewardship, the answer is almost every day. Bookhart considers himself fortunate to have an uncommon university position that allows him to spend 100% of his time carefully assessing and improving the sustainability of the JHU campus. Directing the Johns Hopkins Sustainability Initiative, launched in the summer of 2006, involves taking a holistic approach to looking at all of the practices on campus and how they can be improved to maximize efficiency and reduce environmental impact. This requires leadership, cooperation and a great deal of creativity to find better ways of conducting business as a university.

Davis Bookhart next to a solar panel on the roof of Ames Hall

What is sustainability?

According to Bookhart, sustainability means operating in a smart, practical way; using resources wisely to provide a better level of service to the community. By "community" Bookhart includes not only the Homewood campus but its surrounding neighbors as well. He says, “Our role goes beyond our [physical] footprint”. He believes Hopkins should play a leadership role as an innovator, providing creative and practical solutions to the challenges of energy consumption and the environmental degradation associated with doing business in the 21^st century. He also believes that JHU is in a unique position to act as a local facilitator, encouraging and supporting the implementation of sustainability initiatives throughout Baltimore. His vision is for Hopkins to become the most sustainable university in the country --and perhaps even the world.

How does the vision become a reality?

According to Bookhart there is no “silver bullet”; rather, a “portfolio approach” is needed, addressing the larger problem by tackling it from numerous angles. Since joining JHU in March 2006, Bookhart has assisted in adding a number of initiatives to the Hopkins sustainability portfolio, the most symbolic of which is the creation of the Johns Hopkins University Sustainability Committee (SC) in September 2006. The SC is a Presidential-level committee made up of representatives from each of the academic divisions of the Johns Hopkins University system. This is a strong first step in achieving an objective that is very important to Bookhart – bringing all of the Hopkins’ campuses together to address sustainability issues.

Where can we see sustainability initiatives on campus?

Under Bookhart’s leadership, energy use by the university’s transportation sector is being transformed.  One example is the acquisition of a fleet of GEMs (Global Electric Motorcars) for Homewood campus operations, parking services and security.  The transportation sector is also moving towards converting the fuel used by its current shuttle buses from petroleum to biodiesel thereby reducing greenhouse gas emissions. 

The new Pura Vida coffee shop in Levering Hall selling 100% organic, shade grown, fair trade coffee

To conserve energy, all JHU campuses are in the process of upgrading lighting for better energy efficiency and the Homewood campus is evaluating alternative energy sources such as solar, wind and biomass on campus

Energy is not the only area where more sustainable practices are being put into place. For instance, the Homewood campus now requires that all cleaning products be biodegradable and not contain ozone depleting compounds.  A policy, now in place, emphasizes the use of an integrated pest management (IPM) approach in both buildings and grounds that relies primarily on ecologically friendly materials such as compost and organic fertilizers. There are also plans for the construction of a living roof on Ames Hall to capture rainwater and reduce runoff.

There has also been a shift towards sustainability in food services at Hopkins. Homewood recently selected its new food service provider based, in part, on their ability to meet the organic and/or locally grown food stipulations written in the Request for Proposals. This change led to the opening of the new Pura Vida coffee shop located in Levering Hall which sells only 100% organic, shade-grown, fair trade coffee.

How did we get here and where do we have to go?

All of these initiatives and more are a reflection of the University’s stated commitment to a vision of sustainability and the collaboration among all divisions. However, moving further along the sustainability scale will require a strong commitment from all the stakeholders and involvement from the student body as well.  Already, student commitment has been exemplified in the ECO-rep program initiated by Bookhart at Homewood. The ECO-rep program provides opportunities for Hopkins freshmen to become leaders in environmental stewardship by developing monthly environmental awareness activities, interacting with local and national environmental advocates and acting as role models of environmentally responsible behavior.

Bookhart is very much interested in establishing a partnership with JHSPH students by offering research opportunities to study how campus-based sustainability initiatives can affect public health. Bookhart feels that building relationships with students is critical to sustaining the momentum that was established before he assumed his current position. While we all have a great deal of work ahead of us before the University’s vision of a sustainable campus becomes a reality, it is encouraging to know that we are moving forward and that the Center for a Livable Future has such a committed ally at Homewood.

Davis Bookhart’s at the CLF’s 10^th Anniversary Celebration

FALL 2006
South African Summer Project Blends Public Health with Homewood Engineering

What happens when you mix an interdisciplinary team of students, a journey to a distant place in need, ingenuity, hard work, and some recycled materials?  From Sharon Nappier’s perspective, you get a simple, low-tech solution to village garden irrigation problems, a health assessment study, and personal enrichment beyond expectations. Nappier is a PhD candidate in Environmental Health Engineering in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences and a second-year CLF Predoctoral Fellow. She loves her research work here at the school on pathogens in Chesapeake Bay oysters but, as we all know, the oysters in the lab don’t talk much.  

Needing a temporary change of scene and, perhaps, an adventure this summer, Nappier joined a team of JHU Engineers Without Borders (JHU-EWB), a collegiate program in the Department of Geography and Environmental Engineering going to the Kwa-Zulu Natal province of South Africa to install an innovative pump irrigation system in two villages to support vegetable garden cooperatives. These villages, and many others, grow much of their food in large community gardens that require water to be hauled by women and children from distant locations – a strenuous and time-consuming task.

The pump was designed by David Alcock, a local agriculturalist and the group’s primary contact in the province. Made completely of inexpensive and readily available materials, the RAM pump has proven to be a sustainable and effective means of providing a continuous side-stream of water to the gardens, using only natural hydraulic energy of the stream for power. It costs less than four dollars to make. The dependable supply of water where it is needed allows for expansion of the gardens, a longer growing season, and a greater variety of crops.

In addition to providing a strong back to the strenuous digging tasks to install the pumps, water lines and spigots, Nappier, along with Maura Dwyer, a Dr.Ph student in Occupational and Environmental Health, brought the public health perspective to the project. They conducted an initial community assessment of households in these two rural communities to ascertain current household diet and food security, the foods that are grown, the coping mechanisms taken when food is scarce, water usage, basic health status, and household income. They also collected and analyzed over 70 water samples from a variety of locations throughout the villages and gardens. Now that the pumps have been installed, they plan to return next summer to follow-up on the impact of the pumps on injuries, water usage related to health, food amount and variety, and income generation from expanded gardens.

Here are some of Nappier’s own thoughts about the trip:

What was your overall personal reaction to the experience?

The EWB-JHU South Africa trip was one of the most rewarding experiences that I’ve had since I’ve been at Hopkins. Not only was the trip a great way to collaborate with like-minded engineers from DOGEE, but it allowed me to learn so much about life outside our institution. Rarely are we given the chance to leave our desks, labs, and computers and work in the field. This opportunity allowed me to learn South African history and culture, gain engineering and public health field skills, and actively help those in need.

What did you think of the collaboration with engineers?

Public health professionals, especially those in Environmental Health Sciences, regularly collaborate with engineers. This unique collaboration was a two-way learning experience.  For example, the engineering students taught me the nuances of the RAM pump installation, while we two JHSPH students educated them about the larger public health implications of our project. 

How was this for your first trip to an African nation?

South Africa is a wonderful country undergoing an intense transition.  The post-apartheid challenges are extremely visible, especially in the Kwa-Zulu Natal Province where we were working.  High rates of unemployment and crime, the lack of funding for education, and the alarming prevalence of HIV-AIDS, were issues that people discussed with us daily.  It is a heart-breaking situation and the problems are hard to grasp until you see them. For example, in just the few weeks we worked in South Africa, I was aware of a many funerals of family members supported by the community gardens. 

What do you think of this as an experience implementing a simple, sustainable technology?

Cheap, simple, and sustainable are very important characteristics to a successful development project. In addition, our group had an amazing South African partner, David Alcock, an agricultural technologist with a long standing relationship with many in the broader Zulu community. Unlike many unsuccessful development projects, the implementation of the RAM pump was placed in communities carefully chosen by a Mr. Alcock. He not only constructs the RAM pump from sustainable and recycled parts, but is dedicated to understanding a community’s needs and desires before implementation of such a project. 

How did you like getting out in the field?

Situations in the field are never as you imagine. I thoroughly enjoyed working in the field, but learned quickly that one must be flexible and willing to adapt. Finding and training interviewers and interpreters, processing samples with minimal lab equipment, and coordinating general logistics were interesting challenges, especially given our tight time schedule. But the experience also made me more confident and interested in working in the field in the future for disaster relief efforts and related research projects.