Professor Receives Grant to Pilot Composting Project

Michael Kelrick, professor of biology, received a grant during the summer to establish a pilot program for composting food waste generated by the residence hall cafeterias. The proposal was developed in conjunction with several students during the past three years. The Northeast Solid Waste Management District of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources is providing the funding. Food waste from Ryle Hall cafeteria will be collected and transported to the University Farm, where it will be mixed with grass clippings and leaves from campus grounds, as well as with bedding from the University Farm’s horse barns. Kelrick has estimated that during a single school year, about 150 cubic yards of materials would be composted. The compost will be utilized on the University’s grounds and at the University Farm.

To implement the program, approximately two dozen students will be employed. Students can satisfy their University scholarship commitments or work study positions with project jobs, or they can work for institutional wages supplied by the grant. Time commitments can vary according to students’ needs, between three and 10 hours per week. Jobs will include collecting the food from the cafeteria dish line, transporting the collected food on a daily basis to the University Farm, mixing collected food waste with other input materials; compost pile building at the Farm and collecting data associated with monitoring decomposition of the materials. In addition to these jobs, the project will hire an environmental intern who will work closely with Kelrick to oversee the day-to-day operations of the project. The intern position will require a 10-hour-per-week commitment for the entire academic year and is supported by a $6.00-per-hour stipend.

Kelrick said the project’s success hinges upon student participation. Students interested in the project should contact Michael Kelrick as soon as possible. He plans to begin screening applicants for the intern position and holding organizational meetings for prospective compost workers by the week of Sept. 13. Contact Kelrick preferably by e-mail at mkelrick@truman.edu. He can also be contacted at 785.4071 or at his office in Magruder Hall 3024.

Truman student awarded competitive scholarship from MWCC

Nick Hart, a senior Political Science major with minors in Environmental Studies and International Studies at Truman State University, was recently announced to be the first recipient of a highly competitive environmental scholarship through the Missouri Waste Control Coalition. Applicants for the scholarship were judged on leadership experience, academic achievement, community service, and extracurricular activities.

Hart spent the past six summers working at the H Roe Bartle Scout Reservation for the Boy Scouts of America in the ecology program. Hart taught an environmental science class for two years, served as the assistant ecology director for two years, and served most recently in a two year stint as the ecology director. In 2001, Hart served as a conservation advisor on merit badges to the national level of the BSA. In 2004, he received a national camping school certification in ecology from the BSA and helped implement an active conservation plan at Bartle. He continues to influence thousands of youth and adults each year, encouraging them to make wise environmental decisions.

Hart remains active on campus in Sierra at Truman, Pi Kappa Phi, Phi Sigma Pi, Pi Sigma Alpha, Student Senate (former treasurer and current Campus Environment Chairman) and as a Writing Center consultant.