Morrisville State College Honored With Tree Campus Designation

From Morrisville State College:

 

MSC students, faculty and alumni plant a tree in the local community.

Photo by Ken Chapman, New Media Strategist

Morrisville State College has been honored again for its commitment to sustainability.

The college received 2016 Tree Campus USA® recognition by the Arbor Day Foundation for its dedication to effective urban forest management.

Tree Campus USA®, a national program created in 2008 by the Arbor Day Foundation and sponsored by Toyota, honors colleges and universities for effective campus forest management and engaging staff and students in conservation goals.

To be considered for an award, a campus must maintain a tree advisory committee and a campus tree-care plan, dedicate annual expenditures for a campus tree program and conduct an Arbor Day observance and a student service-learning project.

At Morrisville, students utilize trees for actual learning experiences including pruning, climbing, identifying, inventorying and planting.

“Morrisville’s hands-on approach to learning makes it easy for our students to have a positive impact in our local environment,” said assistant professor Rebecca Hargrave, who has led the efforts of the college’s tree campus advisory committee. “Planting and maintaining trees reinforces what we do in the classroom and Tree Campus USA® recognition is a reflection of that positive student work.”

Members of Morrisville State’s campus tree advisory committee spend months developing a campus tree-care plan which includes policies for planting, care and removal, as well as plans for tree protection and preservation.

“This recognition reflects the importance of the diverse tree collection we now have in our campus landscape with all its educational, environmental and aesthetic benefits,” said Aida Khalil, professor in the horticulture department and member of the tree campus advisory committee. 

Matt Buell, head grounds supervisor, has been instrumental in developing the college’s tree collection.

Morrisville also received Tree Campus USA® recognition in 2013, 2014 and 2015.

Western New York Farm Wins Sustainability Award

News from the American Dairy Association and Dairy Council:

Seen holding the award is Chris Noble with his wife Jennifer, family members Rob and Terri Noble (far left), and Sustainability Award host Phil Lempert

The Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy has recognized Noblehurst Farms Inc. in Linwood, Livingston County, with an award for Outstanding Achievement in Community Partnerships as part of the organization’s fifth annual U.S. Dairy Sustainability Awards. 

The awards program recognizes dairy farms, businesses and partnerships whose sustainable practices positively impact the health and well-being of consumers, communities, animals and the environment.

Noblehurst Farms was recognized with the community partnership award for its food waste cooperative, which was created by Chris Noble. Noble represents the seventh generation of leadership at Noblehurst Farms, where he holds the title of vice president. 

Noble had the vision to do the right thing with food waste by getting it out of landfills and back into the system. Through the cooperative, food waste and scraps from Wegmans Food Markets stores, as well as universities and schools, are gathered and delivered to a digester at the dairy farm that harvests methane gas from the food scraps and manure to create electricity, liquid fertilizer for crops, and dry materials that can be used for animal bedding. 

The collaborative effort not only keeps tons of food waste out of landfills, but also provides enough energy to power the entire dairy. 

“We started collecting food waste from six Wegmans grocery stores a little more than two years ago,” Noble said. “While Wegmans does a simply phenomenal job with its food donation program, in the end, there’s still food that can’t be eaten by people – things like melon rinds or orange peels. That’s where we come in.

"Currently we’re taking in food waste from more than 30 Wegmans stores throughout Western and Central Through its food scraps collection affiliate Natural Upcyling, Noblehurst Farms and its food waste recycling partners divert 500 tons of waste from local landfills per month, eliminating 409 tons of carbon dioxide emissions, the equivalent of taking 1,046 cars off the road.

“We truly value our partnership with Noblehurst and all the benefits it offers to everyone involved and throughout the community," said Jason Wadsworth, Wegmans sustainability manager. "The process is easier, safer and more efficient for our people, it reduces carbon emissions generated by landfills, helps farmers in our community achieve their sustainability goals, and creates a whole new business model for farmers and food waste haulers, adding jobs to our region."

“This is the very definition of sustainability and a project that the whole community can feel good about,” Wadsworth said.

“This year’s honorees have truly integrated sustainability into their businesses to achieve not only economic success, but also to support the well-being of their communities and our planet,” said Barbara O’Brien, president of the Innovation Center. “Their achievements throughout the value chain, both large and small,
significantly advance the dairy community’s leadership in sustainable business practices.”

For more information about Noblehurst Farms, visit www.linwoodag.com/noblehurst.html. 

To learn more about the U.S. Dairy Sustainability Awards, the winners and the best practices in place at their operations, The Innovation Center, established under the leadership of dairy farmers, aligns the collective resources of the industry to offer consumers nutritious dairy products and ingredients, and promote the health of people, communities, the planet and the industry.

American Dairy Association North East promotes dairy and its nutritional benefits to 50 million consumers within a six-state region including New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, the District of Columbia and four counties in northern Virginia. 

Established in March 2016, through the consolidation of
American Dairy Association and Dairy Council Inc., Mid-Atlantic Dairy Association and Pennsylvania Dairy Promotion Program, the organization represents the collective power of more than 13,500 dairy farm families to market their products in an increasingly competitive marketplace.