Elon in 50 Years

Environmental Vision by ELOON

Ken Hayes, Caitlin Noll, Ashlene Patten, David Remley, Hannah Rolland
Food Production and
the Greening of Elons Campus
In 50 years we foresee the entirety of Elons food being produced either on this
campus through effective utilization of space and creative farming methods, or within the
local bioregion. We want to increase students environmental awareness through their
participation in the farming and composting system, and add courses pertaining to
sustainability, all fostering better educated global citizens. The use of native species
around campus will also be advantageous for the environment while still allowing Elon to
be the beautiful place we love. These changes will help make Elon a leader sustainable
agriculture and environmentalism that will be imperative for the future.
Overall Vision
Food Production
GOAL: Complete Bioregional dependence

What does this mean?
- All the food served at Elon
will come from either
Elons campus production or
the the surrounding natural
area so food is locally grown,
supports the local economy
and prevents transport
over long distances
Where will food be produced on campus?





- Loy Farm
- South Campus
- Elon Forest area
- Main Campus/
filler spaces
-Vertical
Greenhouses
-Aquaponic
systems
Quads:
- Productive Trees (nuts, fruits, etc) on the quads and Young Commons to maintain
beauty but have food production occurring as well
- Berries along the pathways

- These are in accordance with permacultural zoning by having the berries closest to
the paths for students to grab easily and frequently, and the orchards just a little
further off the path since they would not be used quite as often. This plan would
also allow students to grab a healthy snack on their way to class

Food production - Main Campus
Roofs:

Create garden spaces on the roofs of buildings to increase production area
o Flat roofs utilized on existing buildings
o Mandated flat roofs for future construction
Add wrap-around balconies on buildings for gardening, aesthetics and relaxation

Also have slightly concave roofs with
drains allowing rainwater to be
collected and used for watering crops,
grey water for toilets, and possibly
showers and sinks if purified

Food Production - Main Campus
Residence Areas:
Every Residence Area has at least one main garden in addition to
rooftop gardens and balcony gardens
Members of residence halls are required to care for the gardens
Food Production - Main Campus
Host a festival with some
of the food produced at
harvest time to celebrate
their hard work and foster
student unity
Areas around gardens
can also function as
quiet space or places
for hall get togethers

What is it?
-An ultra innovative method of crop production designed to
totally maximize a three dimensional area through both
biointensive and technological means

Vertical Greenhouse

-In our research, an all glass circular building is the
most productive and efficient means of the large scale
crop production Elon requires
-The building would have massive water requirements
so both rainwater catchment and waste water
treatment filtration technologies need to be
incorporated for proper irrigation
-The building should also have a means of self
generating
electricity for temperature maintenance so either
rooftop windmills or solar panels should be installed
Elons Vertical Greenhouses
All dining halls on campus will be the bottom floor of a vertical
greenhouse where students can look up and see where the food on
their plate is coming from.
-We propose the implementation of an aquaponics system in all of Elons
fountains and lakes to further increase overall food production and better
utilize our aquatic resources.

Aquaponics- a positive feedback loop food production system combining
aquaculture (the raising of aquatic animals) and hydroponics (cultivating crops
in water)
-Our aquatic animal: tilapia, a fast growing, hardy fish
-Our crops: lettuces and/or herbs, due to their relatively quick growing season
and ease of production

-Both the lettuces/herbs and the grown tilapia can be used by ARAMARK in Elon
dining halls

-The aesthetic fountains already installed in all of Elons bodies of water are
already optimized to be used as dissolved oxygen water circulators and our
proposition of using a deep water floating raft setup requires the least amount
of infrastructure installment

-Currently, aquaponics is a relatively new trend in food production and is largely
done medium to small scale. Thus, installing an aquaponics system in each of
our fountains isnt that far fetched. But we want to expand on this idea, and in
fifty years we envision Elon creating or using its existing lakes to advance this
technology to a larger scale that could provide exponentially more food
resources.
Aquaponic Systems in Fountains & Lakes


* Dining halls
- The quantity required by the dining halls to meet student needs will be
fully supplied first
* Campus Kitchen
- To maintain positive relations with this program that provides food for
those in need in the surrounding community, a certain amount of the
food produced on campus will be given to this organization
* Sold to students
- Extra food will be sold in markets on campus easily accessible to
students so they can purchase fresh food on campus rather than
traveling to the store


Where does the food go that is produced
on campus?

*In order to successfully provide all the food for
consumption on campus from either local farmers or
the food produced on Elons campus, a much stronger
partnership with ARAMARK foods must exist to allow for
these changes in product origin
Partnership with ARAMARK
Our goal is to have compost bins prevalent
around Elons campus and around the
gardens to ensure easy access and increase
utilization.

Having compost bins wherever there are trash
and recycle bins gives students the option to
dispose of items properly, without having to
put in extra effort. Also, having them near
all gardens, farms, and off campus housing
makes it easy and accessible for students
and faculty to participate in the green
process.





Waste Disposal
Dining Hall Containers:
Upon entering Elon all students are given a
reusable water bottle and food box to use for
retail food purchases as well as the to-go option
from dining halls.
If a student does forget or lose their container
they will be able to use a compostable container.
Composting- When we grow food in our gardens and
farms, the food absorbs carbon dioxide from the air
around it and is also nutrient rich. If we leave food
scraps alone we can put them into a compost bin where
gradually over time they become soil. This way the
carbon dioxide that the food gives off is brought back
into the earth as are other nutrients from the food,
helping to make this a sustainable system.

Landfilling- When putting food scraps into landfills,
valuable nutrients are lost and methane gases produced
in the landfills are powerful greenhouse gases
contributing to global climate change.

Language is powerful and if we communicate that trash
goes into a dumping ground, it might make more of an
impact on people. This might manifest a composting
culture where composting and recycling is the norm.
Thus, we should change the name trash to landfill
on the bins to make people more aware of where they
put their waste.


Why Compost Food Scraps?
Vs.
We can even make the compost bins look cool!
Making the composters stand out and look aesthetically appealing will help
encourage students and faculty to compost more often.
Also, this will go with Elons goal of having a beautiful campus and will help
make composting part of the norm at Elon.

Aesthetics of Composting
Have more recycling bins, as well as composting bins around
campus rather than just trash cans, and have signs near them to
educate people about what can actually be recycled and
composted.

Compost systems in each dorm: System similar to a garbage
disposal system but it will take the compost to a composting area
that will be used for gardens.

Make it easy: If people dont have to put in extra effort besides
dumping something in their sink or similar place in their own
apartment/dorm, they would be much more likely to do it!

Classes: Have classes on how to use and make make compost
bins. This will educate people in understanding the process,
as well as help them see how effective composting can be.

Ease of Composting & Education
Students need to be taught about farming to be both engaged citizens on Elons
campus as well as a prepared global citizens for the world after college,
especially as knowledge of food production is an increasing necessity.




Education about Farming
Ways of educating about farming include:
Freshman global classes must pertain to sustainability
Class responsibilities include taking care of a garden
(planting, weeding, watering, harvesting, etc)
Time spent at the gardens
A certain number of class periods in each semester
must be held outdoors to increase student connection
with nature
Expanding General Studies Requirements and courses
offered to include more classes focused on the
environment, sustainable living, and outdoor based
education

Work Requirements:
All students will be required to fulfill a certain number of hours working on campus farms &
gardens to help maintain the program and support the college/area food system
After the minimum number of hours of work is reached students who continue to work in the
gardens can take home produce and/or receive meal plan or food dollar benefits as
compensation/incentive for extra hours worked

Celebrations/ Fun Activities
Harvest Celebrations
Variety of interactive and fun events during Earth Week
Open farm days for the community to see the work our
campus is doing and provide the option for community
work days as well if locals wish to be involved
Ensure publicity for the program and include sustainable living tips
Further Farming Involvement
GOAL: 75% of non-structural land area must be either
native species or productive plants (fruits, vegetables,
nuts, produce etc)

Advantages of native species:
Require less watering
No need for fertilizer and they survive
throughout the year since they are
naturally acclimatized
Low maintenance
Restoring natural ecology while
maintaining beauty of campus

Utilization of Native Plant Species

Examples of native species:


Plant Species Native to North Carolina
Creeping Phlox Hoary Frostweed
Black Oak
Blackgum
Sparkleberry
Complete bioregional dependence with a significant amount of food being produced on
Elons campus through gardens, vertical greenhouses, and aquaponic systems




Recap of Vision
Use of native species to limit maintenance and restore native biodiversity
With these plans we believe that Elon can be a model of sustainable
agriculture while maintaining the wonderful atmosphere of this campus and the high
reputation it currently holds, but extending its leadership into the environmental
dimension.
Duke Campus Farm - http://sites.duke.edu/farm/farm-food/csa/

North Carolina Native Plant Society - http://www.ncwildflower.org/

Growing Power Aqauponics - http://www.growingpower.org/aquaponics.htm

Ideas from our Environmental Visions course and related readings

Photos from Google Images
References