Environmental Citizenship

Bethel’s existing environmental commitments and accomplishments include these actions and policies:

• An active campus recycling program
• Student Environmental Action Club programs that have provided discounted compact fluorescent light bulbs to students, placed water and energy conservation stickers throughout the residence halls and organized informational Earth Day events
• Extensive natural areas owned and maintained by the college that include an interpretive walking path (the Sand Creek Trail system) and two native prairies (Sand Prairie Natural History Preserve and Broadie Prairie Preserve)
• Kauffman Museum tallgrass prairie exhibit and Kingsbury Prairie Restoration Studies Project, on the edges of campus
• Currently 12 of the 15 main campus buildings are on the Energy Management System, which manages energy use through time scheduling, night setbacks, modulating valves, motor speed controls, space conditioning in relation to outside air temperature, and lighting management. Efforts are continually underway to refine and expand the schedule of these systems.
• In our groundskeeping and landscaping, we severely limit the use of synthetic chemicals; use low maintenance, highly adapted plants in all flowerbeds; and apply non-toxic calcium chloride salt to icy sidewalks.
• Water usage has been reduced, with the greatest savings in the residence halls. All residence halls have low-volume flush toilets as well as water-saving shower heads.
• All lighting fixtures are being upgraded to newer technology that can save more than 40 percent in electricity usage over older style lighting while producing more light. In some cases, the greater light output allows us to disconnect some adjacent fixtures, resulting in even greater energy savings. 
• Trayless dining, instituted in fall 2009, saves water and energy