Stories about "Tom Twist"
“We’re at the Bates Garden and we’re doing something different this year, which is just cultivating a third of the garden with butternut squash and cherry tomatoes. The rest we’re just leaving to cover crop so we’ve planted oats and peas, and that will keep the weeds down amd also put a lot of organic material back into the soil.What we’ve also done differently is we’ve let a lot of stuff become wildflowers, and it’s really neat. It’s the most insect life I think I’ve ever seen in the garden. So we’re thinking about doing that going forward.The butternut squash we’re growing because it basically takes care of itself. Aaprt from Hermione, whose been volunteering every weekin the garden, we don’t have any paid student gardeners this year.This year we’ll probably send the cherry tomatoes to dining. A lot of the squash we’re going to send to St. Mary’s Food Bank.”Tom Twist, Sustainability ManagerFacility Servicesν “It’s just cool spending time with Tom and gardening. Quarantining can be kind of isolating so it’s nice to be out here and do some physical work, something that’s physical in the garden. And it’s nice to see them grow that fast. And we’ve got berries down there as well: strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries. And apple trees.”Environmental studies major Hermione Zhou '21 of Shenzhen, ChinaTom says: “The blackberries are wild. Everything else we put in.” And they’ll be picking them too!
How’s Bates doing in sustainability? The answer is Gold

Friday, November 19, 2021 9:13 am

One of 10 "Top Performer"s in the country, Bates earned a Gold rating for excellence in sustainability performance from an international benchmarking organization.

Ecorep Tamsin Stringer ’22 of Bloomington, Ind., poses at the new electric charger stations behind Underhill in the Merrill Gym parking lot.“Underhill Electric Vehicle Chargers Project “Bates has installed other EV chargers in the past. This project will be different for three primary reasons. First, we have already received a grant from CMP for the make-ready infrastructure portion of the project, which has historically been the bulk of the expenses for EV charger installations. Secondly, this project will include installing level 2 chargers for the first time at Bates, which will allow for monetary collections for charging, tiered charging for different kinds of customers, and incentivize to move one’s car once it's fully charged. Finally, this project allows for future EV charger installations in the same location for much lower cost, because the make-ready infrastructure for more EV chargers will be easily accessible.
Student energy puts a charge into new electric-vehicle stations

Thursday, November 11, 2021 2:07 pm

One finding from a Bates survey on electric vehicle use gave Tamsin Stringer '22 a jolt: Bates needed more EV plugins, so she set out to help.

At Clean Sweep, students’ stuff makes great yard sale finds

Friday, June 28, 2019 1:06 pm

The hundreds of people who entered Underhill saw a cornucopia of college life, from a wall of bedding to a pile of yoga mats to electric kettles and an Egyptian drum.

A day in the life of Pettengill Hall, featuring staff, faculty and students engaged in learning, studying, and working, with both internal and external images.Looking through the windows of the second floor AAACS lounge toward the Cutten smokestack.
Bates College attains carbon neutrality ahead of schedule

Thursday, May 16, 2019 4:00 am

Out of some 700 U.S. colleges and universities to sign a carbon-neutrality pledge in 2007, Bates is one of only seven to date that have reached that goal.

Onions and taters and kale, oh my! — It’s the Bates Garden

Wednesday, May 9, 2018 10:55 am

The new Bates Garden will feed both hungry diners and student curiosity about sustainable food production.

Campus Construction Update: Shortridge goes 100 percent solar

Thursday, November 16, 2017 1:57 pm

A year after the first row of solar panels went atop Bates' Coastal Center at Shortridge, a second row has made the center electrically self-sufficient.

November brings exercises to trim our waste

Thursday, November 9, 2017 1:57 pm

At Bates College, No Shave November will be overshadowed by No Waste November, a series of events dedicated to cultivating good waste-disposal habits.

Bates strikes Gold with new sustainability rating

Friday, September 15, 2017 10:01 am

Reflecting strong collaboration and projects large and small, Bates earns a major rating for sustainability.

Trash talk: Bates boosts its waste-management game

Wednesday, March 1, 2017 4:09 pm

Bates College's sustainability coordinator has come up with waste-sorting stations that make it easier for Bates people to do the right thing with their trash.

Is the student-led Mount David cleanup a model for a litter-free hill?

Monday, June 13, 2016 12:51 pm

Mount David's stewardship reflects a truism from that famous 1970s TV commercial: “People start pollution. People can stop it."