After a fulfilling dinner and thoughtful dinner talk delivered by Prof. Robin Gottfried, the group released a candle-lit flotilla of lights on the lake. (All boats retrieved the next morning!)

A sunny gorgeous day for learning about campus environmental activities and just having fun tie-dying t-shirts with the kids or learning to make paper.

Thanks to the efforts of many people but most especially those of

     Katharine Wilkinson, Jamey Lowdermilk, Caitlin McCollister and Prof. Sid Brown

today Vice Chancellor Joel Cunningham has signed the Talloire Declaration on behalf of The University of the South.

ER Training took place Feb 20-22, 2004 at the DuBose Conference Center in Monteagle, TN where all the new ER's met and got to know each other as well as some of what lies ahead of them when they officially take up their tasks next year. Some of them are excited about getting started now!

Here's list of some of the projects that were being undertaken by Environmental Residents working together and with other students....

• Andrew Schmidt and Brian Sparkman will be working with John Benson and others on maintaining the secondary trails (often called the fire trails and including the parallel trails out by Breakfield)....

• Katharine Wilkinson will be working with David Haskell and Jamey Lowdermilk and others on sustainability issues at McClurg, on Students for an Environmentally Responsible President, and on a renewable energy proposal (windmill? solar? buying green power? it's all up for research right now!)--Mary Bruce Gray will be of assistance, too.

• Brett Scheffers, David Schultz, and Andrew von Gontard will be working on the Sewanee Elementary Nature Trail and on nature walks for grade school kids.

• Michael Pleasants continues to be King of Glass Recycling--stay tuned for the Grand Opening!

• Maggie Vogel is working with Jon Evans on an Environmental Leadership Award and will next semester take on the organizing of the Green Pledge dinner

• Lauren Taylor and Sid Brown are working on a lending library of environmental posters for ERs to use in the dorms.

• Cynthia Gray and Grace Kennedy are working on increasing recycling at All Saints.

• Jamey Lowdermilk will be working on a website for the ERs

• Jamey, Caitlin, Michelle Thompson and others at Residence Life will soon continue to work on greater institutionalization of the ER program

• all of us with assistance from Jamey and Caitlin are working to keep the recycling at the dorms going smoothly and to do what we can to keep the recycling containers clean of trash so the recycling actually gets recycled.