Welcome!

This is St. Olaf's account of its environmental stewardship.

In a beautiful essay called "Doing Good Work Together," William Kittredge suggests that

We live in stories. What we are is stories. We do things because of what is called character, and our character is formed by the stories we learn to live in. Late in the night we listen to our own breathing in the dark and rework our stories. We do it again the next morning, and all day long, before the looking glass of ourselves, reinventing reasons for our lives. Other than such storytelling there is no reason to things.

This website is a sharing of stories. Beginning with the college mission and strategic plan, it tells the story of how we're reworking our story to be one of environmental responsibility. It suggests that a college education helps us form character by learning to live in stories. And it tries to provide a reason for things, a way of understanding the important changes and challenges of the 21 st century, the era of ecological transition.

These stories are arranged in three main parts: principles, performance and possibilities. The principles constitute our reason for things, offering a way of shaping our lives and work in this place. The principles shape our performance, an account of our environmental stewardship (good and bad) at this time. And the performance offers a foundation for new possibilities, which is a process of discovering the new stories we want to live in.

Within this structure of stories, you'll find accounts of our teaching (both in and out of class), our energy use, our food service, our flow of materials, and our waste stream. You'll find stories of environmental restoration and spiritual connection. You'll enjoy stories of the new campus composter, the wind turbine and the plans for a green Science Complex. You'll also find stories about the people who have made all this possible, the students and faculty and staff who have lived stories that make a difference to this college and its campus.