USDOT grant revitalizes Z lot, ‘crumbling’ Dairy Bar

The Dairy Bar is preparing to have some cosmetic work done over winter break, breathing new life into the 100-year-old structure in an effort to turn it into another popular social hub on the UNH campus. The renovations, combined with current construction in Z Lot, the parking lot in front of the Dairy Bar, are funded by two grants, which were also a part of the funding UNH received to have work done on Main Street this summer. The grants total $913,000 and are 80 percent funded by the U.S. Department of Transportation, significantly less than the $2 million undertaking of the Main Street Project.

The current construction includes a new bus turnaround and drop-off section in front of the Dairy Bar and Durham train station. These road renovations will allow intercity buses to transport passengers to and from Durham more easily. The project, which began at the end of August, is scheduled to be complete sometime in November.

Revamping the Dairy Bar, which is the second phase of construction, will begin after the bus turnaround is complete. Advertising for the building was scheduled to begin on Sunday, Sept. 30. A contractor for the building reconstruction will be selected by Nov. 1. According to Stephen Pesci, special project director of campus planning at UNH, the renovation is long overdue.

“The Dairy Bar is basically crumbling (from the inside),” Pesci said. He cited the building’s old age and his desire to promote the structure’s interesting history as reasons for the construction.

Plans for the Dairy Bar include knocking down the extended wooden structure, which protrudes from the section closest to the Whittemore Center, and replacing it with another overhang exactly like the one presently covering the picnic tables on the train platform.

The exterior will be worked on first, during the fall semester, allowing the Dairy Bar to remain open until winter break, when it typically closes. Once the exterior is done, the Dairy Bar will be closed and the focus will be on improving the inside of the building. The Dairy Bar plans to be back in action by March 1, 2008. 

Kiwi Magazine names UNH one of 50 ‘greenest’ colleges

In a recent publication by Kiwi Magazine, UNH was named one of the 50 most energy efficient colleges in the nation in the “College Green Report.”

Kiwi, a company based out of New York committed to promoting the use of organic materials and organic lifestyles, has cited practices in UNH’s dining facilities and the Office of Sustainability as two of the main reasons for being selected for the report.
“What struck us about the University of New Hampshire’s sustainability practices is that they are taking their commitment beyond the campus,” said Kiwi editorial director Sara Gragnolati.

Originally planning to do a shorter article for the number of schools selected, the number was increased to 50 when editors realized just how many schools around the country are now implementing sustainability programs.

“It’s inspiring to know that colleges are using their tremendous influence to make sustainability and eco-consciousness a way of life,” said Gragnolati.

Having existed since 1997, the UNH Office of Sustainability is the oldest of its kind among institutions of higher education in the United States, and one of the most successful. Since its creation, the Office of Sustainability has continued to hold true to its four main goals of sustainability: biodiversity and ecosystems; climate and energy; culture and sustainability; and food, agriculture and nutrition.

“I feel that UNH’s sustainability program is great and it can only get better,” said sophomore Selina Souza. “I love it! Having worked in the Office of Sustainability last year, I know the dedication of it and that it will work continuously to the goal of being green.” 

UNH Compost Program “Cleans House”

The truck rumbles to a start and rolls out of C Lot before the sun rises every Monday through Friday at 5:45 a.m. Not many people around Durham even know what the truck is used for—no one except for the hardworking compost employees, that is.
The first stop for the white Chevrolet one-ton compost-collecting truck is the loading dock of Holloway Commons. Usually in the freezing cold, the employees sign in and get to work removing students’ food waste while everyone is still in bed.

The 50-gallon yellow buckets are lifted by two workers at a time onto the modified bed with a hydraulic lift. The contents of the plastic containers is what makes the University of New Hampshire compost program what it is.

Started in 1997, the UNH compost program, which is managed and funded by University Hospitality Services and the College of Life Sciences and Agriculture, is one of the university’s unsung heroes. Everyday, the five compost employees remove food waste from Holloway Commons, Stillings and Philbrook dining halls, as well as many downtown locations.

As the truck pulls out of Philbrook Dining Hall at 6:16 a.m. with seven more buckets of food and vegetable matter stacked across the back of the truck, only the early morning joggers and third shift workers around Durham catch a glimpse of the half-loaded truck.

“It is the coolest part of the day that everyone misses out on,” said employee Tristan Williams, who says he enjoys getting an early start to the workday.

The compost program saves the university money in waste removal fees, and also sets a valuable example for both students on campus and residents of Durham and the state of New Hampshire.

“It promotes several ideas of sustainability,” said David Hill, an area manager for Holloway Commons and the Memorial Union Building food court.

Hill believes that one of the major advantages of having a compost program at a university is not only to remove uneaten food waste, but to also teach students how much food is actually wasted in a day.