Midd Briefs Colleg Wins EPA Award for Use of Sustainably-Harvested Wood Products

Author: Lindsay Whitton

Representatives of Middlebury College accepted an Environmental Merit Award on behalf of the College during an Earth Day celebration held in Boston on April 22. Recipients of the annual award are selected by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The New England Office of the EPA recognized Middlebury's use of green certified wood and the positive influence this has had on the state's environment and economy.
Middlebury has purchased over 200,000 board-feet of green certified Vermont wood harvested from College land or family-owned forests. This has created a local demand and a good example encouraging environmentally-friendly logging and building practices. The Middlebury administration requires that wood used for College building projects be processed in the state so that Vermont residents and businesses prepare the material from logging to delivery. The wood was used to construct the new Ross Dining Hall, LaForce Hall and the recycling center.
The College made additional efforts to revive the local environmentally-conscious economy when administrators signed a $509,000 contract with Island Pond Woodworkers in December 2002. Island Pond is a company that uses green certified wood to create high-quality, custom designed furniture. The Middlebury order helped keep the small company afloat, according to Island Pond President Don Maiolo. The furniture will include book-stack end panels, media stations and study carrels for the new library that will be complete in the summer 2004.
According to a letter from Robert W. Varney, regional administrator for the EPA, the Environmental Merit Award Middlebury received is only given to "outstanding environmental advocates who have made significant contributions toward preserving and protecting our natural resources."