Environment

Small Business Spotlight: PROCESS

Making sustainable purchasing choices can be difficult for a consumer when items such as plastic bags and disposable containers are abundantly available for buyers. For those looking to purchase products that are low-waste and have sustainability in mind, look no further than PROCESS at 836 Main St. in Stevens Point. Rubina Martini, co-owner and founder of PROCESS, a low-waste shop ... Read More »

Schmeeckle Reserve Hosts Fall Candlelight Hike Festival

Schmeeckle Reserve hosted their annual Fall Candlelight Hike Festival on October 27 for the Stevens Point community.  Around 4,000 people attended last year’s Fall Candlelight Hike, organized and funded by Friends of Schmeeckle, a non-profit organization that helps support the Schmeeckle Reserve. The hike featured several loops of trails, lit up with hundreds of torches and jack-o’-lanterns. The festival involved ... Read More »

The Truth about UWSP’s Pesticide Use

The UWSP grounds crew reduced their pesticide use by 90% the past 25 years to sustainably care for the 104 acres of turf and flower beds on campus. Chris Brindley, the grounds superintendent, has worked for the UWSP grounds crew for 25 years. Throughout his career, Brindley noticed a significant decrease in pesticide use. When Brindley first began working at ... Read More »

Sustainable Tips-n-Tricks for Valentine’s Day Gifts

With Valentine’s Day around the corner, you may have asked yourself how you can celebrate the holiday while living a sustainable lifestyle as a conscious consumer.  While getting gifts for loved ones is enjoyable, it’s less so when those gifts aren’t used for very long and add to the clutter that’s laying around your home.  One way to celebrate this ... Read More »

Pointer Profile: Nathan Stremcha

Year: Junior Hometown: Eau Claire, Wisconsin Major: Soil Science and Land Management How did you initially get involved in your field? I grew up trimming trees and backyard gardening with my father, but I viewed these as things to do in spare time. As I started getting older, I began to learn about the devastating impacts that global climate change ... Read More »

Pointer Profile: Fox Carvis

Year: Senior Hometown: Currently I live in Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin, but I grew up all the way in New Jersey. Major: Wildlife Education How did you initially get involved in your field? Way back when I still lived in New Jersey, I started volunteering at a wildlife hospital and helping out with rehabilitation the summer after I graduated high school. I ... Read More »

Processing Compost and Recycling on Campus at the Waste Education Center

Editor’s note: Because of staffing issues early in the fall 2022 semester, several stories that were completed in a timely fashion were unfortunately not published when they should have been. Because Pointer staff members still feel them to be important for-the-record stories, we are publishing them as we can without shifting their focus from the time period in which they ... Read More »

Education in Sidewalk and Road Salt Reduction

The Office of Sustainability, SGA, and the American Water Resource Association (AWRA) invited Allison Madison, the sustainability and development coordinator at Salt Wise to inform students about the impacts of sidewalk and roadside salt on Wisconsin freshwater and drinking water. Madison explained two different processes that lead to salt being in freshwater and drinking water after it is dispersed on the ... Read More »

A Spooky and Sustainable Pop-Up Shop

On Friday, October 28, the Sustainability Office hosted a Halloween-themed pop-up shop in the DUC where students had the opportunity to find a Halloween costume, learn some spooky sustainability facts, or pick up a free spider plant. Lucia Flores, the student resource coordinator of the Sustainability Office, said that there are a variety of ways to keep sustainability in mind ... Read More »

Controversy Over Tree Trimming in Portage County

Tree trimming and removal in Portage County causes a yearly controversy between residents who say the nature along the right of way is either hazardous or beautiful. Portage County highway commissioner Nathaniel Check said that his team takes due consideration of beauty, aesthetics, and integrity of the road. The 2018 traffic system commission team deemed that 30 feet from the ... Read More »