Sustainability is an old word that has taken on new meaning in the 21st Century. It means the ability to survive and function over time, and now it includes the active efforts of human beings to make choices that help maintain and support a healthy environment and a vibrant economy at the same time. Short-term economic choices offer immediate profits, but they may fail to build a brighter economic future.

Davis & Elkins College Sustainability Studies Program is an important part of the Kump Education Center goal of “Creating a brighter future.” Sustainability Studies Professor Dr. Crystal Krause and her students study the general principles that guide sustainability and plan to apply these concepts to help solve real world problems at Kump Education Center.

Water quality has been a sustainability concern at Kump Education Center because one of the horses was poisoned by substances dumped in Goddin Creek several years ago. We have been testing the water quality since 2014, and we need a management plan for planting trees and removing invasive species. Senior Ryan Mullennex is testing the creek water and preparing a management plan for the wetland. His project will include planting young sycamore trees along the perimeter to replace the old fence in the future.

Permeable surfaces are another water quality innovation replacing blacktop paving in sustainable communities. D&E student Hannah Hanifan is preparing to add a permeable sidewalk in Kump Community Garden. She will install a metal grid to hold gravel steady enough for wheelchairs to maneuver near the raised beds, and water will seep through.

The Kump Community Garden was a D&E Sustainability Studies project in 2010. Now, gardeners want raised beds, and we hope to get a greenhouse to cover plants and extend the growing season. D&E student, Molly Flin, will build two raised beds with a triangular plastic roof designed to extend the growing season.

We really need better security lighting at Kump Center, and D&E student Sam Behrens has found the perfect solar powered outdoor lighting fixtures to brighten the garden and the entrance to a new classroom in the basement. Installing this solar outdoor light will give us better security at no additional energy cost.

We are planning for more renewable energy to save money. Our new electric meter will be prepared to bring power in and to send it back out to the grid when we have solar panels or windmills in the future.