Grinnell Outdoor Recreation Program
The Grinnell Outdoor Recreation Program provides Grinnellians with opportunities to pursue various outdoor recreational activities when classes are in session. GORP also often offers special programming during fall, winter, and spring breaks. Activities have included hiking, canoeing, skiing, camping, kayaking, cycling, and more.
GORP provides experiential opportunities in the outdoors; we know that when people experience nature, they are often more interested in protecting it. GORP organizers choose outings with sustainability in mind and prioritize sustainability when purchasing supplies for programming.
Students who are interested in getting involved can email GORP to receive emails promoting opportunities. Also, keep an eye on Handshake for employment opportunities with GORP.
Sunrise Movement Grinnell Hub
Sunrise Grinnell was founded in the late 2018/early 2019. Since then, members have taken action across central Iowa, traveling to Des Moines multiple times and working with other Sunrise Movement hubs across the state to promote the Green New Deal and climate action while working toward a livable future. Members meet weekly to plan nonviolent actions on- and off-campus. The purpose of Sunrise Movement Grinnell Hub is to engage in environmental activism in Grinnell and throughout Iowa. Students can expect focused time discussing the planning of environmental actions and projects. Individuals do the work between meetings, which are used to regroup and re-delegate based on project updates.
Sunrise Grinnell focuses on sustainability by taking the big picture of climate change and working toward legislation on the state and federal level. They are focused on big action. They are workers with a goal and hope to plan actions to involve the larger campus community. The membership is large, but the group of students planning what they do is fairly small and low-key.
In recent years, Sunrise Grinnell met with trustee Michael Kahn ’74 to discuss what the College has done since the divestment movement lost steam in spring 2018. Before the pandemic, work with the Sunrise Hub was ongoing in Iowa City to put together a 2020 50th Earth Day protest to promote climate action. In spring 2022, Sunrise Grinnell is working with the Student Environmental Committee to reduce light pollution on campus, reduce the College’s greenhouse gas impact, and promote/teach nonviolent direct action
Students who are interested in getting involved can send an email to sunrise@grinnell.edu.
Student Environmental Committee (SEC)
SEC is an organization run by students and for students, dedicated to sustainability at Grinnell. The goal is to involve students in projects and discussions pertaining to environmental sustainability topics ranging from carbon neutrality to recycling/reusing to composting. SEC works to serve the campus community and help create connections among faculty, staff, and community members.
SEC members work together to brainstorm and implement projects focused on reducing waste, conserving resources, and engaging with others in the campus community. It is a collaborative, democratic environment, ensuring that everyone has a voice and that all concerns are adequately addressed. SEC takes a very hands-on approach, involving students with research, outreach, engagement, and firsthand experience talking to faculty and staff. Often meetings will include announcements as well as time to collaborate on large projects or group discussions of pertinent environmental justice topics. The agenda is flexible, so students can choose what they want to discuss. SEC also hosts outreach events, such as movie nights.
Recently, SEC ran an outreach event that created notebooks from recycled materials. SEC has also been working in conjunction with the Dining Hall and Spencer Grill to use more sustainable products, such as compostable containers. SEC has also been conducting a lighting audit, a student project to research the use of lights and other electronics on campus after class hours. In addition, SEC has hosted several film screenings.
Students who are interested in getting involved can email sgasec@grinnell.edu to be added to an email list. SEC also hosts tabling or activities where students can talk about how to get involved.
Farm House
This College-owned house is one of five project houses on campus. A project house consists of students with a common interest and a desire to promote that interest to the campus community. Groups interested in a house must present a project proposal to the Residence Life Committee for consideration.
1023 Park Street has been awarded to Farm House for the 2021–22 academic year.
Food Recovery Network (FRN)
FRN unites students at colleges and universities to fight food waste and hunger by recovering perishable food that would otherwise go to waste from their campuses and the surrounding communities and donating it to people in need. The Grinnell College Chapter of the Food Recovery Network works with Dining Services, Mid-Iowa Community Action, First Presbyterian Church, and various local businesses to combat hunger in Grinnell by diverting recoverable foods from landfills to low-income families.