Adopted in 2009, the Safe Routes to School Plan implicitly recognizes the connection between land use, transportation and safety in the context of non-motorized transportation to school.
All posts by Martha Larson
Northfield Transportation Plan
The Northfield Comprehensive Transportation Plan balances the need for mobility with a thoughtful approach to quality of life in Northfield. The Plan’s assumptions about design speed, design vehicles and street types are critically important for the physical development of the city and for environmental and financial sustainability.
The Northfield-Minneapolis Dan Patch Passenger Rail Line
A local initiative that aims to persuade the Minnesota Legislature to lift a 2001 Legislative Moratorium on state discussion/study of the Northfield-Minneapolis ‘Dan Patch’ Passenger Rail Line, an extant rail line between Northfield/Fairbault and the Twin Cities. (Web site under development: February 2014).
Carleton Electric Car Charging Station
In August 2013, Carleton College installed the first electric vehicle charging station in Rice County. The station is open to the public and part of the ChargePoint network. For more information,visit: www.chargepoint.com
Save the Depot Fundraising Campaign
The threatened 1888 Union Pacific depot must be moved or it will be torn down. Save the Northfield Depot aims to restore this station to its former glory as the centerpoint of a local transportation hub. The organization must raise $293,000 to move and renovate the depot by summer 2014 to assure its preservation. Over $100,000 has been raised so far, but there remains a $193,000 gap that needs to be met.
Donations can be made using the “Donate Today” button to the right or by mailing a check to Save the Northfield Depot, 712 4th St. E., Northfield, MN 55057. Questions and offers of in-kind materials/labor donations are also welcome and accepted at info@northfielddepot.org.
Institutional Food Composting
St. Olaf College uses a Wright Environmental in-vessel composter to convert food service scraps and uneaten foods into rich soil amendments used throughout the college’s gardens and on its public green ways. For more information, see https://wp.stolaf.edu/sustainability/composting/
Antibiotic Alternatives for Healthy Growth Promotion in Broilers
March 5, 2013
Project description:
Partnering with Main Street Project a team of students from Debby Walser- Kuntz’s Immunology class at Carleton College researched the effectiveness of alternatives to antibiotic treatment in raising chicken broilers. They then researched what other farmers in Minnesota are doing in order to access the practicality of such alternative treatments. For each alternative treatment, they attempted to highlight both the pros and cons. This included side effects, limitations to environment, as well as cost effectiveness and present their findings to Main Street Project.
Student researchers: Brian Rhodes, Tony Daza, C.J. Dale, Sarah Rempel, Lydia English, Nick Haradhvala
Project Contact: Regi Haslett- Marroquin, reginaldo@mainstreetproject.org
Farm Bike Tour
Project Description:
The Farm Bike Tour is an annual celebration in September of Northfield food, farms and community. There is an abundance of sustainable agriculture in the immediate Northfield area. The bike tour aims to get students, local businesses, community members, and college alumni connected with healthy lifestyles and local farms. This bike tour is a free event that raises awareness of the local food scene and build bridges between different areas of the Northfield community. The entire route is usually around 18-20 miles and visits local farms, as well as both Carleton and St. Olaf campuses.
Want to get involved? Join the planning committee. Volunteering is a 10-20 hour commitment over 7 months (March-September), it is a wonderful way to be a part of the event!
Additional information: http://farmbiketour.wordpress.com/event-information/
Contact: Kelly Scheuerman (kscheuer@carleton.edu)
Northfield Young Chefs
Project description:
The Young Northfield Chefs program, run by Carleton’s Firebellies student organization, aims to inspire and empower underprivileged teenagers through the universal language of food. The program, which is partially funded by grant from the Statewide Health Improvement Program and supported by the Center for Community and Civic Engagement at Carleton College in partnership with the Northfield Middle School, connects youth not only with inspiring role models, but also to their community, their land, their food and each other. The project started in the winter of 2013 and has continued to grow and be successful.
Each week Carleton students teach cooking as an art, nurturing an environment where the children are the artists and the ingredients their working material. You cannot define art for an artist. As a result, the workshops are not focused on strict adherence to recipes. Instead, participants are guided to go step-by step in order to define and get familiar with the art they are creating. The lessons are designed to be interactive, presenting hands-on activities for students to gain a more comprehensive understanding of cooking and nutrition. One week might focus on knife skills and salsa making, while another focuses on simple stove top cooking through roasting nuts. Gradually, the program introduces more complex activities such as cooking meals. We hope to raise awareness about the importance of cooking as a great medium to promote not only sustainability and health, but also to emphasize food as a social event and the profound cultural role it plays in society. In addition, the participants learn basic cooking skills, food-related games, field trips, and lectures that enhance participants’ learning experience.
Additional Resources:
Carleton’s Firebellies Cooking Club has been featured in many publications such as this article in the Chronicle for Higher Education.
Learn more about the Firebellies group at their website: http://firebellies.wordpress.com
Project Contacts:
Vayu Rekdal (mainirev@carleton.edu), Emily Pence (pencee@carleton.edu.)
Northfield Food Hub
Project Description:
Organized by the U of M extension service, over twenty members of the Northfield community (including six Carleton students) toured 5th Season Co-op in Viroqua, Wisconsin last November. From this day long event formed a food hub working group that began investigating the feasibility of creating a Food Hub in Northfield. A group of dedicated students researched the project for their senior comps and presented the material to the community last April. The group plans to start meeting again in October of 2013 to discuss next steps.
Student Research Food Hub Comps Report
Student researchers: Sophie Daudon, Kristen Dooley, Casey Silver (Carleton College)
Contact: Marcea Frazier, marcea5@northfieldwifi.com