Sustainability

People and Planet

At Mount Mercy University, sustainability is about people and planet. We are guided by the Sisters of Mercy’s Critical Concerns and 17 United Nations’ Sustainability Goals—where everyone can participate in sustainability and make this planet a place for all to thrive.

Sustainability includes socio-cultural, economic, and environmental perspectives, including human rights, equality, diversity, poverty reduction, corporate responsibility, natural resources, biodiversity, sustainable development, and climate change.

Sustainability at MMU takes many forms:

Converting to LED lights
Providing single-stream recycling
Reducing food waste in the cafeteria and plastic waste
Using more environmentally-friendly products
Integrating native plants on campus
Providing the Mustang Market to help food-insecure students
Offering service trips that focus on poverty reduction and diversity
Creating the Environmental Community Organizers (ECO) Club for students
Including sustainability in our curriculum across our diverse majors and minors

We are constantly looking for ways to make Mount Mercy University sustainable for future students and our surrounding community.

Campus Pollinator Garden

Campus Rain Garden

Initiatives

Rain gardens—Our two campus rain gardens are located outside our historical Warde Hall. Every year, these gardens help infiltrate up to 35,000 gallons of water each, protecting water quality and introducing Iowa’s native plants onto campus.
LED lights—The Office of Sustainability, Student Government Association, and Facilities have worked together to install LED lights throughout many areas of campus to reduce our carbon impact.
Geothermal—The University Center is heated and cooled using 100% geothermal technology. Using the warmth of the earth, we are able to keep our building at a comfortable temperature without using fossil fuels.
Pollinator garden—In 2019, we installed a pollinator garden at the University Center. This garden is 100% Iowa native plants. You will find flowers like Common Milkweed and Prairie Blazing Star and grasses like Little Blue Stem. You might even see our official state flower, the Meadow Rose.
Bioswales—Storm water is a key issue in Cedar Rapids, and Mount Mercy is working to be part of the solution. At our Rinderknecht Athletic Center, we installed bioswales to reduce runoff from our parking lots and protect water quality.
Composting—Food waste is a growing concern in the U.S. and around the world. Our food services director tracks food consumption to ensure that we limit food waste. All pre-consumer waste is composted to improve our state’s soils and limit our carbon impact.
Recycling—At Mount Mercy, we believe in reducing waste and reusing whenever possible. If waste is unavoidable, we recycle as much as we can. Our facilities, print shop, faculty, students, and staff all work together to ensure that waste is recycled properly. From paper and plastic to print cartridges and appliances, our goal is to reduce landfill waste and our environmental impact.

Ethan Wherry '20

Finance, Management

Julia Roedel '19

Biology

“Mount Mercy’s sustainability program proved that sustainability is an achievable goal that requires a paradigm shift. This shift is begins at the age where us young adults are capable of making decisions on our own for our future.”

Ethan Wherry '20

In 2019, the Office of Sustainability hosted a Called to Climate Action conference, calling all students across the state to learn and discuss how their faith calls them to act for climate justice.

In 2019, Mount Mercy joined the Upper Midwest Association for Campus Sustainability (UMACS) conference, focusing on diversity, community, and creativity for sustainable development.

Over 100 Mount Mercy students joined Coe College to clean up Mound View neighborhood. This event takes place every semester and is hosted by Mount Mercy in the fall.

In 2018, the Office of Sustainability, AmeriCorps, and the City of Cedar Rapids installed a 150 square foot rain garden.

Rain gardens mitigate water into the soil rather than into storm water drains. They infiltrate 35,000 gallons of storm water a year, helping water quality and preventing erosion.

In April of 2018, the Office of Sustainability, ECO, and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources planted 17 native trees on campus which were blessed by the Sisters of Mercy.

In 2018, monarch caterpillars habited the milkweeds in our newly installed rain garden. The Office of Sustainability raised them until adulthood and released them on campus.

In 2019, the Office of Sustainability installed a large pollinator garden full of Iowa native flowers and grasses at the University Center.

Tips to Care for the Earth

Find alternatives to single-use plastics and other single-use items (grocery bags, sandwich bags, bottled water, single-serving packaged snacks, straws, etc.).
Recycle what you do use (electronics, appliances, paper, plastic, metals).
Reduce meat consumption.
Buy local and/or sustainability sourced products whenever possible.
Limit your driving by finding efficient routes and schedules to avoid backtracking and multiple trips.
Replace inefficient appliances and utilities with ones that reduce your energy and water consumption.
If possible, compost. If you live in Cedar Rapids, items like plant-based food scraps, napkins, and paper towels go in your yard waste bin.

The Office of Sustainability partnered with MMU’s music and art department to host an Earth Day celebration.

Sculpture students collected their plastic trash for a week and then created art using it as their media.

Digital art students were asked to create art related to plastic waste and Earth Day.

Our talented music students performed a variety of Earth-related music during the showcase.