News & Events – Page 7 – The Wege Foundation

Friendship, Varneau, and LED Lighting

August 7, 2015January 18, 2017Arts & Culture

In July 2015, Wealthy Theatre again made history by converting all its lighting to LED making it the first restored theatre in the world to achieve this 90 percent energy-saving status. This LED gift from The Wege Foundation includes a new roof with additional solar panels above the Peter Wege Auditorium and a new solar/LED lamp in the Sigsbee Street parking lot behind the Theatre. That lamp is especially important to the neighborhood as it’s the main source of light for that section of Sigsbee Street.

The shining new additional solar panels on the Theatre’s roof can be seen by the Theatre’s Baxter neighbors as the sun hits them providing enough free power to run all the stage lights. Theatre Director Erin Wilson called the LED/solar lighting of the Peter Wege Auditorium “a fitting tribute to the great man after whom it is named.”

It was Peter Wege who helped make the first “history” happen at Wealthy in 1998 when he helped save it from the wrecking ball after 25 years of vacancy and vandalism. Wealthy Theatre had once been that business district’s main attraction with its own streetcar stop; but by the 1990s, it was the center of a crime district.

Built in 1911, the ornate theater was originally named the Pastime Vaudette with live entertainment and silent movies. But it opened just as vaudeville died out. During World War I, the elegant Theatre’s large spaces were filled with equipment for the Michigan Aircraft Company.

In 1920, it reopened as Wealthy Theatre owned by Oscar and Lillian Varneau, parents of Peter Wege’s best friend Gordy, Peter’s second family.

Peter Wege has great memories growing up watching Westerns with Gordy at Wealthy Theatre where the boys ushered moviegoers to their seats earning 25 cents an hour. Gordy’s parents Oscar and Lillian spent many Saturday nights playing cards with Peter’s parents.

After World War II, the flight to the suburbs and the onset of television forced the Theatre to close its doors in 1973. Over the next 15 years, the boarded-up eyesore became a public hazard where, as one city commissioner told the Press, “druglords and gangs ruled the area.” In 1989, the city of Grand Rapids voted to demolish Wealthy Theatre.

That’s when the area’s concerned residents and business owners stepped in forming the non-profit South East Economic Development to protect their neighborhood. Knowing that razing the theatre would further damage their once vibrant business district, the SEED folks convinced the city to declare Wealthy Theatre a designated historic landmark and sell it to them for $1.

SEED realized it would take millions to repair the damage from decades of neglect. They turned to their best hope knowing Peter Wege to be an ardent environmentalist who believed in restoring, not destroying. What SEED didn’t yet know was Wege’s strong personal history with the Theatre. For Wege, Wealthy Theatre meant Gordy Varneau and his family.

Peter Wege led the charge to raise the $2.2 million needed for restoration. And in 1997, the Wealthy Theatre reopened as a performing arts center. For Wege, the highlight of the occasion was having his friend Gordon Varneau fly in from Las Vegas to join the dedication.

The accompanying video of the transformation from decay to renewal includes a picture of the entrance floor mosaic that Peter insisted must be saved. The white stone letters spell VARNEAU.

Ellen Satterlee, CEO of The Wege Foundation, Katy Furtado, Administrative Assistant, and CFO Jody Price honoring the name above them and celebrating The Foundation’s gift of LED lighting to Wealthy Theatre.

This bright mural decorates the Community Media Center building, another gift from Peter Wege and The Wege Foundation, next door to Wealthy Theatre.

Terri McCarthy Bids a Loving Farewell

July 27, 2015November 13, 2015Peter M. Wege

After 20 years with the Wege Foundation, Terri McCarthy, Vice President of Programs, retired at the end of May, 2015. Over the course of her career with the foundation, Terri played an integral role in many successful philanthropic efforts. Now Terri wants to thank the people who allowed so many programs and funding partners to grow and prosper during her tenure. As she puts it, “It is difficult for me to leave behind the great work, relationships, and achievements The Wege Foundation has allowed me to be a part of over the last two decades.

Before Terri retired, The Wege Foundation trustees implemented a matching gift program for Wege Foundation team members. Terri was honored to take part in the new program with The Foundation matching donations she made before she left.

One of Terri’s farewell gifts matched by The Wege Foundation went to the Guanacaste Dry Forest Conservation Fund to convert an old farmhouse into a biological station on newly acquired property being added to the ACG, Area of Concervacion de Guanacaste in Costa Rica. Fluttering nearby are the three species of butterflies Dan Janzen discovered and named for Peter Wege, Ellen Satterlee, and Terri: the Porphyrogenes peterwegei, the Anacrusis ellensatterleeae, and the Anacrusis terrimccarthya.

Terri is deeply grateful to Dan Janzen, his wife Winnie Hallwachs, and the faithful supporters of the GDFCF for conserving the wildlands where these namesake butterflies now live. Terri, however, worries about their future because global climate change is heating the lowlands forcing all species, including insects, to move to higher elevations seeking cooler and wetter territory. But at the mountain tops, they can’t go any higher and will cease to exist as many species already have.

Even more than usual, Terri is looking forward to her next visit to the home she and her husband Steve have in Costa Rica because she can visit the renovated research station and the newly acquired property.

Other programs Terri took to heart were the Blandford Nature Center, Grand Rapids Public Schools Blandford School, the Center for Economicology and City High/Middle School. As a former high school science teacher, Terri understood the importance of environmental education and global-resource awareness. She subscribed to the same belief that Mr. Wege repeated often, “Get them outside when they are little so they understand the planet that supports us.” For Terri, another matching contribution to the construction for a new Blandford Nature Center Visitors Building was a natural.

Terri wishes she could list every single one of the wonderful people who have supported her over the years. She especially wants to thank Ellen Satterlee – CEO, the heart and soul of the foundation since 1987; there are not enough words to thank Ellen for her patience and confidence in our team including CFO Jody Price, Editor Susan Lovell, Administrative Assistant Kati Furtado. She also thanks Mark Van Putten for his national water-policy expertise and relationships that put the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative on the national agenda. And, of course, the board of trustees and next generation of the Wege Foundation who will breathe new life into their father’s and grandfather’s mission to “save the planet.”

But above all, Terri thanks and honors Mr. Wege,who had the vision, strength and humor to lead the way by planting the seeds of Economicology around the world!

*Pictured above: Ellen and Terri with Peter M. Wege at the University of Michigan in 2007 where he was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree.

Jack Hanna, Director Emeritus Columbus Zoo and TV star as Jungle Jack, with Terri at a National Wildlife Federation meeting.

Terri with Jody Price, CFO of the Wege Foundation.

Working partners and close friends, Ellen and Terri.

Stepping Up for Next Step

May 27, 2015May 28, 2015Community Service

The ongoing news stories on our country’s unemployment numbers identify a serious economic concern. And while there are many reasons people can’t get jobs, those most handicapped are the men and women newly released from jail or alcohol/drug rehabs. The fact that they’ve paid their debt to society in the first group, and, in the second, chosen the tough road of treatment to stay clean and sober matters not to employers. They read “jail” or “alcohol/drug rehab” on a job application and move on to the next candidate.

And for good reason! These are high-risk employees who have either broken the law, succumbed to alcohol/drugs, or, in many cases, done both. But eight years ago successful business owner Scott Jonkhoff decided somebody had to give these men a chance to prove themselves. He bought two houses on Hall and Division and hired three of these ‘newly released’ men to renovate it.

The next year, 2008, Scott’s dream of helping more men reach the “next step” in their lives became a 501-C 3 non-profit he named for that mission. “I started Next Step,” Jonkhoff said, “because men kept coming to me who needed work and an opportunity to prove themselves. There is a tremendous amount of talent, potential, and energy sitting behind bars, and, yes, there is a stigma. Yes, our guys have made some mistakes and screwed up. But so have you and I. If we could put a fraction of the amount of resources into helping, versus the cost of warehousing ex-offenders, I believe those actions would begin to reverse some of our stigmas.”

In 2009 the City of Grand Rapids hired Next Step to do six full remodel projects and Scott hired more jobless men. By 2010, Next Step had ten men on the payroll, a budget of $775,000, and had built a reputation for quality work coming in on time and under budget. By 2012, Next Step had completed over fifty jobs.

Their expanding services—construction/reconstruction, landscape/lawn, demolition, custom woodworking and furniture—now require more space. When asked to support Next Step’s current $1.4 million campaign to buy and restore the vacant Kindel factory on South Division, The Wege Foundation signed on for $150,000. Next Step is now half way to meeting its goal. Next Step’s mission matches The Wege’s Foundation’s, including the environment as the reconstructed Kindel plant will follow the U.S.G.B.A.’s green building standards.

Pictured here is the once proud Kindel Furniture plant that next year will again produce fine hand-crafted furniture when Next Step moves in giving not just jobs, but also hope and self-esteem to those men and women looking for a second chance in life.

The ultimate goal for Next Step employees was summarized in a response from a local business. After proving herself for a year at Next Step, one worker got this response from an employment application. “We checked out your work history and you have a job.”

Click on these links to find out more about Scott Jonkhoff’s vision for helping people who’ve paid big consequences for their destructive choices and now ask only for a fair chance to start new, healthy, and productive lives.

www.rapidgrowthmedia.com/features/scottjonkhoffUIX.aspx

www.NextStep-WM.org

StraightAndNarrowInc.org

ECONOMICOLOGY HIGH SCHOOL NAMED BEST IN STATE

May 18, 2015May 18, 2015Education, Environment

Six years ago 14 students entered the sixth grade at Grand Rapids Public School’s City High Middle to attend the brand new Center for Economicology, CFE. This innovative environmental school was started by the late Peter Wege with a curriculum based on his philosophy of balancing the needs of the economy with those of the ecology. This year those initial CFE students will graduate from Grand Rapids Public School, City High Middle, that U.S. News just named the number-one public high school in Michigan, 83rd in the nation.

The same year Wege launched the Center for Economicology, he also funded the incorporation of the International Baccalaureate program into the City High Middle School curriculum, another reason the Economicology School was ranked the top performing school in the state.

What The Wege Foundation is especially proud of in this announcement is that this public school has a culturally diverse population with forty percent of their students on free or reduced lunch programs. For the majority of the other top-ranked public schools, only zero-to-ten percent of their students qualify for free or reduced lunches.

In keeping with their economicology philosophy, the graduating class has decided they will do a “Zero Carbon Green Graduation” meaning they will wear recycled gowns and mortar boards in a rainbow of whatever colored caps and gowns they can find along with other sustainable attributes.

You can find the story in the link below.
http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2015/05/12/michigan-high-schools-us-news-rankings/27198649/

Mazria’s Road To Zero: Phase Out All CO2 Emissions by 2050

April 27, 2015May 21, 2015Environment, Wege Speaker Series

Peter Wege’s grandson Andrew Goodwillie used the occasion of Earth Day to remember his grandfather when he introduced architect Edward Mazria as this year’s 19th annual Wege Foundation Speaker. “To ‘Grampie,’” Andrew told the crowd at Aquinas College’s PAC, “every day was Earth Day, not just one day a year.” Andrew went on to say about Peter M. Wege, who died in July 2014, “My grandfather dedicated his life to making West Michigan and the world a better place. He inspired us all.”

Goodwillie introduced Mazria’s talk on an international movement to reduce carbon emissions from buildings by saying, “Grampie never met a building he didn’t want to turn into a green building.” In 2006 Edward Mazria founded Architecture 2030, a think tank created to accomplish exactly that.

Since half the energy used in the U.S. is consumed by buildings, Architecture 2030’s mission is to reduce by 50% the amount of fossil fuels in the built environment by 2030. The long-term goal is to reach zero emissions from buildings by 2050. Because 75% of all greenhouse gas comes from urban centers, the 2030 movement targets cities, with Seattle having been the first.

In the nine years since Mazria launched Architecture 2030, eight more cities have signed on with pledges from both the public and private sectors to meet the 50% reduction by the 20230 deadline. The day after Mazria’s Wege Lecture, the city of Grand Rapids voted to begin the process that will make it a 2030 city by the end of the year. (See related news article.)

By 2030 today’s 7.2 billion people will be joined by 1.1 billion more, mostly in cities. Constructing enough new space to house that many more people is equivalent to adding another New York City every 35 days. “We must lock in our energy needs,” Mazria emphasized, “because if we stop emissions now, over time the planet will be able to reabsorb the carbon.” Architecture 2030 intends to help Earth make that happen by cutting energy used by buildings in half within fifteen years.

Three generations of the Wege family meet with architect Edward Mazria after he gave the annual Wege Lecture at Aquinas College. From the left, Peter O’Connor, husband of the late Peter M. Wege’s granddaughter Sara holding their baby Peter Charles; Mary Goodwillie Nelson, Wege’s daughter; Edward Mazria and Andrew Goodwillie, Mary Nelson’s son who introduced Mazria at the Wege Lecture.

Grand Rapids Achieves Emerging 2030 District Designation in Effort to Reduce Energy Use in Downtown

April 24, 2015April 24, 2015Environment

Private, public partnership working toward final designation from Architecture 2030 by end of year

Grand Rapids Mayor George Heartwell today announced Grand Rapids has been named an Emerging 2030 District by Architecture 2030, an effort designed to reduce energy use in the downtown, and putting it on track to become an Established 2030 District this year. The energy district was among the goals unveiled in the mayor’s 2015 State of the City address.

“Cities continue to play an important role in addressing the root causes of climate change, and here in Grand Rapids we do that in partnership with our private sector partners” said Heartwell. “To help reach our goal of becoming a more resilient community we have taken up the Green District 2030 Challenge and are meeting it head on.”

Joining Mayor Heartwell for the announcement was Architecture 2030 Founder Ed Mazria and Dan Scripps, president of the Institute for Energy Innovation that is collaborating with the city on the energy district. Other partners involved in facilitating the development of the Grand Rapids 2030 District include the U.S. Green Building Council – West Michigan Chapter, and the West Michigan Sustainable Business Forum.

Initiated in Seattle, 2030 Districts are unique private/public partnerships that bring together property owners and managers with local governments, businesses, and community stakeholders through a common goal of reducing energy use, water use, and transportation emissions in urban settings. 2030 District participants work to meet the energy, water and vehicle emissions reduction targets called for by Architecture 2030 in its ‘2030 Challenge for Planning.’ To date, nine North American cities have established 2030 Districts, including Seattle, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, Denver, Los Angeles, Dallas, Toronto, and Stamford (Connecticut.)

“With cities accounting for 75 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, it’s critical that cities are also in the forefront of developing solutions,” Mazria said. “Led by the private sector and building on strong local sustainability leadership, it’s exciting to welcome Grand Rapids to the 2030 District Network as an Emerging 2030 District.”

Putting in place a Grand Rapids Emerging 2030 District Exploratory Committee was critical to the process. It includes a number of participating developers, building owners and operators, and other stakeholders, among them:

616 Development
Bazzani Building Company
Catalyst Partners
City of Grand Rapids
Consumers Energy
Grand Rapids Art Museum
Grand Rapids Public Schools
Grand Valley State University
Kent County Department of Public Works
Integrated Architecture
Midwest Energy Group
Progressive AE
Rockford Construction
SMG, which manages DeVos Place and Van Andel Arena
Spectrum Health
Sustainable Research Group
Van Andel Institute
Veolia Energy

“Today’s announcement shows the progress being made by our private sector partners in establishing a 2030 District in downtown Grand Rapids,” said Scripps. “Our city is known for its private sector leadership in sustainability efforts, and the work to create a 2030 District builds on that leadership.

“Creating a 2030 District in Grand Rapids will help maintain our community’s position among the leaders across the country, as well as helping building owners and operators to reduce energy and water costs and create more comfortable, more profitable buildings,” Scripps added.

An Established 2030 District designation brings with it several advantages over and above adding to the city’s overall goal of becoming a sustainable city. These include shared expertise, bulk purchasing arrangements, technical assistance, and opportunities to save money through reductions in energy and water use.

Participating building owners and operators in 2030 Districts agree to adopt the following targets:

For existing buildings, a 50 percent reduction in energy use across the district by 2030 compared to a 2003 national benchmark of similar buildings, as well as 50 percent reductions in water use and emissions from transportation.
For new buildings and major renovations, an immediate reduction in building energy use by 50 percent compared to the 2003 national benchmark, with additional targets getting to net-zero energy use by 2030. New buildings also seek to immediately reduce their water use and transportation emissions by 50 percent when compared to the current district average.

Now that Grand Rapids has achieved the Emerging District designation, the city will be focused on the final phase of becoming an Established 2030 District, which requires the following:

A private sector led Advisory or Leadership Board/Committee made up of 40 percent property owners, managers, and developers; 20 percent professional stakeholders; and 20 percent community stakeholders.
Signed commitments/pledge letters from at least five building owners/managers.
A mission aligned with 2030 District goals.
Set targets for energy, water and vehicle emissions reductions that meet or exceed the 2030 Challenge for planning targets.
Generally Accepted Accounting Principles and a financial management system.
Shared key information with Architecture 2030 staff.
Signed the 2030 District Charter with Architecture 2030.

Additional information on 2030 Districts and the Architecture 2030 Challenge for Planning is available 2030districts.org and Architecture 2030

Contact: Liz Boyd
Telephone: 517.881.6713

# # #

The Institute for Energy Innovation (IEI) is a Michigan-based non-profit corporation. IEI’s mission is to promote greater public understanding of advanced energy and its economic potential for Michigan, and to inform the public and policy discussion on Michigan’s energy challenges and opportunities. IEI’s activities focus on three primary activities: policy development and research; community energy initiatives; and industry engagement.

The West Michigan Sustainable Business Forum is a regional network of businesses, institutions, and individuals dedicated to promoting business practices that demonstrate environmental stewardship, economic vitality, and social responsibility. Founded in 1994, it is today the leading membership organization for practitioners of beyond‐compliance sustainability practices in the state and an active facilitator of participatory community sustainability initiatives, promoting positive change and operational improvements through education and collaboration.

The U.S. Green Building Council is a committee-based, member-driven, consensus-focused non-profit founded in 1993 that currently represents over 17,000 companies and organizations. The USGBC West Michigan Chapter, organized in 2004, is one of 70 chapters that operate as licensed separate non-profits across the United States. The U.S. Green Building Council mission is it to transform the way buildings and communities are designed, built and operated, enabling an environmentally and socially responsible, healthy, and prosperous environment that improves the quality of life in one generation. It accomplishes that mission with a dedication to expanding green building practices and education with its LEED® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Green Building Rating System™ and other educational resources.

Catalyst Radio: Architecture environmentalist Mazria is keynote for Wege Speaker Series

April 10, 2015April 10, 2015Environment, Wege Speaker Series

by Catalyst Radio (Catalyst Radio) on Friday Apr 3rd, 2015 12:30pm in NEWS
in collaboration with Linda Gellasch and WYCE Radio 88.1 FM

This year’s Wege Speaker Series is the 19th annual environmental lecture event, beginning April 23 at Aquinas Performing Arts Center.

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THE INTERVIEW

INTERVIEW

In this episode of Catalyst Radio we feature an interview with the keynote speaker of the upcoming annual Wege environmental lecture series, Edward Mazria. Mazria is the founder of Architecture 2030 – a nonprofit research organization with a stated goal to “transform the building environment from being a major contributor of greannhouse gas emission, to being a central part of the solution to the climate and energy crises.”

Edward Mazria will be in Grand Rapids April 23 at Aquinas College Performing Arts Center, presenting his talk, “The Road to Zero.”

Every spring since 1997, the Wege Foundation has invited scientists, authors and thinkers to present a free public lecture on environmental issues and their connection to healthy economies and communities — a connection referred to by Peter M. Wege as “Economicology.” This is the first speaker series since the passing of Wege Foundation founder Peter Wege in 2014. Some previous have been Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Chief Prosecuting Attorney, Riverkeeper; Tom Kiernan, CEO, American Wind Energy Association; and Dr. Marie Lynn Miranda, Dean University of Michigan School of Natural Resources and Environment.

We talk with Wege series keynote speaker Edward Mazria, via telephone.

Wege Prize 2015 – Results

March 31, 2015June 8, 2015Education, Environment

NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Elena Tislerics
Coordinator, Wege Prize
Chief Communications Officer, Kendall College of Art and Design
elena@wegeprize.org

$30,000 awarded in wicked problem solving competition

Winners of Wege Prize 2015 announced; 2016 international competition launched

1^st place team Western Sustainers earns $15,000 for designing agricultural system that
upcycles waste and acts in symbiosis with the surrounding community

Grand Rapids, Mich. March 31, 2015 – Assembling in-person for the first time since forming teams in January, undergraduate competitors from the three transdisciplinary finalist teams in Wege Prize 2015 presented their solutions to the wicked problem of creating a circular economy. The winners were named on March 28 at the second annual Wege Prize Awards, where the teams presented their innovative solutions to five internationally-known judges, as well as public and online audiences.

This year’s competition again challenged teams of five to revolutionize the world’s linear economic models into ones which are regenerative by designing a product, service, or business model that could function within and help create a circular economy – a model in which resources can be re-adapted for use without limiting the desirability of products or the flow of revenue. Now in its second year, Wege Prize was held on a national level, and teams were again required to represent at least two different academic institutions and at least three different academic disciplines.

Winners:

1^st place – $15,000
Team name: Western Sustainers

Cara Givens, Biomedical Sciences, Western Michigan University College of Arts and Sciences
Elijah Lowry, Geography, Western Michigan University College of Arts and Sciences
Kelsey Pitschel, Mechanical Engineering, Western Michigan University College of Engineering
Max Hornick, Public Relations, Western Michigan University College of Arts and Sciences
Ramon Roberts-Perazza, Civil Engineering, Western Michigan University College of Engineering

Solution: Local Loop Farm – This agricultural system is designed to act in symbiosis with its surrounding community, utilizing hot composting, hydroponics, and other innovative technologies to produce fresh, healthy, local, and affordable fish and vegetables while upcycling waste and eliminating many of the negative impacts associated with existing food production and consumption.

“Impressive research and analysis by this team, and in speaking with them afterward we were excited to hear that plans are underway to implement their project.” – Judge Ellen Satterlee

2^nd place – $10,000
Team name: Pixelation

Alexandra Vasquez Dheming, Production Design, Savannah College of Art and Design
Karla Ronaszegi, Industrial Design, Savannah College of Art and Design
Lynae Brooks, Architecture, Savannah College of Art and Design
Ryan Parrish, Industrial Design, Kendall College of Art and Design of Ferris State University
Taina Fuzaro Bercho, Industrial Design, Savannah College of Art and Design

Solution: No Waste Delivery (NOW) – this food delivery service is designed to change the food consumption and purchasing norms of the urban office worker by reducing packaging waste, food waste, and delivery service fuel emissions.

“We really appreciated the research that Pixelation did in terms of what solutions already exist, both in the US and abroad, and that they attempted to establish circular flows of resources where existing food delivery services hadn’t.” – Judge Gretchen Hooker

3^rd place – $5,000
Team name: The Originals

Christa Iscoa, Architecture, Savannah College of Art and Design
John Worthley, Energy Engineering, Penn State University
Laryssa Tertuliano, Industrial Design, Savannah College of Art and Design
Marina Busato, Industrial Design, Savannah College of Art and Design
Philip Han, Collaborative Design, Kendall College of Art and Design of Ferris State University

Solution: Organikos – this service, which combines an energy efficient in-home composting appliance with a user experience-driven web platform, is designed to remove the barriers that make composting difficult and inaccessible.

“What impressed us the most about The Original’s solution was that it didn’t attempt to do everything on it’s own, but rather identified possible collaborations with existing services that could help it succeed. That kind of systemic thinking is exactly what students should be engaging in.” – Judge Nathan Shedroff

Evaluating each team on factors such as research, innovation, and feasibility, judge Colin Webster remarked, “We were all impressed by the enormous amount of time, energy, and research the teams put into their projects, but Western Sustainers’ depth of research and systemic understanding of the solution they’d designed was what ultimately set them apart,” said Colin Webster, Wege Prize judge and Education Programme Manager with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, a UK-based organization that’s a global leader in circular economic thought, education, and development. “In all the teams, there was a real willingness to collaborate and engage with very complex concepts and ideas, and most importantly, each showed a desire to improve their solutions beyond this competition and to continue to refine their understanding of the circular economy.”

Judges:
Colin Webster – Education Programme Manager, Ellen MacArthur Foundation
Michael Werner – Green Chemistry and Restricted Substances Manager, Apple Inc.
Gretchen Hooker – Biomimicry Specialist, Biomimicry Institute
Nathan Shedroff – Program Chair, MBA in Design Strategy, California College of the Arts
Ellen Satterlee – CEO, Wege Foundation

Wege Prize 2016 Goes International, Starts Now

All five judges will return for Wege Prize 2016, which is moving to an international level. Next year’s competition will be open to undergraduate students anywhere in the world. Those interested in participating are encouraged to begin networking and connecting with possible mentors and teammates now. More information about Wege Prize 2016 will be revealed in the coming weeks on wegeprize.org.

“We want to thank our esteemed judges and all of the brave, bold, and passionate students who rose to this year’s challenge, and we look forward to the new connections, collaborations, and ideas that will emerge as we transition to an international level,” said Wege Prize organizer Gayle DeBruyn. “The sooner students begin making connections, finding mentors, and brainstorming possible solutions, the better, because Wege Prize 2016 starts right now.”

About Wege Prize:

Wege Prize, a West Michigan-born concept and collaboration between Kendall College of Art and Design (KCAD) and The Wege Foundation, is a collaborative design competition that gives teams of college students the chance to work across disciplines, use design thinking principles, and contend for $30,000 in total cash prizes, all while helping to show the world what the future of problem solving looks like. The challenge is to design a product, service, or business model that can function within and help create a paradigm shift towards a circular economic model. To learn more, go to wegeprize.org.

About The Wege Foundation:

The Wege Foundation focuses on local good works that enhance the lives of the people and preserve the health of the environment. The five branches of our Mission are, in rank order: Education, Environment, Arts and Culture, Health Care, and Human Services. For more information, please visit wegefoundation.com.

About KCAD:

Located in the heart of downtown Grand Rapids, Kendall College of Art and Design of Ferris State University (KCAD) is committed to creating lasting impact in West Michigan and beyond through collaborative partnerships, cultural innovation, and an educational model that develops the talent of individuals into a force for intellectual growth, individual creativity, and community engagement. For more information, please visit kcad.edu.

WMU student team wins national Wege sustainability prize

March 31, 2015June 8, 2015Education, Environment

by Cheryl Roland

Click here to read article on WMU’s website

March 30, 2015 | WMU News

KALAMAZOO, Mich.—A team of five Western Michigan University students has won the 2015 Wege Prize, besting teams from around the nation in the eyes of an international panel of judges whose task was to assess the teams’ ability to use design principles to tackle sustainability problems.

The WMU team captured first place and a $15,000 award March 28 in an event the Grand Rapids-based Wege Foundation calls a “gathering of the brightest collegiate minds in America to solve a truly wicked problem.” The second annual transdisciplinary design contest asked teams of five to work collaboratively across institutional and disciplinary boundaries to create a circular economy—a tightly looped, restorative economic cycle where resources can be re-adapted for use without limiting the desirability of products or the loss of revenue.

WMU’s team competed under the name Western Sustainers.

The WMU team

Max Hornick, public relations major from Kalamazoo.
Ramon Roberts-Perazza, a civil engineering major from Detroit.
Kelsey Pitschel, a mechanical engineering major from Hartland.
Elijah Lowry, a geography and environmental and sustainability studies major from Dearborn.
Cara Givens, a biomedical science major from Detroit.

The WMU team designed The Local Loop Farm, an agricultural system that exists symbiotically with the surrounding community, using complementary systems to increase economic, environmental and biological effectiveness. Building on research done by WMU’s Office of Sustainability, the team used current technology for its design, including hydroponic grow beds, fish cultivation and hot composting. The increased efficiencies achieved allow for the production of fresh, healthy fish and vegetables that are affordable to the community and eliminate many of the negative effects associated with current food production and consumption.

The Western Sustainers were advised by two recent WMU grads Kyle Simpson from Novi andCarlos Daniels from Detroit, as well as Josh Shultz, who is the permaculture coordinator in the Office of Sustainability. The WMU team’s design presentation can be viewed atwegeprize.org/western-sustainers.

About the competition

The 2015 competition featured 13 teams of five students, representing a total of 12 different colleges and universities and 45 academic disciplines. Five international sustainability and design professionals returned as judges. In addition to WMU, participating colleges and universities included: Alma College, George Washington University, University of California Berkeley, Ferris State University, Grand Valley State University (four teams), Kendall School of Art and Design, Hope College, University of Michigan, Michigan State University, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Savannah College of Art and Design and Pennsylvania State University.

Second place went to a team from Kendall and Savannah College. Third place was awarded to a team made up of students from Savannah College, Kendall and Penn State.

Judges for the competition were:

Colin Webster, education programme manager for the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, Endinburgh, United Kingdom.
Gretchen Hooker, biomimicry specialist with Kalamazoo’s Biomimicry Institute.
Nathan Shedroff, program chair for MBA programs at the California College of Arts.
Ellen Satterlee, executive director of the Wege Foundation.
Michael Werner, green chemistry and restricted substances manger for Apple.

The Wege Foundation focuses on local good works that enhance the lives of people and preserve the health of the environment. The five branches of its mission are education, environment, arts and culture, health care and human services.

For more information, visit wegefoundation.com.

For more news, arts and events, visit wmich.edu/news.

Pictured above:
Front row: Elijah Lowry, Max Hornick, Kelsey Pitschel, Carlos Daniels. Back row: Kyle Simpson, Ramon Roberts-Perazza, Josh Shultz.