Go Green or Go Home

The Eco Knights are going GRYNN

By Bailee Miller, Staff Writer

Eco guru and head of Lynn University’s Sustainability Committee, Dylan Kendrick, expressed his innate passion for sustainability and described Lynn’s initiatives to foster a green community.

Kendrick’s passion for saving animals and ensuring their future started at a young age and has remained with him ever since, as he became increasingly concerned about the influence of human behaviors on the environment and the animals that call it home.

As an avid fisherman, he witnessed the fatal hazards of water pollution and would rescue animals stuck in fishing lines and plastics; he even passed down the legacy to his sons by participating in five-gallon bucket cleanups at the local canal or beach. Kendrick has dedicated his entire life to saving animals, and Lynn faculty recognized this extraordinary calling.

“We are having an impact on the world, on wildlife in particular,” said Kendrick. “Only we can change it; teaching the next generation to have that same compassion as I do is very important to me.”

Lynn’s devotion to this cause began about 15 years ago when it had to attain sustainable standards concerning water, LED lights, air conditioning, the use of low-maintenance native plant species and recycling.

The university now supports a green environment with conservation, commitment, community and education, with many buildings on campus LEED-certified — the most widely used global standard that recognizes buildings that are efficient, cost-effective and better for occupants and the environment.

The sustainability committee also has a focus on recycling, ensuring that primary recyclables — paper, glass and aluminum — are not contaminated. The committee’s commitment to this cause has notable impacts: students who once received plastic water bottles now are offered canned water, demonstrating Lynn’s proactivity.

“We have to make sure we have 100% clean, uncontaminated recycling,” said Kendrick.

Essentially all recyclables on campus are discarded because they are polluted due to inadequate training and understanding in the community. Kendrick also said that recycling is a money gimmick, compelling people to do it out of greed instead of goodwill. Moreover, only about 5% of plastic waste is recycled in the U.S., and Kendrick believes that this low percentage caused many companies to neglect the initiative.

“COVID-19 opened everyone’s eyes to realize what we were not doing to reduce,” said Kendrick.

Over the years, Lynn has progressed. Kendrick is most proud that it has switched over to reclaimed water for all irrigation on campus and toilet flushing, which is 60% cheaper and conserves water. He depicted a future that has a food forest with high student and staff involvement, donations to the less fortunate from the produce of that initiative, sustainability within the curriculum and better purchasing decisions regarding plastics.

“Our goal is to change what you think you know about recycling, and we realized that by educating everyone about the correct practices, we can all do a better job,” said Kendrick.

As the only original member left, Kendrick has poured himself into cultivating a better green community, calling all Fighting Knights to join him.