Wesleyan Environmental Start-Up Needs Workers

You may have seen the very cool “wishing wells” designed to provide water at campus events so that we can eliminate bottled water from campus. One of the creators of the water wells, Wesleyan senior Brent Packer, recently sent me the following message:

Wishing Wells is a budding environmental start-up born from a Wesleyan design competition. We’re expanding quickly & are looking for ambitious students to join our team.

Plastic waste is a serious issue. There is currently 100 million tons of plastic disintegrating in our oceans causing tremendous harm to marine life. The energy used to create the annual American demand for plastic water bottles uses enough energy to fuel 1.3 million cars for 1 year.

Universities across North America are stepping up to the challenge to eliminate plastic water bottle waste. Many, including Wesleyan, have banned bottled water from campus; however, they still have trouble hydrating guests at large campus events such as Reunion & Commencement, football games, music festivals, etc. Their only options were to rent/ purchase a high cost hydration structure or to break their commitment by purchasing thousands of water bottles… until now.

Wishing Wells provide chilled, filtered water requiring nothing more than ice and a hose connection. From just a handful of Wesleyan events, these lost-cost structures have already saved over 10,500 water bottles. With backing from a Patricelli Center for Social Entrepreneurship seed grant, we’re looking to spread this technology as effectively as possible. With ambitious plans to open-source publish our designs online, partner with Middletown manufacturers, and tour to neighboring Universities/ organizations, we need other students with the same entrepreneurial drive to make this happen.

Apply online @ wwells.org by November 1

Brent tells me that three “sleep-deprived seniors” have been getting the organization ready for the next level. They want to have impact far beyond Wesleyan, which will include: “open-source publishing our design plans online, partnering with a Middletown manufacturer to begin selling prefabricated Wishing Wells, and performing extensive outreach to other Universities/ organizations.”