A large green plant rescued from a greenhouse, a green banner reading “Live Green,” a green light box and a sustainability venn diagram made out of recycled newspaper hung on the wall.
These are just a few decorations throughout an office in the General Services Building that make it clear someone with a passion for the environment works there.
Merry Rankin, director of sustainability and adviser for The Green Umbrella, inhabits this office.
“Most of my life is on my desk,” Rankin said of the clutters of paper littering her work area.
From her childhood on a farm in Attica, Iowa, Rankin understood the importance of protecting the Earth and being aware of the causes and effects her actions could play on the environment.
“Having grown up on a farm, I was very, very connected to being mindful of the decisions that I made and what my impacts were, and how delicate that balance is between our daily decisions," Rankin said. "And really the impact we leave or we make right now and leave for the generations that follow us.”
Rankin credits her parents for instilling in her the values she holds today in regard to the environment. Her parents taught her to take care of the environment for those who would inhibit it in the future, rather than drastically changing it to suit your needs in the moment.
Rankin graduated from Iowa State with a business degree and later returned to receive her master's in wildlife biology.
“My whole thought was to be able to sort of be a liason between the business community and the science community,” Rankin said.
For the past eight years as the director of sustainability, Rankin has been in charge of meeting with student groups such as The Green Umbrella, which she advises. She also meets with her “Live Green!” interns, local businesses and researches specifics for upcoming events and initiatives.
Solar trash compactors on campus that reduce the labor intensities related to maintaining trash cans and a glass recycling initiative are a couple of the many projects Rankin has been involved in through “Live Green!”
“I would absolutely feel very remiss if I took credit for anything because it’s all a team effort,” Rankin said. “It takes a village.”
Molly Breen, “Live Green!” campus and community engagement intern, is part of that village.
Breen helps with event planning for National Campus Sustainability Day, Sustainapalooza and Earth Month.
“Working with Merry is awesome because she’s very trusting but also very helpful,” Breen said.
Similarly, Megan Koppenhafer, co-president of Green Umbrella, referred to Rankin as “genuinely caring,” “supportive” and “hardworking.”
“Merry is the most incredible adviser of all time,” Koppenhafer said.
Despite seeing Rankin at nearly all executive and general meetings for Green Umbrella, Koppenhafer also meets with Rankin on a weekly basis to discuss projects within the club.
Working with Rankin on the “green it yourself” centers during Sustainapalooza, Koppenhafer received support and contacts to help her plan the activities.
“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter,” a quote reads in Rankin’s office.
“When we relent to ‘Oh, I just didn’t think I should say anything,’ that’s when we start losing our passion," Rankin said. "We start losing our fire and we start losing those things that are so vital for us to leave a future to the next generation that people worked so hard to leave for us.”