Wildlife Promise » campus events

Universities as Models for Sustainability: Georgia Campus Sustainability Network’s Annual Conference

Eriqah Foreman-Williams — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 21:14:56 +0000

On Friday, September 14, 2012, 108 members of Georgia higher education institutions (faculty, staff, administrators, and students), as well as interested organizations, came together for the “Universities as Models for Sustainability: Georgia Campus Sustainability Network’s Annual Conference.” The conference was held at Georgia State University in the heart of downtown Atlanta.

Quint Newcomer talks to participants about University of Georgia’s Costa Rica projects

Started in June of 2010, GCSN is a catalyst for sharing best practices amongst Georgia’s leaders in Campus Sustainability. The network consists of a host of people: from students, to faculty, sustainability coordinators to facilities directors, and even some government agencies and outside businesses. Networking amongst these organizations makes for a growing culture of Campus Sustainabilityin the capital city and in the state as a whole.

The Conference was geared towards kicking off GCSN’s new year and new momentum. The session topics included energy usage amongst campus facilities, curriculum, funding and green fees, and student engagement. In each of these sessions, presentations were made by participants with significant success and experience in these areas. They were able to highlight how they went about executing their projects and how others could do the same. Additionally, there was a presentation from executive board members of the student network, Georgia Youth for Environmental Solutions (GA YES!)

Dennis Kreech, Co-Founder of Southface gives the keynote address at this year’s GCSN conference

Among the attendees, there were 53 students and 14 faculty members, and 29 other administrators and staff members.Additionally, we had a host of people from other organizations wanting to work with schools in order to help them attain their campus sustainability goals. Each of the participants has a passion for improving the environmental efforts on their campuses; whether that is through the physical infrastructure of their buildings, curriculum and education, or student organizing. Additionally, there is obvious interest in finding diverse ways to fund these projects such as small “green fees” implanted in the activity fees paid by each student.

Everyone left the conference with new ideas and contacts on how to drive their sustainable agenda on campus such as GA Yes’s invite to students to be part of their action teams promoting sustainable change across GA’s public institutions and resources to do internal campus energy assessments. The steering committee was especially pleased with the great turn-out of students that attended. That has been a struggle of GCSN; to engage students to the point they are not only inspired to change the carbon footprint of their campus, but also impact public campaigns regarding environmental matters state and nationwide.

Clean Energy Champions in Michigan

Liz Starke — Wed, 26 Sep 2012 16:22:07 +0000

This fall, the Michigan Student Sustainability Coalition is working with students on campuses across the state to run a campaign centered around encouraging young people to vote for candidates and initiatives that will support clean energy. For those of you who don’t know, this past spring NWF became the fiscal sponsor for the MSSC, helping to write a grant that provided the resources needed to hire a full time organizer and run this campaign. The MSSC is Michigan’s statewide network for young people interested in sustainability, and aims to facilitate communication and cooperation between these young people so that Michigan’s sustainability movement can flourish and have an impact on state and national policy.

We recently held events on the campuses of Michigan State University and the University of Michigan—as part of the National Powervote Day of Action—to collect student pledges to vote for clean energy. We collected about 400 pledges statewide, and spread awareness of how corporate polluters are affecting national policy. The event coincided with the release of the NWF’s Student Guide on Corporate Oil, Gas and Coal Money Influences in U.S. Energy Policy. Thanks to all of our friends and organizers for putting in so much effort and hard work. Here is a blurb from Molly Black, our Student Coordinator running our Clean Energy Champion campaign at Michigan State:

“2012 Day of Action was a success with the help of my fellow Michigan State University students. Together with MSU Greenpeace, MSU Beyond Coal, and the members of the Michigan Student Sustainability Coalition we collected more than 237 pledges! Through determination, collaboration, and teamwork we all went above and beyond our goal to collect 100 more pledges for MSU’s campus. Some students stood at bus stops, performed class raps, posted the online pledge on Facebook, or asked friends to sign on to be a clean energy champion.”

MSU students prepping fact sheets and candy for our action!

If you want to see for yourself how well we are doing, check out the PowerVote.org leader-board. We currently have Michigan State, the University of Michigan, and Central Michigan University all in the top 10!

This day of action was a great opportunity for us to collect pledges and spread awareness about corporate polluters, but we aren’t stopping here. We will continue on our path to connecting thousands of students committed to voting for clean energy (we currently have 1,800), and make sure that Michigan’s youth are able to play a critical role in creating more clean energy for our state. Up next, we will be holding fun educational events on several campuses during the month of October to collect more pledges and educate our peers about why clean energy is good—and necessary—for us!

Do you have any good ideas for fun, creative events that also provide education? We are hoping to draw some students that might be unsure about how they feel about clean energy, but want to come learn more. Email me at starkee [ at] nwf.org to share any creative ideas or best practices!

You can also support the movement by signing this petition to ask the moderator of the first presidential debate question the candidates about climate change! Don’t forget to share with your friends and networks.

Virginia’s Community Colleges are going green

Kristy Jones — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 16:13:01 +0000

The Virginia Community College System hosted its annual Hire Education conference, Extreme Innovation – Workforce Edition, last week at The Homestead in Hot Springs, Virginia. More than 400 workforce development faculty and other professionals gathered to network and share best practices of innovative programs and methods to help build a sustainable foundation for the current and future workforce. Panel discussions and breakout sessions ranged from entrepreneurship, leadership in continuing education, recruiting students from underserved populations, to new green workforce training programs and partnerships.

The Greenforce Initiative, a partnership of Jobs for the Future and National Wildlife Federation, sponsored the event, and hosted a workshop on linking campus sustainability to green career pathways. The Greenforce Initiative seeks to advance green career pathways, geared toward lower-skilled adults, and helps make the connection between on-campus sustainability efforts as hands-on training opportunities for students.

While the Greenforce Initiative partners with ten community colleges in Virginia, during the workshop “Linking Campus Sustainability to Hands-On Training,” we highlighted three.

Germanna Community College new LEED building

Germanna Community College highlighted their new LEED Silver building (at their Fredericksburg campus); students will be giving tours of the buildings to educate the community on the green features (including rainwater harvesting, passive solar, etc.).

Blue Ridge Community College in Weyers Cave featured their sustainable and edible landscaping program engaging local farmers as well as students interested in starting new businesses in the landscaping industry.

Thomas Nelson Community College solar installation

Thomas Nelson Community College in Hampton Roads spotlighted their new solar installation project for their motorcycle storage containers. Thomas Nelson students helped design and build the solar panel installation (two panels) that will be placed on the top of two containers that store all equipment, including motorcycles, for their motorcycle safety courses. The panels will power lights as well as a ventilation system.

Other colleges and groups featured are developing green programs as well:
- Virginia Western Community College (VWCC) is hosting three renewable energy showcases this spring featuring consumer information on various aspects including geothermal systems, photovoltaic systems, solar water and space heating systems, and residential wind turbine systems. Showcases will be on April 8, 14 and 21. Learn more about this opportunity.

- The Virginia Weatherization Training Center provides training and certification in both weatherization and residential practices at their 14 partner campuses across Virginia. Course offerings include, but are not limited to, air conditioning & heating pump professional, energy auditor, Lead Safe Weatherization Training, and Energy Star Inspection and Procedures. Learn more about the Center.

Learn more about the Greenforce Initiative in Virginia and our community college partners.

Students Are Doing It In the Dark—Are You?

Jen Fournelle — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 22:05:08 +0000

Last year marked the first year of Campus Conservation Nationals—a nationwide energy and resource savings competition. This year, we are expanding and want you to be a part of the fun! Check out one of the videos from schools that participated last year.

See more videos from last year’s competition!

National Wildlife Federation is partnering with Lucid, U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and the Alliance to Save Energy to host Campus Conservation Nationals (CCN). Between February 6 and April 23, 2012, participating colleges and universites will compete in a 3-week (your choice of weeks) competition to achieve the greatest possible energy and water reductions in residence halls.

Participating schools will choose to compete against buildings on their own campus, in a state/regional competition or against a select group of peer institutions with savings from all participants accumulating as we strive to achieve a national goal of 1 gigawatt-hour!

We want you to join the competition and encourage each other to reduce electiricty and water usage! Still not sure you’re ready? Join us at 2pm eastern on Thursday November 10 for a free webinar to hear from the organizers. They will talk about the competition and answer any questions that may be holding you back from signing up right now.

Join NWF for Tar Sands Rally in Washington, D.C. on Sunday, November 6th

Kristy Jones — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 14:47:11 +0000

On November 6th, thousands of people will encircle the White House to send a peaceful and lawful message urging the President to reject the Keystone XL pipeline–which would bring nearly one million barrels per day of dirty tar sands oil from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico–posing an unacceptable risk to the environment and harsh impacts to communities.

National Wildlife Federation will join with Tar Sands Action and other allies to encircle the White House for the largest protest ever staged against the dangerous Keystone XL Pipeline. With a collective goal to recruit over 5,000 people, we will send a message to Obama that we stand strong in our opposition to this pipeline.

Join us - this is a chance to send a peaceful and lawful message to the President that tar sands oil and the Keystone XL pipeline have no place in a clean energy future. We cannot fight climate change if we allow our reliance on tar sands oil to grow.

WHO: You, family, friends, and neighbors.

WHAT: The largest tar sands rally in history, demonstrating to President Obama that tar sands will not be tolerated

WHEN: November 6th, 2:00 PM

WHERE: Meet at Lafayette Square in front of the White House.

RSVP Today!

Learn more about the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline

Join the Reclaim Earth March in Ann Arbor this Fall!

Alex Costakis — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 17:07:58 +0000

Youth across the state of Michigan are traveling to Ann Arbor this fall to march for the safety and future of our planet. Join them this September 18^th at the Reclaim Earth March to help raise awareness and continue the movement to reclaim our earth from dirty energy corporations.

Chloe Gleichman, the president of Central Michigan University’s Student Environmental Association (SEA) has taken the lead on planning the event, is calling on all students to come and join the fight for our earth:

Click here to view the embedded video.

“Sick of corporate tyranny? Fed up with the destruction of our precious earth in the name of profit? Had enough of political corruption? We have, too.

“And we want others to be just as tired of the profit-over-planet precedent, so we’re holding the first Reclaim Earth March on September 18 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. If we’re going to win this fight, then we’re going to need consistent and relentless action all over the nation. The Reclaim Earth March is proof that we don’t need an emblematic city such as DC of a bunch of nationally known climate activists to make a statement. All we need is a cause, our passion, and our voices!

“So come to Ann Arbor on September 18 and participate in the march! We are the leaders for which we have been waiting.”

For more information or to assist in planning, please contact Chloe at gleic1ce@cmich.edu and visit/invite others to the Reclaim Earth March Facebook page!

National Wildlife Federation Campus Ecology Fellows tour NewPage Recycle Mill

Kristy Jones — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 23:37:18 +0000

NWF’s Eco-Schools and Campus Ecology programs, in partnership with NewPage Corporation, and with support from McGraw-Hill, are working together on a textbook recycling initiative. The goal? To learn more about the textbook recycling industry in the U.S and engage more campuses & k-12 schools in textbook recycling events. Laura Banken, Campus Ecology Fellow from the College of St. Scholastica in Duluth, Minnesota and Andrea Kent, Campus Ecology Fellow from the University of Wisconsin La Crosse are part of the textbook recycling team helping to conduct research in their regions (and nationally) and to work with local k-12 schools and on their own campuses to host recycling events.

On June 7 and 8, Laura Hickey, NWF’s Senior Director of Global Warming Education, Kristy Jones, NWF’s Senior Manager for Campus Ecology (attended virtually) and fellows Laura and Andrea, participated in the first planning meeting for the project; representatives from McGraw-Hill and NewPage also attended the meeting at NewPage’s Paper and Recycle Mill in Duluth. In addition to strategizing about next steps for the project, learning more about textbook construction and the processing of recycled content, the group had the opportunity to tour NewPage’s recycle mill. This summer, Andrea and Laura will embark on research for this project answering questions on the regional and national landscape for textbook recycling such as – are their city, county, and state initiatives? What are the top resources nationally for textbook recycling? Fellows will also look into the lifecycle of a textbook, how often are textbooks retired (ready for recycling) at different institutions (college vs. k-12), what is the process from pick-up to drop-off at the mill (stripping the bindings, de-inking, etc), and more. Outreach and planning for the textbook recycling events will begin in the fall. The textbook recycling initiative is a pilot project, focusing in the Minnesota and Wisconsin regions.

Learn more about the Textbook Recycling Initiative

Read blog post “New Life for Old (Recycled) Textbooks, Courtesy of McGraw-Hill Grant”

Image credit: Microsoft Clipart, Image is not from the NewPage Mill

Green Manufacturing and Urban Agriculture: Hot Topics discussed at the Chicagoland Greenforce Initiative Meeting

Juliana Goodlaw-Morris — Fri, 20 May 2011 20:06:52 +0000

Green manufacturing and urban agriculture were the hot green topics discussed at the first Greenforce Intiaitive gathering on May 17th at the Chicago-Kent College of Law. The gathering was in conjunction with the Chicago Green Collar Jobs Initiative 4th annual summit and participants were from Chicagoland community colleges, non-profit organizations, state agencies and our foundation partners.

American manufacturing has seen a steady decline for many years, especially in the Midwest region. According to the International Trade Association- Illinois has seen a decrease in manufacturing jobs by 37% between 1990 and 2009. However, the theme for the Greenforce meeting was “Manufacturing is not dead!” Marc Smierciak, Associate Dean of Instruction, Humboldt Park Vocational Education Center, Wilbur Wright College showcased that their green manufacturing training programs are at capacity and that students are leaving college with jobsand employable credentials.

Furthermore Tom Gannon, Manufacturing Specialist from AFL-CIO Working for America, discussed that although the United States has lost traditional manufacturing jobs, there has been an increase in green manufacturing- including wind, solar, battery technology and fuel efficient engines. Working with the Manufacturing Skill Standards Council, and industry experts, new green standards are being finalized and will be piloted in Indiana at an AFL-CIO center this summer.

Jennifer Keeling, Director of City Policy at the Chicago Jobs Council, discussed their new report, “Job Growth Projections and Analysis in Chicago’s Emerging Green Industries” which demonstrates possible job growth potential in the Chicagoland area to include: energy efficiency, landscaping and urban agriculture, and renewable energy.

Urban agriculture, local food, composting and green landscaping were discussed with enthusiasm during the session titled “Campus Greening Connections with Workforce Development.” It seems as if colleges and community partners are ready and willing to figure out ways to further educational and community outreach opportunities as it relates to urban agriculture. The Greenforce Initiative will work with our college partners to assist with possible curriculum development and sharing of best practices as programs are developed.

Even though green manufacturing and urban agriculture stole the show during this meeting, the theme really focused on partnerships, and how the Greenforce Initiative, local community college partners, training providers and other community organizations need and can work together to ensure the green economy is inclusive and effective in creating good, family-sustaining green jobs.

Join the iMatter March Ann Arbor this Sunday, May 15 at Noon!

Alex Costakis — Thu, 12 May 2011 14:45:45 +0000

This Sunday, May 15^th at noon, youth from across the state of Michigan will be traveling to Ann Arbor to take part in the iMatter March. The youth-run march will raise awareness about the current climate crisis and ask the U.S. government to stop prioritizing corporations and give our atmosphere and planet the protection necessary for a healthy and prosperous future.

The Ann Arbor iMatter March is one of dozens of other marches being organized by youth across the globe. As the generation most affected by the climate crisis, young people around the world are standing in solidarity, letting their governments know that they matter, they have a voice and they’re going to use it to promote the urgency of putting an end to climate change by transitioning to an economy based off of clean energy.

Chloe Gleichman, the student organizer of the march said “The iMatter March is an opportunity for youth to engage in protecting their future and the future of the earth. In today’s society, there are so many messages telling youth that we don’t matter. That is simply wrong. We are each powerful individuals and as a group, we are unstoppable. This Sunday, we will take to the streets to demand that the government protects our right to exist and begins to govern as if the future matters.”

Youth take to the DC streets to march for a clean energy future at Power Shift 2011- Just as we'll do at the iMatter March Ann Arbor

The Ann Arbor iMatter March route will begin at 12pm at the corner of North University St. and State St., then it will travel in a loop leading through Ann Arbor’s busy downtown streets and ending in the diag. In total the march will cover approximately 1.7 miles. The march kicks off at 12pm but come as early at 9am to help make those all important signs to march with.

Join the iMatter March this Sunday, May 15^th at 12pm, to show your support for a more healthy and sustainable future!

Growing Green in the Valley

Jen Fournelle — Thu, 05 May 2011 14:38:36 +0000

Blue Ridge Community College, a partner of the Greenforce Initiative, will host Growing Green in the Valley for agricultural producers, agri-tourism operations, and related businesses and interested individuals on Thursday, May 19 from 8:15 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Plecker Workforce Center on the Weyers Cave campus.

The one-day symposium focuses on sustainable living and making the most of agricultural and agritourism enterprises, while also emphasizing the market appeal and benefits of environmentally-friendly practices. Senator Mark Warner will deliver the keynote address (via video teleconference).

Joel Salatin of Polyface Inc. and other experts will be there to share their knowledge.

Participants will have the opportunity to explore various topics with experts in the field in breakout sessions throughout the day including:
• Farm bio-energy
• Small scale wind and solar
• Alternative fuel vehicles
• Sustainability
• Buying local, and much, much more!

Attendees will also be able to visit exhibits sponsored by local agri-tourism businesses and organizations that provide resources and support for growing agriculturerelated enterprises.

Can’t make it? Check back after May 19 to read our blog about some of the interesting things we learned and what came out of the day.