Wildlife Promise » campus sustainbility

NWF’s 112 Best Green Campus Projects of 2012

Sara Gassman — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 14:30:40 +0000

Today, the NWF Campus Ecology program announces the addition of 112 case studies to our searchable online case study database. This database, which currently holds nearly 800 case studies, has been a valuable resource to campus communities for 23 years, longer than most college students have been alive!

At the University of Wisconsin Madison, Slow Food UW opens a cafe once per week, offering fresh, local, homemade lunch options. Image credit Amy Verhey.

The case studies are from 98 institutions in 28 states and 1 Canadian province, and span 17 categories, from Green Buildings to Waste Reduction. The greatest number of case studies were in the Environmental Education and Outreach category, which includes educational events such as Earth Day celebrations and participation in the energy-use-reduction competition Campus Conservation Nationals. The second-most popular category was Farming and Gardening, including descriptions of green roof construction and community garden plots at various universities, with much of the produce used in dining halls.

The 2012 additions to the database come at a time when 661 college and university presidents have signed the Climate Commitment, and 476 of those institutions have Climate Action Plans, committing to reducing carbon emissions and addressing sustainability at all levels of campus operations. This year’s case studies represent institutions that have been practicing campus greening for a substantial amount of time, as well as campuses that are just getting started; thus the projects described span the spectrum, from the installation of solar arrays to the distribution of travel mugs to freshmen. The case study database, searchable by year, state, topic or institution, allows visitors to learn from their peers and colleagues–to gain perspective and fresh ideas for campus sustainability, and to promote solutions to common obstacles along the road to green.

University of New England studied the feasibility of providing a river ferry service for commuters to the Biddeford Campus of UNE across the Saco River. Image credit Dick Buhr.

My favorite section of each case study is “Challenges and Responses,” in which the person submitting the report describes the tougher moments on their road to achieving their goals. Many institutions faced budgetary tribulations, while others struggled to engage the campus community. But no matter the scope of the problem, everyone seemed to find a way to implement their initial plan, or a close likeness to it, and still come away with the feeling of making a difference and increasing awareness of sustainability on their campus. To me, these are examples of the current strong and resilient movement toward a more sustainable society; the recognition that the combined great efforts of individuals and institutions can help ensure a healthier planet for all species!

View the list of campuses that submitted case studies

Over the next few weeks, we’ll be highlighting select campus sustainability projects on the blog, so keep checking back!

Have you found inspiration from our case study database? What is your favorite project, and why?

Like Campus Ecology on Facebook and follow @CampusEcology and @YouthforClimate on Twitter.

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.

Nine Community College Faculty Gather in Virginia to Integrate NASA Tools into their Curriculum

Kristy Jones — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 16:40:27 +0000

NASA Project Team

Last Thursday & Friday, February 23 & 24, National Wildlife Federation (NWF) and Jobs for the Future (JFF) hosted a professional development institute in Reston, Virginia, at NWF HQs for the community college faculty participants of the Building a Diverse, Green Workforce Project. NWF in partnership with JFF, received funding through NASA’s Innovations in Global Climate Change Education program for this project to work with three community colleges in the U.S., Edgecombe Community College in North Carolina, Wayne County Community College in Michigan, and Wilbur Wright College in Illinois, to integrate climate change science, tapping NASA resources, into their green career education and training programs. This project is an effort of the Greenforce Initiative, a partnership of JFF & NWF, to advance green career pathways in six regions of the U.S. (IL, MI, NI, TX, VA, WA) geared toward lower-skilled adults and connect campus sustainability projects to hands-on training for students.

Twenty-five participants attended the Institute last week, including 9 faculty from our three community college partners, three NASA staff, other project team members from the University of Toledo, Columbia University and Moraine Valley Community College, and JFF and NWF staff.

Reviewing NASA Resources with Amanda Staudt, NWF Climate Scientist

During the meeting faculty partners learned more about the NASA tools and data available to use for their courses through the My NASA Data website. Faculty also had the opportunity to review existing curricula that could be revised for their community college audience and participated in a two-hour working session to develop an outline for their revised courses that are scheduled to be piloted in the fall. For example, two chemistry professors developed an outline to integrate a lesson on coral reef health into their existing courses. The new lesson will focus on the impacts on coral reef health from water temperature increases due to climate change and also the acidification of ocean water because of the increase amounts of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Also added to this lesson will be a focus on the impacts of biodiversity in the coral reef system due to temperature change and pH changes in ocean waters.

Over the next two years of this project new course curriculum and best practices will be shared on the partner campuses, campuses in the region, as well as colleges and universities in the NWF and JFF networks.

NWF’s EcoSchools program received a similar grant from NASA to develop curriculum for the K-12 audience in 2009. Resources developed through this program are being referenced for the community college project.

Campuses Are Racing to a Giga-watt!

Jen Fournelle — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 18:35:19 +0000

In just a few short weeks Campus Conservation Nationals will be kicking off the 2012 competition!

Colleges and universities from across the country are gearing up to compete against each other to see who can reduce the most energy and conserve the most water. There are over 150 campuses and 1700 buildings that will be participating.

Last year’s pilot competition campuses saved $50,200, 508,000 kilowatt-hours and 816,000 pounds of carbon from being released into the atmosphere. And that was only 40 schools. With almost four times the number of participating campuses, this year’s savings are bound to add up fast. The goal for all schools combined is to reduce energy by an entire giga-watt!

Last year students created videos highlighting how they were saving energy and what innovative strategies they were using to get the word out. Check them out and get ready for some more great videos and ideas this year.

If your campus is participating, sign up to be a dorm captain! You can take the lead in your dorm and encourage your fellow students to reduce their energy and water. Tell us some of your strategies—how are you getting the word out, do you have any cool events planned? If your school missed the deadline to sign up, don’t worry! Check back to see how this year’s competition is going and start thinking about signing up for next year.

Interview at Lightning 100 in Nashville

Larry Schweiger — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 00:37:26 +0000

I was interviewed today by Lightning 100 WRLT in Nashville in advance of my book presentation and signing at Lipscomb University Tuesday at 7 pm.

Lipscomb understands that students across the country want action on energy and climate change.

I’m looking forward to spending time tomorrow with Dodd Galbraith, Executive Director of Lipscomb’s Institute for Sustainable Practice who is helping to show what the path to our clean energy economy looks like.