McMaster U Creates Teaching Community Garden
(U.S.): The objective of the university's new garden is to facilitate local food production while providing teaching and learning opportunities and engaging the greater community. The design features two raised beds, two street level beds and permeable paving pathways. The garden plan includes a variety of plants and vegetables.
Yale U Students Volunteer in Local Neighborhoods this Summer
(U.S.): As part of the Yale President’s Public Service Fellows (PPSF) program, 33 students planted trees and spruced up buildings in neighborhoods around New Haven this summer. This is the first year that the PPSF participants spent a few days undertaking volunteer work as part of the program.
U Louisville, City Officials Plant Downtown Green Roof
The green roof is among the sustainable features of the first building at Nucleus Innovation Park-Market Street, a subsidiary of the U Louisville Foundation. The park is expected to attract more jobs, research and innovation in lifelong wellness and aging-care services.
U Minnesota Assists Community with Sustainability Master Plan
The Central Minnesota Sustainable Development Plan targets affordable housing, broadband access, demographic shifts, economic development, education and workforce improvement, energy and transportation options, health care access and natural resource management.
U Buffalo Conducts Renewable Energy Education Outreach
Children in the university’s Child Care Center recently learned about renewable energy, art and sustainability with the campus' 3,200-panel photovoltaic solar array. The children participated in several activities including baking cookies in a solar oven. The university plans to hold more classes in the future.
EPA Announces Youth Sustainability Challenge Winners
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has announced the winners of the Youth Sustainability Challenge, a project that challenged American youth to submit a video that shared what they are doing to encourage sustainability in their communities. Georgetown University (DC) students' "A Generation of Energy" won the Best Overall Video category.
Calgary Students Work on Solar-Powered Emergency Response
Students at the School of Information and Communications Technologies are working on a solar-powered communications system that will supply phone and internet connectivity for emergency response, geological survey and remote residential applications. The students are working with prototyping lab Calgary Protospace, a local incubator for innovative technology ideas, and renewable energy consultants Think Energy, on the project.
Hartwick College Launches Watershed Curriculum Workshop
The college’s Pine Lake Institute for Environmental and Sustainability Studies has announced a professional development workshop that brings together area teachers, faculty, education majors, and regional and national watershed experts in a project called Think, Act, Protect the Upper Susquehanna River watershed (TAP-US). TAP-US will help area teachers develop and offer hands-on, inquiry-based lesson plans to increase environmental literacy and engage students in activities to protect and maintain the ecology of rivers, streams and wetlands.
NACUBO, Second Nature Call on Gov't for Help with Sustainability
A recent report released by the National Association of College and University Business Officers, (NACUBO), Second Nature and the American College & University Presidents' Climate Commitment (ACUPCC) calls on the federal government to make it easier for colleges and universities to finance big sustainability projects on their campuses, reports the Chronicle of Higher Education. The report includes several policy proposals to create incentives for colleges to pursue large-scale energy-efficiency projects like retrofitting laboratories and developing renewable energy sources to power their campuses.
Temple U Collaborates to Make Philadelphia More Bike-Friendly
After a ThinkBike Workshop with the Dutch Cycling Embassy, students and staff at the university worked with City of Philadelphia transportation planners and cyclists from around the region to develop specific bike-friendly proposals for each neighborhood. Proposals include a two-way bike route, increased covered and secured bike parking and storage capacity, and additional bike lanes.
RIT Partners With Local Agency in Pollution Prevention Programs
The New York State Pollution Prevention Institute at Rochester Institute of Technology has partnered with GreenHomeNYC on a Green Homes, Green Cities outreach program. The program will educate New York City and Buffalo residents on waste prevention, energy efficiency and the use of non-toxic, recycled and reusable building materials in construction and renovation projects.
Loyola U Chicago Expands Farmers Market
(U.S.): Initiated and run by students, the second season of the university's farmers market will feature 11 vendors providing fresh produce, local dairy and baked goods through October. This year, the market has filed with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to accept food stamps and senior food coupons.
Masdar IST Offers Sustainability Lessons to K-12 Students
(United Arab Emirates): The Masdar Institute of Science and Technology recently partnered with renewable energy company Masday on a science fair for Emirates National School students that displayed projects focused on sustainability, energy and the environment with the aim of promoting renewable energy and the importance of a sustainable lifestyle.
Eastern Connecticut State U to Create Community Garden
With a grant from Northeast Utilities, university faculty, staff and students will develop educational events that will enable school groups and other community members to learn about developing urban gardens and green spaces. Events will include information on how to compost, develop a vertical garden, harvest seeds, market harvests, as well as seed-saving techniques.
U South Carolina Yard Sale Raises $3K for Habitat for Humanity
The university's first Give It Up For Good yard sale recently raised $3,414 to help construct a Habitat for Humanity house on campus next spring. The environmentally friendly house will be built by students and then moved to another location for a family in need. The program also collected 2,258 pounds of food and 138 pounds of plastic grocery bags that were donated to a local food bank.
CSU Channel Islands Hosts Sustainability Workshop for Businesses
(U.S.): The university's California Institute for Social Business has partnered with CAUSE (Coastal Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy) Triple Bottom Line Business Network to educate the business community about the benefits of social business, emphasizing the importance of social and environmental sustainability in achieving profit and financial goals. The university's upcoming symposium will feature speakers from B Corporation, Patagonia and Women’s Economic Ventures.
Princeton U Energy Service Corps Weatherizes Local Homes
(U.S.): Student volunteers with the university's Energy Service Corps (ESC), a joint project of the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) Education Fund and AmeriCorps, recently weatherized 10 homes owned by senior citizens with low to moderate incomes. The Housewarming Project is a partnership with ESC and the town of Princeton's Sustainable Princeton initiative.
UC Berkeley Issues Statement About Gill Tract
"After weeks of patient dialogue, engagement and rejected offers of compromise, we deeply regret that the occupiers’ actions and continued insistence on free and unfettered access to what is an open-air laboratory left us no choice but to take this step," says a statement issued by the University of California, Berkeley administration after police broke up an Occupy the Farm encampment on agricultural research land owned by the university. The purpose of police interference at Gill Tract, says the university, was to "ensure our faculty and students can conduct the research projects to which they have devoted much of their academic and professional lives." The university says that prior to any police action, efforts to talk with occupiers about how the unused portion of the land could be repurposed were "rejected or ignored."
Police Clear 'Occupy the Farm' Protest at UC Berkeley
Police broke up an Occupy the Farm encampment on agricultural research land owned by the University of California, Berkeley, reports a recent SF Gate article. Loosely affiliated with Occupy Wall Street, the activists tilled two acres, planted vegetables, set up a drip system and pitched tents on the site in protest against planned commercial development and housing nearby. The group is asking the university to preserve the tract for agricultural study and urban farming.
28 College Leaders Commit 5% of Earnings to Fight Global Poverty
Twenty-eight current and former college leaders have publicly come forward as charter members of the Presidents' Pledge Against Global Poverty. Reports a recent Chronicle of Higher Education article, they are donating 5 percent of their total compensation this year to charities that fight global poverty. The pledge is designed to help reach the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, which include halving the number of people in the world who live in extreme poverty by 2015.
Cornell U Partners to Create Solutions for Global Concerns
Cornell University and the global humanitarian organization CARE have launched CARE-Cornell, a partnership that will merge the university’s research with CARE's experience fighting poverty to create solutions for global concerns including world hunger and climate change. CARE-Cornell will provide financial support for international projects through the Impact through Innovation Fund, supplemented by competitive external grants. Five projects are currently under way in Ethiopia, Mozambique, Vietnam, Sierra Leone and Zambia.
Coastal Carolina U Hosts Farmers Market
The one-day market, featuring local producers, was held to promote the quality and value in local, fresh produce and products to the campus community and public.
Cornell U Helps 'Green' Low-Income Housing
(U.S.): Funded by a $3 million U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development grant and led by nonprofit Community Environmental Center of Long Island City, Cornell University (New York) will help test new, energy-saving approaches in older multifamily housing developments in the New York City region. The initiative will implement building retrofits, provide education and training and conduct a study as part of an effort to demonstrate cost savings and environmental benefits of energy retrofits and an education intervention. The university will coordinate intervention and control groups to examine changes in tenant and superintendents' knowledge and motivation.
Portland State U Professor Leads Clean Water Effort in Rwanda
(U.S.): Owned and funded by water quality testing company DelAgua, and contracted to Manna Energy Limited, the project will distribute water filters and efficient cook stoves to 750,000 households, nearly all of the Western Province of Rwanda, reducing the demand for wood fuel. Portland State University (Oregon) Assistant Professor of Engineering Evan Thomas, who co-founded Manna, is heading up the effort.
Skidmore College Students Host Nuclear Awareness Forum
(U.S.): As part of a "Community Engagement" course at the college, students recently held an information session to raise public awareness of the health and environmental implications associated with a local nuclear site. The students have been working with concerned citizens and former site employees this semester to disseminate information to those who live near the site about the lack of safety features including emergency cooling systems, containment systems to keep radiation from reaching the public, and a 10-mile evacuation plan.
U California Berkeley Students Work with Communities During Break
(U.S.): More than 136 students participated in the university’s Alternative Breaks program, lending their skills to public service projects. This year’s participants spent the last week of March working on projects involving animal welfare, health care, immigration and homelessness across the country. As part of the program, the students also learned about social justice issues at play in the surrounding community.
Unity College Partners to Raise Chickens for Food Security
Unity College (Maine) students have partnered with the Waldo County Technical Center to grow broiler chickens in support of hunger relief efforts in Waldo County. The students are developing management plans, delivering animal care and learning more about how local agriculture can work to improve food security.
Luther College Pilots Employee CSA Program
The college's Wellness and Sustainability programs are collaborating to reimburse faculty and staff that take part in community supported agriculture (CSA) programs, take two cooking classes and become part of two book groups offered this summer that support a holistic approach to food education. The college is working with three local farms to provide CSAs to the campus community.
U Arizona Debuts Community Garden
The 46 plots in the university's new garden will be divided among local community members, students, faculty and staff. Financed by the University Green Fund, the $25,000 garden features solar-powered timers that regulate when the plots are irrigated.
U California Berkeley Hosts Green Workforce Development Fair
Local high school students recently explored college and career opportunities in the clean-tech economy at the East Bay Green Corridor’s Green Education and Career Exploration Fair, hosted by the University of California, Berkeley. Local community colleges and workforce training organizations represented opportunities for sustainability-related programs of study and green job training certifications, and community nonprofits showcased advocacy efforts in areas of environmental justice and sustainability.
Institutions Earn Presidential Recognition for Community Service
(U.S.): Five colleges and universities received Presidential Awards in the 2012 President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll, announced this month. Carson-Newman College (Tennessee), Miami University (Ohio), North Carolina State University, Seattle University (Washington) and the University of Pennsylvania earned the highest federal recognition an institution can receive for its commitment to community service. A total of 642 schools were recognized this year for their impact on issues including literacy, neighborhood revitalization and supporting at-risk youth.
Maharishi U Mgmt Students Raise $ for Caribbean Sustainable Farm
(U.S. and Caribbean Islands): The recent fundraiser will help send three Maharishi University of Management (Iowa) students to the Caribbean island of Dominica in May, where they will spend three months establishing a small-scale vetiver-grass nursery. They hope to make cuttings of this grass available to farmers when they return for another season the following year.
Students Worldwide Collaborate to Improve Lives of Rural Poor
(Ghana): University students from Pakistan, Cambodia, Tanzania, Ghana and the U.S. convened in Ghana to showcase designs aimed at improving the lives of the rural poor as part of the International Development Design Summit, reported the Chronicle of Higher Education last fall. For the past five years, the summit has brought together students, lecturers, engineers, farmers, mechanics and other practitioners from around the world to collaborate on developing products, services and business models to serve the rural poor.
San Diego State U Students Assess Clean Water Access in Honduras
Engineers Without Borders students at San Diego State University (California) recently traveled to Tejeras in Honduras to assess the town's water filtration and distribution system, which was making residents sick. The students are applying concepts from their environmental engineering classes toward a blueprint for a clean water solution. The group is planning another trip in January 2013 to implement the new filtration system.
U North Carolina Charlotte Considers Community Work for Tenure
The University of North Carolina at Charlotte, recognized as a Carnegie Engaged Institution for its work in the community, has announced plans to revise its tenure and promotion guidelines to include community planning research, reports Inside Higher Ed. If approved, community engagement will qualify for promotion and tenure in the research, teaching or service category.
D.C. Institutions Unite to Make City 'Greenest in America'
Nine District of Columbia university presidents have joined Mayor Vincent C. Gray to sign his College and University Sustainability Pledge (CUSP). An effort to help drive city-wide engagement and progress toward a sustainable city, the pledge is an agreement to pursue sustainability measures related to energy use and buildings, green education, transportation, waste reduction, grounds maintenance, purchasing, and the management and reporting of progress. Each higher education signatory will implement its own commitments and goals for sustainability by the pledge's Dec. 31, 2012 deadline, when the District of Columbia aims to declare itself the “Greenest College Town in America.”
Furman U Debuts Program to Help Businesses Lower Energy Costs
Furman University's (SC) Center for Corporate and Professional Development has introduced a new online process that allows businesses to identify, benchmark and reduce their energy, water and waste management operating costs. The BEST (Businesses Engaged in Sustainability for Tomorrow) program generates a series of recommendations and estimated costs and savings through a custom dashboard specific to each business.
U North Carolina Wilmington Students Plant 1,000 Trees
As part of an applied learning experience in a new campus sustainability class, students at the University of North Carolina, Wilmington recently planted 1,000 pine trees at the Ev-Henwood Nature Preserve. The effort was part of a restoration project.
USA Today Covers Growth of Campus Food Banks
This USA Today article profiles Oregon State University's campus food pantry as part of a growing trend on college and university campuses nationwide. For students struggling to get enough food and supplies, the pantries offer sundries including cereals, meats and toiletries. The Oregon State University pantry sees several hundred students plus community members each month, while Michigan State University's pantry saw a spike in users in the 2005-2006 academic year and has remained busy with about 300 people served every other week. The article also cites Tennessee State and Austin Peay State universities in Tennessee, University of Arkansas, University of Georgia and Utah Valley University as schools that have establish pantries in the past year.
U South Carolina Debuts Campus Community Garden
The University of South Carolina has dedicated a community garden available to students, faculty, staff and community members through a semester-long rental agreement. There is a waiting list for the garden's first planting season.
Yale U Creates Citizen Science Initiative
Yale University ‘s (CT) Office of Sustainability and the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History have partnered to create Citizen Science, a new initiative that aims to engage community members with urban ecology on campus. The Citizen Science initiative will train a group of students, faculty and staff to survey and record biodiversity on campus. The idea to create the program arose from the university’s 2010 Sustainability Strategic Plan stating a commitment to developing ecosystem and land management plans, as well as a commitment to understanding biodiversity within the urban ecosystem.
Kauai CC Partners with Community for Sustainable Living Institute
Kauai Community College (HI) has opened Ho'ouluwehi: The Sustainable Living Institute of Kauai to build upon the campus’ current sustainable programs including a community garden and the Farm to Table project. Through partnerships with the community, the institute will provide training for sustainability workers, entrepreneurs and interested residents.
Carleton College Partners with Community for Art Center
Carleton College (MN) partnered with the local school system to turn a "much-loved" school building into the Weitz Center for Creativity, reports a recent Chronicle of Higher Education article. The $40 million renovation and expansion of the building has resulted in a new space for the community and "allowed the college to fulfill a long-held goal of expanding its arts facilities." In addition to connecting the college and the community through performances offered there, the building features creative reuses including old gym bleachers that now act as cladding for elevator shafts.
U Colorado Boulder Leads in Peace Corps Volunteers
With 112 undergraduate alumni serving around the world, the Peace Corps has named the University of Colorado Boulder as No. 1 in the nation for graduates serving as Peace Corps volunteers for the second year in a row. The university ranks No. 5 on the all-time list of Peace Corps volunteers with 2,317 total alumni.
Virginia Commonwealth U Plans New Community Garden
Virginia Commonwealth University's Green Unity Club has started construction on a new community garden on campus. With space for 26 separate plots, the garden will host workshops for beginning gardeners and all of the produce grown will be donated to local food banks.
Student Groups Help Small Businesses Get Off the Ground
Student groups at a handful of institutions across the country have helped hundreds of community members start small businesses in the last few years, reports a recent article in The Chronicle of Higher Education. The Campus Microfinance Alliance, a national network whose student members include Bentley (MA) and St. Cloud State (MN) universities, is one of several student-led groups offering loans to local residents who want to start businesses but are unlikely to qualify for traditional bank loans. Other groups profiled in the article include those at Grinnell College (IA) and Yale (CT), Brown (RI) and Rutgers (NJ) universities. The clubs, often established as nonprofits, have helped start barbershops, bakeries and hot-dog stands with modest loans of typically less than $5,000.
Antioch U New England Student Pledge Addresses Food Insecurity
Students in the Net Impact chapter at Antioch University, New England (NH) have signed the Perpetual Food Pledge. Aiming to bring awareness to the fact that the number of people who experience food insecurity in New Hampshire has increased by 90 percent since 2006, the pledge states that a nonperishable food item to help feed the hungry will be purchased with every trip to the grocery store.
