State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry
EN-10: Community Partnerships

ESF partnered with the Milton J. Rubenstein Museum of Science and Technology (MoST) to host the Summer Science Week in July 2022. The SUNY ESF Summer Science Week empowers rising 9th grade students in Onondaga County through free hands-on experiential learning and personal ownership of scientific data. Gathering, analyzing, and reporting personally collected data allows the students to become familiar with scientific language and units of measure, better understand and explain fundamental concepts, and gain a deeper appreciation of nature and their local environment. During the week long camp, students visited ESF's Heiberg Forest and outdoor classroom in Tully, the Onondaga County Resource Recovery Agency's compost site, Clark Reservation State Park and other sites in Onondaga County to learn about sustainability, conservation, and their connections to climate change.

The charge for the Summer Science Week program is to partner with organizations that serve underrepresented groups. These groups include Girls’ Inc., PEACE Incorporated, Syracuse City Schools and others. Attendees come from those programs. The curriculum or programming for Summer Science Week also focuses on environmental justice. The students learn about the peoples who inhabited this region before colonization, how the land has been used and by who, issues we face today, and how a college like ESF can be part of any environmental solutions for areas that have been damaged or over used.

Learn more: https://www.most.org/learn/summer-science-week/
MoST: https://www.most.org/

ESF in the HS is an ongoing partnership, active since 1999, between ESF and high schools across New York State. It engages more than 600 high school students and dozens of high school teachers per year in environmental and sustainability focused learning. The program enables qualified students to: experience college-level course work while still in high school; understand the complex scientific and social perspectives behind environmental issues such as the relationship between energy and the environment; and learn about and explore diverse interests and career opportunities in environmental science, engineering, management, policy and design.

The program is offered in more than 30 high schools in and around Syracuse, NY, Onondaga County, and throughout New York State. Students participating in the program represent a mix of urban, suburban, and rural school districts. The program reaches a diverse set of underrepresented groups including various racial, ethnic, and immigrant populations, and individuals from different religious groups and economic backgrounds.

ESF in the High School teachers are qualified high school teachers who must earn an appointment as an ESF Adjunct Instructor. Teachers participate in mentoring and professional development opportunities with ESF faculty and educational specialists, and with other ESF in the High School teachers. Participating teachers and students form learning communities through which they share information, teaching/learning experiences, and related ideas and materials. Each participating teacher receives mentoring, course preparation, and consultation with College faculty and staff throughout the academic year, and professional Development opportunities specifically designed for ESF in the High School teachers.

Example courses offered include: EFB120 Global Environment, EFB190 Writing and the Environment, EFB 101-104 General Biology and Lab, ESF122 Ecology of the Economic Process, FCH496 Introduction to Renewable Energy, and EFB 298 Research Problems.

https://www.esf.edu/openacademy/k12/

This conference is organized through a partnership between ESF, the U.S. Green Building Council New York Upstate Chapter, and the Syracuse University Center of Excellence in Environmental and Energy Systems. The mission of this annual conference is to promote, educate, and support green building design, construction, and processes. Informed by an Advisory Council comprised of architects, engineers, interior designers, builders, faculty/researchers, and other green building practitioners, this conference offers content in high performance buildings, building science, green materials and resources, renewable energy, biomimicry and resiliency, indoor air quality, urban design, planning and community development, energy code, and LEED v4, among others. The conference is currently in its 21st year.

Community partners that represent underserved populations, including WE ACT, PUSH Buffalo, Align and Communities for Local Power, are engaged in the planning, recruitment and execution of the NYS Green Building Conference.

2021: https://www.esf.edu/greenbuilding/2021/
2022: https://www.esf.edu/greenbuilding/2022/
2023: https://www.esf.edu/greenbuilding/2023/

Locally Sourced Conference: Municipal Sustainability Policy Solutions

At this conference, the Rockefeller Institute and SUNY ESF hosted a range of local government experts to highlight best practices, lessons learned, and successful projects that illustrated how local leaders could integrate sustainability into their municipal decision-making. Presentations featured SUNY sustainability experts, municipal leaders, and other key stakeholders. The goals of this meeting were to:

- Highlight successful projects and practices that have addressed sustainability at the local level
- Identify research questions and challenges faced by local leaders when developing projects
- Identify policy priorities and practices for state and local leaders
- Network with experts and other municipal leaders
- Facilitate long-term connections between the research, policy, and practice communities

https://rockinst.org/rig-events/locally-sourced-municipal-green-policy-solutions/