California State University, Northridge
EN-4: Outreach Materials and Publications

The Institute for Sustainability distributes a newsletter, The Footprint, on a monthly basis that covers campus and community sustainability initiatives including major campus projects, community or news items, volunteer and job opportunities as well as highlighting students, faculty, and staff working on sustainability related projects.

The Student Recreation Center (SRC) is LEED Gold certified with its efficient construction, floor plan, and day-to-day operations. To achieve Gold Status, the building must prove outstanding in five categories: sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, and indoor environmental quality. One aspect of the SRC’s mission is to create a facility that incorporates eco-friendly components that bridge architecturally and philosophically with the University Student Union. The SRC has a touchscreen panel near the lobby that shows the energy consumption, PV generation, etc. of the building. Tours of this facility are also available upon request.

The SRC and the Valley Performing Arts Center (the Soraya) are both featured on the Institute for Sustainability's self-guided sustainability tour (discussed below), and each has a plaque outside the building linking people to our website for more information on the building features.

CSUN has also installed outdoor signs in planters designated as pollinator habitat. The signage describes the actions taken to make the space pollinator-friendly, and feature CSUN's status as a Bee Campus USA.

Additional outdoor signage is installed at CSUN's tree nursery, highlighting the value of the maturing trees before they are permanently installed elsewhere on campus.

CSUN's Institute for sustainability created a "Self Guided Sustainability Tour" that includes a majority of the visible sustainability features the campus has to offer. This tour covers everything from our Bike Path to the Fuel Cells. An interactive version of this map was also made using Google Maps and is now available on our website as well. Users can view this map on their mobile devices and click on on each sustainability feature to learn more information.

The Matasphere Themed Living Community brings together students who are interested in sustainability and environmental conservation to plan and implement efforts to reduce waste and consumption in Student Housing. Residents will be on the front lines of sustainability efforts in the residence halls and engage with community partners on new practices and programs to conserve resources.

Residents who live in the Matasphere will pave the way for reduced energy consumption in Student Housing and role model responsible behaviors and practices to limit excess waste.

CSUN releases sustainability outreach videos periodically to help education the community, both on and off campus, about our efforts. We also have four different walking tours that highlight various trees found on our campus and publish brochures/flyers on our Sustainability Minor and career options in the the field of sustainability.