| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 80.73 |
| Liaison | Austin Eriksson |
| Submission Date | Oct. 3, 2024 |
California State University, Northridge
PRE-2: Points of Distinction
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
N/A |
Austin
Eriksson Director of Energy and Sustainability FPDC |
Name of the institution’s featured sustainability program, initiative, or accomplishment:
A brief description of the institution’s featured program, initiative, or accomplishment:
California Climate Action Corps (CCAC) program. The Institute for Sustainability hosted eight CCAC Fellows through the California Volunteers statewide program which has 300+ fellows embedded in organizations focused on urban greening, organic waste and edible food recovery, wildfire resiliency, and climate action. During the September 2023 to August 2024 term, CSUN hosted eight full-time fellows in four campus departments including the Institute for Sustainability, Energy & Sustainability in Facilities Planning, the Office of Community Engagement, and The CSUN Food Pantry. The fellows were embedded into multiple areas of the university and the broader community. They were "stationed" in the Sustainability Center, G.A.R.D.E.N., and Hydroponic Food Farm, but were often seen in CSUN's quads and classrooms or making trips to the Food Pantry, Orange Grove, or Farmer's Market.
When each fellow's projects and focus areas are viewed collectively, the impact of this cohort's work represents a wide breadth of outcomes including food security, community composting, strategic sustainability planning, outreach, education, and engagement. Their efforts contributed to the university's overall mission, fostering a cultural shift on campus and beyond where students view themselves as agents of change with a personal relationship and sense of responsibility towards the ecosystem.
CCAC Sustainable Agriculture fellows partnered with CSUN’s Physical Plant Management (PPM) Grounds team to increase the number of milkweed plants across campus to help support the rapidly declining monarch butterfly population to install milkweed plants in all new drought-tolerant landscape projects. To date, the Institute for Sustainability has provided 180 narrow-leaf Milkweed plants, grown at the GARDEN, and planted around CSUN's administration building, the Transit station, and four other campus locations. This was made possible by partnerships with local organizations including SAMO Fund for contributing narrow-leaf milkweed plants and Land ReLeaf for providing milkweed seeds!
From September 2023-July 2024, Fellows have produced impactful results:
- Engaging with over 25,000 people (in-person and social media)
- Planting almost 300 trees and native plants
- Distributing close to 10,000 pounds of food
- Diverting 10,000 pounds of organic matter from landfills
Which of the following impact areas does the featured program, initiative, or accomplishment most closely relate to?:
Public Engagement
Air & Climate
Grounds
Optional Fields
STARS credit in which the featured program, initiative, or accomplishment is reported (if applicable):
A photograph or document associated with the featured program, initiative, or accomplishment:
Second Point of Distinction
A brief description of the second program/initiative/accomplishment:
California State University, Northridge developed and launched an interdisciplinary master’s degree in sustainability, that began in Fall 2022, the first cohort just graduated in Spring 2024.
The M.A. program in Sustainability is designed to prepare students with advanced knowledge and skills to tackle environmental challenges in the 21st century. With a multifaceted program of study addressing the intersection of science, technology, environmental justice, business, and policy, the curriculum complements CSUN's institutional learning outcomes to advance students' intellectual development while preparing them for opportunities and success in their careers.
The Institute for Sustainability partners closely with the MA program and their students to provide real-world hands-on learning experiences for student projects and theses related to CSUN's Road Map to Sustainability. In 2023-24, MA students hosted a Climate Justice Week in April, conducted a water refill station inventory and audit, and helped develop the climate survey/literacy assessment for CSUN's AASHE STARS report!
Which impact areas does the second program/initiative/accomplishment most closely relate to?:
Research
Campus Engagement
Website URL where more information about the second program/initiative/accomplishment may be found:
STARS credit in which the second program/initiative/accomplishment is reported (if applicable):
A photograph or document associated with the second program/initiative/accomplishment:
Third Point of Distinction
A brief description of the third program/initiative/accomplishment:
Tree Campus USA:
CSUN received recognition for the first time as a Tree Campus USA in February 2015. This is a program that was developed by the Arbor Day Foundation and Toyota. These two organizations came together to recognized Universities that properly care for and maintain their Urban Forest. These organizations developed 5 standards that each university must meet in order to be considered for recognition as a Tree Campus USA.
Bee Campus USA
On November 13th 2018 CSUN became the 57th campus to be added to the Bee Campus USA Affiliates! Bee Campus USA fosters ongoing dialogue to raise awareness of the role pollinators play in our communities and what each of us can do to provide them with healthy habitat.
The Bee Campus USA program endorses a set of commitments, defined in an application, for creating sustainable habitats for pollinators, which are vital to feeding the planet.
Which impact areas does the third program/initiative/accomplishment most closely relate to?:
Website URL where more information about the third program/initiative/accomplishment may be found:
STARS credit in which the third program/initiative/accomplishment is reported (if applicable):
A photograph or document associated with the third program/initiative/accomplishment:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.