Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 51.05
Liaison Juliana Goodlaw-Morris
Submission Date June 30, 2017
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

California State University, San Marcos
EN-3: Student Life

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.75 / 2.00 Juliana Goodlaw-Morris
Sustainability Manager
Safety, Risk and Sustainability
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Does the institution have one or more active student groups focused on sustainability?:
Yes

A brief description of active student groups focused on sustainability:

There are two active student groups focused on sustainability. The sustainability club and the environmental studies clubs. The sustainability club focuses on efforts on campus and how to make the campus more sustainable. They do this through events, speakers series, movie screenings, tabling etc. The environmental studies club focuses on career opportunities in the sustainability field.


The website URL where information about the student groups is available (optional):
Does the institution have gardens, farms, community supported agriculture (CSA) or fishery programs, and/or urban agriculture projects where students are able to gain experience in organic agriculture and sustainable food systems?:
Yes

A brief description of the gardens, farms, community supported agriculture (CSA) or fishery programs, and/or urban agriculture projects:

We have two gardens. The Sustainable Food Project garden and the Ethnobotany garden. The food project garden gives students experience with food production, organic methods and the challenges surrounding local, sustainable food production. (http://www.csusm.edu/liberalstudies/faculty/publications/Strategic%20Plan.pdf) The Ethnobotany garden focuses on utilitarian and medicinal uses of plants. Students work with indigenous populations and farm workers to learn about how different groups use plants.


The website URL where information about the gardens, farms or agriculture projects is available (optional):
Does the institution have student-run enterprises that include sustainability as part of their mission statements or stated purposes (e.g. cafés through which students gain sustainable business skills)?:
No

A brief description of the student-run enterprises:

N/A


The website URL where information about the student-run enterprises is available (optional):
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Does the institution have sustainable investment funds, green revolving funds or sustainable microfinance initiatives through which students can develop socially, environmentally and fiscally responsible investment and financial skills?:
No

A brief description of the sustainable investment funds, green revolving funds or sustainable microfinance initiatives:
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The website URL where information about the sustainable investment funds, green revolving funds or sustainable microfinance initiatives is available (optional):
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Does the institution have conferences, speaker series, symposia or similar events related to sustainability that have students as the intended audience?:
Yes

A brief description of the conferences, speaker series, symposia or similar events related to sustainability:

The Sustainability Club hosts a Sustainable Speakers Series- where they have guest speakers talk about sustainability within their organizations, businesses or institutions. The Environmental Studies department hosts a speaker series and any chance we host a sustainability training at a conference on campus- we do. For example, summer 2016, we held a sustainability and diversity session at the CSU Systemwide Associated Students Incorporated summer training conference, held at CSU San Marcos.


The website URL where information about the conferences, speaker series, symposia or similar events related to sustainability is available (optional):
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Does the institution have cultural arts events, installations or performances related to sustainability that have students as the intended audience?:
Yes

A brief description of the cultural arts events, installations or performances related to sustainability:

Every year, the campus participates in Cesar Chavez Day of Service. The past two years we have added sustainability components and students have conducted their day of service in our two gardens.


The website URL where information about the cultural arts events, installations or performances is available (optional):
Does the institution have wilderness or outdoors programs (e.g. that organize hiking, backpacking, kayaking, or other outings for students) that follow Leave No Trace principles?:
Yes

A brief description of the wilderness or outdoors programs that follow Leave No Trace principles:

In addition to all students who attend any wilderness or outdoor recreation programs learning about the Leave No Trace concept and other ways to be more sustainable while in the outdoors- we have a unique program called "Leave No Trace" of Carbon: Onset Program. The program is designed to deliver the monetary offsets to the CSUSM Student Sustainability Club which, in turn, implements projects to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and educate the campus community.


The website URL where information about the wilderness or outdoors programs is available (optional):
Does the institution have sustainability-related themes chosen for themed semesters, years, or first-year experiences (e.g. choosing a sustainability-related book for common reading)?:
No

A brief description of the sustainability-related themes chosen for themed semesters, years, or first-year experiences:
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The website URL where information about the sustainability-related themes is available (optional):
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Does the institution have programs through which students can learn sustainable life skills?:
Yes

A brief description of the programs through which students can learn sustainable life skills:

Our Student Life and Leadership department has been hosting Do-It-Yourself events- some include: gardening in pots, DIY body/lotion products as a cost savings exercise and in partnership with our food service provider, they have hosted Cougar Eats, a program to teach students how to cook.


The website URL where information about the sustainable life skills programs is available (optional):
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Does the institution offer sustainability-focused student employment opportunities?:
Yes

A brief description of the sustainability-focused student employment opportunities offered by the institution:

Currently we have a student sustainability assistant and a recycling student assistant. In the future, we hope to grow both to have more students working in our sustainability departments.


The website URL where information about the student employment opportunities is available:
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Does the institution have graduation pledges through which students pledge to consider social and environmental responsibility in future job and other decisions?:
No

A brief description of the graduation pledges:
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The website URL where information about the graduation pledges is available (optional):
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Does the institution have other co-curricular sustainability programs and initiatives?:
No

A brief description of the other co-curricular sustainability programs and initiatives:
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The website URL where information about other co-curricular sustainability programs and initiatives is available (optional):
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Estimated percentage of students (full-time and part-time) that participate annually in sustainability-focused co-curricular education and outreach programs (0-100):
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Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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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.