Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 59.37
Liaison Benjamin Newton
Submission Date March 3, 2020

STARS v2.2

Central Community College
EN-3: Student Life

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.00 / 2.00
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Student groups 

Does the institution have an active student group focused on sustainability?:
Yes

Name and a brief description of the active student groups focused on sustainability:
https://www.cccneb.edu/s4s
The Students 4 Sustainability (S4S) empowers students to make sustainable changes in their lives through campus projects, local community efforts, and peer education.
The organization is open to any current CCC student who has an interest in sustainability and the environment. S4S members have the ability to participate in projects they find interesting, but past projects have included highway cleanups, homemade ornament sales, pollinator garden planting, and creating sustainability projects to showcase at the Nebraska State Fair.

Gardens and farms 

Does the institution have a garden, farm, community supported agriculture (CSA) or fishery program, or an urban agriculture project 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:
CCC Columbus has a greenhouse that was built and managed by students with the guidance of faculty. Produce is available to all students and faculty/staff on campus at no cost.
The pollinator garden at the Columbus Campus is approximately 7,200 square feet and has about 1,460 flowers, grasses, shrubs, and nesting boxes. The garden is utilized as a learning lab for community education, environmental sustainability, agriculture and entomology.

In October 2017, the CCC Grand Island Campus 6,000-square-foot pollinator garden was completed. The project involved interdisciplinary collaboration from the campus green team consisting of administration, grants, facilities, extended learning services, and faculty. The pollinator garden was planted with more than 25 different types of native flowers, perennials, and deciduous shrubs that provide nectar and pollen for a wide range of pollinators, including monarch butterflies, bees, moths, birds and many more. Diverse plants were selected to survive the wind, cold, and drought and to provide food and shelter resources for pollinators in three seasons.
The Hastings HMRM program received a CCC mini-grant for a pollinator garden and planted it in summer 2017. The garden is located on the east side of the Dawson Building. It is near the HMRM vegetable garden, which will in turn benefit from the pollinators.

Hastings HMRM also with the Pawnee Seed Preservation project. The Hastings campus manages two native Pawnee corn gardens on campus.
https://www.theindependent.com/news/state_and_regional/seed-preservation-project-inspires-pawnee-to-get-excited-about-their/article_0fbec2b8-78be-11e7-b174-eb6a50638e5e.html In Fall of 2019 a mini pollinator garden was planted for the Ord CCC Center. We received our bloom box of plants and planting instructions from the Nebraska State wide Arboretum. There is additional room to plant more pollinators if we decide to expand the garden.

Student-run enterprises 

Does the institution have a student-run enterprise that includes sustainability as part of its mission statement or stated purpose?:
No

A brief description of the student-run enterprises:
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Sustainable investment and finance 

Does the institution have a sustainable investment fund, green revolving fund, or sustainable microfinance initiative 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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Events 

Has the institution hosted a conference, speaker series, symposium, or similar event focused on sustainability during the previous three years that had students as the intended audience?:
Yes

A brief description of the conferences, speaker series, symposia, or similar events focused on sustainability:
Earth Month in April at 3 separate campuses and the Kearney Center. Sustainability Leadership Presentation Series (SLPS) hosted monthly. www.cccneb.edu/slps www.cccneb.edu/earthmonth

Cultural arts 

Has the institution hosted a cultural arts event, installation, or performance focused on sustainability with the previous three years that had students as the intended audience?:
Yes

A brief description of the cultural arts events, installations, or performances focused on sustainability:
Dia de los Muertos zero waste event, Native corn event with speakers and tribal dancers from the Pawnee Nation. Included tours of the wind turbine for the Native Corn event.

Wilderness and outdoors programs 

Does the institution have a wilderness or outdoors program that follow Leave No Trace principles?:
Yes

A brief description of the wilderness or outdoors programs that follow Leave No Trace principles:
Summer spring break trip to Ghost Ranch New Mexico with a rafting trip down the Rio Grande River as well as hiking in the mountains with Leave No Trace Principles near Taos, New Mexico.

Sustainability-focused themes 

Has the institution had a sustainability-focused theme chosen for a themed semester, year, or first-year experience during the previous three years?:
No

A brief description of the sustainability-focused themes chosen for themed semesters, years, or first-year experiences:
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Sustainable life skills 

Does the institution have a program through which students can learn sustainable life skills?:
Yes

A brief description of the programs through which students can learn sustainable life skills:
Nebraska State Fair Sustainability Pavilion students build hands on projects for display. Spring break trip to Ghost Ranch, New Mexico focused on reusing building materials, xeriscaping, leave no trace, and recycling programs.

Student employment opportunities 

Does the institution offer sustainability-focused student employment opportunities?:
Yes

A brief description of the sustainability-focused student employment opportunities offered by the institution:
Environmental Sustainability office provides paid internships to students on all campuses.

Graduation pledge

Does the institution have a graduation pledge through which students pledge to consider social and environmental responsibility in future job and other decisions?:
Yes

A brief description of the graduation pledge(s):
An e-badge is an award learners can share with potential employers, on their resume and with their social media networks. Earned e-badges also appear on your co-curricular transcript at CCC. e-Badge earners will learn knowledge and skills in environmental stewardship, for their field of study or personal application.

Optional Fields

A brief description of other co-curricular sustainability programs and initiatives that do not fall into one of the above categories:
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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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