Central New Mexico Community College
EN-3: Student Life

2019 Update:Horticulture Club Misson: To practice to promote horticulture and environmental sustainability at CNM and surrounding communities. https://www.cnm.edu/depts/student-activities/clubs-organizations#horticulture-club Historic: ECOS: Our Student Government also known as the Executive Council of Students (ECOS) conducts a yearly campus wide clean up event. This also would include assessments on location of trash receptacles and recycling containers (reported by R. Garcia 2014). UPDATE: They have also made great efforts to support environmentally and socially sustainable efforts into our other initiatives, including taking our newspaper online (2015-2016) and is in the process of incorporating sustainability funding into their constitution and permanent mission statement (Summer 2016). USGBC: Mission/Purpose: The purpose of the United States Green Building Council, CNM Student Chapter is to gather and organize students interested in Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) projects, concepts, volunteer opportunities, areas of study, and career opportunities while promoting sustainability on campus. Phi Theta Kappa recently focused on a campus wide cigarette butt clean day. The butts were collected and weighed to show students the amount of butts thrown on the ground. The goal was to clean up the campus and help in a campaign to help smokers quit.reported by R. Garcia 2014). Service Learning students completed two green houses that utilized recycled tires for tiles and solar energy to heat rocks in barrels to provide heat when necessary. These projects were done several years ago (reported by R. Garcia 2014). Service Learning Credit was gained by students who participated in either Recyclemania or Water in the Desert Projects (2015-2016).

2019 Update: The Garden Bed Adoption Program at Main Campus was popular and caught on to other campuses. Now there is also a Community Garden at Montoya Campus that brings together outside community members and is used for curriculum in Biology classes at that campus. In both 2018 and 2019 students harvested foods for earth day and had a celebration. https://www.cnm.edu/about/sustainability/garden-bed-adoption-program-1 Historic: Raised Garden Beds have been implemented as a part of RPM and Wayfinding Renovations. The Wayfinding garden Beds (sw corner of Max Salazar) have been adopted out by the Sustainability Curriculum Committee, subgroup (Compost to Garden). The USGBC Student Group has adopted one of these beds and has donated it to the Culinary Arts Program. Culinary Arts harvests lettuces planted in a bed adopted by the USGBC student charter group and serves them at their nightly Bistro Services as "CNM Salad". They are learning about farming, harvesting and taking pride in food production. https://www.cnm.edu/news/faculty-and-staff-news/culinary-students-harvest-lettuce-from-garden-on-southwest-corner-of-max-salazar-hall Culinary Arts students are also harvesting Gooseberries from the Wayfinding terraced grounds, on the south side of MS. (via James Clapp instructor with assistance from C2G--summer 2016) Katrina Taylor (instructor/chair in CHSS department) and Erica Volkers (Dean) is currently planning an Aquiponics project in the old Green House that has become a realized project in facilities. It is in the planning phase.

2019 Update: Street Food Institute is a student-run food truck and cafe on campus. An MOU exists between the larger entity and the CNM Culinary Program (CNM's School of Business and Information Technology) for students to gain real-world, hands-on business experience. The vision: for a healthy, sustainable and creative food future across New Mexico. https://streetfoodinstitute.org/ MOU Historic: USGBC-- has been leading LEED tours of Buildings, gardening and participating in Recyclemania and other events, regularly. LEED tours of buildings were established as a part of their mission. Mission/Purpose: The purpose of the United States Green Building Council, CNM Student Chapter is to gather and organize students interested in Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) projects, concepts, volunteer opportunities, areas of study, and career opportunities while promoting sustainability on campus. Culinary arts Street Food Program (BIT) The School of Business and Information Technology houses the Culinary Arts Program. James Clapp, instructor, has spearheaded the "food truck" business partnership between Street Food Institude and CNM. They are dedicated to using as much locally produced ingredients as possible. https://www.cnm.edu/depts/news/food-truck-provides-students-real-world-experience-and-patrons-delectable-dishes/ https://www.cnm.edu/depts/academic-affairs/documents/StreetFoodInst.pdf ECOS (Student Government)--sustainability is a part of the student mission with new constitution (2016), in progress of rewrite.

2019 Update: There is now a way for staff to assist student financing request through a "small project" request process. Historic: Currently (summer 2016), ECOS is working with their approver and budget to verify what is possible with spending authority, because sustainability is a part of their mission with the new constitution. The student council is working to establish a revolving sustainability fund for the next fiscal year (2016-2017).

2019 Update: Both Recyclemania and Water in the Desert outreach events and seminar series serve this credit. Historic: Student Activities has hosted speakers in the area of solar powered energy, renewable energy sources, and recyloable materials. One event included a tennis shoe donation whereby the rubber soles were going to be recycled. Both Recyclemania and Water in the Desert projects are aimed at student audiences to help promote sustainability in the community. They each involve 8 weeks of speakers, activities and educational films.

2019 Update: The RecycleMania Grand Finale hosted artists that make their art by reusing materials. It was a "mini" recycled art fair. For example, Tony Baca showed his candle holders made from tin cans and found bullet casings and another vendor made textiles with used sheets and tshirts. Outside artists were Idea Flow... Water in the Desert. The students created the river-like installation out of hundreds of individual writings collected from hundreds of people. Students asked participants of all ages and walks of life to write down messages they would like to share about water issues or to describe what water symbolizes to them. The project was inspired by the artist Christine Destrempes, who has created several similar installation projects under the title of “Art for Water.” http://www.cnm.edu/news/faculty-and-staff-news/idea-flow-honors-conclusion-of-water-in-the-desert-series

2019 Update: Water in the Desert, RecycleMania and Pledge to Refill Campaigns are now static offerings during specific semesters or events. This semester there has been a recylcing theme at all campuses. This has included electronic items. Water in the Desert was a first-year experience (2015) https://www.cnm.edu/about/sustainability/water-in-the-desert-project

2019 Update: ecoMOD project is open for tours by request. CNM Ingenuity, the enterprise arm of Central New Mexico Community College (CNM), is launching a program to provide paid internships for CNM students to build "ecoMOD" homes – energy efficient, high-performing and cost-effective modular homes that will be placed in Albuquerque as affordable housing options. This program will be created in collaboration with the University of New Mexico (UNM) School of Architecture.

The Physical Plant Department (PPD) has a full-time sustainability staff person that has a "sustainability assistant" student (work-study) position.

Several Faculty have worked, cross-disciplinary, on Campus as a Living Lab initiatives to bring sustainability into their curriculum. PPD--Facilities, has provided an avenue through which students and faculty can use the campus staff as their "client" proposing sustainability initiatives. Marissa Juarez (instructor) has been successful at getting facilities to implement student proposals for sustainability on campus. The new Smith Brasher Building (after renovation) will have recycling receptacles, that were imagined in a student proposal.