Overall Rating Silver
Overall Score 48.69
Liaison Tina Evans
Submission Date Aug. 20, 2024

STARS v2.2

Colorado Mountain College
EN-3: Student Life

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.75 / 2.00 Tina Evans
Professor, Sustainability Studies
Sustainability Studies
"---" 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:

Sustainability Club:

  • Runs the boards on campus highlighting sustainable action that can be taken, and meets regularly to discuss opportunities to engage in sustainable action on campus. Leads students in awareness campaigns as well as helping with the end-of-the-year Sustainability Conference. Clubs can be found at multiple campus locations. 

 


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:

Steamboat Springs:



  • Bearpark 2/3 acre, 1,400 square foot geodesic dome greenhouse, permaculture classes, community involvement--people can come pick food from Bear Park Permaculture Center, Rocky Mountain Youth Corp.

 



Spring Valley:



  • The campus has on-site community garden space, as well as holding canning workshops and other educational opportunities.



Breckenridge:



  • Hosts a community garden that is maintained with the support of the local non-profit High Country Conservation Center (HC3) and is used in courses on campus such as Sustainable Agriculture. 



Vail Valley:



  • New Roots, Colorado (NRCO) promotes a local, sustainable food system in Eagle County through outreach, education, and partnership. Our partnership with Colorado Mountain College Vail Valley (CMC) has provided us with an opportunity to grow and distribute food locally and to create an educational space for students and the surrounding community.

 

 


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:

N/A


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:

N/A


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:

CMC Earth Day / Sustainability Conference (Held annually in April):



  • CMC’s Sustainability Studies program welcomes the community to learn about sustainability in western Colorado and beyond at our annual virtual conference. This conference aims to provide information and inspiration for improving our world through education. It features graduating seniors in the major presenting their independent research work as well as excellent keynote speakers.

 

  • Agenda from 2023: 9-9:25 am: Welcome and Opening Remarks - CMC President and CEO Dr. Carrie Besnette Hauser. 9:30-10:55 am: Sustainability Capstone-Student Research Presentations – Choose Your Own Thematic Breakout Room 11:00 am-12 pm: Keynote Address by Beatriz Soto.

 

  • Climate Justice and Nature in Colorado: Latinx-centered research on the intersection of race, economic class, and environmental harms and benefits in our state. Where should we put our resources to advance climate justice for a resilient Colorado? Beatriz Soto has been at the intersection of community building, social justice, and working toward a stable climate for the past two decades. She is an award-winning architect with a LEED certification, who has worked on a variety of energy-related - high-performance projects; and has also led and created professional and workforce development workshops in the U.S. and Mexico.

 

 


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:

Summit Campus’ Sustainability Arts Festival - Held by the Creative Sustainability Class:



  • This art show is focused on sustainability concepts as either the inspiration or possibly even the medium for installations and pieces created by students. Previous shows have showcased works such as a functional, interactive snowboard bench, sustainably sourced jewelry designs, fragments of glass creating an Earth mosaic, a hand-knitted wool sweater, four recycled skateboards that narrate environment and human shredder stories, and a carefully designed food and drink 'art amuse bouche' paired with other exhibits.

 

  • Colorado Mountain College's Common Reader Program - engages students, staff, and community members and culminates with author visits. CMC’s Common Reader Program has celebrated CMC's designation as a Hispanic-serving institution with author Kali Fajardo-Anstine, a Colorado native and National Book Award Finalist. Kali’s book, Woman of Light, is a historical fiction about the Chicana/o experience in the 1930’s in Denver, Colorado. Woman of Light invites us to step into the wildly entertaining and complex cast of characters in this dazzling epic story of betrayal, love, and fate that spans five generations of an Indigenous Chicano family in the American West.

 

 


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:

Outdoor Studies Programs: 



  • All Outdoor Studies classes teach and follow Leave No Trace principles including Mountain Orientation, Snow Orientation, Desert Orientation, Canyon Orientation, Basic Search and Rescue, Backcountry Navigation, Mountain Biking, etc. 



The Rocky Mountain Land Management Internship program:



  •  A rigorous project-based internship co-developed by CMC faculty and the USDA Forest Service to train the next generation of land managers and natural resource specialists. https://coloradomtn.edu/academics/internship-program/usfs-internship/ This program teaches and practices LNT principles. More information can be found here:

 



 


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:

N/A


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:

Residential Campus Programs:



  • Each of the residential campuses at CMC offers sustainability-oriented guidance relating to various aspects of student life, from waste management and energy use to adhering to leave no trace principles. Each residential campus also offers various student life opportunities oriented towards diversity and inclusion, with each campus offering support to underserved populations. “The Wellness Wheel” at the Steamboat Springs campus gives RAs and residential students the opportuntity to discuss multiple sustainable life skills from finance to personal welfare.

 


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:

Work-study opportunities to support campus sustainability and Sustainability Studies:



  • A team of work-study students is hired each academic year at the Steamboat Springs campus where they engage in some or all of the following: research on recycling habits, dining hall waste reduction education, Food Recovery Network tasks, organizing fun social events for students interested in sustainability, supporting sustainability-oriented clubs, and public education about sustainability and sustainable practices. 



STARS Student Researchers:



  • Students can contribute to CMC's AASHE STARS report by working as STARS student researchers. Students contribute over an academic school year helping support the faculty leading the STARS reporting process, working outside of class, and helping provide support in the fall for SUS-4500. National Forest Service Internship: The Rocky Mountain Land Management Internship program is a rigorous project-based internship co-developed by CMC faculty and the USDA Forest Service to train the next generation of land managers and natural resource specialists. More information can be found here:

 

 


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?:
No

A brief description of the graduation pledge(s):

N/A


Optional Fields

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

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.