| Overall Rating | Platinum |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 88.13 |
| Liaison | Tonie Miyamoto |
| Submission Date | Nov. 7, 2022 |
Colorado State University
EN-1: Student Educators Program
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
4.00 / 4.00 |
Kirstie
Tedrick Sustainability Coordinator Housing & Dining Services |
Number of students enrolled for credit:
Total number of students served by a peer-to-peer sustainability outreach and education program:
Percentage of students served by a peer-to-peer sustainability outreach and education program:
Name of the student educators program (1st program):
A brief description of the student educators program (1st program):
The Eco Leaders Peer Education Program is a group of residential students in the residence halls and Aggie Village who serves as peer educators raising awareness of sustainability initiatives and encourage environmentally responsible behaviors throughout the academic year. There is one Eco Leader per residence hall and four at Aggie Village who engage campus residents in sustainability areas such as waste reduction, energy conservation, social justice, economic sustainability, sustainable transportation, and recycling and composting. The twenty Eco Leaders are a diverse group of students who represent multiple identities and perspectives, and students from different majors and backgrounds are encouraged to apply to the program.
The Eco Leader program in the residence halls also has an academic component with a mandatory class each week. Eco Leaders earn credits for the course and receive a housing stipend for their engagement efforts. The Eco Leaders program started in 2011 and has since expanded in scope and engagement each year.
A brief description of the student educators program’s target audience (1st program):
The Eco Leaders' audience is the entire residence hall population in addition to the Aggie Village Apartments. On average the population is around 8,000 students.
Number of trained student educators (1st program):
Number of weeks the student educators program is active annually (1st program):
Average or expected number of hours worked weekly per trained student educator (1st program):
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Website URL where information about the student educators program is available (1st program):
Name of the student educators program (2nd program):
A brief description of the student educators program (2nd program):
The Student Sustainability Center(SSC) is a university-wide, student-run organization that empowers both undergraduate and graduate students through education and skill-building to advance sustainability practices on and beyond CSU’s campus. The Center prioritizes addressing the intersectionality of social, economic, and environmental sustainability challenges. The events, projects, and initiatives run by the SSC help shape the culture and practice of sustainability on campus and in our community while simultaneously preparing members for becoming future sustainability leaders.
The Director of the SSC position is an ongoing role that assists with furthering the university's sustainability goals. The Director and their team work alongside the Associated Students of CSU (ASCSU) and the President’s Sustainability Commission to promote student-based sustainability initiatives. Outreach activities include managing a sustainability club, working with the graduate chapter for the SSC and hosting educational programs and events on campus. The Director of the SSC works 20-25 hours per week, half of their hours are direct peer to peer engagement. Two additional SSC positions work 5 hours per week on peer to peer engagement work.
A few more projects to highlight are below:
Nitrogen Footprint project is an endeavor to track the carbon and nitrogen use of CSU’s campus. This student-led project placed CSU among the world’s first institutions to calculate its nitrogen footprint and continues to innovate and inform sustainability on campus.
Coalitions for Sustainable Student Organizations (CSSO) is a partnership of registered student organizations chaired by the SSC. The coalition encourages collaboration and communication across sustainability-oriented student groups to empower collective efforts that address sustainability challenges.
The SSC recently launched the Patchwork Initiative which addresses clothing waste and fast fashion. They aim to donate, repurpose, and recycle textiles and clothing, while providing educational opportunities for students about clothing repair. There is one physical location for the initiative, and pop-ups to bring continued awareness to the importance of textile sustainability. This program is ran by 6 students who sole jobs are to engage with students.
A brief description of the student educators program’s target audience (2nd program):
SSC's audience is the entire student population at CSU.
Number of trained student educators (2nd program):
Number of weeks the student educators program is active annually (2nd program):
Average or expected number of hours worked weekly per trained student educator (2nd program):
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Website URL where information about the student educators program is available (2nd program):
Name of the student educators program (3rd program):
A brief description of the student educators program (3rd program):
As the Larimer County Landfill is expected to reach capacity by 2025, the student-led Zero Waste Team’s focus is to sort waste, educate students and community members, and aid in the acquisition of compostable materials at CSU sanctioned events, home sports games, and events held by the City of Fort Collins. The Zero Waste Team is largely responsible for the many zero-waste events each month, including university events like the President's Fall Address, Ag Day, Earth Week, and all home football and basketball games where the members of the Zero Waste Team often stands at all waste station and ensures all waste is sorted properly for 40,000 attendees each game.
The team is often requested by members of the CSU campus community and Fort Collins community for advice on event planning. During Earth Month 2022, the Zero Waste team hosted "Waste Week", providing composting education on the student plaza and providing incentives for students to learn how to compost. The team also offered a tour of the CSU compost facility at the Foothills Campus, as well as brought in a local composting vendor, Compost Queen, to learn about navigating a locally-owned composting business.
The Zero Waste Team’s target audience is all of CSU students, faculty and staff in addition to the Fort Collins community. Direct audience members include those attending athletic events, university sanctioned events and festivals, and anyone willing to discuss the importance of waste diversion.
A brief description of the student educators program’s target audience (3rd program):
The Zero Waste Team's audience is the entire student population, faculty and staff at CSU.
Number of trained student educators (3rd program):
Number of weeks the student educators program is active annually (3rd program):
Average or expected number of hours worked weekly per trained student educator (3rd program):
Total number of hours worked annually by trained student educators (3rd program):
Website URL where information about the student educators program is available (3rd program):
A brief description of all other student peer-to-peer sustainability outreach and education programs:
Transportation Education and Enforcement Program (TEEP) was developed to educate commuters and enforce rules and regulations pertaining to the operation of wheeled conveyances on campus. The goal of the program is to provide a safe traffic environment so that all modes of transportation can coexist. TEEP is operated by student educators and is a unit of the CSU Police Department (CSUPD).
The Spoke is CSU’s largest living lab and is operated by student mechanics. The Spoke is open year-round for students to receive bike maintenance. Students who stay to learn about their bike during the repair do not pay labor costs, only parts. The Spoke is based in the University’s first LEED Platinum building, the Pavilion. In FY20, The Spoke completed nearly 7,000 education engagements despite drastically losing foot traffic due to the pandemic. From 2014 to 2022, the Spoke has provided a total of 26,118 educational services.
Rambassadors are paid student educators who interact with their peers on campus to educate them about their alternative transportation options, with a focus on safe and efficient travel. Rambassadors also present to classes and resident hall groups about transportation options and develop custom commute routes for students. These students also participate in the RamsRideRight campaign, a positive reinforcement campaign where bicyclists are rewarded for following the law and using safe practices such as dismounting and stopping at appropriate areas on CSU campus.
The CSU Apiculture club works hands-on and in classroom settings to teach interested students about beekeeping and pollinators with the help of local experts. More experienced beekeeping club members work with other interested students at the beehives at the Durrell Center year-round to teach proper beekeeping techniques and skills so that they can, in turn, teach others about beekeeping and the importance of pollinators. Outreach activities include bringing bees to local schools and bringing CSU groups to the hives to spread knowledge about bees and increase environmental literacy.
WCNR Residential Learning Communities allow Warner first-year students to join a group of peers with similar interests and develop their leadership skills in sustainability. The peer mentors are students who previously lived in the community and receive training prior to the start of the academic year. Peer mentors develop sustainability resources for the students, lead activities and sessions related to sustainability, and can lead a session of the seminar course on a topic of their choosing. There are two WCNR RLCs, Outdoor Leadership and Sustainability Leadership, with an additional community starting this fall: Equity, and Inclusion in Natural Resources (not included in hours/mentor count). Each RLC has a seminar course associated with the community that is co-lead by the faculty head and peer mentors surrounding principles of sustainability and outdoor leadership.
CSU also has various peer to peer education related to food security among the community. The Food Pantry works with a food security advisory committee to help better understand the community needs. Students from this committee in turn present to their peers about addressing food insecurity and health on campus. Additionally, a student-run garden at CSU’s Agricultural Research, Development and Education Center (ARDEC) also grows produce for Ram’s Against Hunger, an umbrella of services to address food insecurity on campus. These students also often host events to teach and inform their peers of the food growing operation.
The Associated Students of CSU (ASCSU) has organized their sustainability efforts through a dedicated student-led environmental affairs department with a paid student leadership position. The Director of Environmental Affairs position and team is an ongoing role that assists with furthering the university's sustainability goals. This team works alongside the Student Sustainability Center and the President’s Sustainability Commission to promote student-based sustainability initiatives. Outreach activities include involvement in Earth Week, LEED and WELL green building standard resolutions, and collaborating on the Plastic Bag and Thin Film recycling initiative for the campus bookstore. Other outreach activities associated with this position include working with students to write sustainability bills, partnering with the Student Sustainability Center, and hosting educational programs and events on campus.
CREWS (Creating Respect, Educating Wellness (by and for) Students) is a diverse, trained peer education team who help fellow Rams make safer, healthier decisions about alcohol, sexual health, and tobacco. CREW members connect with other Rams from all academic majors, life experiences, race/ethnicities, genders, and sexual orientations that reflect who we are as a campus, earn upper-level academic credits and a National Peer Educator Certification after training and become trained in the areas of listening skills, teaching/presentation techniques, risk reduction skills and resource/referral skills.
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Total number of hours worked annually by trained student educators (all other programs):
Grand total number of hours worked annually by trained student sustainability educators (all programs):
Hours worked annually by trained student sustainability educators per student served by a peer-to-peer program:
Website URL where information about the student sustainability educators programs is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
Additional websites:
Zero Waste Team: https://ramlink.campuslabs.com/engage/organization/zerowasteteamcsu
Rambassadors: https://pts.colostate.edu/transportation-options/rambassadors/
The Spoke: http://cr.colostate.edu/the-spoke.html
ASCSU Environmental Affairs: https://ascsu.colostate.edu/executive-branch/
Transportation Education and Enforcement Program (TEEP): https://police.colostate.edu/safe-commuting-regulations/
Apiculture Club: https://www.fm.colostate.edu/pollinators
CREW: https://health.colostate.edu/crews/
Rams Against Hunger: https://lsc.colostate.edu/slice/community-engagement/rams-against-hunger/
WCNR Residential Learning Community: https://warnercnr.colostate.edu/prospective-students/natural-resources-residential-learning-communities/
Additional websites:
Zero Waste Team: https://ramlink.campuslabs.com/engage/organization/zerowasteteamcsu
Rambassadors: https://pts.colostate.edu/transportation-options/rambassadors/
The Spoke: http://cr.colostate.edu/the-spoke.html
ASCSU Environmental Affairs: https://ascsu.colostate.edu/executive-branch/
Transportation Education and Enforcement Program (TEEP): https://police.colostate.edu/safe-commuting-regulations/
Apiculture Club: https://www.fm.colostate.edu/pollinators
CREW: https://health.colostate.edu/crews/
Rams Against Hunger: https://lsc.colostate.edu/slice/community-engagement/rams-against-hunger/
WCNR Residential Learning Community: https://warnercnr.colostate.edu/prospective-students/natural-resources-residential-learning-communities/
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.