Denison University
ER-1: Student Sustainability Educators Program

The Denison Sustainability Fellows Program trains student leaders who model and promote environmentally and socially responsible behaviors in the residence halls and other university facilities by educating their peers and getting engaged in hands-on activities that benefit the whole campus community. This new program at Denison represents a unique collaboration between The Office of Residential Education and The Office of Sustainability. Activities: • RecycleMania • Operation Move-Out & Operation Move-In • Water Wars & Energy Wars • Conduct sustainability tours on high visitor days: Parents Weekend, Alumni Weekend, etc • Develop an environmental social change workshop for a weekend, right before/after school gets out, and/or within a residence hall on a weekend. • End of school year paper drive to capture items that students would normally throw away. • Linking up with outdoors clubs for events like hiking. • Linking talks/events with departments e.g. speaker about how the politics of climate change with poli sci department or whether or not it is financially beneficial to retrofit a business with the math/econ departments. • Potluck + talk • All local meal in dining hall or residence hall once a month • Sustainability related movie screened in the residence hall common room • Light bulb exchange: students can trade out an incandescent light bulb with a CFL • “Green Leaves Program”- Students who meet certain requirements get a sign to display on their door. Requirements could be that they have displayed recycling or other environmentally friendly habits. Idea could also be translated to be for a room, rather than just one person, where the whole room is “green certified.” • Plastic bag recycling • Residence hall trash & recycling sort • Ecofair - different events , but in place of tickets, students must donate a recyclable • Water taste test- students have to guess if the water they are testing is from bottle, tap, or filtered tap. • Black out: encourage students to turn out lights, and meet outside for s'mores/hot chocolate • Intrahall clothing swaps/stuff swaps • Cooking activity- partner with PEAS and/or dining services. This could possibly have a focus on fresh food, like the vegetables that would be found in a CSA box. • See if fellows could partner with DUFTA and initiate an activity explaining the difference between Fair Trade and conventional products • Cultural activity with La Fuerza Latina, Asian Culture Club, BSU or other group • Residence hall sponsored community service event- habitat for humanity, food/soup kitchen- partnering with current service learning projects. • Exercise programs, group runs or bike rides/ workshops on ways to get in shape. Maybe partner with someone in Mitchell. Inter dorm competitions- kickball, capture the flag, sand volleyball. • Career Services workshops on graduate school and job opportunities for after graduation. • Dinners with professors, similar to Gilpatrick’s Chowder Hours. • In General more interaction between students and professors outside of the classroom.

Students must submit paper applications to serve as Sustainability Fellows. These applications are reviewed by the Campus Sustainability Coordinator, The Student Coordinator of the Fellows Program, the Director of Residential Education and the Assistant Director of Residential Education, who also Coordinates the Fellows program. After this initial review, applicants are selected to participate in group interviews and then selected. Sustainability knowledge is preferred but not required for students. The program encourages students from all areas of academic and co-curricular areas to apply.

Fellows come to campus prior to the start of the semester to receive formal training from the Assistant Director of Residential Education and the Sustainability Coordinator. This training takes place over three days. Additional training occurs right after Winter Break.

The College has one FTE that coordinates the program. In addition, Fellows are paid $250/semester. An additional $10,000 per year is devoted towards programming and evaluation.