| Overall Rating | Silver - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 52.10 |
| Liaison | Ciara Tennis |
| Submission Date | Jan. 11, 2016 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
Eastern Connecticut State University
EN-3: Student Life
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
1.75 / 2.00 |
Laura
Miller Energy Technical Specialist Institute for Sustainable Energy |
Does the institution have one or more co-curricular sustainability programs and initiatives that fall into the following categories?:
| Yes or No | |
| Active student groups focused on sustainability | Yes |
| Gardens, farms, community supported agriculture (CSA) or fishery programs, or urban agriculture projects where students are able to gain experience in organic agriculture and sustainable food systems | Yes |
| Student-run enterprises that include sustainability as part of their mission statements or stated purposes | No |
| Sustainable investment funds, green revolving funds or sustainable microfinance initiatives through which students can develop socially, environmentally and fiscally responsible investment and financial skills | No |
| Conferences, speaker series, symposia or similar events related to sustainability that have students as the intended audience | Yes |
| Cultural arts events, installations or performances related to sustainability that have students as the intended audience | Yes |
| Wilderness or outdoors programs that follow Leave No Trace principles | Yes |
| Sustainability-related themes chosen for themed semesters, years, or first-year experiences | Yes |
| Programs through which students can learn sustainable life skills | No |
| Sustainability-focused student employment opportunities offered by the institution | Yes |
| Graduation pledges through which students pledge to consider social and environmental responsibility in future job and other decisions | No |
| Other co-curricular sustainability programs and initiatives | No |
The name and a brief description of each student group focused on sustainability:
The Environmental Club is a student-governed club at Eastern whose goal is to “Advocate the importance of human impact on the environment, while promoting sustainable awareness and practices on campus and in our surrounding community.” This group participates in community service on campus through their semi-annual campus clean up and projects in the Windham, CT community. The club also promotes sustainability through their Earth Day Event, Environmental Earth Science Graduate Panel, and documentaries shown each semester on environmental issues.
The Outdoors Club is a student-governed club at Eastern whose goal is to “Provide Opportunities and Events for the Students of Eastern Connecticut State University to Experience the Outdoors.”
http://www1.easternct.edu/studentactivities/clubs-orgs/club-index/environmental-club/
The website URL where information about student groups is available:
A brief description of gardens, farms, community supported agriculture (CSA) or fishery programs, and urban agriculture projects where students are able to gain experience in organic agriculture and sustainable food systems:
Eastern’s Community garden is a collaborative project between the university and GROW Windham. The garden donates the majority of its produce to non-profit organizations including the Covenant Soup Kitchen in Willimantic, CT. GROW Windham promotes access to healthy food in the Windham region through the development of community food projects and garden youth programming.
The website URL where information about the organic agriculture and/or sustainable food systems projects and initiatives is available:
A brief description of student-run enterprises that include sustainability as part of their mission statements or stated purposes:
The website URL where information about the student-run enterprise(s) is available:
A brief description of the sustainable investment or finance initiatives:
The website URL where information about the sustainable investment or finance initiatives is available:
A brief description of conferences, speaker series, symposia or similar events related to sustainability that have students as the intended audience:
The Annual CT Campus Sustainability Conference is a collaborative effort to bring together high education institutions including faculty, staff, and students to talk about sustainability.
Eastern has an annual Dean’s cup challenge in which residential students compete to be the top hall. The Dean’s cup has an Energy Conservation Challenge where students are challenged to see who can conserve the most energy in a given week.
The 1st Annual Connecticut Campus Sustainability Week (2015) was a series of events from October 5 – 9 designed to promote sustainable actions throughout the state’s higher education institutions. This week long series of events is coordinated by the Connecticut Alliance for Campus Sustainability, a network that encourages state universities to address environmental and social challenges at the local and state levels. This collection of events serve as a platform for action by leveraging the connections among Connecticut’s universities to promote and catalyze campus sustainability efforts, and ultimately work toward building a more sustainable future for these institutions and the state. Events are hosted by a variety of groups at Connecticut colleges and universities, and may take many forms, ranging from outdoor yoga with student instructors to discussions about food security organized by the local community. Together the diversity of events contribute to a statewide discussion of campus sustainability and its importance. Moreover, the 1st Annual Connecticut Campus Sustainability Week in 2015 furthered Connecticut’s status as an environmental leader by showcasing and expanding opportunities for institutions of higher education to connect and collaborate with each other and the State on sustainability.
For more information please visit:
http://www1.easternct.edu/sustainenergy/upcoming_events/
The website URL where information about the event(s) is available:
A brief description of cultural arts events, installations or performances related to sustainability that have students as the intended audience:
Eastern currently has a "1% for Art" collection includes 16 works of public art that are located on campus outside major campus buildings. Many of these pieces integrate nature, and the environment into them. A few examples incorporate wind energy.
The website URL where information about the cultural arts event(s) is available:
A brief description of wilderness or outdoors programs for students that follow Leave No Trace principles:
The Outdoors Club is a student-governed club at Eastern whose goal is to “Provide Opportunities and Events for the Students of Eastern Connecticut State University to Experience the Outdoors.”
The website URL where information about the wilderness or outdoors program(s) is available:
A brief description of sustainability-related themes chosen for themed semesters, years, or first-year experiences:
Eastern has a green themed housing for residential students interested in sustainability. These students are involved in various green initiatives that are focused on reducing the university’s carbon footprint, recycling, and conserving natural resources.
Eastern also offers First Year Program courses that students are required to take. Of the 37 courses offered for Eastern's First Year Introduction, 13 of the courses are sustainability related. http://www1.easternct.edu/firstyear/academic-component/
The website URL where information about the theme is available:
A brief description of program(s) through which students can learn sustainable life skills:
The website URL where information about the sustainable life skills program(s) is available:
A brief description of sustainability-focused student employment opportunities:
The Institute for Sustainable Energy, based at Eastern Connecticut State University, promotes energy efficiency and sustainability statewide through education, technical support, research, and outreach. The Institute for Sustainable Energy employs student interns to help with sustainability activities, such as energy data collection, trash auditing, green- themed campus signage, green-themed informational videos, among other sustainability related opportunities. Student interns gain experience with energy benchmarking by analyzing energy data from schools, colleges, universities and state buildings. They learn how to enter data into EPA’s ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager benchmarking tool. Students may also accompany ISE staff on building energy walkthroughs to learn about building energy systems and operations and identify energy savings opportunities.
Student interns support Connecticut’s Green LEAF School’s initiative, assisting with education programs and events, lesson research and design, and writing curriculum.
Student interns help with technical support and outreach to Connecticut’s colleges and universities on sustainability. This includes assisting with the preparation of campus greenhouse gas inventories and climate action plans, implementing collaborative initiatives for the CT Alliance for Campus Sustainability, and preparation for the Connecticut Alliance for Campus Sustainability roundtable events and annual campus sustainability conference.
We mentor to our interns and help them learn important, practical professional skills. For example, interns make formal presentations about their projects and research to ISE staff and other interns.
The website URL where information about the student employment opportuntities is available:
A brief description of graduation pledges through which students pledge to consider social and environmental responsibility in future job and other decisions:
The website URL where information about the graduation pledge program is available:
A brief description of other co-curricular sustainability programs and initiatives:
The website URL where information about other co-curricular sustainability programs and initiatives is available:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
This information was completed by speaking with the Director of Housing LaMar Coleman, and information from ISE about the campus community garden and student activities list.
Information about the Outdoors club was entered based on the club adviser Norma Vivar who attested to the club's following of the seven Leave No Trace Principles.
This information was completed by speaking with the Director of Housing LaMar Coleman, and information from ISE about the campus community garden and student activities list.
Information about the Outdoors club was entered based on the club adviser Norma Vivar who attested to the club's following of the seven Leave No Trace Principles.
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.