| Overall Rating | Silver - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 49.39 |
| Liaison | Ciara Tennis |
| Submission Date | Dec. 31, 2018 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
Eastern Connecticut State University
EN-3: Student Life
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
2.00 / 2.00 |
Daniel
Simpson Environmental Intern Institute for Sustainable Energy |
"---"
indicates that no data was submitted for this field
Student Groups
Yes
A brief description of active student groups 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 Eastern 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 Vegans of ECSU is a student-governed club whose goal is to "promote understanding of plant based nutrition and ethical eating".
The website URL where information about the student groups is available (optional):
Gardens and Farms
No
A brief description of the gardens, farms, community supported agriculture (CSA) or fishery programs, and/or urban agriculture projects:
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The website URL where information about the gardens, farms or agriculture projects is available (optional):
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Student-Run Enterprises
No
A brief description of the student-run enterprises:
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The website URL where information about the student-run enterprises is available (optional):
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Sustainable Investment and Finance
No
A brief description of the sustainable investment funds, green revolving funds or sustainable microfinance initiatives:
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The website URL where information about the sustainable investment funds, green revolving funds or sustainable microfinance initiatives is available (optional):
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Events
Yes
A brief description of the conferences, speaker series, symposia or similar events related to sustainability:
The Annual CT Alliance for 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.
Connecticut Campus Sustainability Week (2015-2018) is a series of events in October 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 Annual Connecticut Campus Sustainability Week 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.
The website URL where information about the conferences, speaker series, symposia or similar events related to sustainability is available (optional):
Cultural Arts
Yes
A brief description of the cultural arts events, installations or performances related to sustainability:
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 events, installations or performances is available (optional):
Wilderness and Outdoors Programs
Yes
A brief description of the wilderness or outdoors programs that follow Leave No Trace principles:
Eastern 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 programs is available (optional):
Sustainability-Related Themes
Yes
A brief description of the 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 a First Year Program courses that freshmen students are required to take. Of the 37 courses offered for Eastern's First Year Introduction, 13 of the courses are sustainability related.
The website URL where information about the sustainability-related themes is available (optional):
Sustainable Life Skills
Yes
A brief description of the programs through which students can learn sustainable life skills:
Eastern offers 'Green-Theme Housing' for residential students interested in sustainability. Living in this sustainability-themed housing students learn sustainable life skills by living in a model sustainable environment while participating in green initiative programs. Examples include even participating in a Zero Waste Conference in New Hampshire. The Green Theme Housing also completes cleanup around campus and the surrounding areas for community service. There is a discussion in our biweekly meeting about how to live sustainable and other environmental issues. Green Theme housing is also very much instrumental in helping with the Warriors Don’t Waste-Move Out Collection that occurs at the end of the academic year.
The website URL where information about the sustainable life skills programs is available (optional):
Student Employment Opportunities
Yes
A brief description of the sustainability-focused student employment opportunities offered by the institution:
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 provide extensive services to support Sustainable CT, a municipal sustainability certification program run by the Institute for Sustainable Energy. Such work includes: research, data aggregation, outreach, certification submission review, and support for events. Student interns also help implement collaborative initiatives for the CT Alliance for Campus Sustainability, and preparation for the Connecticut Alliance for Campus Sustainability annual campus sustainability conference and Campus Sustainability Month.
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 opportunities is available:
Graduation Pledge
No
A brief description of the graduation pledges:
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The website URL where information about the graduation pledges is available (optional):
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Other Programs and Initiatives
Yes
A brief description of the other co-curricular sustainability programs and initiatives:
Students of the Sustainable Energy Science Major have the opportunity to work as a research assistant during the summer months with Dept. Head Dr. Paul Torcellini. This is a field research position in which students travel to towns to collect energy usage data from public buildings. This data is then used to create energy usage profiles and recommendations for town buildings to help them lower their energy consumption and carbon footprint.
The website URL where information about other co-curricular sustainability programs and initiatives is available (optional):
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Optional Fields
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Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
This information was completed by speaking with the Director of Housing LaMar Coleman, information from ISE Director Lynn Stoddard, and Joshua Sumrell of student activities.
The constitution and mission of the Outdoors club and other clubs is available online at http://www.easternct.edu/studentactivities/clubs-orgs/club-index/
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.