Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 72.90
Liaison Kathleen Crawford
Submission Date July 23, 2020

STARS v2.2

Florida Gulf Coast University
EN-1: Student Educators Program

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 3.18 / 4.00 Kathleen Crawford
Sustainability Coordinator
Environmental Health & Safety
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Number of students enrolled for credit:
16,940

Total number of students served by a peer-to-peer sustainability outreach and education program:
15,639

Percentage of students served by a peer-to-peer sustainability outreach and education program:
92.32

Name of the student educators program (1st program):
Campus Naturalist Program

A brief description of the student educators program (1st program):
Student Naturalists act as a liaison to the campus community and particularly University Colloquium students. Most importantly, naturalists act as peer interpreters, helping students connect to the campus ecosystem and the wild side of Florida - including campus trails, native and exotic wildlife, wetland and upland ecosystems, natural and cultural resources and conservation areas. Student Naturalists also educate classes about FGCU environmental and sustainability initiatives such as LEED certified buildings, our energy conservation measures, and recycling programs. Student Naturalists primarily assist professors in leading classes at Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, Matanzas Pass Preserve, Downtown Fort Myers, and on the Campus Trails. Naturalists may occasionally assist with other Colloquium field trips, campus trail clean-ups and other service-learning events sponsored by the University Colloquium. Naturalists help their peers understand the natural environment they are visiting. Training is provided throughout the year. Naturalists may also be required to assist with other projects, programs or events as assigned.

A brief description of the student educators program’s target audience (1st program):
The Campus naturalists target audience is for students taking our university's required sustainability course called "A Sustainable Future: University Colloquium". These students give guided nature tours on campus and elsewhere across SW Florida. Another audience is guiding students performing service learning activities like trail clearing and clean-ups.

Number of trained student educators (1st program):
14

Number of weeks the student educators program is active annually (1st program):
26

Average or expected number of hours worked weekly per trained student educator (1st program):
7.29

Total number of hours worked annually by trained student educators (1st program):
2,655.25

Website URL where information about the student educators program is available (1st program):
Name of the student educators program (2nd program):
Peers Care

A brief description of the student educators program (2nd program):
Peers CARE is a group of undergraduate students who are trained as Peer Educators on various topics related to student health. Peer Educators share health and wellness information with other students in fun and engaging ways. Their goal is to have an active, visible presence on campus in order to engage with students on topics that encompass the 8 piece wellness wheel related to Occupational Wellness, Financial Wellness, Social Wellness, Intellectual Wellness, Spiritual Wellness, Physical Wellness, Emotional Wellness and Environmental Wellness such as stress, nutrition, alcohol and drugs, or sexual health.

A brief description of the student educators program’s target audience (2nd program):
Peer educators promote a wellness-based lifestyle for all Florida Gulf Coast University students through education and leadership through wellness programming, getting involved in opportunities on campus, and collaborating with other departments. Their job is to provide students with information to they can be informed consumers and have resources as they make decisions about their health. The education we provide is done in a spirit of advocacy – and in this case, advocacy means empowering students to use accurate information along with interpersonal skills to make better choices for themselves.

Number of trained student educators (2nd program):
33

Number of weeks the student educators program is active annually (2nd program):
32

Average or expected number of hours worked weekly per trained student educator (2nd program):
5

Total number of hours worked annually by trained student educators (2nd program):
5,280

Website URL where information about the student educators program is available (2nd program):
Name of the student educators program (3rd program):
Food Forest Coordinators

A brief description of the student educators program (3rd program):
The FGCU Food Forest works to advance the mission of the university through offering unique and innovative educational and service learning opportunities for students, alumni, staff, faculty, and community members and through enhancing awareness of sustainable food production and whole food nutrition. Furthermore, the Food Forest seeks to elevate the environmental sustainability of the institution through providing organic fruits and vegetables to the campus and southwest Florida communities. Ultimately, through engaging the hands, hearts, and minds of students, alumni, staff, faculty, and community members, the Food Forest will offer a space for the cultivation of lifelong learning and for a commitment to sustainable food and living practices.

Though the Food Forest is run by students for students, this garden is open to the community sunrise to sunset.

A brief description of the student educators program’s target audience (3rd program):
The FGCU Food Forest's primary audience is FGCU students. FGCU students receive service-learning credit in the food forest, and classes use the food forest for education and research.

Number of trained student educators (3rd program):
6

Number of weeks the student educators program is active annually (3rd program):
36

Average or expected number of hours worked weekly per trained student educator (3rd program):
10

Total number of hours worked annually by trained student educators (3rd program):
2,154

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:
Student Government allocates over $10,000.00 per year for a student sustainability director to perform various educational outreach events including Eagles' Earth Day, Forming Lasting Opportunities for Commuters (FLOC) Week, RecycleMania, documentary screenings, Farmers Markets, and other campus events that target the entire campus population.

The student hired as the Director of Sustainability is expected to have a sustainability-related major. In addition to their coursework, they receive mentorship from Environmental Health & Safety’s Sustainability Manager. Additional leadership training is available through Student Government, FGCU's Multicultural And Leadership Development office, and the Environmental Coalition of FGCU (ECOFGCU). When the Director of Sustainability desires additional training, there are support mechanisms to send them to off-campus professional development opportunities such as the Sierra Student Coalition's in-person comprehensive training for college-aged youth (SPROG), Power Shift, Energy Path, the AASHE Student Summit, etc.

Number of trained student educators (all other programs):
1

Number of weeks, on average, the student educators programs are active annually (all other programs):
32

Average or expected number of hours worked weekly per student educator (all other programs) :
10

Total number of hours worked annually by trained student educators (all other programs):
320

Grand total number of hours worked annually by trained student sustainability educators (all programs):
10,409.25

Hours worked annually by trained student sustainability educators per student served by a peer-to-peer program:
0.67

Website URL where information about the student sustainability educators programs is available:
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Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
Data from 2018-2019 academic year.

Students served does not include 422 non-degree seeking students, nor 879 exclusively distance learners.

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.