Florida Gulf Coast University
EN-3: Student Life

With more than 280 Registered Student Organizations (RSOs) Florida Gulf Coast University has 69 RSOs that focus on sustainability, environment, service, and/or social justice. Their names and missions statements may be found at https://getinvolved.fgcu.edu/organizations.

To name a few:

The Environmental Coalition of FGCU (ECOFGCU) is a coalition of leaders from sustainability-oriented clubs and department on campus with the goal of coordination events and brainstorming ideas so that we can have a more unified presence.

FGCU Student/Farmworker Alliance
FGCU Student/Farmworker Alliance will be a multi-purpose student-led organization. Primarily, FGCU SFA will be an ally and advocacy organization that utilizes its energy, position, and resources to support the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW), a human rights organization internationally recognized for its achievements in the fields of social responsibility, human trafficking, and gender-based violence at work. FGCU Student/Farmworker Alliance will also serve as a space to advocate and take action to support food justice on campus, locally and nationally.

Florida Water Environment Association FGCU Student Chapter is focused on advocating for a clean and sustainable water environment and provides students with a community of like-minded individuals who show interest in the water and wastewater industries.

Food Foresters - This club is focused on learning how to grow food in an ecological way in the SW Florida region. They aim to educate students as well as allow them to have a chance to garden and grow their own food. This club also supports the on-campus Food Forest.

FGCU Wildlife Club's mission is to educate students about the wildlife and ecosystems surrounding us with a strong focus on science-based management and conservation activities including guest speakers, events, and service learning days.

The Food Forest gives students hands on training in a permaculture semi-urban garden. The Food Forest is run by Service-Learning Coordinators and is open for the entire campus community to participate in and benefit from. In addition to growing food, the Food Foresters lead educational workshops and create online educational materials about plants that grow well in Southwest Florida.

FGCU also maintains an urban-style container garden maintained by a paid part-time gardener, along with interns and service learning students. Herbs and produce from this garden is used by residential dining services with excess given to our campus food pantry.

Dining Services has recently implemented two Farmshelf units, which are a vertical indoor farming and growing systems that uses hydroponic technology.

FGCU holds multiple sustainability events on campus that have students as its primary audience. A few examples:

FGCU Eagles' Earth Week (3/11/23 - 3/19/23) showcased many events:
Saturday 3/11 Volunteering at ECHO Global Food & Farm Festival
Monday 3/13 Womxn’s HERstory 365: Kick-Off Event
Monday 3/13 Ornithology Club Meeting
Monday 3/13 Green Drinks Sustainability Mixer at NLV Boardwalk Dining
Monday 3/13 Feminist Group Meeting
Monday 3/13 Dominican Republic Outreach Program (D.R.O.P.) Meeting
Tuesday 3/13 Student Government Hosted Tabling Fair
Tuesday 3/14 Pi Day Paddle with Campus Rec
Tuesday 3/14 FGCU Chapter of AWRA Club meeting
Tuesday 3/14 CKI Service Activity
Tuesday 3/14 Global Medical Brigades General Body Meeting
Wednesday 3/15 Mindful Movement Yoga w/Military & Veteran Success – open to all
Wednesday 3/15 Learn to Kayak
Wednesday 3/15 Film Festival hosted by ECOFGCU featuring Dr. Everham’s Capstone Students film shorts
Thursday 3/16 Guided Trip/Volunteer at Harry Chapin Food Bank
Thursday 3/16 Guided Trip/Volunteer at FL Native Plant Society
Thursday 3/16 Wildlife Club open discussion on select wildlife & environmental films.
Friday 3/17 FGCU Chapter of AWRA Club meeting
Saturday 3/18 Campus Clean up & Litter Data Collection
Saturday 3/18 Nature Trail Accessibility Project
Sunday 3/19 Day Hike

FGCU hosted the 32nd Annual Southwest Florida Water Resources Conference where students were encouraged to attend technical talks on tomorrow’s problems and solutions for water resources in southwest Florida; participated in fantastic networking opportunity for job-seekers, and were able to participate in a student poster session with cash prizes for best research posters.

FGCU Hosted the 3rd Annual Hanseatic League of Universities Conference from May 15 – 17, 2023. This year's conference theme was "Vectors of Resilience" and gave our students a unique opportunity to attend this international conference.

For the Class of 2025 (held in 2022), the Eagles Read book selected by First Year Experience & Retention Programs was Give a Sh*t: Do Good. Live Better. Save the Planet. by Ashlee Piper.
Students were able to:
Join the Book Club - which held two Book Club discussions surrounding the Eagles Read book selection and learned what others think while sharing their own thoughts and opinions.
Essay Contest - students wrote 400-500 words on why the content of the book is important. The winner had their essay published in an our on-campus journals, had a feature on the FYE website, and won a $500 scholarship.
Meet the Author event was held on 2/1/22 and students heard her talk about her journey to writing. She'll also answered student questions and presented the essay contest winner with their scholarship.

The Music Forest - April 2022
To celebrate Arbor Day, about 40 musicians were “planted” in various spots around the half-acre Food Forest botanical garden and performed continuous sets from 3-6 p.m. as soloists or ensembles. Attendees were entertained by music performed by students inspired by nature and also learned about the materials and sources of the instruments. Guided tours streamed through the winding paths shaded by fruit trees and other native vegetation, informing visitors about the permaculture design and FGCU’s commitment to environmental sustainability.

Alumni Murals Installed Outside of the Arts Complex - November 2023
A new, outdoor mural has been installed in the Arts Complex Courtyard.

The piece, titled “The Psychology of Sustainability,” is a collaborative project made by FGCU alumni Ehren Fritz Gerhard and Michael Santacroce. The mural explores themes of environmentalism and sustainability through an introspective and conscientious lens.

The FGCU Outdoor Pursuits program is a division of Florida Gulf Coast University's Campus Recreation department. Outdoor Pursuits is a student-centered program that strives to educate and enhance the collegiate experience through quality outdoor adventure experiences, educational clinics, and team building initiatives. It is our hope to cultivate the lifelong commitment to healthy outdoor pursuits, environmental stewardship, and personal development. https://www.fgcu.edu/studentlife/campusrec/outdoorpursuits/

Eagles in 25 - Eagles Read is a program that brings the entire first-year class together to engage intellectually about a shared reading. The Eagles Read program aims to allow the students the opportunity to begin their first year experience having something in common. This year, this commonality will be that all students will have been asked to read Give a Sh*t: Do Good. Live Better. Save the Planet. by Ashlee Piper. For the Class of 2025, the Eagles Read book selected by First Year Experience & Retention Programs is Give a Sh*t: Do Good. Live Better. Save the Planet. by Ashlee Piper.

The office of Housing and Residence Life has build in sustainable life skills as one of their four Learning Outcomes for their “Housing Curriculum”. The other learning outcomes include resiliency, self-awareness, and engagement. They hold events like Go Green on the Green, virtual sustainability scavenger hunts, sustainability bingo, and have incorporated sustainability into their Housing Olympics. They have created a stamp that they use on all incoming boxes to direct students what to do with their empty boxes, so the boxes get broken down and recycled. They promote water conservation through “Water You Doing?” campaigns.

The Environmental Health & Safety Department has employed a number of students that contribute to sustainability efforts on campus.

The Center for Environment & Society employees a number of student workers that work to advance the mission of CES.

The Office of Service-Learning has Service Ambassadors that are specifically dedicated to sustainability. These Ambassadors are responsible for service-learning outreach and event coordination (both on and off campus), as well as building sustainable partnerships with suggested Community Partner Agencies.

The university also employs students to lead and manage volunteers in the Food Forest, and as Campus Naturalists to lead field experiences, and other positions as necessary to catalyze students involvement in other sustainability areas that currently require attention at FGCU.