Florida State University
EN-3: Student Life

Environmental Service Program - The Environmental Service Program (ESP) fosters a strong sense of place to spread knowledge and concern for local environmental problems in the North Florida area. ESP aims to engage students and community members with the environment around them through education, service, and advocacy. ESP focuses activities in Leon, Jefferson, Wakulla, and Taylor counties. Activities include conducting educational service field trips and hosting distinguished speakers on pertinent environmental topics with the intent to encourage sustainable lifestyles that connect humans with the environment. ESP also host petitions, letter-writing campaigns, or organize social activism to raise awareness about sustainability. ESP takes a hands-on active approach, thus empowering students to volunteer and take action on important issues they feel strongly about. Take Back the Tap – In conjunction with Food & Water Watch, TBTT is a student run advocacy campaign aimed at transforming FSU into a “bottled water free campus” by ending the sale of bottled water within the University and encouraging the student body to actively use FSU’s hydration stations. TBTT has worked with departments and student organizations to commit to bottled-water free programming where the saved dollars are recommitted to additional programming resources.

The Seminole Organic Garden provides a place on campus for students to learn about sustainable agriculture and develop skills to grow their own food. Garden beds are available for individual students or organizations to rent and their experiences is supported by the student Garden Coordinator. Volunteers are encouraged to attend garden workdays to plant, construct garden beds, perform garden maintenance activities, and learn about the garden. The daily management of the garden is overseen by a student coordinator, who is in turn advised by the Sustainable Campus office.

The Grindhouse coffee shop at the Askew Student Life Center is a student-run enterprise operated with sustainable practices: cups are made from recyclable cardboard; organic, fair trade coffee products are sold; and reusable, BPA-free tumblers for sale (customers receive their first drink free and discounts on any future drink purchases for using their ASLC tumbler). The Grindhouse partners with the Seminole Organic Garden and 100% of coffee grounds are composted and used in the student garden.

The Student Green Fund (SGF) provides funding opportunities for students to bring their ideas for sustainability and environmental progress at FSU to fruition. To receive funding support, students develop a proposal including details on how project success will be quantified and how each project contributes to student learning. Preliminary funding for the Student Green Fund was provided by the Student Government Association with continued donations from FSU Alumni and community sustainability advocates. The Green Fund is administered through Sustainable Campus and FSU Facilities. Projects funded through the SGF must help support efficiency, conservation, and sustainability-related projects (water, energy, waste, alternative transportation, food, etc.) that reduce FSU’s energy costs, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and waste.

Across disciplines and in partnership with community organizations, numerous events occur throughout campus to foster a culture of awareness, dialog, and engagement in sustainability issues such as: speaker series, movie screenings, Community Dialogues, symposia, workshops, and book clubs.

In a 3D Foundations class, students created 3D sculptures made from reclaimed plastic to highlight the excessive use of plastic on campus and throughout society. Students collaborated to create a massive whale which was placed on Landis Green, a popular thoroughfare for students and hangout space, to draw attention to the instillation.

Outdoor Pursuits (OP) is FSU's outdoor adventure program. OP travels all over the country with day, weekend, and week long trips to great outdoor adventure destinations. Every adventure is unique, and each offers an opportunity to develop new skills, enhance student appreciation of the wilderness, while adapting to new and challenging situations, and building lifelong relationships. All OP programs and services are available for FSU students, faculty, staff and the Tallahassee community. FSU Outdoor Pursuits is a proud partner of Leave No Trace in its efforts to build awareness, appreciation and respect for wild lands.

First Year Interest Groups (FIGS) are a cluster of classes in a theme, such as sustainability, where students can engage with other first years over shared interests. The FIG experience also includes a colloquium, designed to provide students a set of experiences at FSU, highlighting how students can connect their identities and interest with the people and places of the university. Classes meet every week throughout the first year and are taught by senior students at the university.

A variety of programs exist on campus for students to learn and practice sustainable life skills such as: Eco-Reps: The Eco-Reps are student ambassadors charged with increasing sustainable behaviors at Florida State University through peer-to-peer outreach and leadership. Inspiring others to take action to green their community, students involved in the Eco-Rep program host sustainability-themed programs, table at various campus events, and conduct food waste audits in the dining halls every semester. https://sustainablecampus.fsu.edu/get-involved/programs/eco-reps Outdoor Pursuit trips: Outdoor Pursuits is FSU's outdoor adventure program. OP travels all over the country with day, weekend, and week long trips to great outdoor adventure destinations. Every adventure is unique, and each offers an opportunity to develop new skills, enhance your appreciation of the wilderness, adapt to new and challenging situations, and build lifelong relationships. https://campusrec.fsu.edu/outdoors/op Seminole Organic garden: Students and staff learn the ins and outs of gardening and how agriculture can be sustainable through proper growing techniques. At the garden, only organic seeds and fertilizers are used. Gardening lowers an individual’s carbon footprint significantly, and provides healthy, organic produce. The garden also supports a pollinator bed which contains a number of native plants that all aid in the preservation of local biodiversity. https://sustainablecampus.fsu.edu/get-involved/programs/seminole-organic-garden Center for Leadership & Social Change: The Center for Leadership & Social Change transforms lives through identity development, leadership education, and community engagement. The Center encourage students to learn, serve and transform through programming that encompasses leadership, diversity and service. https://thecenter.fsu.edu/ Offering more than 30 programs for students, faculty and staff intended to foster opportunities and vision to create positive, sustainable change in their communities and the broader world. Opportunities range from one-time service at local nonprofits to the 18-credit Undergraduate Certificate in Leadership Studies. The Center offers training for students and staff on such topics as leadership development, identity and cultural competence, service learning, and community change. https://thecenter.fsu.edu/

Sustainable Campus, through FSU Facilities, employs student coordinators for a variety of programs including: game day recycling, garden manager, Eco-Reps, social media, graphic designer, and bike coordinator. Program partners, including the Commuter Services of North Florida, the Center for Leadership and Social Change, Utilities, Sodexo, Facilities Procurement, and Transportation and Parking Services also support sustainability-focused student employment opportunities.

The Food Recovery Network's mission is to eliminate food waste on FSU's campus and in the Tallahassee community. Since 2014 (when the FSU chapter was formed), FRN has recovered over 40,000 pounds of consumable excess food from various locations around campus. This food goes directly to local partner agencies, who then distribute the food to individuals and families experiencing food insecurity. Currently, FRN is partnered with The Kearney Center, CARE Tallahassee, Westgate Community, and HOPE Community.

https://campusrec.fsu.edu/outdoors/op https://sustainablecampus.fsu.edu/get-involved/programs/seminole-organic-garden https://thecenter.fsu.edu/