Gonzaga University
EN-3: Student Life

GEO - The Gonzaga Environmental Organization exists to promote the creation of a greener campus and community, the protection and enhancement of nature, and education about and enjoyment of our environment, all through action and leadership.GEO is a group of students who strive to make Gonzaga and the surrounding community more environmentally conscious and sustainable. (https://gonzaga.collegiatelink.net/organization/GEO)
Permaculture Club - A group of enthusiastic and passionate students focused on procuring a sustainable future with an emphasis on system sciences, particularly those pertaining to self-sustaining agricultural systems. (https://gonzaga.collegiatelink.net/organization/gonzagapermies)
Sustainable Eats (né Gonzaga E.A.T., Real Food Gonzaga )- We strive to educate students about both our current food system at Gonzaga and its implications both on campus and in our greater Spokane community. As a student movement, we will work to align our food system with our University Mission Statement. (https://gonzaga.collegiatelink.net/organization/GEAT) Gonzaga also has many student-run clubs which are focused around service and justice, and clubs promoting awareness and acceptance of different ethnic, social, or gender and sexuality groups. CCASL (Center for Community Action and Service Learning) has three programs which involve sustainable initiatives. (1)The Notebook Project takes cereal box-type cardboard (pressed board) and used, one-sided paper, and binds them into notebooks that are sold at CCASL and the campus book store. All profits fund (2)Earthbound, a program where GU student volunteers go to local elementary and middle schools to run after school activities that are fun and environmentally educational. (3) The Spokane River cleanup is an annual effort involving hundreds of volunteers cleaning the banks of the Spokane River, many of which are Gonzaga students and members of various volunteer groups on campus. Plant Our Future – A student-run club initially funded by the Green Fund that petitions for and maintains plants in classrooms around campus – an idea inspired by the numerous benefits that plants provide in classroom environments, including reducing air pollutants and dust while increasing oxygen. Club members are responsible for maintaining plants and promoting sustainability around campus. (https://gonzaga.collegiatelink.net/organization/POF/about) GSBA - Sustainability Chair and RHA Chair Position

The Gonzaga Campus garden is approximately 40 by 45 feet in size. The garden follows organic growing methods and has two composting containers. The garden's mission is to educate students about agriculture, urban farming, and food security and provide produce to those in the surrounding Spokane community who are least likely to be able to purchase it on their own.

Started by the Gonzaga Responsible Investment Group, the university began to transform its investment strategies through the help of student activists. Throughout the process the university conducted open workshops and seminars on Socially Responsible Investing, in partnership with JP Morgan, and will continue in future years to release an annual report on our Socially Responsible Investment efforts; including presentations to continue to educate students.

Gonzaga has featured speakers from the Spokane River Keeper, the Lands Council, Conservation Futures, Scotchman's Peak Wilderness Organization, the Washington Native Plant Society, the local Wastewater Treatment Plant, and other representatives of various environmental organizations. These talks are intended to inform and introduce students to environmental opportunities and issues in the hope that it will influence an environmental conscience. In 2013, Jane Goodall addressed the students, faculty, staff, and community on the topics of climate change, sustainable family units, and sustainable consumption. GEO sponsors environmental movie screenings during Earth Week, and a Trashion Show displaying recycled outfits. The Office of Sustainability has hosted various panel discussions since 2014, including “Wealth, Poverty and Environmental Degradation,” and "Responses to Ecological Crisis: Science, Technology, and Moral Transformation.” In the 2015-2016 academic year, a Sustainability Film Series was introduced, showcasing films including Damnation and Chasing Ice. These screenings are often accompanied by Q&A sessions, with outside experts and activists as facilitators.

Recently in February 2020, Gonzaga University hosted Patrisse Cullors to speak racial equality and social justice, in a partnership with the School of Law's Center for Civil and Human Rights.

(http://www.gonzaga.edu/Campus-Resources/sustainability/initiatives.asp ; https://www.facebook.com/SustainabilityAtGonzaga/)

Diversity Monologues is a performance art event that centers on bringing attention to and providing a forum for artistic expression surrounding diverse experiences at Gonzaga University. Rock the Planet is an event held on or around Earth Day featuring several music performances, kiosks with information about environmental groups in Spokane, and many opportunities to increase student environmental awareness. The Women's and Gender Studies department offered talks recently by Peggy McIntosh, and Robyn Ochs which concerned privilege and sexual orientations, respectively. Both of these events were designed to promote acceptance and awareness of privilege, gender, and sexuality in ways that will increase sustainable social interactions. GSBA Program to get students to farmers markets and local businesses on the bus. EarthFest - a program to promote recycling, sustainability and more.

Gonzaga University Outdoors offers students an opportunity to participate and learn about a multitude of outdoor activities. The program facilitates guided outdoors trips, offers students discounted rental services, provides affordable repair services, and has numerous resources. GU Outdoors promotes smart and safe outdoor adventures allowing students to enjoy the beautiful local surroundings. GU Outdoors hopes to inspire students to become active in protecting and participating in the outdoors throughout their whole life.

The Gonzaga Outdoor Leadership class takes several overnight trips to outdoor areas to teach students how to lead and survive in the wilderness. GU Outdoors seeks to introduce students to the outdoors through snow-shoeing, skiing, hiking, climbing, and a multitude of other outdoors skills.

The Office of Sustainability hires institutional and federal work study students to perform various tasks related to ongoing sustainable initiatives. GSBA director of sustainability position. RHA director of sustainability position. The university's Diversity, Inclusion, Community & Equity Office additionally provides student employment in the Unity Multicultural Education Center as well has Diversity Ambassadors whose work address diversity amongst the student population.

The Center for Community Action and Service Learning (CCASL) offers several programs that integrate sustainability.

Mission Possible is a spring break service immersion trip in which students volunteer at sites around the country to live and serve in the communities that they are in. For the past two years, Mission Possible: San Francisco has focused on sustainability service work with special attention to opportunities to bring lessons learned back to Gonzaga.

Zag Volunteer Corps works in our community and often conducts ecologically focused service projects.