Grand Valley State University
EN-6: Employee Educators Program

The Campus Sustainability Advisory Council is comprised of faculty and staff members from across campus. The group meets to discuss sustainability initiatives and is responsible for bringing this information, and tips on sustainable best practices, back to their peers. For example, we focused on ways to reduce waste, including junk mail, in offices as part of our last meeting. Council members are selected based on their interest and expertise in different sustainability areas on campus.

The Office of Sustainability Practices hosts quarterly meetings with the Campus Sustainability Advisory Council to move sustainability efforts forward on campus. These meetings also serve as training on things such as sustainability reporting for the university strategic plan.

The Office of Sustainability staff provide administrative support to the council.

The Pedometer Challenge participants are selected on a volunteer basis, including Team Captains (please note that Team Captains may also do some recruiting, but participation is voluntary). The Healthy Choices Program participants are also selected on a volunteer basis, as well as the Gazelle Girl participants.

Team Captains for the Pedometer Challenge are responsible for reaching out to teammates and helping them to set goals, follow up on participation, and provide assistance reporting progress. All participants receive instruction on how to enter their steps, convert non-walking activities, and calculate their team goals. Teams work together toward daily health goals and learn from each other throughout the challenge. For the Healthy Choices Program, participants with an identified health risk meet with a Health Coach. Recommendations may include participation in a variety of peer-to-peer opportunities including the pedometer challenge, faculty/staff group exercise programs, health coaching, nutrition groups, and various other wellness support groups led by faculty/staff members. Additionally, GVSU has a faculty/staff and student mentoring program for the Gazelle Girl race (5, 10k, and half marathon). Teams of 3-4 people are formed and assigned a coach (a peer) to guide them through training for the race. Participants encourage each other through training sessions and building relationships with one another through their shared interest in running and participating in the race.

For the pedometer challenge, the institution provides pedometers for all participants and also provides prizes to the top three teams. For the healthy choices program, the institution provides many opportunities for peer-to-peer wellness programs (including paying peer leaders/instructors, providing snacks, space, and administrative support for nutrition and other support groups). For the Gazelle Girl peer-to-peer training/mentoring program, the institution pays for all race fees and provides training documents and general administration of the program.

Faculty and staff are asked to submit a short application regarding their projects or research in sustainability related topics. Applications are reviewed by the Office of Sustainability Practices. The office makes an effort to be as inclusive as possible and to expand the program as interest increases.

Faculty, staff, and students are given time to give a brief introduction of their work, and then all participants are given the opportunity to converse and discuss their interests in further detail. This program has resulted in increased collaboration on sustainability issues and has led to interdisciplinary grant applications/projects.

The institution provides the location, food, and compensation for staff time.