Ithaca College
EN-1: Student Educators Program

Eco Reps are employees of the Office of Energy Management & Sustainability and serve as peer-to-peer educators that seek to educate, engage, and empower their community. Education focuses on the challenges presented by the climate crisis and behavior changes students can make to help mitigate those challenges. Engagement focuses on encouraging our community to participate in sustainability dialogue. Above all else, Eco Reps seek to empower fellow students to make sustainability a priority and to take action both on and off-campus. Some of the Eco Reps’ activities include: - Provide door-to-door compost pick-up service and education - Staff the free on-campus thrift store promoting re-use - Post monthly infographics on different “themes” within sustainability (waste, water, energy, social justice, climate, etc.) - Sort compost, recycling, and trash while educating the community on proper sorting during football games and large campus events - Manage the Green Dorm Certification program - Manage, host, edit, and produce the monthly podcast Climate: TBD which interviews subject-matter experts on a variety of sustainability topics and is available on Apple Music and Spotify - Co-manage Swipe Out Hunger, an effort to increase food security on campus by collecting students’ guest meal passes for donation to students in need - Provide free kitchen tools, utensils, and serveware to the campus and larger community at the monthly Mobile Food Bank provided by the Food Pantry of the Southern Tier - Host monthly events that educate students on how to make small lifestyle changes to lessen their impact on the planet (e.g. health DIY projects, compost clinics, car-free days, etc.)

Students apply via an online application every spring for vacant positions available the following fall. Each year, two positions are reserved for incoming freshmen, which are advertised at the annual student organization fair. Every student that applies is then offered an interview, which the student Program Manager participates in. The Campus Sustainability Coordinator and the student Program Manager then review all applicants to select the best fit.

Students receive sensitivity training and public speaking training through a partnership with Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tompkins County. A trained facilitator then engages them in various scenarios and gives constructive feedback on how to improve their content delivery. Students also participated in monthly lectures given by the Campus Sustainability Coordinator that prepared them to discuss the monthly sustainability themes (e.g. energy, waste, water, social justice, climate, etc.)

The Campus Sustainability Coordinator provides direct management and guidance to the Eco Reps program. The Office of Energy Management & Sustainability is responsible for the Eco Reps budget including hourly pay, event costs, marketing, and other various costs. The Office of Facilities also provides additional staff support as request, including for initiatives related to composting, surplus material handling, recycling, and other related activities. Eco Reps also partner with various offices across campus on specific initiatives including IC Hillel, Food Insecurity Committee, Dining Services, and others.

OEMS interns are employees in the Office of Energy Management & Sustainability and are supervised by the office Director. They are responsible for identifying areas where student engagement could improve and designing programing to fill the educational gaps. In 2018-2019, interns were responsible for delivering monthly presentations on sustainability themes (e.g. energy, climate, transportation, etc.) to fellow students through the Student Leadership Institute certificate program.

Students are typically hand-selected by the Director based on a history of high levels of engagement.

Interns do not receive any consistent formal training, however, depending on the project assigned, the Director will provide any necessary training required (i.e. navigating AASHE STARS, constructive feedback following presentations, etc.).

Interns are supervised by the Director of Energy Management & Sustainability. The Office of Energy Management & Sustainability is responsible for the intern budget including hourly pay, event costs, marketing, and other various costs.

The First-Year Residential Experience (FYRE) is an educational, community experience that provides support for a student's transition to Ithaca College and prompts students to consider their role in a community. The FYRE program is represented in all 13 first-year residence halls. Within each residential "cluster" (typically 2-3 res. halls per cluster) there is one FYRE Eco Rep that is responsible for engaging residents in their cluster in sustainability dialogue and activities. Activites typically include organizing events with DIY projects (e.g. toothpaste), plant potting, vegetarian cooking, etc. One Eco Rep in the Office of Energy Management & Sustainability serves as the advisor to the FYRE Eco Rep program.

Students are selected through a voting process among peers in their residential cluster.

Students are trained and advised by the FYRE Program Coordinator, an Eco Rep in the Office of Energy Management & Sustainability. Training varies depending on what projects and programs offered each semester. The Office of Residential Life directly oversees the FYRE program.

The Office of Residential Life provides funding for events, marketing, and projects. The Office of Energy Management & Sustainability will also occassionaly cost-share for larger programs. Eco Reps in the Office of Energy Management & Sustainability serve as primary points of contact and advisors to the FYRE program.

Eco Rep & intern hours: 10 hours/week * 34 weeks/year * 12 students = 4080 hours Eco Rep Program Manager: 15 hours/week * 34 weeks/year = 510 hours FYRE Program: 1 hour/week * 34 weeks/year * 6 students = 204 hours