| Overall Rating | Silver - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 64.02 |
| Liaison | Dayna Cook |
| Submission Date | Aug. 2, 2011 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
Northern Arizona University
ER-4: Sustainability Outreach and Publications
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
4.00 / 4.00 |
Bryan
McLaren NAU Sustainability Coordinator Office of Sustainability |
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indicates that no data was submitted for this field
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Does the institution have a central sustainability website that consolidates information about the institution's sustainability efforts?:
Yes
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A brief description of the central sustainability website that consolidates information about the institution's sustainability efforts:
In addition to the University's Office of Sustainability website which focuses primarily on campus initiatives to reach carbon neutrality, NAU also saw the need for a central location for all things sustainability. The GreenNAU website was developed in 2009 to house information, multimedia, and links related to sustainability at NAU.
Sections of the website include: Events, CLimate Action 2020, For Students, Community Engagement, Media and Contact Info, NAU Greenfund, and The Environmental Caucus. Within these sections, you can find information on upcoming sustainability courses, our green building program, our partenerships with the community, and much more.
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The website URL for the central sustainability website that consolidates information about the institution's sustainability efforts:
None
Does the institution have a sustainability newsletter?:
Yes
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A brief description of the sustainability newsletter:
Faculty, staff and students have two newsletters that they mat subscribe to and get monthly sustainability news. The first is a formal newsletter called "Student Connections". This newsletter offers information on environmental jobs, internships, and opportunities available to students interested in gaining experience and knowledge in this area.
The second outlet for monthly information is the Environmental Caucuse monthly announcements. The Environmental Caucus facilitates creative and strategic communication across campus to advance the institutional commitment to sustainability and to promote education, research, and collaboration on the environment. The scope and responsibilities of the caucus are defined by participants, with an overarching goal to add value to existing programs and to bring benefits to NAU’s many environmental programs and activities. Typically meetings consist of 40+ campus community members, however, more than 400 people subscribe to the Caucus listserve. The Listserve is a great way for the campus community (faculty, staff, and students)to learn about the latest sustainability happenings. They recieve both announcements as well as notes from the monthly meeting through the listserve. (http://www.envcaucus.nau.edu/)
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The website URL for the sustainability newsletter:
None
Does the institution have a vehicle to publish and disseminate student research on sustainability?:
Yes
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A brief description of the vehicle to publish and disseminate student research on sustainability:
There are two outlets available to students to seek funding for sustainability research at NAU. The first is the Hooper Student Fund. Students who apply for Hooper Student Funds may be awarded up to $2500 to conduct sustainability research either on campus or in the community. These projects focus on:
1) NAU campus sustainability (especially related to climate change, transportation, energy systems, recycling or waste, or campus food systems)
2) Local community-based sustainability projects
3) Environmentally sustainable business practices
4) Natural resources and ecosystem science/management
5) Environmental health in tribal and rural communities
Undergraduate awardees are required to present at NAU's Undergraduate Symposium and are encouraged to participate in other presentations at other venues as well as a way of disseminating student research on campus. Each awardee submits a brief progress report (due after the first six months) and a Final Project Report as well.
In addition, the NAU Greenfund is a student fee for environmental sustainability projects on campus specifically. These projects may be in the form of student research projects which are publicized on the NAU Greenfund website (http://www.green.nau.edu/greenfund.html)
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The website URL for the vehicle to publish and disseminate student research on sustainability:
None
Does the institution have building signage that highlights green building features?:
Yes
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A brief description of building signage that highlights green building features :
In the University's LEED Platinum building - the Applied Research and Development Building - there are large signs on the columns throughout the length of the lobby indicating important sustainability features. In the LEED Gold Franke College of Business, there is an educational kiosk as well as screens and some educational signage. The LEED Gold Engineering building has brochures available for people to do self-guided tours of the building highlighting the sustainability features of the facility.
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The website URL for building signage that highlights green building features :
None
Does the institution have food service area signage and/or brochures that include information about sustainable food systems?:
Yes
None
A brief description of food service area signage and/or brochures that include information about sustainable food systems:
Dining Services works hard to ensure that their sustainability efforts are widely publicized in order to create some passive education opporunities in the Dining facilities. Local and organic foods are labeled in the Dining Halls so that students know what foods are sustainable and healthy. This includes organic greens at the salad bar, some organic offerings and local offerings at the vegetarian station, and an organic/fair trade coffee bar.
Table tents are also an effective means of sustainability communication for the Dining Services Department. Weekly table tents are put on the tables in the dingin halls often with information on recycled napkins, the trayless dining program, or waste reduction in the Dining facilities.
Dining Services has a sustainability webpage to help convey information as well.
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The website URL for food service area signage and/or brochures that include information about sustainable food systems:
None
Does the institution have signage on the grounds about sustainable grounds-keeping strategies employed?:
Yes
None
A brief description of signage on the grounds about sustainable grounds-keeping strategies employed:
NAU has initiated a research study on sustainable grounds-keeping strategies, specifically looking at toxin-free landscaping. The project was funded by the NAU Green Fund and includes educational components to teach community members about the research project using signage and web materials.
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The website URL for signage on the grounds about sustainable grounds-keeping strategies employed:
None
Does the institution have a sustainability walking map or tour?:
Yes
None
A brief description of the sustainability walking map or tour:
Green buildings on campus are marked by a green leaf to indicate where our sustainable buildings are located.
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The website URL of the sustainability walking map or tour:
None
Does the institution have a guide for commuters about how to use alternative methods of transportation?:
No
None
A brief description of the guide for commuters about how to use alternative methods of transportation:
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None
The website URL for the guide for commuters about how to use alternative methods of transportation:
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Does the institution have a guide for green living and incorporating sustainability into the residential experience?:
Yes
None
A brief description of the guide for green living and incorporating sustainability into the residential experience:
The NAU Green Practices Guide is available through the GreenNAU website. It contains colorful flyers with tips on green campus living, sustainable food options, and green office practices.
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The website URL for the guide for green living and incorporating sustainability into the residential experience:
None
Does the institution have regular coverage of sustainability in the main student newspaper (either through a regular column or a reporter assigned to the sustainability beat)?:
Yes
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A brief description of regular coverage of sustainability in the main student newspaper, either through a regular column or a reporter assigned to the sustainability beat:
The InsideNAU weekly publication as well as the InsideNAU television show regularly cover stories on sustainability initiatives at NAU. For Earthday last April, the InsideNAU publication did an entire issue devoted to sustainability. These stories can be found in the archives at (http://www4.nau.edu/insidenau/archives/2010/4_22_10_Earth_Day.html). InsideNAU television clips can be found on the GreenNAU website (http://green.nau.edu/media.html)
The Lumberjack student newspaper and the PLAID student blog also covers campus sustainability stories regularly. The turnover in staff at these publications prevents a regular columnist from being assigned but we have something nearly every month in these publications related to sustainability.An example of a recent story can be found at the link below.
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The website URL for regular coverage of sustainability in the main student newspaper, either through a regular column or a reporter assigned to the sustainability beat:
None
Does the institution produce another sustainability publication or outreach material not covered above? (1st material):
Yes
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A brief description of this material:
In the summer of 2010, the Office of Sustainability created two sets of educational magnets. The first set of magnets had ten tips for students living in the Residence Halls related to sustainability. These magnets were distributed to every Residence Hall room on campus. The other set were five general tips for the campus community related to energy, recycling, and trasnportation. All of the tips were aimed at bringing the campus community on baord with the Climate Action 2020 goal of carbon neutrality in the next decade. These magnets were put on refrigerators and steel case bookcases throughout academic and administrative buildings on campus.
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The website URL for this material:
None
Does the institution produce another sustainability publication or outreach material not covered above? (2nd material):
Yes
None
A brief description of this material:
The University is undergoing a major recycling education campaign funded by the President's Innovation fund. This campaign combines an educational website with recycling labels and posters in all academic/admin. buildings on campus.
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The website URL for this material:
None
Does the institution produce another sustainability publication or outreach material not covered above? (3rd material):
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Does the institution produce another sustainability publication or outreach material not covered above? (4th material):
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None
Does the institution produce another sustainability publication or outreach material not covered above? (5th material):
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None
A brief description of this material:
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None
Does the institution produce another sustainability publication or outreach material not covered above? (6th material):
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None
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Does the institution produce another sustainability publication or outreach material not covered above? (7th material):
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None
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Does the institution produce another sustainability publication or outreach material not covered above? (8th material):
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.