| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 65.39 |
| Liaison | Patrice Langevin |
| Submission Date | March 3, 2023 |
Pitzer College
EN-3: Student Life
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
2.00 / 2.00 |
Angelica
Gonzalez Apple Assistant Director Robert Redford Conservancy |
Does the institution have an active student group focused on sustainability?:
Name and a brief description of the active student groups focused on sustainability:
Redford Conservancy Fellows
ReRoom Initiative
Garden & Composting Club
Green Bicycle Program
Pitzer Fridge
Pitzer Green Initiative Fund
Green Cardio Equipment
Does the institution have a garden, farm, community supported agriculture (CSA) or fishery program, or an urban agriculture project where students are able to gain experience in organic agriculture and sustainable food systems?:
A brief description of the gardens, farms, community supported agriculture (CSA) or fishery programs, and/or urban agriculture projects:
Pitzer students have the opportunity to gain experience in organic agriculture on-campus, as part of the Garden & Composting club, and off-campus, via volunteering with our community partner, Huerta del Valle, Amys Farm and Lopez Farm. Students also run a CSA that collaborates with several local farms and sells box subscriptions to our campus community at various financial levels. Our students have
Does the institution have a student-run enterprise that includes sustainability as part of its mission statement or stated purpose?:
A brief description of the student-run enterprises:
The Pitzer Green Initiative Fund seeks to engage students in social responsibility and environmental sustainability by encouraging innovative and creative solutions to environmental problems. The PGIF Grant Committee, comprised of student voting members and faculty/staff advisers, provides one-time grants to students for sustainability initiatives on campus.
Pitzer's ReRoom Initiative is a student-lead initiative that aims to promote a culture of sustainability on campus through the collection and reuse of used items donated by Pitzer College residents at the end of each semester. All proceeds from ReRoom sales go toward supporting student sustainability initiatives.
Does the institution have a sustainable investment fund, green revolving fund, or sustainable microfinance initiative through which students can develop socially, environmentally and fiscally responsible investment and financial skills?:
A brief description of the sustainable investment funds, green revolving funds or sustainable microfinance initiatives:
We have funding through the Redford Conservancy for green initiatives as well as from our Facilities and Sustainability committee. Students are also able take courses in green finance through the economics department.
Has the institution hosted a conference, speaker series, symposium, or similar event focused on sustainability during the previous three years that had students as the intended audience?:
A brief description of the conferences, speaker series, symposia, or similar events focused on sustainability:
Robert Redford Conservancy events:
September 30: Environmental Racism and Climate Justice Guest speaker Michael Mendez and Julie Sze
March 17th: Climate Change & Southern California’s Water Justice, Guest speaker Camille Pannu, Sullivan Lecture Benson Auditorium
April 5th: Wildfire rumors and denial in the Trump Era. Guest speaker Laura Pulido
May 5th: From Dirt Cheap to Soil Rich- Regenerative Land Use
October 20: Sageing the World Guest Speaker Rose Ramirez
Pitzer Garden
April: Garden Club info session vermiculture, composting Earth Day 2022
Has the institution hosted a cultural arts event, installation, or performance focused on sustainability with the previous three years that had students as the intended audience?:
A brief description of the cultural arts events, installations, or performances focused on sustainability:
In 2022 Pitzer hosted an art gallery exhibition and talk by Lauren Bon, a renowned environmental artist, who discussed her work on the Los Angeles River, created an environmental installation on campus involving native plants, and had a living exhibition in our gallery emphasizing ecological histories and possibilities. https://www.pitzer.edu/communications/2022/11/21/environmental-artist-lauren-bon-reimagines-la-river-for-pepper-distinguished-visiting-artist-lecture/
The Pitzer Multi-Species Commons develops a new way to sense, understand and interact with our urban ecosystems as a multi-species commons — and it creatively rethinks the capacities of landscape design, commons practices, subsistence practices, urbanism, public art, and the ecology of public space. We developed this landscape program over a two year period under the auspices of the Art + Environment Visiting Artist initiative: http://www.spurse.org/what-weve-done/pitzer-multi-species-commons/
Does the institution have a wilderness or outdoors program that follow Leave No Trace principles?:
A brief description of the wilderness or outdoors programs that follow Leave No Trace principles:
Pitzer offers Orientation Adventure programs to all incoming students and these programs all follow Leave No Trace principles. Additionally, the Pitzer Outdoor Adventure club organizes recreational outings that also follow these principles.
Pitzer also hosts the Leadership in Environmental Education program for fourth and fifth graders where our students are educators that teach them stewardship of the land around the Bernard Biological Field Station.
https://www.pitzer.edu/redfordconservancy/environmental-education/
Has the institution had a sustainability-focused theme chosen for a themed semester, year, or first-year experience during the previous three years?:
A brief description of the sustainability-focused themes chosen for themed semesters, years, or first-year experiences:
Orientation Adventure (OA) is the off-campus component of Pitzer’s new student orientation program. Student participants spend four days on excursions with 10-15 of their peers in, above, and around the Los Angeles Basin and the greater Southern California area. Sustainability focused OAs include: Sustainability in Action and Social Justice in Action
Sustainability in Action
Through hands-on experiences, students will be introduced to the complexities of sustainability issues in Los Angeles and surrounding areas. Participants will visit local urban farms, markets, and other community projects, explore Ojai via a farm to fork restaurant, experience a beekeeping workshop, and learn to make kombucha. Folks who have spent years working on sustainability issues and folks to whom this is a new issue will all feel welcome on this trip. Participants will cook and taste a variety of locally grown and harvested foods, including goat cheeses and produce from sustainable farms in the LA area. Two nights will be spent sleeping in community spaces near Pitzer and one night will be spent camping outside under the stars.
Social Justice in Action
This trip will introduce participants to critical social and cultural issues in the Los Angeles Basin and Inland Empire. But, it won’t stop there. Through collaborating with Pitzer’s Community Engagement Center and their community partners, participants will tap into relationships that Pitzer has taken years foster and begin to define for themselves what local social justice issues they feel most connected to. Not to mention, this is a jump start on Pitzer’s social responsibility graduation requirement. Splitting time between Pitzer, Claremont and Los Angeles, participants will gain well rounded perspective of their new home.
Does the institution have a program through which students can learn sustainable life skills?:
A brief description of the programs through which students can learn sustainable life skills:
Our residence halls are both LEED certified one Platinum the other Gold, the moment students enter their dorm they are exposed to personal compost bins, clothes drying racks, rooftop gardens, bioswales and so forth, there is signage that explains the importance of these areas, but also the Pitzer experience is steeped in Environmental stewardship and therefor all our residence halls demonstrate sustainable living principles. https://www.pitzer.edu/communications/2013/09/30/pitzer-colleges-new-leed-certified-residence-halls-win-design-award/
Does the institution offer sustainability-focused student employment opportunities?:
A brief description of the sustainability-focused student employment opportunities offered by the institution:
The Redford Conservancy currently employs 20 student workers. Also, the ReRoom Initiative pays student staff members to collect, organize, and ultimately resell donated items at the end of every semester. For the most recent ReRoom sales (8/15), five students worked as paid staff.
Does the institution have a graduation pledge through which students pledge to consider social and environmental responsibility in future job and other decisions?:
A brief description of the graduation pledge(s):
A brief description of other co-curricular sustainability programs and initiatives that do not fall into one of the above categories:
-PowerDown: part of Campus Conservation Nationals, PowerDown is the name of the Claremont Colleges' energy reduction competition.
-ReSource: an initiative that provides compost bins and laundry drying racks to students for the year at no cost.
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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.