Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 52.41
Liaison Susan Dorward
Submission Date April 14, 2015
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.0

Raritan Valley Community College
EN-3: Student Life

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.00 / 2.00 Susan Dorward
Sustainability and Energy Coordinator
Facilities and Grounds
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Does the institution have one or more co-curricular sustainability programs and initiatives that fall into the following categories?:
Yes or No
Active student groups focused on sustainability Yes
Gardens, farms, community supported agriculture (CSA) or fishery programs, or urban agriculture projects where students are able to gain experience in organic agriculture and sustainable food systems Yes
Student-run enterprises that include sustainability as part of their mission statements or stated purposes Yes
Sustainable investment funds, green revolving funds or sustainable microfinance initiatives through which students can develop socially, environmentally and fiscally responsible investment and financial skills No
Conferences, speaker series, symposia or similar events related to sustainability that have students as the intended audience Yes
Cultural arts events, installations or performances related to sustainability that have students as the intended audience Yes
Wilderness or outdoors programs that follow Leave No Trace principles Yes
Sustainability-related themes chosen for themed semesters, years, or first-year experiences No
Programs through which students can learn sustainable life skills Yes
Sustainability-focused student employment opportunities offered by the institution Yes
Graduation pledges through which students pledge to consider social and environmental responsibility in future job and other decisions No
Other co-curricular sustainability programs and initiatives Yes

The name and a brief description of each student group focused on sustainability:

The Environmental Club was founded to educate and positively affect the community, student body, faculty and staff on environmental policy, global environmental issues and environmentally responsible living. The members of the Environmental Club focus on making the campus more "green" and the community more aware of their affect on the environment and will establish an appropriate plan every semester to accomplish all of these goals. The club is open to everyone and anyone who is interested in local environmental issues, concerned about global environmental issues and politics, has compassion for society and the environment, and/or would just like to see the campus continuously move into the future of environmentally friendly practices and sustainable business procedures. We will research together, educate together, work together and stand together to make a difference, even if it is one seed at a time.

In 2013-14, students made and sold syrup from invasive maple trees and also made and sold lavender soap. They also sold shade-grown, fair trade, organic coffee. They raised $1000, which funded an Audubon Society internship. They ran a campus cleanup in the fall.

The Environmental Club is student-governed.


The website URL where information about student groups is available:
A brief description of gardens, farms, community supported agriculture (CSA) or fishery programs, and urban agriculture projects where students are able to gain experience in organic agriculture and sustainable food systems:

The RVCC Organic Garden, located behind the baseball field, is .4 acres in size. Previously it operated as a CSA, but it is in transition to an organic orchard now. The garden is run by the Environmental Club, which is student-governed.

Information about all RVCC gardens is available at http://www.raritanval.edu/community/forum/sustain/thematic_gardens.html.

Enactus has a My Neighbor's Garden project. They built a 40 plot, 22,000 square foot organic garden. In 2013-14, they provided food from this garden to 400 food insecure families. They also made donations of up to 50% of their produce to the Community Food Bank of NJ.


The website URL where information about the organic agriculture and/or sustainable food systems projects and initiatives is available:
A brief description of student-run enterprises that include sustainability as part of their mission statements or stated purposes:

Enactus started Big Dan's Bike Shop, which is included in their 2013-14 annual report. It addresses a social need, to improve the standard of living of the "at risk" youth that attend Middle Earth, a youth center for "at risk" youth. It addresses an environmental need, to promote a clean and alternate form of transportation. They sell bikes to the general public through various outlets such as pop-up shops at local events. In 2013-14, they grew the business' income by over 200% with the partnerships and donations collected by Enactus. On October 8th, 2014, Enactus was awarded a $85,000 Impact 100 grant to support this program.


The website URL where information about the student-run enterprise(s) is available:
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A brief description of the sustainable investment or finance initiatives:
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The website URL where information about the sustainable investment or finance initiatives is available:
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A brief description of conferences, speaker series, symposia or similar events related to sustainability that have students as the intended audience:

RVCC has a weekly Science Seminar, intended for students and faculty to gain exposure to current research, breaking science news, and historical backgrounds in
a variety of scientific fields. There is even a "Science Seminar - Honors" course (SCIE 128) in which students attend each seminar and present a short seminar on a topic of his or her choice. Many of the seminars are on sustainability-related topics. During the 2013-14 academic year, there were seminars on global water issues and hydrogen power. There were also a number of events during Earth Week.


The website URL where information about the event(s) is available:
A brief description of cultural arts events, installations or performances related to sustainability that have students as the intended audience:

As part of our Campus Caring garden plantings of native plants across campus in April, an art class created two artistic gardens outside of the Arts building.


The website URL where information about the cultural arts event(s) is available:
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A brief description of wilderness or outdoors programs for students that follow Leave No Trace principles:

Environmental Club outings, class trips, and school trips such as the Clean Ocean Action beach sweeps, follow Leave No Trace principles.


The website URL where information about the wilderness or outdoors program(s) is available:
A brief description of sustainability-related themes chosen for themed semesters, years, or first-year experiences:
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The website URL where information about the theme is available:
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A brief description of program(s) through which students can learn sustainable life skills:

Campus Sustainability Day 2014 had educational opportunities where students learned about: recycling, composting, residential stormwater management, energy-efficient lighting, organic gardening, alternative transportation, and making their homes more energy efficient.


The website URL where information about the sustainable life skills program(s) is available:
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A brief description of sustainability-focused student employment opportunities:

The Facilities department offers internships with an operational sustainability focus.


The website URL where information about the student employment opportuntities is available:
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A brief description of graduation pledges through which students pledge to consider social and environmental responsibility in future job and other decisions:
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The website URL where information about the graduation pledge program is available:
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A brief description of other co-curricular sustainability programs and initiatives:

RVCC has a service learning program, in which students spend 15 hours doing community service and this is noted on their transcript. Some student projects involve sustainability projects in the local community.


The website URL where information about other co-curricular sustainability programs and initiatives is available:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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