San Francisco State University
EN-3: Student Life

ECO Students ECO students is an environmental action student group. It is open to all students from any major. The group works on a variety of environmental issues on and off campus. Email sfsuecostudents@gmail.com or check out the Eco Students Facebook page. The Green Initative Fund The Green Initiative Fund (TGIF) aims to establish a fund to finance student-led sustianability improvements at SF State and create paid internships for students. Visit the TGIF Facebook Page. ASI Environmental Resource Center ASI Environmental Resource Center coordinates sustainability efforts in the Student Center Auxillary and hosts numerous events. ASI Sustainable Initiatives Website. Fossil-Free SFSU This club leads a campaign to divest from fossil fuels. Their campaign is a part of a global movement to shift power away from fossil fuels to more sustainable and eco-friendly industries. Fossil Free SFSU Facebook page. Real Food Challenge The mission of the Real Food Challenge (RFC) is to harness the power of youth and universities to build a healthy, fair, and green food economy. They work towards shifting food purchases away from industrial agriculture towards local, sustainable, and fair sources. RFC Facebook page. Bicycle Advisory Group SF State's Bicycle Advisory Group is a committee of students, faculty, staff and administrators that work together to encourage bicycling to campus. The group has helped install new bike racks on campus and completed a bike path that connects the campus to University Park North Housing and to the city of San Francisco's bike routes. Contact sustain@sfsu.edu. Friends of the Greenhouse Friends of the Greenhouse sponsors horticultural and botanical activities for students, staff, and local community members. The group seeks volunteers to keep its 2,000 plants happy and healthy. Friends of the Greenhouse also has a plant sale of greenhouse overstock once a semester. Please contact fotgh@sfsu.edu or their word press for more information. Wildlife Society, SFSU Student Chapter If you are interested in conducting research or planning a career in wildlife conservation and management AND would like to be part of a student organization that connects you to opportunities to present your research, offers pre-professional support, and provides networking and training opportunities, then join the Wildlife Society! They hold meetings every other Thursday. Graduate and undergraduate students welcomed. For more information, email wildlifesfsu@gmail.com.

The ECO Students group maintains an on-campus vegetable garden that is used to educate other students about urban farming techniques. Vegetables from the garden are used in the annual Farm to Fork lunch, which is open to the entire university. The project is conducted in partnership with the SF State Dining department. SF State's Housing Department also maintains a Fruit Orchard in partnership with the ECO Students and the non-profit Friends of the Urban Forest. Associated Students hosts a weekly Farmers Market on campus.

Fossil Fuel Divestment: San Francisco State has committed to divesting its $51 million endowment from tar sands and coal. This was started as a student initiative and an academic project and has been executed by the University's Foundation board. The foundation board is exploring a carbon calculator for new investments.

San Franciso State hosted the 2015 California Higher Education Sustainability Conference (CHESC). Sustainability representatives from CSU and UC campuses, private colleges, and community colleges from all over California attended.

Associated Students hosts art exhibits that focus on sustainability. A recent exhibition called "Sweet Ride" focused on art related to bicycle subcultures in the San Francisco Bay Area, including Critical Mass, Scraper Bikes, the SF State Cycling team and more. http://goldengatexpress.org/2014/04/21/sweet-ride-exhibit-students-bike-campus/ SF State is an annual participant in the national PARK(ing) Day, which repurposes car parking spaces as art installations to question assumptions about the use of public space in San Francisco. http://goldengatexpress.org/2013/09/10/parking-day-sustainability/

SF State's Osher Lifelong Learning Institute has a hiking groupm which is is a cooperative whereby all members pitch in and share responsibilities for leading walks/hikes in the beautiful Bay Area, and take turns with the ongoing management tasks. They currently hold a walk a month. The walk/hike leader determines the route of the walk, what time it starts and ends, its pace, length and elevation change. It is the responsibility of the leader to familiarize her/himself with the trail, begin and end the walk on time, and make sure that there are sufficient restrooms. The team leader will send out a description of the walk/hike at least two weeks in advance. The club follows Leave no trace principles.

Sustainability Overlay requirement: SF State has enacted a sustainability overlay which students can use as a breadth requirement for graduation. Courses approved for the Environmental Sustainability requirement must examine some aspect of environmental sustainability. The perspective can be from any area of the university curriculum, such as social sciences, natural sciences, arts, humanities, business, or engineering

SF State housing offers an Eco-themed community for residents who are interested in sustainable living. The University Park North (UPN) Sustainable Theme Community is open to second-year students and beyond (including transfer and graduate students) in any major. The goal of the UPN Sustainable SF Community is to help residents acquire the knowledge and practical skills necessary to prosper in a world that faces unprecedented threats to environmental and economic well-being, while contributing to the development of resilient communities and a sustainable society. Building/Floor(s): University Park North Class: Second Year and beyond

The Office of Sustainability, Campus Dining, and Associated students offer student internships that focus on improving campus sustainability, from implementing recycling education, to reducing food waste in the dining hall, to bike commuter education. There are typically 15 students employed in sustainability internships at any given point. There is also an internship class within the Environmental Studies major which requires students to hold a sustainability-focused internship on campus or elsewhere.