| Overall Rating | Silver - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 56.23 |
| Liaison | Rachael Wein |
| Submission Date | July 11, 2014 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
Smith College
EN-1: Student Educators Program
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
3.51 / 4.00 |
Deirdre
Manning Environmental Sustainability Director Office of Environmental Sustainability |
Does the institution coordinate one or more ongoing student, peer-to-peer sustainability outreach and education programs that meet the criteria for this credit?:
Number of degree-seeking students enrolled at the institution:
Name of the student educators program (1st program):
Number of students served (i.e. directly targeted) by the program (1st program):
A brief description of the program, including examples of peer-to-peer outreach activities (1st program):
We are the house sustainability representatives. Our mission is to make our houses more environmentally friendly and encourage our house mates to strive for a sustainable lifestyle. We want to create awareness about environmental and sustainable issues on campus, and more specially in our houses. We want Smith students to realize that being sustainable is not hard work, but rather it is a lifestyle we all need to practice. We seek to shed light onto the environmental issues we cause as students. It is simply an everyday routine and practice that should be done unconsciously. We hope to educate and engage students in a fun way that will in return make students more proactive in our sustainable efforts.
One of the many topics house sustainability representatives focus on is composting. Reps want to inform fellow housemates about the importance of composting and, more importantly, how to properly compost on campus. In order to accomplish both of those issues, we created "compost fairies". Once a month we dress up as fairies by creating fairy wings, wands, and tutus. We go to our house dining halls dressed as fairies and stand by the compost buckets and help and teach students what can and cannot be composted. By helping students compost, we engage in a conversation about why we, as a college, compost without intimidating or hassling them. Once students started composting correctly, we introduced compost buckets in some of the houses' kitchenettes. Now, most houses on campus have compost buckets in their living spaces (excluding the dining halls). Students can take what they learned in the dining halls and transfer that practice into their living spaces so that it eventually becomes a part of their daily routine.
A brief description of how the student educators are selected (1st program):
During annual house elections, houses elect Sustainability Reps who act as liaisons between students in the house and the recycling program, as well as other campus environmental programs.
A brief description of the formal training that the student educators receive (1st program):
Throughout the academic year, student facilitators run bi-weekly meetings for all Sustainability Reps to attend. Facilitators provide ideas for outreach and opportunities for action.
Topics covered in these meetings are: recycling, composting, touring the sustainable highlights on campus, ways to integrate sustainable living practices in the residential houses that they represent, and designing house activities that incorporate a sustainability theme.
Sustainability Reps maintain an Earth Board of information about recycling and environmental information in each house. They also help maintain recycling sites in their house and provide other recycling education by hosting a tea, making announcements at dinner, etc.
A brief description of the financial or other support the institution provides to the program (1st program):
CEEDS (Smith's Center for the Environment, Ecological Design and Sustainability) provides resources for students and student leaders. There are 6 permanent members of staff at CEEDS who support the Sustainability Reps. Sustainability Reps have financial support from the house funds and from campus pool (two very reliable funds) that can be used towards the Sustainability Rep activities in their house.
Name of the student educators program (2nd program):
Number of students served (i.e. directly targeted) by the program (2nd program):
A brief description of the program, including examples of peer-to-peer outreach activities (2nd program):
A brief description of how the student educators are selected (2nd program):
A brief description of the formal training that the student educators receive (2nd program):
A brief description of the financial or other support the institution provides to the program (2nd program):
Name of the student educators program (3rd program):
Number of students served (i.e. directly targeted) by the program (3rd program):
A brief description of the program, including examples of peer-to-peer outreach activities (3rd program):
A brief description of how the student educators are selected (3rd program):
A brief description of the formal training that the student educators receive (3rd program):
A brief description of the financial or other support the institution provides to the program (3rd program):
Name(s) of the student educator program(s) (all other programs):
Number of students served (i.e. directly targeted) by all other student educator programs:
A brief description of the program(s), including examples of peer-to-peer outreach activities (all other programs):
A brief description of how the student educators are selected (all other programs):
A brief description of the formal training that the student educators receive (all other programs):
A brief description of the financial or other support the institution provides to the program (all other programs):
Total number of hours student educators are engaged in peer-to-peer sustainability outreach and education activities annually:
The website URL for the peer-to-peer student outreach and education program(s):
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.