| Overall Rating | Gold - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 65.64 |
| Liaison | Rachael Wein |
| Submission Date | March 3, 2017 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
Smith College
EN-1: Student Educators Program
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
4.00 / 4.00 |
Emma
Kerr Campus Sustainability Coordinator Office of Campus Sustainability |
Number of students enrolled for credit (headcount):
Total number of students enrolled for credit that are served (i.e. directly targeted) by a student peer-to-peer sustainability outreach and education program (avoid double-counting to the extent feasible):
Percentage of students served by a peer-to-peer educator program:
Name of the student educators program:
Number of students served (i.e. directly targeted) by the program (headcount):
A brief description of the program, including examples of peer-to-peer outreach activities:
The Eco-Reps are Smith's peer-to-peer sustainability outreach group. Their primary goal is to promote sustainable living practices and conservation of resources in Smith's student houses. Eco-Reps also organize campus wide activities that engage the entire student body, as well as faculty, staff, and the Northampton community.
Eco-Reps are elected by their fellow housemates each year and form a group of 50 to 60 students. The group is managed by Emma Kerr, the campus sustainability coordinator, with the help of students facilitators who are interns with the Office of Campus Sustainability. Eco-Reps serve as liaisons from the Office of Campus Sustainability to the student body.
Each October the Eco-Reps organize Fall Fest. This event showcases all of the green student organizations on campus and helps students understand what sustainability is about at Smith. This event is zero waste and serves as a major outreach opportunity from green organizations to the student body, and brings all of the diverse green organizations together to foster year-long collaboration. It also allows Eco-Reps to have a campus wide presence, and for students to engage with their house's Eco-Reps in a fun and educational environment.
Eco-Reps also participate in Earth Week by tabling and organizing events. These events often include a water conservation contest called April Showers, where students are challenged to take shorter showers, using 5 minute shower timers, which are distributed by Eco-Reps to all bathrooms. Houses compete against each other.
Eco-Reps also present Sustainabili-Teas in their houses. Smith's houses have a long-standing tradition of gathering for "Tea" on Friday and weekend afternoons, and teas are often used as opportunities for different groups to present or lead activities. Sustainabili-Teas touch on all aspects of sustainable living and highlight ways to reduce your house's environmental footprint, like turning off lights in common spaces, reducing water use, recycling, composting, and making conscious food choices.
A brief description of how the student educators are selected:
During annual house elections, houses elect Eco-Reps who act as liaisons between students in the house and the Office of Campus Sustainability, as well as other campus environmental programs. Houses typically elect between one and three Eco-Reps.
A brief description of the formal training that the student educators receive to prepare them to conduct peer outreach:
Eco-Reps meet every other week during fall and spring semesters. The first meeting is longer to include a short training on what it is like to be an Eco-Rep, as well as background information on recycling and composting on campus, where our energy comes from, and how to reduce your house's energy use. Eco-Reps are issued an Eco-Rep Guide which includes all of this information.
Each winter we also hold an Eco-Rep retreat at the MacLeish Field Station, where Eco-Reps receive additional training, focused around how to host a successful Sustainabili-Tea, and various activities to incorporate into the program.
While bi-weekly meetings are generally used for planning teas, events, and initiatives, they are sometimes used for additional training throughout the year.
Eco-Reps also have the opportunity to come to office hours, where the campus sustainability coordinator and the student Eco-Rep facilitators can train them to work through the steps of organizing and planning events on campus.
A brief description of the financial and/or administrative support the institution provides to the program (e.g. annual budget and/or faculty/staff coordination):
The Office of Campus Sustainability provides a staff person (the campus sustainability coordinator) to oversee the Eco-Reps. The Office of Campus Sustainability also employs two to three paid interns to help coordinate the Eco-Reps and assist with campus-wide event planning (in particular with Fall Fest and Earth Week events).
Since the Eco-Reps are largely a student-run organization, they are also supported by various college funds that provide funding for free campus-wide student events. Eco-Reps can apply to these funds for budgets that allow them to bring speakers to campus and execute other programs that are free of charge to the campus community.
As members of their House Council, Eco-Reps are also supported by their House Presidents, Head Residents, and Residence Life staff.
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 to prepare them to conduct peer outreach (2nd program):
A brief description of the financial and/or administrative support the institution provides to the program (e.g. annual budget and/or faculty/staff coordination) (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 to prepare them to conduct peer outreach (3rd program):
A brief description of the financial and/or administrative support the institution provides to the program (e.g. annual budget and/or faculty/staff coordination) (3rd program):
A brief description of all other student peer-to-peer sustainability outreach and education programs, including the number of students served and how student educators are selected, trained, and supported by the institution:
Total number of hours student educators are engaged in peer-to-peer sustainability outreach and education activities annually (all programs):
The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
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.