| Overall Rating | Bronze - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 43.28 |
| Liaison | Adam Maurer |
| Submission Date | Dec. 18, 2017 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
South Seattle College
AC-8: Campus as a Living Laboratory
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
3.20 / 4.00 |
Adam
Maurer District Sustainability Coordinator Office of Sustainability |
"---"
indicates that no data was submitted for this field
Air & Climate
No
A brief description of the student/faculty projects and how they contribute to understanding campus sustainability challenges or advancing sustainability on campus in relation to Air & Climate:
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Buildings
Yes
A brief description of the student/faculty projects and how they contribute to understanding campus sustainability challenges or advancing sustainability on campus in relation to Buildings:
As part of SBST 325, five students over three quarters (fall 2015, winter 2016, and spring 2016) completed internships with Seattle Central (South Seattle College is part of the Seattle Colleges district. Seattle Central is also in that district). The students helped prepare documentation for an energy metering and management system, ICONICS. The students completed a total of 750 hours.
Energy
Yes
A brief description of the student/faculty projects and how they contribute to understanding campus sustainability challenges or advancing sustainability on campus in relation to Energy:
As part of SBST 325, five students over three quarters (fall 2015, winter 2016, and spring 2016) completed internships with Seattle Central (South Seattle College is part of the Seattle Colleges district. Seattle Central is also in that district). The students helped prepare documentation for an energy metering and management system, ICONICS. The students completed a total of 750 hours.
Food & Dining
Yes
A brief description of the student/faculty projects and how they contribute to understanding campus sustainability challenges or advancing sustainability on campus in relation to Food & Dining:
A student in fall 2016 completed a class project on healthy and affordable eating for South Seattle students. She partnered with PCC Natural Markets to host a workshop, "Nutrition on a Budget" to help students overcome barriers to eating healthy on a small budget. She also conducted pre and post workshop surveys to see if the workshop had any impact.
Grounds
Yes
A brief description of the student/faculty projects and how they contribute to understanding campus sustainability challenges or advancing sustainability on campus in relation to Grounds:
The South Seattle College Arboretum was established by the College and the SSC Foundation in 1978, in part as the result of a petition by the Landscape Horticulture Program students for an arboretum to serve as their living laboratory. The 5-acre site is located at the north end of campus on a bluff over looking the downtown Seattle, Elliott Bay and the West Duwamish Greenbelt. The Seattle Chinese Garden borders the Arboretum.
The Arboretum is an important part of the SSC Landscape Horticulture Program. As part of their studies, students designed and built the Arboretum. It is used as a laboratory for courses in plant identification, arboriculture, pruning, irrigation, garden renovation, plant problem diagnostics, landscape management and landscape construction courses. The Arboretum is also used as an outdoor classroom by professional horticulturists, hobby gardeners and other college programs. Most of the plants on the Washington Certified Professional Horticulturist exam can be found in the SSC Arboretum.
Purchasing
No
A brief description of the student/faculty projects and how they contribute to understanding campus sustainability challenges or advancing sustainability on campus in relation to Purchasing:
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Transportation
No
A brief description of the student/faculty projects and how they contribute to understanding campus sustainability challenges or advancing sustainability on campus in relation to Transportation:
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Waste
Yes
A brief description of the student/faculty projects and how they contribute to understanding campus sustainability challenges or advancing sustainability on campus in relation to Waste:
In Spring quarter 2016, student Keith Neal used his capstone project in SBST 489 to assess waste management practices at the South Seattle Georgetown campus. He evaluated the current system/practices, researched best practices, and made recommendations to improve waste management collection at Georgetown and the main campus.
Water
No
A brief description of the student/faculty projects and how they contribute to understanding campus sustainability challenges or advancing sustainability on campus in relation to Water:
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Coordination & Planning
Yes
A brief description of the student/faculty projects and how they contribute to understanding campus sustainability challenges or advancing sustainability on campus in relation to Coordination & Planning:
For a SBST 314 capstone, one student assessed current campus emergency preparedness. The student wrote a report and then made recommendations to the Emergency Preparedness Committee.
Diversity & Affordability
Yes
A brief description of the student/faculty projects and how they contribute to understanding campus sustainability challenges or advancing sustainability on campus in relation to Diversity & Affordability:
A Food Pantry Committee, made up of students, faculty, and staff, was created in fall 2016 to research the possibilities of establishing a campus pantry. Student leaders from the United Student Association and Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) took the initiative and requested student fees for the initial operating costs. The committee visited the UW Food Pantry and reached out to NW Harvest, the West Seattle Food Bank and other organizations to receive advice and support. PTK decided to focus their efforts on operating the pantry, rather than volunteering at food banks in the local community. The pantry officially opened on April 3, 2017. The mission of the food pantry is to address the intersections of student food insecurity and academic retention by providing non-perishable food items at a central campus location.
Investment & Finance
No
A brief description of the student/faculty projects and how they contribute to understanding campus sustainability challenges or advancing sustainability on campus in relation to Investment & Finance:
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Public Engagement
Yes
A brief description of the student/faculty projects and how they contribute to understanding campus sustainability challenges or advancing sustainability on campus in relation to Public Engagement:
For Earth Day 2017, students created a poster campaign for awareness around plastic bag use. The poster campaign was "bag monster" (costume made out of plastic bags) to represent the number of bags an average person uses in a year in the U.S. The bag monster and school mascot performed together to encourage reduction of plastic bag use.
Wellbeing & Work
No
A brief description of the student/faculty projects and how they contribute to understanding campus sustainability challenges or advancing sustainability on campus in relation to Wellbeing & Work:
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Other Impact Areas
No
A brief description of the student/faculty projects and how they contribute to understanding campus sustainability challenges or advancing sustainability on campus in relation to other areas:
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Optional Fields
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Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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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.