State University of New York at Cortland
EN-3: Student Life

The Environmental Science Club: (Cortland Student Advocating for a Valuable Environment [C-SAVE]) was formed in Fall of 2007 and received formal recognition from the student government the following spring. This club participates in offering programs and activities that support improving the sustainability of the campus and the greater community. The club also educates members on sustainability issues. The Gardening Club: This club collaborates with the Campus Garden Advisory Committee to manage the campus garden. The club also does programing related to garden and sustainable agriculture and has worked with the campus child care center on gardening activities for young children. NYPIRG: The New York Public Interest Research Group is New York’s most effective consumer and environmental student directed advocacy organization. NYPIRG empowers students to become leaders, activists, and organizers. They work to effect positive political change through planning events that create awareness for pieces of legislation that will benefit students and New York State communities. They work on a number of issues including voter mobilization, consumer action, hunger and homeless outreach, higher education and clean air/energy/recycling. This semester they co-sponsored several sustainability events. SUNY Cortland Recreation Association (SCRA) The student-run club provides members and participants with opportunities to socialize, exchange ideas, give service to the community, and expand educational opportunities around outdoor recreation. The club fosters professional development and helps students establish connections within the field. This club supports development of environmental ethics through interaction with the environment in a safe and enjoyable manner.

Campus Community Garden: The SUNY Cortland Campus Garden was created in 2013 for the purpose of educating the SUNY Cortland community and the larger Cortland community on sustainable gardening in an urban setting. The Garden is maintained and its programs are coordinated by the SUNY Cortland Garden Advisory Committee in conjunction with the Student Gardening Club.

The Community Bike Project provides an alternative, more sustainable transportation options to students, faculty, and staff by providing a fleet of bicycles in the form of Yellow, Red, and three-wheel Green Bikes. The CBP was founded by students, faculty and staff at SUNY Cortland who are passionate about the environment, sustainable transportation, and health and wellness. With day to day operations handled by students, the Community Bike Program also provides students with experience providing a sustainable service to a community.

Our Annual Sustainability Month in April has morphed into year-long Green Days. Green Days includes presentations, events, activities that focus on building knowledge, skills, and attitudes on sustainability. Although Green Day events are held throughout the year, there is still a focus of activities during "Earth Month" of April. While targeted at students, Green Days is open to the entire campus community and the public, and includes presentations from students, on-campus and visiting faculty, campus and community energy/environmental professionals, administrators, and community members, as well as hands-on demonstrations and activities related to environmental and sustainability awareness.

The Campus Artist and Lecture Series (CALS) is coordinated by a college committee comprised of students, faculty, and staff charged with enriching the cultural life of the College and the surrounding communities. CALS sponsors an annual performing artist series that coincides with the traditional academic year. Invited artists have included professional dance companies, musicians, and so much more! Through these events, CALS strives to present its patrons with a wide variety of genres and experiences.

Outdoor Education at Raquette Lake (Antlers, Camp Huntington, Kirby Camp facilities) The Outdoor Education Center at Raquette Lake, which is located in the heart of the Adirondack Mountains, gives SUNY Cortland students a chance to participate in team building activities and maybe even take a mid-winter dip in the lake at this beautiful and unique facility that's the only National Historic Landmark in the SUNY system. Students from the Art and Art History Department, Biological Sciences Department, Childhood/Early Childhood Education Department, Geology Department, History Department, Physical Education Department, and Recreation and Leisure Studies Department have the opportunity to study at Raquette Lake. Each of these programs that use the outdoor education center has a component that focuses on respect for the environment. In addition, our Recreation and Leisure Studies Department offers courses in Wilderness Leadership.

One building at West Campus is a designated green building where all residents agree to make a positive commitment to maintaining this community expectation. Evidence of this commitment shall be through managing your own sustainability efforts and the sustainability efforts of my guests as it relates to living a sustainable life on and off campus.

The SUNY Cortland Green Representative Program is sponsored by Residence Life and Housing and Physical Plant. The mission of the Green Rep program is to inspire sustainable lifestyles through peer to peer environmental education programs that will ultimately contribute to a more eco-friendly and sustainable campus. A team of seventeen individuals are hired as Green Reps each semester, one for each residence hall. These Green reps educate our residents and campus community by creating educational resources for the hall such as bulletin boards, hosting programs in the residence halls on campus and collaborating to create campus wide events each semester!