Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 78.50
Liaison Kira Stoll
Submission Date Aug. 16, 2018
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

University of California, Berkeley
EN-1: Student Educators Program

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 0.77 / 4.00 Kira Stoll
Director of Sustainability
Office of Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Number of students enrolled for credit (headcount):
42,103

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):
8,065

Percentage of students served by a peer-to-peer educator program:
19.16

Name of the student educators program:
Residential Sustainability Program

Number of students served (i.e. directly targeted) by the program (headcount):
8,065

A brief description of the program, including examples of peer-to-peer outreach activities:

The Residential Sustainability Program's mission is to introduce on-campus residents to the importance of cultivating sustainable lifestyles and to support them with the right resources. Created seven years ago to assist residential managers in developing sustainable environments within the residence halls, RSP uses paid and volunteer students to educate their peers on how to contribute to the creation of a sustainable environment on campus. They also collaborate with campus and departmental partners – for example, working with Cal Dining to experiment with a “Meatless Mondays” concept to raise awareness about factory farming and to promote a meatless diet for residents. They are among the first to introduce new students to our sustainability programs and take that responsibility seriously. The number of students served reported above includes students in the on-campus residence halls.


A brief description of how the student educators are selected:

Coordinators and Educators apply for the positions. Residential Sustainability Program volunteers are appointed in the beginning of the academic year for a two-semester term. We currently have 18 students directly involved with the group. These students plan programs, post newsletters and undertake other initiatives that serve the entire residential population.


A brief description of the formal training that the student educators receive to prepare them to conduct peer outreach:

Volunteers meet with facility managers to discuss pertinent issues and awareness programming and attend bimonthly meetings with the campus-hired Residential Sustainability Program supervisors within Campus Recycling and Refuse Services and the rest of the RSP team. Together they design outreach, implement ideas and get the word out to residents that preserving the environment is important.


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):

Coordinators and Educators are paid positions, funded by Cal Housing. As described above, the volunteers regularly consult with facility managers to discuss their work.


Name of the student educators program (2nd program):
Nature Village (University Village Family Housing)

Number of students served (i.e. directly targeted) by the program (2nd program):
974

A brief description of the program, including examples of peer-to-peer outreach activities (2nd program):

Nature Village is a peer to peer sustainability education program set in family student housing.

http://serc.berkeley.edu/nature-village/

The Nature Village Team, in partnership with campus and student staff from The Green Initiative Fund, the Student Environmental Resource Center, Campus Recycling & Refuse Services and Residential & Student Service Program, have completed many projects and events since Nature Village’s founding in 2012. Examples include:

End the Cycle Laundry Project: distributes drying racks to residents and puts water & energy conservation stickers on all the Village’s washers and dryers

The Water Project: installs low-flow shower valves in Village apartments

The Waste Management Project:
recycles e-waste at the University Village Office
provides individual and large-scale composting across the Village
updates the trash/recycling enclosures and adds new signage

The Bike Project:
includes resident bike rides led by Nature Village volunteers
has added a bike fix-it station
hosts educational bike events at the Village

Nature Sundays: monthly sustainability education events at the Village
Move-In/Move-Out Guide developed
Yard Sales, Eco Movie Nights, Village Festival
Green Family Ambassador Program

Nature Village launched a partnership with Imperfect Produce to sell Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) boxes to University Village residents and address food insecurity and food waste issues. Imperfect Produce products are usually disposed of because of their appearance. These CSA boxes are sold for $12 each and feed a household of 3-4 people for a week.


A brief description of how the student educators are selected (2nd program):

Nature Village is a multidisciplinary group of University Village resident volunteers and campus sustainability students, staff and organizations working towards the goal of building a sustainable community at UC Berkeley’s family housing complex. Student educators already live at University Village and step forward to volunteer their services and work with campus staff.


A brief description of the formal training that the student educators receive to prepare them to conduct peer outreach (2nd program):

The Student Environmental Resource Center coordinates the ongoing training of the student educators and resident educators. The training occurs as needed when new people join the leadership team.


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):

Nature Village began as a 2012 Green Initiative Fund project and was transitioned to the Student Environmental Resource Center Initiative beginning fall 2014.


Name of the student educators program (3rd program):
DeCal

Number of students served (i.e. directly targeted) by the program (3rd program):
3,500

A brief description of the program, including examples of peer-to-peer outreach activities (3rd program):

The DeCal Program (or just DeCal) is an aggregate of student-run courses at the University of California, Berkeley where students create and facilitate their own classes on a variety of subjects, many of which are not addressed in the traditional curriculum. In the last completed school year, about a dozen DeCal classes addressed sustainability issues.


A brief description of how the student educators are selected (3rd program):

A faculty member sponsors a student’s course as a 98/198 section. That faculty member, as far as the computer systems and transcripts are concerned, is the “instructor of record.” The student that runs the course can be viewed as the delegated instructor for the faculty sponsor. The responsibility of such courses rests on the department chair, faculty member and student facilitator, who all sign a contract of understanding before the DeCal is reviewed by the Courses of Instruction/Academic Senate.


A brief description of the formal training that the student educators receive to prepare them to conduct peer outreach (3rd program):

All new facilitators must attend a workshop offered through the Student Learning Center. The workshops include the following titles:

"Take Action: Thoughtful & Identity-Conscious Facilitation": Bears That Care and Undergraduate Course Facilitator Training & Resources have teamed up to bring you an additional offering for training! In this workshop, we will explore ways to navigate the unique position DeCal facilitators occupy as both peers and educators to create an inclusive learning environment in your DeCal classroom.

"Cultivating Teaching Habits that Enhance Student Learning": This workshop examines teaching behaviors that hinder student learning and explores strategies for cultivating alternative habits to optimize student success.


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):

The Undergraduate Course Facilitator Training & Resources (UCFTR) are trained, professional staff hired by the UC to help student instructors. The staff can help at any stage of the process: finding a sponsor, writing a syllabus, forming a lesson plan, dealing with student complaints, etc.


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:

Total number of degree-seeking students includes all full-time undergraduate and graduate students in 2017.

The student count listed in the DeCal field came from an estimate on the DeCal website that 3000 to 4000 students participate every semester in DeCal classes.


Total number of degree-seeking students includes all full-time undergraduate and graduate students in 2017.

The student count listed in the DeCal field came from an estimate on the DeCal website that 3000 to 4000 students participate every semester in DeCal classes.

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.