| Overall Rating | Gold - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 78.48 |
| Liaison | Patrick McKee |
| Submission Date | June 20, 2016 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
University of Connecticut
EN-1: Student Educators Program
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
4.00 / 4.00 |
Eric
Grulke Sustainability Coordinator Office of Environmental Policy |
"---"
indicates that no data was submitted for this field
None
Does the institution coordinate one or more ongoing student, peer-to-peer sustainability outreach and education programs that meet the criteria for this credit?:
Yes
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Number of degree-seeking students enrolled at the institution:
23,407
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Name of the student educators program (1st program):
EcoMadness
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Number of students served (i.e. directly targeted) by the program (1st program):
3,831
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A brief description of the program, including examples of peer-to-peer outreach activities (1st program):
EcoMadness is a month long competition, held in 37 residence halls across six dorm areas around campus, encouraging mostly first- and second- year students to reduce their usage of energy and water. Students who are particularly interested may volunteer to be EcoCaptains to motivate their peers from within the dorm. Examples include putting posters up throughout the dorm, organizing hallway study sessions to conserve energy relating to light fixtures, and holding events to raise awareness and provide ideas of what students can do in their dorms to conserve energy and water. At the end of the competition the dorm buildings that were able to reduce their total and per capita consumption of energy and water the most receive certificates of recognition and an ice cream party. Additionally, energy offsets are bought by the university for the amount of carbon offset by the competition.
None
A brief description of how the student educators are selected (1st program):
EcoCaptains volunteer themselves or are recommended by an RA or peer. EcoCaptains meet with a student intern who instructs them of their duties and provides a variety of ways to reach out to their fellow students. They may also email the student intern with any other questions to supplement their training throughout the course of the competition. EcoCaptains are also required to e-mail a weekly update on how the competition is going for them (what they're doing, what they plan to do, achievements they've had during the week, challenges they've had, how they've used provided marketing material, etc.).
None
A brief description of the formal training that the student educators receive (1st program):
RA's are provided with a handout describing EcoCaptain duties that they post on their floor. Additionally, any student that volunteers to be an Eco-Captain receives frequent e-mail communication and tips from student interns at the OEP. Finally, EcoCaptains are directed to the EcoMadness web page on the OEP's site that includes marketing and outreach material.
None
A brief description of the financial or other support the institution provides to the program (1st program):
The Office of Environmental Policy provides funding for the interns in charge of running EcoMadness and buys the offset certificates. ResEd offers funding to supply ice cream for the winning dorms.
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Name of the student educators program (2nd program):
UCONN Mixed Recycling Program
None
Number of students served (i.e. directly targeted) by the program (2nd program):
23,407
None
A brief description of the program, including examples of peer-to-peer outreach activities (2nd program):
UCONN is partnered with Willimantic Waste in order to run a mixed recycling system on campus. Through this program recyclables do not need to be sorted and thus recycling rates are increased. Throughout the course of each semester a variety of events and activities, such as Earth Day Spring Fling and EcoHusky's waste and recycling audit, help to promote this program and encourage recycling around campus.
None
A brief description of how the student educators are selected (2nd program):
Through the Office of Environmental Policy, students who are interested in the environment can apply for an internship in our office where they engage in a variety of activities to educate fellow students about sustainability and recycling. All of the interns are taught about the recycling program at UConn and we incorporate that knowledge in many of our outreach campaigns and general education opportunities. In addition, students from EcoHouse (a living and learning community) and EcoHusky (student group) volunteer to help spread the word about recycling.
None
A brief description of the formal training that the student educators receive (2nd program):
Interns receive one to two days of formal in office training and then they are continually trained on the job. EcoHouse and EcoHusky students are given specific training based on whichever outreach activity(ies) they volunteer for.
None
A brief description of the financial or other support the institution provides to the program (2nd program):
The recycling program is funded by the University.
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Name of the student educators program (3rd program):
Green Game Days
None
Number of students served (i.e. directly targeted) by the program (3rd program):
4,615
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A brief description of the program, including examples of peer-to-peer outreach activities (3rd program):
In the fall one football game and in the spring one men's and one women's basketball game are selected to be “Green Game Days.” For these selected games interns at the Office of Environmental Policy partner with the Athletics department to include the recycling initiative in the game advertisements. Volunteers welcome fans to the games, provide them with information about sustainability at UConn, and encourage them to recycle during the event. After the game is over the volunteers walk through fan sections to collect any recyclables that have been left behind. At each game the fans are engaged as much as possible to educate them about sustainable practices.
None
A brief description of how the student educators are selected (3rd program):
Students from the EcoHouse residential community and EcoHusky student group volunteer to come to the game and educate others about recycling and general sustainability. Student interns from the Office of Environmental Policy manage the team of volunteers at each game.
None
A brief description of the formal training that the student educators receive (3rd program):
Volunteers receive training the day of the game on how to approach fans and the best methods of promoting recycling.
None
A brief description of the financial or other support the institution provides to the program (3rd program):
Typically no funding is needed for this program. Any required funding comes from the Office of Environmental Policy and the Campus Sustainability Fund.
None
Name(s) of the student educator program(s) (all other programs):
---
None
Number of students served (i.e. directly targeted) by all other student educator programs:
---
None
A brief description of the program(s), including examples of peer-to-peer outreach activities (all other programs):
---
None
A brief description of how the student educators are selected (all other programs):
---
None
A brief description of the formal training that the student educators receive (all other programs):
---
None
A brief description of the financial or other support the institution provides to the program (all other programs):
---
None
Total number of hours student educators are engaged in peer-to-peer sustainability outreach and education activities annually:
665
None
The website URL for the peer-to-peer student outreach and education program(s):
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
http://ecohusky.uconn.edu/about/intern.html
http://ecohusky.uconn.edu/recycling/greengameday.html
http://ecohusky.uconn.edu/recycling/guidelines.html
The number of degree seeking students was restricted to undergraduates.
The Number of students served at the Green Game Days was estimated by counting the number of seats in the student section at Gampel Pavilion which is 1,731. Since we do two games at gampel, with some student overlap, we multiplied this number by 1.5. Additionally, Rentschler Field has 5,000 student seats with overlap so we multiplied this number by .75 The student section at games tends to be full, and even if not completely full, there are students that have season tickets who sit in the ticketed seats as well.
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.