| Overall Rating | Bronze |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 26.82 |
| Liaison | Juan Martinez |
| Submission Date | June 6, 2022 |
University of Houston - Downtown
EN-3: Student Life
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
1.75 / 2.00 |
Juan
Martinez Sustainability Coordinator Department of Natural Sciences |
Does the institution have an active student group focused on sustainability?:
Name and a brief description of the active student groups focused on sustainability:
UHD Garden and Compost Club
The UHD Garden and Compost Club is a recreational student organization which practices organic vegetable and flower gardening. The clubs mission is to understand the importance of all aspects of urban agriculture. The organization is focused on issues such as building healthy soil, learning to Identify beneficial insects, and encourage symbiotic relationships that produce healthier and more nutritious foods.
UHD Environmental Club
he Environmental Club aims to raise awareness within the University of Houston-Downtown and surrounding community with regard to environmental issues through fun and exciting manners ; especially the importance of recycling and sustainable actions. We attempt to educate our students and fellow citizens about appreciating the significance of the natural occurrences in the everyday environment and how to live an eco-friendlier lifestyle. Additionally, we provide our members with an abundance of volunteer activities that exposes them to the realities of environmental incidents. We highly promote a great diversity of members by encouraging students of varying backgrounds, majors, and ideologies to participate in our mission while building relations amongst other students, advisors and faculty. Together, we are working to elevate the consciousness of our community toward more earth-friendly practices and policies that can benefit our environment.
Does the institution have a garden, farm, community supported agriculture (CSA) or fishery program, or an urban agriculture project where students are able to gain experience in organic agriculture and sustainable food systems?:
A brief description of the gardens, farms, community supported agriculture (CSA) or fishery programs, and/or urban agriculture projects:
The UHD Garden Club is recreational student organization which practices organic vegetable and flower gardening. The clubs mission is to understand the importance of all aspects of urban agriculture. Our organization is focused on issues such as building healthy soil, learning to Identify beneficial insects, and encourage symbiotic relationships that produce healthier and more nutritious foods.
Does the institution have a student-run enterprise that includes sustainability as part of its mission statement or stated purpose?:
A brief description of the student-run enterprises:
Does the institution have a sustainable investment fund, green revolving fund, or sustainable microfinance initiative through which students can develop socially, environmentally and fiscally responsible investment and financial skills?:
A brief description of the sustainable investment funds, green revolving funds or sustainable microfinance initiatives:
Our Kroger Green Initiatives requires that students create a project proposal. The project has to meet certain criteria to be approved. The project should have a focus on food, but can be about sustainability. They have requested that four funded projects be in the area of addressing hunger, food waste or urban food production. The remaining four can be in any aspect of sustainability. Part of the proposal is that students come up with a budget for their project. This initiative is offered every academic school year.
Has the institution hosted a conference, speaker series, symposium, or similar event focused on sustainability during the previous three years that had students as the intended audience?:
A brief description of the conferences, speaker series, symposia, or similar events focused on sustainability:
The Organic Horticulture Benefits Alliance periodically hosts talks at UHD that are aimed at students. UHD has also sent Eco-Reps to several student conferences where student projects were presented and discussed.
Has the institution hosted a cultural arts event, installation, or performance focused on sustainability with the previous three years that had students as the intended audience?:
A brief description of the cultural arts events, installations, or performances focused on sustainability:
Does the institution have a wilderness or outdoors program that follow Leave No Trace principles?:
A brief description of the wilderness or outdoors programs that follow Leave No Trace principles:
UHD host the The Gulf Coast Chapter of the Texas Master’s Naturalist training program that educates students on the complex ecology of our region, heightening their sense of how land use and pollution can endanger the balance of said ecology
Has the institution had a sustainability-focused theme chosen for a themed semester, year, or first-year experience during the previous three years?:
A brief description of the sustainability-focused themes chosen for themed semesters, years, or first-year experiences:
Does the institution have a program through which students can learn sustainable life skills?:
A brief description of the programs through which students can learn sustainable life skills:
Experiential Summer Program:
Experiential Learning through CUAS (EL CUAS) is a summer program where students from different disciplines and backgrounds work together in teams to plan, build, and test a system that builds on the university's sustainable initiatives. The program provides a valuable opportunity for students to engage in an experiential learning program which focuses on creating solutions to current issues in food production or sustainable urban systems. Students take the spring course Fundamentals of Sustainability and spend all of Summer I working on sustainability projects with science, engineering, and components of other disciplines. The program also includes field trips and a stipend of $2000. Students will also present findings at the UHD Graduate and Student Internship Fair, UHD Student Research Conference and potentially at one additional local/national conference (travel will be covered).
Green Initiatives Grant
A student or group of students (up to 3) can design a project that creates or builds on sustainable practices within UHD or the larger Houston community. Projects may focus on subjects such as educational campaigns, nutrition, small business consulting, green initiatives, new technologies or new UHD resources such as new UHD infrastructure, art or digital materials. Projects may be carried out at UHD or off-campus at appropriate locations.
Eco-Reps is a group of students working in collaboration with the Center for Urban Agriculture & Sustainability. These students promote sustainable behavior on campus as well as implement green initiatives. Eco-Reps reach out to their fellow students, faculty, and staff in order to collaborate on projects, green initiatives, and raise awareness about sustainability. Eco-Reps are exposed to sustainable ideas and initiatives on a weekly basis where they then spread that information to our campus community
SUSTAIN is an USDA opportunity to Support Undergraduate Sustainable Technology and Agricultural Needs. This is a valuable opportunity to engage in an experiential learning program which focuses on creating solutions to current issues in food production or sustainable urban systems. The program will include the integration of environmental science, societal concerns and technology. All majors are encouraged to apply as successful sustainability initiatives require input from business, education, psychology, engineering, biology and many other fields.
Does the institution offer sustainability-focused student employment opportunities?:
A brief description of the sustainability-focused student employment opportunities offered by the institution:
The Center for Urban Agriculture and Sustainability hires at least one student every semester for a work-study position that helps to support the office in its various efforts to advance sustainability on campus.
Does the institution have a graduation pledge through which students pledge to consider social and environmental responsibility in future job and other decisions?:
A brief description of the graduation pledge(s):
A brief description of other co-curricular sustainability programs and initiatives that do not fall into one of the above categories:
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.