Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 65.92
Liaison Sally DeLeon
Submission Date Feb. 12, 2014
Executive Letter Download

STARS v1.2

University of Maryland, College Park
ER-1: Student Sustainability Educators Program

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 5.00 / 5.00 Sally DeLeon
Acting Manager
Environmental Safety, Sustainability and Risk
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Total number of degree-seeking students enrolled at the institution:
37,631

Program name (1st program):
LEAF Outreach Team

Number of students served by the program to whom peer-to-peer sustainability outreach and education is offered (1st program):
37,631

A brief description of the program, including examples of peer-to-peer outreach activities (1st program):

The LEAF Outreach Team is a group of motivated interns who take an active role in promoting sustainability at UMD. Outreach Team members participate in diverse activities and events aimed at encouraging people to reduce their footprint and become more sustainable. LEAF is an acronym and stands for Lead, Educate, Act, Facilitate – this is their job description! Their primary goal is to “LEAF Out” across campus at special events, games, gatherings and tabling opportunities to promote and reward green practices on our campus.

Key Activities of the LEAF Outreach team include:
-Communication. Help us spread the word to others. From chatting with their residence hall, club, team, group, etc. to chalking, their job is to inform others about the sustainable possibilities available to them!
-Catching people Green-handed. Catch people doing a sustainable act and snap their photo and reward them.
-Special Events. These include Earth Day, Stamp Fest, Maryland Day, The Farmers Market at Maryland, First Look Fair, The Commuter Breakfasts, etc....
-Educate. Running educational workshops such as teaching people about food miles.


A brief description of how the student educators are selected (1st program):

The positions were advertised on the Office of Sustainability website, social media, and through the College Park Scholars program (a living and learning program). The Office of Sustainability worked with the Scholars program to ensure that the LEAF internship could be used for their Scholars practicum and that the students would earn 1 credit hour through their 40-hour time commitment. Applicants were asked to submit video applications so we could see how “outgoing” the applicants were. The application videos were used to pick those students selected for an in-person interview. From the in-person interviews, a team of three students with one upperclassman leader were selected.


A brief description of the formal training that the student educators receive (1st program):

The students selected to be part of the LEAF Outreach Team attended a two-hour training session that included:
-Team building and team behaviors
-Developing a better understanding of outreach and education initiatives
-Training in specific outreach activities
-Tracking UMD sustainability efforts

Additionally, the LEAF Outreach team meets for one-hour each week to discuss upcoming outreach activities, new education initiatives, and other new opportunities.


A brief description of the staff and/or other financial support the institution provides to the program (1st program):

A Project Manager in the Office of Sustainability has dedicated time in her work plan to manage and facilitate the outreach team. In addition, the Office of Sustainability supports team materials development including educational materials, hand-outs, website development, LEAF Team gear, etc.


The website URL for 1st Program:
Program name (2nd program):
Student Sustainability Advisors

Number of students to whom peer-to-peer sustainability outreach and education is offered (2nd program):
4,748

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

The University of Maryland provides a First Year Sustainability Education program. The Office of Sustainability selects a group of juniors and seniors to be Student Sustainability Advisors to develop and deliver a sustainability presentation that engages first year students in conversation about sustainability and encourages them to get involved in finding solutions. The Student Sustainability Advisors share their contact information with first-year students and make themselves available to follow up as needed.


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

Student Sustainability Advisors are selected through an application process managed by the Office of Sustainability.


A brief description of the formal training that the student educators receive (2nd program):

The Office of Sustainability conducts formal training with student educators.


A brief description of the staff and/or other financial support the institution provides to the program (2nd program):

A staff member in the Office of Sustainability works closely with the student peer educators, creates and delivers trainings, and helps develop presentation materials for educators to use in classes.


The website URL for 2nd program:
Program name (3rd program):
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Number of students to whom peer-to-peer sustainability outreach and education is offered (3rd program):
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A brief description of the program, including examples of peer-to-peer outreach activities (3rd program):
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A brief description of how the student educators are selected (3rd program):
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A brief description of the formal training that the student educators receive (3rd program):
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A brief description of the staff and/or other financial support the institution provides to the program (3rd program):
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The website URL for 3rd program:
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Program name (All other programs):
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Number of students to whom peer-to-peer sustainability outreach and education is offered (All other programs):
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A brief description of the program, including examples of peer-to-peer outreach activities (All other programs):
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A brief description of how the student educators are selected (All other programs):
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A brief description of the formal training that the student educators receive (All other programs):
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A brief description of the staff and/or other financial support the institution provides to the program (All other programs):
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The website URL for all other programs:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

QUESTIONS FOR MARK
Formal training for Student Sustainability Advisors: should the information provided be more specific?

Student Sustainability Advisors presented to 51 classes last semester: Assuming 6 sections of 140 (like in 2011) and the rest sections of 20, this equates to 1860 students reached in 2012. Does this seem like an accurate estimate?


QUESTIONS FOR MARK
Formal training for Student Sustainability Advisors: should the information provided be more specific?

Student Sustainability Advisors presented to 51 classes last semester: Assuming 6 sections of 140 (like in 2011) and the rest sections of 20, this equates to 1860 students reached in 2012. Does this seem like an accurate estimate?

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.