| Overall Rating | Platinum |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 85.89 |
| Liaison | Jennifer Andrews |
| Submission Date | Oct. 24, 2024 |
University of New Hampshire
AC-8: Campus as a Living Laboratory
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
4.00 / 4.00 |
Jennifer
Andrews Project Director Sustainability Institute |
Campus Engagement
A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Campus Engagement:
UNH students are very interested and engaged in the question of how to successfully message to other students, as well as faculty, staff, alumni and community members, on campus about sustainability. A non-comprehensive list of project examples:
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In spring 2023, a team of students in MKTG 775 focused their capstone project on developing a marketing plan for the campus bike share program, Cat Trax. As per the course structure, they acted as marketing consultants with the UNH Sustainability Institute as their “client” to develop a marketing plan focused on the goals of increasing student awareness and participation in Cat Trax. They developed recommendations for social media outreach, events, and collateral that would appeal to students from a variety of different frames (i.e. health, budget, climate solutions, fun and recreation, community-building, etc). The Institute has since adopted most of their recommendations, and has seen awareness and ridership increase.
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In spring 2022, a team of students in Sust 750, the capstone course for the UNH Sustainability Dual Major, worked with staff across campus to research, consider, and develop recommendations to for how UNH could strengthen and expand peer education in sustainability on campus. They presented their findings at the UNH Undergraduate Research Conference.
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The more than 20 members of UNH’s Sustainability Intern cohort, who work on a variety of campus sustainability projects over the course of the year, each have considered and reflected about, and created and tested strategies for, effectively engaging the campus community in the projects they are working on. As part of their internships—which share a set of formal, codified learning outcomes, monitored through pre-and post-assessments as well as student impact reflections—they are required to develop, evaluate and refine campus engagement strategies and materials, including digital and print content, in-person events, etc. These students present about their campus engagement efforts and learnings at the UNH Undergraduate Research Conference. For example, in 2024, there were presentations focused on “How Can Sustainability Advocates Increase Sustainability Peer Education in UNH Residence Halls?” and “How Can We Build a Community that Fosters Sustainability on Campus and Beyond?” among other relevant topics.
Public Engagement
A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Public Engagement:
A few examples of many:
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Through UNH’s Sustainability Fellowship program, 2022-2023 Sustainability Fellow Rafidah Rahman worked with UNH’s host community, the Town of Durham, on community outreach focused on residential carbon reduction opportunities (for example, w/articles focused on heat pumps and EVs), and 2024-202 Fellow Sophie Goodwin focused on community engagement to inform the Town’s 2024 climate action plan update.
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Several student teams in Sust 750 during spring of 2024 worked with the Town of Durham’s Integrated Waste Management Advisory Committee (IWMAC) to increase their outreach and community education to millennials, Gen X, and Gen Z with social media platforms such as Instagram.
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SUST 401 Honors students worked on a project entitled “UNH and Durham Empowerment of Local Land Stewardship” in spring 2024.
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Sustainability interns working with the Cat Trax bike share program have been working to develop, implement and refine public outreach materials to Durham community members, since the program is geared both toward UNH students, faculty and staff and Durham residents.
- In 2018, Dr Renee Heath and Dr Jennifer Borda created the Civil Discourse Lab at UNH to strengthen the ability of students and community members to conduct meaningful conversations, collaborate and weigh decisions around sometimes difficult, but important, topics to a civil society. Students interested in developing communication skills and participating in community discussions follow a well-integrated program (multiple courses) to teach them about dialogue and group dynamics, train them in note-taking and facilitation, and set them loose to facilitate an actual event in the community. Students learn from faculty members such as Heath and Borda, but also from classmates who have gone through the training and advanced to leadership roles with the lab.
For the past seven years more than a dozen students (each year) from the CMN662 Public Dialogue and Deliberation course spent more than half of spring semester preparing for a signature public deliberation--the Stories and Voices Event, focused on critical community issues such as immigration, addiction, and food and environmental justice. Students interviewed stakeholders from within and beyond the UNH community to learn their perspectives and needs related to the given issue. They then prepared and implemented a comprehensive event program designed to engage the UNH community and the public on barriers and solutions to those challenges.
As a result the students' work, we have built broader understanding, trust, and solutions to the issues raised (addiction, immigration, racial equity and sustainable food systems.)
Air & Climate
A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Air & Climate:
UNH has been engaging students in its efforts to understand and reduce its carbon footprint for more than 20 years. Some examples:
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In 2022, a team of SUST 750 students worked to describe current state of small scale Carbon Capture and Utilization opportunities, analyze potential costs of technology, provide evidence-based recommendations on what size and type of CCU tech UNH should investigate. They presented their findings to the UNH Energy Task Force which has considered them in developing the university’s ongoing decarbonization strategies, and at the UNH Undergraduate Research Conference.
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In summer 2023, Sustainability Fellow Illustrious Erlohu worked with the Energy Task Force to integrate decarbonizaton principles and strategies into its Master Plan update.
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Every year, participants in our Sustainability Internships program—which has a set of formal, codified learning outcomes, monitored through pre-and post-assessments as well as student impact reflections—work with staff from the Sustainability Institute and the Energy and Utilities office to update UNH’s annual greenhouse gas inventory and fulfill our reporting requirements. In AY23-24 intern Sofia Anestam undertook this project and presented it in multiple UNH venues.
Buildings
A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Buildings:
Our Campus Stewardship, Energy and Utilities, and other Facilities departments are primarily responsible for creating and managing our campus buildings, and they often work with and mentor students in using our physical campus as an opportunity to further explore and apply concepts the students are learning in their courses or co-curricular activity.
In AY22-23, Sustainability Intern Meaghan Wiggins worked with the UNH Campus Stewardship team to focuses on the redevelopment of Spaulding Hall, where she measured the embodied carbon emissions of the renovation plans and use that analysis to provide guidance to UNH architects on which sustainable materials to use in its renovation. Meaghan then worked on ways to make her methods transferable for other SIMAP users, and on laying groundwork for future interns to calculate all of UNH’s embodied carbon, including from the use of concrete and steel. Meaghan presented her work at the UNH Undergraduate Research Conference and it was featured on the UNHSI blog.
Energy
A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Energy:
One of the goals of the Energy Task Force is to give UNH students an opportunity to better understand, explore and participate in improving, UNH’s energy initiatives. Faculty and staff from the ETF have mentored dozens of students in course projects, independent studies, and Fellowships related to energy systems and practices at UNH.
Some recent examples from spring 2024, all of which involved students working with staff from the Energy & Utilities Office and the Sustainability Institue, as well as consulting community and industry experts and conducting desk research:
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SUST 705 students worked on a project entitled “Planning for Power: Electrifying UNH's Campus” which considered how UNH’s current energy production needs will change as if/as it embarks on widespread campus electrification.
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SUST 501 and 401 students tackled, respectively, “Improving UNH's Energy Usage” and “Energy Conservation and Use in UNH Dorms” in capstone projects focused on energy efficiency opportunities and engagement on campus.
- In 2023, SUST 705 students designed and planned for solar panel placement over parking lots on campus and planned for infrastructure that allows electric vehicles to charge. This work is being integrated into the campus Master Plan update.
Food & Dining
A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Food & Dining:
Students "learn by doing" in a multitude of ways when it comes to sustainable campus food systems. A few examples:
- Students in the SAFS679/680: Food Production Field Experience class learn about sustainable agriculture firsthand while producing fresh healthy food for UNH Dining, UNH Dairy Bar and UNH Conferences and Catering. Students work at the high tunnels and fields located by UNH’s Fairchild Dairy. They produce a wide variety of crops ranging from lettuce to edible flowers.
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In the 2023-24 academic year, Sustainability Intern Durga Raja gathered food purchasing data from UNH dining and categorized it into SIMAP, analyzed footprint results and recommended reduction strategies. She presented her work at a UNH “We Love Sustainability” poster session.
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In 2023-24 the academic year, Sustainability Intern Marisa Bianchi brought awareness to the sustainability of UNH's food purchases by completing the STARS food and beverage purchasing inventory and doing significant outreach and follow-up associated with it. She presented her work at a UNH “We Love Sustainability” poster session.
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Dietetic interns working with faculty and with staff from Campus Dining helping to develop healthy, nutritious recipes served in dining establishments on campus; educate other students about balanced, healthy, plant-based diets, and support UNH's Take Less, Waste Less campaign focused on reducing food waste by doing "plate scrap" and measurement events periodically.
Grounds
A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Grounds:
UNH’s beautiful and extensive land holdings are widely used by researchers from within UNH as well as the larger scientific community. Recent surveys showed that there were more than 30 ongoing research projects supported by UNH’s managed woodland properties. UNH’s land use coordinator and faculty have a number of experimental efforts focused on identifying and implementing management strategies that protect and increasing biodiversity on the UNH campus. Student researchers are integrally involved in all efforts.
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In fall 2022, SUST 750 students built on previous student research to offer pragmatic ideas for emissions reductions and/or enhanced carbon sequestration associated with forest and agricultural land management either on the UNH campus, or through UNH partnerships. They presented their ideas at the UNH Undergraduate Research Conference.
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In spring 2024, SUST 401 students presented their semester’s work on UNH and Durham Empowerment of Local Land Stewardship at the UNH Undergraduate Research conference.
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Numerous Sustainability Interns have been working for several years as part of a partnership between UNH Sustainability Institute, Grounds and Events, and Campus Stewardship offices to promote enhanced ecosystem management pursuant to the university’s campus Landscape Master Plan. The students have worked to get UNH Bee Campus certified, establish and certify new pollinator gardens, contribute to stormwater monitoring and management, and conduct outreach to campus stakeholders on these important topics. They have presented in multiple venues on UNH pollinator protection and stormwater management efforts.
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Another example is the Marteloscope, a field training tool that forestry students use at UNH’s Kingman Farm to simulate forest stand growth and progression there.
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A final example is UNH’s ash reserve program, a project that intends to preserve ash trees from infestation by Emerald Ash Borer, and to do so has established several stands of ash as part of campus grounds, which students help monitor and assess.
Purchasing
A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Purchasing:
In the 2023/24 academic year, Sustainability Intern Sara Berg incorporated embodied carbon of purchasing data into SIMAP and calculated UNH's embodied carbon of purchasing footprint. This analysis is informing efforts to reduce UNH's Scope 3 carbon footprint. See https://scholars.unh.edu/urc/557/
In addition, multiple interns over the past several years have worked on maintaining UNH's status as a Fair Trade campus, researching opportunities to improve our food and beverage purchasing practices.
Transportation
A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Transportation:
Students engage in applied research and learning focused on the UNH fleet, and on opportunities to enhance active transportation (i.e. the "walking campus" and bike culture at UNH).
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For example, in 2023 a team of undergraduate UNH Innovation Scholars who were studying computer programming completed and presented their project “Real-Time Optimization of UNH Bike Share System focused on using data an algorithms to improve bike distribution for UNH’s Cat Trax program, making it more accessible and impactful for users.
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Multiple Sustainability Interns have undertaken program management, marketing and logistics for Cat Trax bike share, and presented program learnings and refinements in multiple venues—including sharing them with members of other New England municipalities interested in starting their own programs.
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In 2023, SUST 750 students designed and planned for solar panel placement over parking lots on campus and planned for infrastructure that allows electric vehicles to charge. Some of their ideas have been included in the UNH Master Plan update.
Waste
A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Waste:
Reducing waste generation on campus and improving campus recycling and composting is an area of high student interest, and many course projects and research projects have contributed to waste reduction at UNH.
For hte past three years, we have had a cohort of Atlas Zero Waste Fellows, working with guidance and supervision from the Post Landfill Action Network, working with departments and stakehlders across campus to create a zero waste assessemnt, vision and plan. Their work has informed UNH Master Plan update, and current drafts of university-wide 5 year Sustainabilty Vision.
In addition, students from the Sustainability Dual Major worked on a projects focused on waste.
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In 2022, SUST 750 students helped paint a clearer picture of UNH’s waste reduction successes and continued challenges, by providing quantitative data about exactly what kinds of materials UNH community members are attempting to recycle currently and what is contaminating the waste stream as well as what materials are being diverted through Trash 2 Treasure; and qualitative data about UNH community members’ current understanding of whether, how and why to recycle on campus.
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IN 2023, SUST 750 students developed a comprehensive plan for a UNH Thrift store, to encourage reuse as a value and practice among UNH students and promote equity and access.
For the past several years, multiple Sustainability Interns have focused on waste minimization and diversion on campus. A selection of these projects from AY23-24:
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Drop the Disposables: A Journey Towards Expanding Reusable To-Go Ware at UNH
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Where Will Wildcats Toss Their Trash? Creating a Standardized Waste Collection System at UNH
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What are the Diversion Opportunities for Hard to Recycle Materials at UNH?
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Trash 2 Treasure Feasibility and Redefining Success
Water
A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Water:
Significant work to understand and improve the conditions of UNH’s local watershed have involved students, faculty and staff over the years at UNH. For example, multiple research teams have been involved in multi-year efforts to monitor and improve College Brook, which runs through the UNH campus. https://tnhdigital.com/20891/news/whats-in-the-water/
In addition, UNH’s Stormwater Center has long utilized insights and techniques developed and tested on the UNH campus to benefit communities across New England. One current project is the Pollutant Tracking and Accounting Project, developed and piloted at UNH and used across NH. https://extension.unh.edu/stormwater-center/projects
In addition, in AY23-24, Sustainability Interns Louis Arinello and Karena Sazo inspected rainwater management systems across campus. Their goal is to minimize pollutants before they reach waterways and educate and raise awareness of storm water management sites to prevent litter and pollution. They presented this project, How Do Stormwater Management Systems Impact the Environment and How Can Communities Contribute to Their Maintenance , at the UNH Undergraduate Research conference.
Coordination & Planning
A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Coordination & Planning:
In the AY23-24 academic year, Sustainability Interns Katie Kaufhold and Abigail Blasi tracked the University’s sustainability performance by gathering and analyzing data for our STARS submission, and developed outreach to students about opportunities around campus regarding sustainability practices and opportunities.
Diversity & Affordability
A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Diversity & Affordability:
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In AY23-24, Sustainability Intern Caroline Cirrilo worked with UNH’s IT and Basic Needs offices on a campaign that was focused both on E-waste reduction and on raising donations for support for UNH’s “Loaner Laptop” program.
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In AY24-25, another Sustainability Intern is working to broaden campus awareness and support for UNH’s Basic Needs programs.As his AY22-23 Semester in the City internship with the UNH JEDI-EOS initiative student Marc Laferriere developed an online resource map to promote equitable access to information including BIPOC-owned businesses in Durham, gender inclusive restrooms at UNH, and created and facilitated a successful Environmental Justice workshop on campus. Marc's efforts helped advance the JEDI-EOS goals to expand the capacity of the Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and Space to conduct world-class research that effectively incorporates environmental justice and promotes diversity, equity, and inclusion.
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The Treat Fellowship program was established at the University of New Hampshire in 2018 in memory of the late New Hampshire Judge William W. Treat to provide students platform for engaging in civil discourse around difference. Treat Fellows are trained to conduct meaningful conversations promoting equity, diversity and shared understanding with individuals from different social identities.
Treat Fellows assist in the design and facilitation of the Campus Conversation program. See https://carsey.unh.edu/new-hampshire-listens/about/treat-fellowship
Investment & Finance
A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Investment & Finance:
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As her AY22-23 Semester in the City internship, Daisy Burns worked with the UNH Committee on Investor Responsibility and UNH Foundation to consider the possibility of UNH setting a carbon neutrality target for its investment portfolio. Her findings have informed the priorities and goals of the CIR for the past two years.
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In spring 2024, SUST 750 students worked on the Equity & Climate Opportunity (E.C.O.) Investment Fund: This project will create a new Sustainability Innovation Initiative within the Rines Angel Investment Fund at UNH that is focused on sustainable investing while utilizing the research and investment analysis foundation built by Rines and its students.
Wellbeing & Work
A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Wellbeing & Work:
Sustainability Intern Belle Dee worked with the cross-university committee charged with implementing UNH’s Tobacco, Smoke and Nicotine-Free policy, adopted in 2021. Belle created outreach materials to broaden awareness of, and adherence to, the TSN-Free policy, and presented her research and recommendations at the UNH Undergraduate Research Conference.
Optional Fields
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.