University of North Florida
ER-1: Student Sustainability Educators Program

Established in 2009, the UNF Organic Garden began as a student initiative and was made possible by a generous donation from UNF alumni Bruce Ogier. What began with six raised beds next to the Wildlife Sanctuary grew into fifteen over three short years. In the fall of 2012, the garden was expanded into into a diverse, one-acre production on the north side of campus. As a new component of the Department of Health Promotion, our goals are to encourage healthy, active lifestyles and stewardship to the environment. The new location includes a vineyard, fruit trees & shrubs, row crops and container gardens. The space will demonstrate Florida-friendly, water efficient landscaping and ways for people to easily and inexpensively grow their own food. Organic produce cultivated by the student staff will be featured at the Osprey Café and sold at UNF Market Days. Student staff also lead tours and help guide volunteers in our Adopt-a-Bed program.

The student staff is hand-picked from our dedicated and outright awesome volunteer force. Each student brings with them a unique set of skills and experiences, which adds to the depth of the program.

Student staff are trained in organic gardening, food safety on farms, group presentation skills and are knowledgeable about different agriculture systems. They are trained by the Garden Coordinator, a full time staff member.

The Student Life & Service Fee funds a full time Organic Garden Coordinator, provides salary for student staff and provides for the purchase of agricultural supplies and educational materials.

The Environmental Center hires students every year to help educate students about sustainability issues and how they can help. The students help create and run events, manage the yearly Recyclemania competition and set up educational booths at campus events.

The student educators are selected from the Environmental Center's volunteer base. Students who show a commitment to sustainability, are regular volunteers and show a positive attitude are offered positions as they become available.

Most educators have prior volunteer experience with the Environmental Center and have gained valuable knowledge from those experiences. Further training is provided by the Environmental Center Coordinator and experience student staff.

The Environmental Center staff coordinates the peer educator program and pays student employees.

Green Team Outcomes: Coordinate various components of recycling and sustainability within residential communities that can include: 1. Create a residential environmental competition to promote sustainable behavioral change and education in the on-campus housing communities. 2. Create opportunities for students to learn about environmental issues by peer-to-peer education with the hopes that they will incorporate these values into their daily routines and beyond their time at UNF. 3. Promote sustainable practices among residential students through education programming both active and passive. 4. Develop HRL wide Recycling initiatives in collaboration with Housing Facilities team and campus EHS to reduce student waste. 5. Research and implement local initiatives (i.e. Community garden, etc.). 6. Develop passive program initiatives in ready-made bulletin boards and educational material for students. 7. Submit an article for the monthly HRL newsletter. 8. Coordinate and market the end of semester waste management effort for residential move out. The Green Team is responsible for coordinating various components of recycling and sustainability within residential communities. At the beginning of the year, the Green Team helped distribute information to residents about items that could and could not be recycled on campus. In the middle of the fall semester the group showed a documentary titled “The Human Footprint”. At the start of the spring semester, the Green Team assisted the Environmental Center with the Recyclemania initiative in the residence halls. Throughout the year, the Green Team educated other Resident Assistants about recycling/sustainable options for programs and program materials. Towards the end of the spring semester the Green Team started a pledge that over 200 residents signed stating they would follow certain green initiatives until the end of final exams.

Students are selected from the entire Resident Assistant staff within the Department of Housing and Residence Life. Students selected for the Green Team all chose the committee as the one they wanted to work with for the year.

Almost all of the students selected for the Green Team have some background or experience with recycling and sustainable initiatives. The first Green Team meeting of the year focused on the general concepts of recycling and sustainability. Members of the Green Team are also asked to do some research on their own time about different sustainable practices locally and globally.

The members of the Green Team are Resident Assistants, who are compensated, but they are not given extra compensation for being a member of the committee. The Green Team is chaired by a professional staff member within the Department of Housing and Residence Life. For programs or events, the Green Team will work with student leaders, professional staff within the Department of Housing and Residence Life, and other university staff. The Department of Housing and Residence Life provides funding to the Green Team to be used on food, supplies, and advertising.