University of South Florida (Tampa)
SD-1: New Student Orientation

Professional staff from Housing & Residential Education present to parents and incoming students about sustainability goals, projects and facilities during orientation. They cover topics such as single stream recycling in and around the residence halls, how to apply to live in the Green Living Learning Community and what green and recycling measures have been established within the residential communities.

The department of Residential Life & Education trains Resident Assistants (RA) to provide sustainability information to students in their dorm floors. During opening and week of welcome, RAs do bulletin boards on green topics and make sure that residents go through their “goody" bags. Each new resident gets a sustainable bag that holds several units of information. Within the info sheets are locations of recycling and trash bins and the description of how to use single stream recycling. Also maps include locations of large bins and convenient can locations around residence halls to recycle water bottles, cans, etc. Depending on the type of residence hall, recycle containers may be found in each apartment or in the kitchen in larger traditional halls. Students are made aware of hydration stations and low flow toilets and shower heads, and aerators in bathroom sinks where available.

Residential Life & Education (RLE) does a Swap Shop each semester collecting clothes and res hall room items that students do not want to keep. Students can come on the assigned night and select items that they may want to repurpose. The Swap Shop has been very successful for 2 years. Also RLE and HRE participate in Recyclemania every spring. Participation has been ongoing for four years. Residents are encouraged to participate in many green activities at the Botanical Gardens such as cultivating a garden plot or learning to make honey. The Green Living Learning Community composts worms and supports a butterfly garden outside their hall. We recently coordinated a field trip for the GLLC to a green house and to attend a lecture by Jerry Greenfield (Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream founder) on being sustainable in the business world.

During the “Student Orientation Showcase”, held every fall for new students, the Student Environmental Association (SEA) encourages new students to participate in the SEA and educates students on the SEA's efforts to promote sustainability on campus. The office of sustainability provides information on the student green energy fee, on sustainability practices and initiatives during several occations through out the year such as during new student orientation, new faculty orientation, week of welcome (for graduate students at the college of Global Sustainability), student orientation showcase and the colleg of business orientation.