University of St. Thomas
EN-3: Student Life

Sustainability Club - The Sustainability Club exists to challenge St. Thomas to be a more ecologically sound campus, and to raise environmental awareness within our community, both on and off-campus.

Engineers for a Sustainable World - The mission of the St. Thomas chapter of Engineers for a Sustainable World is to engage engineers in reducing waste and poverty by improving environmental, social, and economic sustainability worldwide by engaging in engineering projects which benefit communities which they are based in as well as raising awareness of the importance of engineering and its role in environmental, social, and political sustainability within our community.

Brightside Ambassadors Club - The mission of BrightSide Ambassadors is to partner with BrightSide Produce to promote food justice and healthy eating on campus and in the community. The club aims to bridge University of St. Thomas students, staff, and faculty with youth community members and corner stores in disinvested urban neighborhoods to gain a better understanding of food insecurity in our own community. The main focus of the club will be to hold outreach events to inspire students to eat a healthy diet.

The St. Thomas Stewardship Garden integrates research, teaching, and community service. Founded in 2011, the garden currently covers 3/4 acre of land on the St. Paul campus. The garden serves as a research site for undergraduate-faculty collaborations, engaging around 10 undergraduate researchers per year. Approximately 15 classes from 8 different disciplines have engaged with the Stewardship Garden. Research conducted at the garden has produced over 10 presentations at national conferences and one publication with undergraduate student co-authors. The garden is also the basis for a $700,000 CAREER grant from the National Science Foundation awarded to Dr. Chip Small.

The Stewardship Garden hosts multiple community events each year and it is featured on campus tours. Produce from the garden is sold to Dining Services and at an on-campus farmer's market. At least one-third of all produce from the garden is donated to the food shelf or to non-profits. The Stewardship Garden received a bronze award in 2013 from St. Paul Parks and Recreation for the design and appearance.

In addition, the University of St. Thomas Biology Department‘s research project, “Growing Science,” has established community-style gardens at two sites in the city of St. Paul: the West Seventh and Conway community centers. The two half-acre experimental urban agriculture sites have hosted many outreach events, and most produce is donated to the food shelf or non-profits.

BrightSide Produce is an economically sustainable business model for delivering fresh produce to corner stores in low-income urban areas. BrightSide was established by St. Thomas faculty, students, and community partners to help corner stores (the predominant grocery retail outlet in low-income neighborhoods) provide fresh produce for their customers. It currently serves 24 stores and makes produce more available for approximately 4000 lower-income neighborhood residents each day.

BrightSide leverages connections between communities in three ways. First, the delivery team consists of neighborhood youth paired with St. Thomas students. The youth conduct all of the business exchanges with stores, and have established BrightSide’s reputation as an internal community project. The St. Thomas students provide the logistical support to allow the young entrepreneurs to thrive. Second, the leftover produce from each distribution run is sold as "Community Supported Agriculture"-type shares to a Buyers’ Club consisting of St. Thomas faculty, staff, students, and neighbors. The funds from the Buyers’ Club sales help cover program costs. Third, data and stories from the business are incorporated into over a dozen St. Thomas academic programs. The program has run every week since June 2014 without grant funding. It was a finalist for the 2015 Big Idea Award at the Aspen Ideas Festival. A social franchise has also started out of San Diego State ("BrightSide San Diego").

BrightSide Farm Stands are "pop-up" sidewalk stands at corner stores in lower income neighborhoods. This nationally unique model pairs university students partner with local youth to staff stands. Excess produce from stands is sold to "neighborhood pods" in more affluent communities. Produce is a mix of wholesale fruits and vegetables and locally grown selections (that come from partner farms or campus gardens). This project has resulted in regional presentations and a publication to be submitted in Spring 2018.

The University of St. Thomas has had several events and speaker series that have incorporated sustainability. Several examples include:

Dr. Paliza Shrestha, University of St. Thomas, "Water quality performance and greenhouse gas flux dynamics from urban stormwater bioretention systems." April 13, 2018

Dr. Howie Scher, University of South Carolina, 2017-18 Ocean Discovery Lecturer, “Chasing Ice Through Space and Time.” March 20, 2018.

Paul Putzier, Hydrogeologist, MInnesota Department of Natural Resources, “Science, Politics, & Psychology: How do we form opinions about complex scientific problems?” March 13, 2018.

The Geology and Environmental Science career series included a session on graduate school in environmental science featuring alumnus Brandon Paulson who discussed his master's degree research.

Dr. Jessica Hellman, University of Minnesota, "Can We Save Biodiversity From Climate Change?" Biology Seminar, May 5, 2017.

Michael Noble, Executive Director of Fresh Energy, "Pathways to a Sustainable Future," April 12, 2017.

The Outdoor Explorers Living Learning Community incorporates coursework and several day-long or partial day trips to explore natural areas around the Twin Cities.

Students in the Sustainability Living Learning Community take ENVR 151: Environmental Challenges and Sustainable Solutions, which fulfills the Social Analysis requirement in the core curriculum, is a required course for the new Sustainability minor, and meets requirements toward the Environmental Studies major. In addition, students will receive priority placement in the THEO 101 spring course focused on sustainability from a theological lens.  Through the ENVR 151 course, students engage in activities to understand the complexity of key environmental themes and explore sustainable solutions. The course employs case studies, computer mapping exercises, community partners, and some field work to actively examine important environmental issues facing humanity today.  

Outside the classroom students live with other first-year students interested in both environmental and social well-being. The resident assistant assists in connecting with other students with similar interests and coordinates activities and programs for the community. Additionally, students enjoy social activities throughout the Twin Cities with classmates and faculty.

St. Thomas has sustainability-themed housing where residents learn about sustainability together. This is in the form of two living-learning communities (LLCs), Sustainability LLC and Outdoor Explorers LLC, that foster a connection to nature through day-long or partial day outdoor trips in the Twin Cities area as well as extended off-campus outings to natural areas (great plains habitat as well as forest/lake country) to engage in sustainability-related course and research activities and explore sustainability-related careers. Through these LLCs students also engage with community partners on projects and volunteer events that promote both environmental and social well-being. These LLCs also provide intensive advisement from sustainability faculty, social support through dedicated resident assistants with sustainability backgrounds who provide relevant programming, an extended orientation during which students become familiar with local sustainable resources (solar-powered ice cream shop, local foods restaurants, bike transportation for outings) and various sustainable social opportunities (e.g., group dining with slow food restaurant entrepreneurs).