| Overall Rating | Silver - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 49.23 |
| Liaison | Maria Dahmus |
| Submission Date | June 21, 2018 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
University of St. Thomas
EN-4: Outreach Materials and Publications
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
2.00 / 2.00 |
Elise
Amel Faculty Fellow Office of Sustainability Initiatives |
Does the institution have a central sustainability website that consolidates information about the institution's sustainability efforts?:
A brief description of the central sustainability website (optional):
The Sustainability at St. Thomas website provides information about campus sustainability efforts. The Office of Sustainability Initiatives maintains a website about the curricular sustainability efforts at St. Thomas (www.stthomas.edu/osi). Both sites link to each other.
The website URL for the central sustainability website:
Does the institution have a sustainability newsletter?:
A brief description of the sustainability newsletter:
The Office of Sustainability Initiatives published an annual online newsletter about curricular sustainability efforts.
The website URL for the sustainability newsletter:
Does the institution have social media platforms (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, interactive blogs) that focus specifically on campus sustainability?:
A brief description of the social media platforms that focus on sustainability:
The Office of Sustainability Initiatives has Twitter, Facebook, and Sustainable Communities Partnership project blogs that share information about curricular sustainability initiatives.
The website URL of the primary social media platform focused on sustainability:
Does the institution have regular coverage of sustainability in the main student newspaper, either through a regular column or a reporter assigned to the sustainability beat?:
A brief description of the regular coverage of sustainability in the main student newspaper:
The website URL for regular coverage of sustainability in the main student newspaper:
Does the institution produce a vehicle to publish and disseminate student research on sustainability?:
A brief description of the vehicle to publish and disseminate student research on sustainability:
Twice a year, the University of St. Thomas hosts "Inquiry at UST" poster sessions where students showcase research they have conducted in collaboration with faculty members. The university publishes a document that compiles the abstracts for the projects featured at each session. The document includes a "Green Research at UST" badge, sponsored by the Office of Sustainability Initiatives. The badge identifies research projects that exemplify St. Thomas' strategic priority:
"To effectively engage students in advancing the common good, we will build upon our strengths in ethics, sustainability, social justice, service learning, globalization and social entrepreneurship with diverse local and global communities. Specifically, St.Thomas will cultivate an ethic of the care for God’s creation through curricular and cocurricular activities aimed at environmental stewardship and sustainability."
Since Spring 2015, 84 student projects have been tagged as "Green Research at UST." Badges are displayed in abstract booklet, on a large screen projection during the Inquiry at UST event, on the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) website and on the research posters.
The website URL for the vehicle to publish and disseminate student research on sustainability:
Does the institution have building signage that highlights green building features?:
A brief description of building signage that highlights green building features :
The Anderson Student Center has a screen that displays electricity production data for the solar panels that are installed on the roof of the building.
The website URL for building signage that highlights green building features :
Does the institution have signage and/or brochures that include information about sustainable food systems?:
A brief description of the signage and/or brochures that include information about sustainable food systems:
Dining Services displays a sign whenever an item has been made with ingredients from the St. Thomas Stewardship Garden.
The website URL for food service area signage and/or brochures that include information about sustainable food systems:
Does the institution have signage on the grounds about sustainable groundskeeping and/or landscaping strategies employed?:
A brief description of the signage on the grounds about sustainable groundskeeping and/or landscaping strategies employed:
The Pollinator Path at the University of St Thomas consists of a series of garden beds and planters that have been designated as “sites” because they have plantings that illuminate a particular lesson about the relationship between ornamental plants and pollinators. There are 13 sites across campus, and each site has a sign that highlights up to three plants featured in that site. In addition, there are three introductory signs with boxes containing flyers with a map of the sites. Pollinator Path visitors can learn from these signs which plants they might want to use in their own gardens in order to attract pollinators, and conversely, which flowers they might want to avoid, as they do not provide forage for pollinators. At a very basic level, the Pollinator Path teaches users to focus on the presence or absence of bees and butterflies. Most people view flowerbeds and planters from an aesthetic point of view. The Pollinator Path aims to get people to notice not just the beauty of the flowers but whether or not those flowers are host to pollinators and to begin to value plants for their value to this intriguing population of bees, butterflies, moths, flies and beetles.
The signs also have a set of icons that are either grayed out or in green to show which types of pollinators are attracted to the flowers at this particular site: bumble and other native bees, honey bees, butterflies, moths, syrphid flies, and beetles. The sites with higher floral diversity and more Minnesota native plants have all of the icons in green, whereas a bed of daylilies has them all grayed out – showing that this ubiquitous garden plant does not provide pollen or nectar to pollinators. The signs also feature a “Path Fact” along the bottom – an easily grasped fact about pollinators, accompanied by a custom graphic illustrating that fact. These facts focus on the issues pertaining to the decline in bee populations, and information about bee habitat and habits, both for honey bees and Minnesota native bees. Path visitors are directed to the Pollinator Path website should they want more in depth information about pollinators and flowers. The website provides a summary of the issues and links to organizations and publications with more in depth information.
The website URL for the signage on the grounds about sustainable groundskeeping and/or landscaping strategies employed:
Does the institution produce a sustainability walking map or tour?:
A brief description of the sustainability walking map or tour:
While the university does not have a comprehensive sustainability walking map, the university produced a walking map for the pollinator path sites on campus.
The website URL of the sustainability walking map or tour:
Does the institution produce a guide for commuters about how to use more sustainable methods of transportation?:
A brief description of the guide for commuters about how to use more sustainable methods of transportation:
The university's off-campus student services website provides information to commuters about reaching campus by bus, rail, car, biking and walking.
The website URL for the guide for commuters about how to use more sustainable methods of transportation:
Does the institution produce navigation and educational tools for bicyclists and pedestrians (e.g. covering routes, inter-modal connections, policies, services, and safety)? :
A brief description of the navigation and educational tools for bicyclists and pedestrians:
The university's department of public safety maintains a website with information about bike safety, tips to prevent bike theft, and bike registration.
The website URL for navigation and educational tools for bicyclists and pedestrians:
Does the institution produce a guide for green living and/or incorporating sustainability into the residential experience?:
A brief description of the guide for green living and incorporating sustainability into the residential experience:
Residence Life at St. Thomas incorporates information about sustainability into the welcome materials for new students living on campus, a webpage with information about sustainability in residence halls, and the Sustainability Living Learning Community - sustainability-themed housing where residents learn about sustainability together.
The website URL for the guide for green living and incorporating sustainability into the residential experience:
Does the institution produce other sustainability outreach materials or publications not covered above?:
A brief description of these materials or publications:
The website URL for these materials or publications:
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.