Warren Wilson College
EN-4: Outreach Materials and Publications

The College's features Sustainability on its main website landing page. From there, users may link to the Sustainability page, the Environmental Studies department, The Green Walkabout©, and the Green Living Guide. Sustainability is woven into the fabric of Warren Wilson. It is grounded in our rich history of place and purpose, embedded by generations of community members who have modeled our fundamental commitment to connect values to action. The practice of sustainability flows from the College mission, which serves as our compass for responsible citizenship, and from our unique liberal arts model of engaged learning.

The Natural Science Undergraduate Research Sequence website publishes and disseminates student research focused on natural science, many of which focus on issues related to sustainability. The college also publishes Auspex, an interdisciplinary journal of undergraduate research.

The Green Walkabout Signage includes signs for all green buildings. Below is the link to the LEED EB Platinum EcoDorm for example.

There is a great deal of sustainable food promotion as the College has begun enactment of the Sustainable Food Policy that strives to get 50% of campus food from sustainable sources. The policy looks at locality, type of growing such as organic or biodynamic, social justice, etc. Below is the link to the signage about the campus garden that grows 20% of the produce served in the cafeteria. The College Farm also has signage and provides 90% of the beef and pork provided in the cafeteria. Sodexo, our campus dining provider, provides signage in the cafeteria that directs students to WWC grown food and to locally grown food (within 100 miles of campus). The Local Foods Crew and the Campus Sustainability Crew have begun planning for a 'Sustainable Food Score Card' that would be used in the cafeteria to rate the environmental and social integrity of foos served on a scale of 1 to 100.

Grounds on campus are managed sustainably. Our turf playing fields are managed organically, our lawns are transitioning into native grass and wildflower habitats (we onnly have 8 acres of mowed turf grass remaining on campus, 5 acres of which are our soccer fields), permaculture plantings are plentiful as are edible and medicinal varieties. The Green Walkabout Landscaping Sign highlights these efforts.

The Green Walkabout©- an experiential sustainability education program – introduces participants to the best practices for green buildings, waste management, landscaping, stormwater, land use, and agriculture found on the campus of Warren Wilson College; and examines the interconnected relationships between these practices and the environmental, social and economic impacts they create. The Green Walkabout© employs the sustainable practices of Warren Wilson College as teaching tools to educate participants about positive benefits that result when intentional consideration of short term and long term environmental, social and economic impacts drive choices about the built environment, land and water resources, and food systems. The Green Walkabout© demonstrates how sustainable alternatives can balance human and ecosystem needs. Participants begin the 2-4 hour tour at the College’s LEED-Gold or EB- Platinum certified buildings. From there, participants visit the College’s sustainable farm, organically managed garden, timber operation, and acclaimed recycling center. This tour immerses participants in practical solutions to pressing challenges, and encourages participants to become sustainability advocates in their communities. On The Green Walkabout© participants see, hear, and smell best practices on the campus of a nationally recognized “living laboratory of sustainability.” The primary learning objectives of The Green Walkabout© follow: to demonstrate how a shift to long-term decision making, that calculates triple bottom line impacts before taking action for the built environment, food systems, land use, and waste management will reduce emissions, improve quality of life, and foster just and resilient communities; to introduce examples of best practices easily replicable in one’s home, business or institution; to encourage identification of participant’s manageable point of entry –switching to CFL’s or improving insulation - so upon return to home or business, participants adopt small steps that engage them in conscious shift in decision making with practices that reap noticeable benefits.

The Green Living Guide highlights the three alternatives: Asheville City bus service, the Hitching Post, and Zimride e-rideshare and carpool board. These options are regularly promoted by the Environmental Leadership Center and are highlighted on the Colleges 'inside' webpage.

The Green Living guide is an in-depth resource for sustainable living on campus.

The Echo, the WWC student newspaper, highlights sustainability-related issues in each bi-weekly printing. Example linked below:

Owl and Spade is the College's alumni magazine and always features stories that highlight the College's mission-centered commitments to environmental responsibility and social justice.