Wartburg College
ER-2: Student Sustainability Outreach Campaign

Recyclemania: We participate in the national Recyclemania competition coordinated annually through CURC and Keep America Beautiful. We have engaged students through a residence hall competition to increase excitement, but also engaged and measured the entire campus body. Promotional events included Student Senate promotions, staff meeting presentations, engagement of office coordinators, Res Life promotions, Student Center events, and Mount Trashmore! Be Green Certification: Be Green Certification began during the course of the Fall 2011 semester. To increase awareness the campaign began as a residential hall competition, in which the hall with the largest number of students certified by a certain date would receive a prize. The purpose of the Be Green Certification process is to increase students’ desire to live in a more sustainable manner. Anyone that wants to participate in Be Green Certification is asked to complete an application and sign a sustainability pledge. There are four levels of achievement that allow individuals to consider their impact on the Earth’s resources in various ways. Part of the process involves completing worksheets to determine things such as one’s personal level of water and energy usage. The further one goes in the certification process the greater opportunity there is for personal reflection. Campus Sustainability Days: Since Wartburg started hosting Campus Sustainability Day (CSD) the event has grown. The most recent event included several events to engage students in sustainable living choices, movie showing, speaking event, and Mt. Trashmore display.

Recyclemania: The effects of our Recyclemania participation were not apparent until after the completion of the first year. We won the target materials - paper category, which was amazing! As the year progressed students and campus leadership began asking when the next competition would be. We have seen increasing recycling since our competition. Be Green Certification: Since it's creation 78 campus members have taken the time to grow in their sustainable living skills and learn more about how to live a sustainable life. We were extremely happy with this participation. We are starting to see professors give assignments based on our worksheets, which is increasing awareness and participation. Campus Sustainability Days: Each year the events reach a wide area of campus and increase awareness and conversation.

http://www.wartburg.edu/sustainability/cert.html Twitter and Facebook is the primary way we promote and communicate events.