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Articles 1 - 15 of 15
Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Sustainability Service Learning At St. Johnsbury Academy, James Bentley
Sustainability Service Learning At St. Johnsbury Academy, James Bentley
NECSC Conference 2015
St. Johnsbury Academy is an independent boarding and day school of 950 students located in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont. We have created an innovative and effective service learning system involving environmental stewardship in our region. Stewardship Days at St. Johnsbury Academy happen twice a year, in December and May. On the December Stewardship Day, the school hosts a conference in which groups of sophomores rotate through stations hosted by reps from local environmental organizations, non-profits, and state agencies, who pitch local environmental projects to the student groups. Students then design projects and execute them on the second Stewardship Day, …
Collectively Developing A Framework For Sustainability External Reviews, Janet Williams
Collectively Developing A Framework For Sustainability External Reviews, Janet Williams
NECSC Conference 2015
As campus sustainability programs have developed and grown over the past decade, with some programs approaching relative maturity, we begin to ask an important question: how can these programs be objectively evaluated? This question was recently raised among NECSC members, and the response shows a high level of interest in and enthusiasm for the idea of an objective, external review process. An adaptable assessment process would provide a basis for programs to highlight successes, identify areas for improvement, and help to prioritize program initiatives and projects. Having a relatively standardized process for conducting the review would provide consistency and help …
The Umass Amherst Sustainability External Review Process, Ezra Small
The Umass Amherst Sustainability External Review Process, Ezra Small
NECSC Conference 2015
As campus sustainability programs have developed and grown over the past decade, with some programs approaching relative maturity, we begin to ask an important question: how can these programs be objectively evaluated? This question was recently raised among NECSC members, and the response shows a high level of interest in and enthusiasm for the idea of an objective, external review process. An adaptable assessment process would provide a basis for programs to highlight successes, identify areas for improvement, and help to prioritize program initiatives and projects. Having a relatively standardized process for conducting the review would provide consistency and help …
Collaborating With Your Communications/Marketing Office, Alex Davis
Collaborating With Your Communications/Marketing Office, Alex Davis
NECSC Conference 2015
Explore how to elevate your program’s communication strategy by developing a strong relationship with your institution’s marketing office. During this session we will cover how the relationship between the Sustainability Office and Marketing Office could be strengthened by:
-The Sustainability Office investing in the relationship, understanding the institution’s marketing goals, and learning the institution’s brand and design standards.
-The Marketing Office educating about resources and services they offer to internal departments, integrating sustainability into each marketing channel, and working to understand the Sustainability Office’s goals.
-Both Offices finding shared goals and focusing on the overall communications goals of the institution.
Penn State Sustainability Institute, Denice Wardrop
Penn State Sustainability Institute, Denice Wardrop
NECSC Conference 2015
Penn State's Sustainability Institute Director Denice Wardrop's keynote address.
The Western Ma Food Processing Center, Nicholette Lustig
The Western Ma Food Processing Center, Nicholette Lustig
NECSC Conference 2015
The Pioneer Valley Vegetable Venture is a project of the Franklin County Community Development Corporation focused on creating a link between local farms and schools by utilizing food processing techniques to extend the season. Learn how we are freezing foods, helping to grow farm businesses in the Pioneer Valley and supplying locally grown vegetables to schools in the winter.
The Clark University Community Thrift Store, Monica Phung
The Clark University Community Thrift Store, Monica Phung
NECSC Conference 2015
The Clark Community Thrift Store is a student-run non-profit business that helps cut down on over-consumption and waste and provides inexpensive college essentials, house wares, furniture, and gently used clothing to the Clark community and the surrounding area. The Community Thrift Store has a mission of providing sustainable and affordable items to the community. Our session will workshop the process of opening a sustainable campus thrift store, and allow for an open conversation about what it means to run a sustainable business. The session will be built around the audience, and will be led by what they are interested in …
Changing The Rules: How To Get Your Green Job, Eban Goodstein
Changing The Rules: How To Get Your Green Job, Eban Goodstein
NECSC Conference 2015
The planet needs saving, and you need a job. What is your first step? Eban Goodstein, Director of the Bard Center for Environmental Policy, will discuss getting started in a green career, and discuss the “C2C Strategy” to finding the sustainability work you want, in the town where you want to live. Working in small groups, teams work through the strategy process. Each student will head home with a plan to land a job or summer internship, and lay the foundation for a career saving the planet.
Participants will be introduced to career tracks in sustainability and fundamental skills for …
The Student-Led Zero Waste Movement, Alex Freid
The Student-Led Zero Waste Movement, Alex Freid
NECSC Conference 2015
In this workshop, we have participants envision what a zero waste campus would look like. We break the room into groups and give them a limited amount of time to draw or map out how they would prevent specific forms of waste from entering campus, how they would control the collection, logistics, and flow of waste through campus, and how they would manage the process of removing waste (if any) from campus.
If time allows, we also tack on an additional step of designing innovative ideas for how students can cut down on the amount of waste produced within a …
Upenn Green Living Certification, Bailey Rowland, Julian Goresko, Daniel Garofalo
Upenn Green Living Certification, Bailey Rowland, Julian Goresko, Daniel Garofalo
NECSC Conference 2015
In 2013, the University of Pennsylvania launched a new sustainability certification for on-campus residents called “Green Living.” The program offers students the opportunity to receive a certification and earn rewards for making choices that reduce their environmental footprint and contribute to Penn’s Climate Action Plan goals. In order to become certified, students are asked to fill out an online survey about their habits, which gives them a gold, silver, or bronze score based on their responses. The point values assigned to each of the habits in the survey vary, similar to USGBC’s LEED certification for buildings. The certification includes actions …
Innovative Procurement Models For Renewable Electricity, Anthony Amato
Innovative Procurement Models For Renewable Electricity, Anthony Amato
NECSC Conference 2015
Colleges and universities are committing to aggressive emission reduction goals as part of their efforts to reduce their carbon footprints and meet their commitments under the ACUPCC. Electricity use commonly accounts for 40 percent of a higher education institution’s emissions, and as such the purchase of renewable electricity is a common and effective means of reducing indirect (scope 2) emissions and achieving sustainability goals. To date, the vast majority of college and universities purchasing renewable electricity have been through short-term contracts (1 – 3 years) for utility products or renewable energy certificates (RECs). Only recently have a few leading institutions …
Scaling Up Local Food Sourcing: A Mulit-Campus Farm To College Pilot, Mary Ellen Mallia
Scaling Up Local Food Sourcing: A Mulit-Campus Farm To College Pilot, Mary Ellen Mallia
NECSC Conference 2015
Starting with the commitments from 12 State University of New York (SUNY) campuses to purchase tomato sauce ahead of the growing season, “SUNY Commits to Agriculture” launched a pilot to leverage its large and predictable buying power to boost the NYS agricultural infrastructure. This initiative led to a funding opportunity through a specialty crop block grant from U.S. Department of Agriculture, that involves four state colleges working with the Farm To Institution New York State (FINYS) to create a Farm to College pilot program. This involves a statewide partnership of agricultural, public health and economic development interests who are working …
Your Future In The Anthropocene, Hunter Lovins
Your Future In The Anthropocene, Hunter Lovins
NECSC Conference 2015
Hunter Lovins keynote address presentation
Finance 101 For Sustainability Officers, Janna Cohen-Rosenthal
Finance 101 For Sustainability Officers, Janna Cohen-Rosenthal
NECSC Conference 2015
No abstract provided.
Beyond Offsets: Innovative Approaches To Achieving And Exceeding Our Climate Commitments, Laura Drauker, Greg Norris, Daniel Greenberg
Beyond Offsets: Innovative Approaches To Achieving And Exceeding Our Climate Commitments, Laura Drauker, Greg Norris, Daniel Greenberg
NECSC Conference 2015
Climate change is a defining issue of our time, and colleges and university are leading the way by setting ambitious greenhouse gas reduction targets. Many of us are even striving for carbon neutrality under the President’s Climate Commitment. To meet these targets we take measures to reduce our footprints, or do “less bad”. In this situation, we often reach a point where no more reductions are possible, and to meet our targets we need to consider purchasing offsets or renewable energy credits. But instead of spending money in these abstract ways that leave very little room for student interaction, could …