UWW SUSTAINABILITY AND USING THE CAMPUS AS A LIVING LABORATORY Wesley Enterline Josh Mabie

SUSTAINABILITY PROGRAM/STARS BACKGROUND Started with becoming a signatory of ACUPCC – 2007 Sustainability Coordinator hired July 2007 Sustainability Fellow started 2009, Josh Mabie since 2013 Initiatives have focused on Co-Curricular (Engagement) and Operations Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Education – Sustainability Tracking and Rating System (AASHE STARS) assessment completed April 22, 2015 Visit for details on program and link to STARS reporthttp://

SCORING AND DATA COLLECTION Data collection for each area  Academics categories primarily relied on faculty input from surveys to measure curriculum and research  Engagement categories primarily relied on program descriptions  Operations categories primarily relied on facilities data and policies  Planning and Administration was mostly data collection from other campus departments Room for improvement relative to other UW System Schools Data collection procedures also need improvement and consistency (more than every three years)

LEAP INTEGRATION – CAMPUS AS A LIVING LABORATORY Sustainability overlaps well with ELOs  Knowledge of Human Cultures and Physical/Natural World – Sustainability studies society/nature relationship  Intellectual and Practical Skills – Complex solutions to relevant 21 st century challenges  Personal and Social Responsibility – Sustainable choices minimize negative impact on resources and disadvantaged  Integrative and Applied Learning – Focus on campus data and projects for direct experiences and impacts Sustainability is an avenue to implement High- Impact Practices on campus  Students can design audits, data collection/analysis, and reporting  Research projects on campus operations and service projects can increase involvement  Presentations and tours with research guidance could lead to actual projects implemented on campus  Potential for more LEAP projects (Bike Share)

PAST PARTNERSHIPS AND SUCCESS STORIES Faculty Partners  Marketing 400 – Students all do research projects focused on sustainable products or technologies  Tours and Presentations for Geography/Geology, English, Marketing, Env. Health & Safety, Biology, Sociology, L.C.s and more  A wide variety of student research project consultations Community Partners  Service Learning – Class was started to engage students in campus garden; focus on Growing Power  Campus garden also partners with Whitewater Food Pantry, Whitewater City Market, Working for Whitewater’s Wellness (W3), LINCS School Garden, and many more Volunteer Programs  Students are engaged in Upham greenhouse, campus garden, Nature Preserve seed collection and cleanup, Whitewater Creek monitoring and cleanup  Exploring new partnerships with other organizations too

AREAS OF OPPORTUNITY FROM STARS Academics  Improve reporting process to create a better inventory: Faculty curriculum and research; student projects that use campus as a living laboratory  Designated open access repository for faculty/staff research  Encourage new sustainability integrations in learning outcomes (how it overlaps with LEAP)  Graduate program dedicated to sustainability  Sustainability literacy assessment given to freshman and seniors  Incentives for faculty to develop courses (Savanna Project)  Increased student support for research (Sustainability Fund) Engagement  More integration with student orientation – train the Hawk Squad, more prominent in programming  More direct outreach to employees; increase professional development – Green Office Certification, recycling training, peer to peer sustainability educators among staff  More meaningful ongoing relationship with Continuing Education – started sustainability tour series  Increased community service opportunities and better reporting

AREAS OF OPPORTUNITY FROM STARS Operations  Increasing size and population hurts in Air & Climate, Energy, Waste, and Water  Building operations and maintenance policies could improve  Dining suffered from lack of data  Habitat assessments could help Grounds  Purchasing policy and practice improvements in all areas  Transportation survey to assess commuter habits Planning and Administration  Coordination, Planning, & Governance – Sustainability Plan  Health, Well-Being, & Work – hurt most by Act 10 changes  Investment – lack of data