At this meeting, two of the four groups of faculty reported back on their conversations about how they cover climate changes in their courses. Our courses vary in whether they emphasize climate issues or instead cover topics that are related to climate.
Matt, Brian, and Chris emphasized how they were addressing the same problem on different levels and scales, consistent with their disciplinary emphases of hydrology, politics/policy, and literature/language/culture.
Dawn, Elaine, and Alan discussed the possible intersections between their courses, particularly in relation to active learning with community groups. Alan’s courses focus on measurement of nature in urban context, Dawn’s courses focus on environmental justice and community-engaged projects, and Elaine’s first-year seminar on happiness includes service-learning. One challenge with active learning is how to increase continuity with community groups over more than one semester.
This was followed by a discussion of transportation justice in the region, and how this connects to UMBC’s transportation practices. Also discussed were the related topics of class scheduling and whether staff are eligible for flex time.
The web site on “Global Weirding” by Katherine Hayhoe was recommended:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi6RkdaEqgRVKi3AzidF4ow\ or
http://www.pbs.org/show/global-weirding/
At our next meeting, the other two groups will report back on their conversations about their courses.
Re that meeting, here’s the first action item. After the FLC meeting, Matt and Roy attended a meeting at the Faculty Development Center with other FLC facilitators. We were asked to query you about the food they provide for us, in hopes of minimizing food waste. Please let Matt know if you still want fruit provided, along with the coffee and tea.
At our 10/2 FLC meeting, we also discussed the ongoing process of revising UMBC’s Climate Action Plan, which has a target date for (a draft?) in mid-May. Roy, Matt, Dawn, Jason, and Chris attended steering committee and/or public fora on 9/25. Tanvi’s home page on this effort is at: http://sustainability.umbc.edu/energy-climate/.
At our next meeting, on 10/30, Deborah Howard, the coordinator of the Climate Action Plan, will visit our next meeting. We will spend part of that meeting discussing some options for inclusion into the Climate Action Plan. This brings us to the second action item. We’d like you to generate lists of options that particularly interest you, and to email these options to Roy and Matt by 10/27. We will compile them for the 10/30 meeting. At that meeting, we can talk about how we can conduct research and discussions on the options that seem particularly promising.
Some of these options we already know--e.g., at our 9/11 meeting, we identified three:
the desirability of generating a broader network of involved faculty interested in the focal topics as we proceed over the year;
considering over this academic year the potential of developing a large intro course on the topic; and
creating a seminar speakers program, perhaps structured as debates on important climate issues where there are justified uncertainties.
For your information, below are two lists of options generated elsewhere. The first group is from a review of selected other university’s climate action plans:
Certificate in sustainability Sustainability research center Sustainability education requirement First Year Seminar on climate changeInitiate student competitions around sustainability Support student-led sustainability initiativesIntegrate sustainability into the curriculum in more classes and departments Create and implement a ‘themed year’ around a sustainability topic Increase sustainability-related communication Create an environmental/sustainability living-learning community Create an environmental/sustainability first year experience course
The second group of options were suggested by attendees at the 9/25 public fora, edited somewhat for relevance:
More fun activities for those not knee deep in sustainability
Start a community garden
Provide more initiatives in res hall to reduce energy and waste
Have art department create exhibit with campus waste
Make sure departments contact Food Recovery Network when they have excess food at events
Make sustainability events bigger
Collaborate with Patapsco State Park
Extend education and research to cocurricular events
Have sustainability projects get credits for GenEd requirements
Create environmental engineering major
Include leadership component in sustainability courses
More environmental documentaries
Use e-books
Matt, Brian, and Chris emphasized how they were addressing the same problem on different levels and scales, consistent with their disciplinary emphases of hydrology, politics/policy, and literature/language/culture.
Dawn, Elaine, and Alan discussed the possible intersections between their courses, particularly in relation to active learning with community groups. Alan’s courses focus on measurement of nature in urban context, Dawn’s courses focus on environmental justice and community-engaged projects, and Elaine’s first-year seminar on happiness includes service-learning. One challenge with active learning is how to increase continuity with community groups over more than one semester.
This was followed by a discussion of transportation justice in the region, and how this connects to UMBC’s transportation practices. Also discussed were the related topics of class scheduling and whether staff are eligible for flex time.
The web site on “Global Weirding” by Katherine Hayhoe was recommended:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi6RkdaEqgRVKi3AzidF4ow\ or
http://www.pbs.org/show/global-weirding/
At our next meeting, the other two groups will report back on their conversations about their courses.
Re that meeting, here’s the first action item. After the FLC meeting, Matt and Roy attended a meeting at the Faculty Development Center with other FLC facilitators. We were asked to query you about the food they provide for us, in hopes of minimizing food waste. Please let Matt know if you still want fruit provided, along with the coffee and tea.
At our 10/2 FLC meeting, we also discussed the ongoing process of revising UMBC’s Climate Action Plan, which has a target date for (a draft?) in mid-May. Roy, Matt, Dawn, Jason, and Chris attended steering committee and/or public fora on 9/25. Tanvi’s home page on this effort is at: http://sustainability.umbc.edu/energy-climate/.
At our next meeting, on 10/30, Deborah Howard, the coordinator of the Climate Action Plan, will visit our next meeting. We will spend part of that meeting discussing some options for inclusion into the Climate Action Plan. This brings us to the second action item. We’d like you to generate lists of options that particularly interest you, and to email these options to Roy and Matt by 10/27. We will compile them for the 10/30 meeting. At that meeting, we can talk about how we can conduct research and discussions on the options that seem particularly promising.
Some of these options we already know--e.g., at our 9/11 meeting, we identified three:
the desirability of generating a broader network of involved faculty interested in the focal topics as we proceed over the year;
considering over this academic year the potential of developing a large intro course on the topic; and
creating a seminar speakers program, perhaps structured as debates on important climate issues where there are justified uncertainties.
For your information, below are two lists of options generated elsewhere. The first group is from a review of selected other university’s climate action plans:
Certificate in sustainability Sustainability research center Sustainability education requirement First Year Seminar on climate changeInitiate student competitions around sustainability Support student-led sustainability initiativesIntegrate sustainability into the curriculum in more classes and departments Create and implement a ‘themed year’ around a sustainability topic Increase sustainability-related communication Create an environmental/sustainability living-learning community Create an environmental/sustainability first year experience course
The second group of options were suggested by attendees at the 9/25 public fora, edited somewhat for relevance:
More fun activities for those not knee deep in sustainability
Start a community garden
Provide more initiatives in res hall to reduce energy and waste
Have art department create exhibit with campus waste
Make sure departments contact Food Recovery Network when they have excess food at events
Make sustainability events bigger
Collaborate with Patapsco State Park
Extend education and research to cocurricular events
Have sustainability projects get credits for GenEd requirements
Create environmental engineering major
Include leadership component in sustainability courses
More environmental documentaries
Use e-books