This article is authored by Sarah Wald, an Assistant Professor of English and Environmental Studies & Sustainability at Drew University. Photo courtesy of Lynne DeLade.

In spring 2011, I taught Drew University’s first senior capstone course in our new Environmental Studies and Sustainability (ESS) major. Six graduating seniors with majors or minors in ESS ran Drew through STARS. At the end of the semester, the students organized a Sustainability Forum where they presented the results of the STARS survey, including Drew’s strengths and weaknesses, and provided their recommendations for making Drew University a more sustainable institution.

Having students complete STARS advanced its effectiveness as an outreach and advocacy tool. The report received more attention than it would have otherwise. Both the student newspaper and the Drew University website covered the forum. Drew University President Robert Weisbuch introduced the forum and the University Sustainability Committee, which promoted the event, considered the students’ recommendations during their next meeting. The event itself was well-attended by students, faculty, and staff.

Pedagogically, STARS was also invaluable. The students learned to work (and to write) collaboratively. Professionalization occurred as students contacted and then worked directly with staff to find the information they needed. This was a project that required students to take initiative. Moreover, students applied the knowledge they gained in previous courses as they decided whether or not Drew met the criteria for each credit and debated how important that credit was to Drew’s overall sustainability goals. Students consistently distinguished between institutional changes that would increase Drew’s STARS rating and the changes students felt were most essential to the University’s sustainability.

In terms of the class structure, the first several weeks we read widely about sustainability and students worked collaboratively to develop their own definition of sustainability. During the bulk of the semester, students set up meetings with staff, read available university documents, and utilized resources on the AASHE website to complete STARS. Following the Sustainability Forum, the students wrote to AASHE assessing STARS as a sustainability ratings system.

We wrote the report section by section (Education & Research, Operations, Planning, Assessment & Engagement). Based on AASHE’s recommendation, we started the curriculum assessment early. Gathering the appropriate faculty together to agree on a definition of sustainability-focused and sustainability-related courses was time-consuming as was soliciting faculty responses to the on-line survey the students composed. In the Operations Section, students divided credits based on which faculty or staff member needed to be contacted (to avoid six students contacting the same staff person). In the Planning, Assessment, and Engagement section we decided it made the most sense to divide the work by sections such as Investment or Public Engagement. Ideally, we will use STARS as a capstone project again in three years, when the students who attended the Sustainability Forum as first year students can assess the progress we’ve made during their tenure at the University.

I learned several lessons from incorporating STARS into our ESS capstone classes.
1) Beginning with articles and book chapters about sustainability and then reading about different sustainability ratings systems provided an intellectual framework for the class to which we consistently returned. Discussing an environmental justice approach to sustainability helped students understand why sections like Diversity and Human Resources were important to STARS.
2) Start with the Education and Research section. While it was not more work than the other sections, we needed a longer period of time to complete the tasks.
3) Work with your sustainability coordinator. Our sustainability coordinator was invaluable in helping us identify who at the University would have the data we needed.
4) Value staff time and discuss with students the need to be respectful of staff’s busy schedules and gracious for their assistance.
5) Make the pedagogical goals of the project clear. We started the class with the learning objectives for the capstone and returned to them throughout the class.
6) Engage students in a discussion as to how to best publicize their results and recommendations. The most exciting and effective ideas for our forum, including a raffle tied to a sustainability quiz, came from students.
7) Empower students. The class would not have been successful without the ownership students felt over the project. Because students believed they could use STARS to create institutional change and promote a cultural of sustainability at the University, they took the work they did seriously and were creative in leveraging STARS to advance campus sustainability.

As the pros and cons of a “plugged in” generation continue to be debated, another crucial component of the discussion is centred around the life-cycle of the electronics that are driving our work and play: Where do our much-coveted electronics go once we find a “smarter” phone, a faster computer, a higher definition television?

Discarded electronics–whether at the end of their life or still reusable–are termed electronic waste or e-waste. While the percent of e-waste compared to total solid waste generated may appear minimal (around 2% in the US, 1% in Canada), e-waste is on the rise, as is the amount of recyclable electronics that are not being recycled. E-waste typically contains lead and other materials that can have adverse effects on ecological and human health. A fundamental social justice issue is also present, as cities in emerging or developing countries have come to play host to developed countries’ e-waste.

In addition to the various businesses and organizations that offer rewards for donating retired electronics as well as legislation to encourage e-waste recycling (e.g. New York City, Seattle, and Montreal), higher education institutions are taking a lead in curbing e-waste as well on their campuses. Campuses participating in AASHE’s Sustainability Tracking, Assessment, and Reporting System (STARS) receive a credit for having an e-waste recycling and/or reuse program in place.

Given the increasing interest among higher ed institutions to address e-waste, AASHE has launched a new member-only resource–E-waste Programs, Policies, and Events–to serve as a tool for campuses looking to start or expand on their own e-waste recycling initiatives. While some schools like Wheaton College have day-long events, others, including Drake College, have a designated term–the summer–during which e-waste is collected. Schools such as Bard College have institutionalized policies, and still others have created comprehensive programs to collect e-waste routinely throughout the year. A few examples of schools with such programs include University of Massachusetts (Amherst), which implemented in Spring 2011 an e-waste initiative consisting of collection bins placed in all 42 residence halls on campus. Additionally, entrepreneurial students at Babson College created a program such that the Babson Energy and Environmental Club (BEEC) receives some money for each electronic they collect and donate for resale in developing markets.

Students, faculty, and administrators thus have an opportunity to significantly reduce the ecological impact of their campus by ensuring that electronics are being diverted from the landfill in conjunction with private sector initiatives and municipal policies.

Have an e-waste initiative at your campus that should be in our resource? Email resources@aashe.org with the name of the school and a link to a page or article describing the initiative.

As the pros and cons of a “plugged in” generation continue to be debated, another crucial component of the discussion is centred around the life-cycle of the electronics that are driving our work and play: Where do our much-coveted electronics go once we find a “smarter” phone, a faster computer, a higher definition television?

Discarded electronics–whether at the end of their life or still reusable–are termed electronic waste or e-waste. While the percent of e-waste compared to total solid waste generated may appear minimal (around 2% in the US, 1% in Canada), e-waste is on the rise, as is the amount of recyclable electronics that are not being recycled. E-waste typically contains lead and other materials that can have adverse effects on ecological and human health. A fundamental social justice issue is also present, as cities in emerging or developing countries have come to play host to developed countries’ e-waste.

In addition to the various businesses and organizations that offer rewards for donating retired electronics as well as legislation to encourage e-waste recycling (e.g. New York City, Seattle, and Montreal), higher education institutions are taking a lead in curbing e-waste as well on their campuses. Campuses participating in AASHE’s Sustainability Tracking, Assessment, and Reporting System (STARS) receive a credit for having an e-waste recycling and/or reuse program in place.

Given the increasing interest among higher ed institutions to address e-waste, AASHE has launched a new member-only resource–E-waste Programs, Policies, and Events–to serve as a tool for campuses looking to start or expand on their own e-waste recycling initiatives. While some schools like Wheaton College have day-long events, others, including Drake College, have a designated term–the summer–during which e-waste is collected. Schools such as Bard College have institutionalized policies, and still others have created comprehensive programs to collect e-waste routinely throughout the year. A few examples of schools with such programs include University of Massachusetts (Amherst), which implemented in Spring 2011 an e-waste initiative consisting of collection bins placed in all 42 residence halls on campus. Additionally, entrepreneurial students at Babson College created a program such that the Babson Energy and Environmental Club (BEEC) receives some money for each electronic they collect and donate for resale in developing markets.

Students, faculty, and administrators thus have an opportunity to significantly reduce the ecological impact of their campus by ensuring that electronics are being diverted from the landfill in conjunction with private sector initiatives and municipal policies.

Have an e-waste initiative at your campus that should be in our resource? Email resources@aashe.org with the name of the school and a link to a page or article describing the initiative.

This special STARS edition of the AASHE Bulletin Sustainability Student Diary series follows three students who experienced the STARS reporting process at Unity College in Maine. As part of a "STARS: Sustainability Assessment" course at the college, the students chronicled their efforts on Unity's Sustainability Monitor blog. Below are republished excerpts. AASHE welcomes questions and invites feedback on each Sustainability Student Diary entry. Submit diary entries of your own for consideration to bulletin@aashe.org.

Timothy Godaire

May 1, 2011
As a student enrolled in the STARS: AASHE’s Sustainability Tracking course, and an intern in the Sustainability office, I am on the frontline of the sustainability efforts and energy tracking taking place on campus. This work has provided me a unique opportunity to influence the procedure the college uses to track energy usage and implementation of energy conservation measures on campus. My work involved the untangling of years worth of energy data in several different formats, and organizing it all in easy to understand workbooks.

As part of my internship, I have established and institutionalized an Excel workbook to track campus utilities, BTU’s and emissions by building on campus. I have also created a data file to track these values from year to year. These two data files allow our sustainability coordinator to monitor energy usage on campus, and to understand the implications of various energy conservation measures. These efforts began in the fall of 2010, and were critically important to the STARS reporting taking place this semester.

In the STARS class, we were able to choose the credits that we wished to pursue. I immediately thought of the energy and climate credits because of my experience with energy tracking on campus. My data management work made the STARS reporting for the energy credits much easier since I had already found, sorted and organized the data. These efforts have been instrumental in the creation of institutionalized energy tracking. The STARS class is enforcing the importance of tracking the campus-wide sustainability efforts to staff, faculty and students.

Previously, energy tracking has not taken precedence over other sustainability efforts, and consequently has hindered our ability to assess building performance, building efficiency and occupant behavior and energy use. This is especially challenging when nearly every electrical meter has multiple buildings feeding into it. Our recent efforts to understand campus-wide energy use by tracking utility data is a transition to better understand our sustainability efforts and to begin to quantify those efforts.

The STARS reporting is allowing us to evaluate our efforts, and where improvements can be made. When the time comes where we can quantify the energy use per building, we will be able to implement educational, behavioral change programs. This is the “real” work of the sustainability office; to provide education to the campus community on how to live, work and act more sustainably and live an ecologically aware life. The culmination of our work in the office and with STARS is preparing us, personally and as an institution, to address the imminent global environmental and energy issues of the 21st Century.

Shayne Van Leer

April 29, 2011
Unity College is filling out AASHE’s STARS for the first time...STARS is currently being conducted by our sustainability coordinator and three Unity College students. This assessment is popular among colleges because of its comprehensive focus on sustainability. Not only does it focus on the institution’s environmental performance, it also focuses on the institution’s social performance. The college’s performance includes Operations, Planning, Administration and Engagement, and Education and Research.

With that mind, as I started collecting data and filling out the credits, I noticed that there was a trend towards an institution’s policies. By this I mean that some credits were worded as, “Does your institution have an institution-wide stated preference for…..?” My response to this is; does an institution have to have a “policy” to be sustainable?

Here at Unity College all of the paper we purchase is 100 percent recycled content, all of the cleaning products that our maintenance department uses are Green Seal certified. Unity College does not have a “stated” preference for these things but we do have a preference for these things. In reality, in both situations an institution would be equally sustainable with or without a policy. However, with STARS, Purchasing credits require a purchasing policy to receive full credit.

Yes, there is a benefit to having a written policy; a policy would bind departments to purchasing things like recycled paper and Green Seal certified cleaning products. Here at Unity College things are a little different. Sustainability is intertwined into everything we do. Working towards sustainability is ingrained into our everyday lives. From class projects to classes, from faculty and staff to entire departments, sustainability is part of our job description, culture and our way of life.

In my personal opinion I feel that Unity College would not benefit from having a formal purchasing policy because we follow an unwritten rule of purchasing 100 percent recycled paper and Green Sealed cleaning products. However, if someone wanted to take the time to write a policy it would help us receive credit on the STARS application, but would not further sustainability at Unity College.

Hannia Candelario

April 30, 2011
The Environmental Stewardship Core Curriculum is a primary component of the Unity College education. There are four courses that are distributed through the four years and they prepare Unity graduates for leadership roles in environmental issues, on levels ranging from local to global...

...What draws attention to these classes is the ability that they give students to go after what they are passionate about. As part of my work for the STARS credit report, I took a deep look at the structure and function of academics here at Unity College. I was in charge of collecting information on the Education and Research credits; as I talked to the school’s registrar, teachers and faculty about the co-curricular education credits, it struck me to find out that many schools in the nation are just starting to put together a sustainability curriculum. STARS gives a lot of credit to sustainability education and the fact that all of us at Unity are required to take these classes makes me feel that we are being trained at a deeper level to become environmental stewards. We are a community that is aware of the problems today’s societies are facing and we are being trained on how to approach them while also increasing sustainability awareness on campus.

This special STARS edition of the AASHE Bulletin Sustainability Student Diary series follows three students who experienced the STARS reporting process at Unity College in Maine. As part of a "STARS: Sustainability Assessment" course at the college, the students chronicled their efforts on Unity's Sustainability Monitor blog. Below are republished excerpts. AASHE welcomes questions and invites feedback on each Sustainability Student Diary entry. Submit diary entries of your own for consideration to bulletin@aashe.org.

Timothy Godaire

May 1, 2011
As a student enrolled in the STARS: AASHE’s Sustainability Tracking course, and an intern in the Sustainability office, I am on the frontline of the sustainability efforts and energy tracking taking place on campus. This work has provided me a unique opportunity to influence the procedure the college uses to track energy usage and implementation of energy conservation measures on campus. My work involved the untangling of years worth of energy data in several different formats, and organizing it all in easy to understand workbooks.

As part of my internship, I have established and institutionalized an Excel workbook to track campus utilities, BTU’s and emissions by building on campus. I have also created a data file to track these values from year to year. These two data files allow our sustainability coordinator to monitor energy usage on campus, and to understand the implications of various energy conservation measures. These efforts began in the fall of 2010, and were critically important to the STARS reporting taking place this semester.

In the STARS class, we were able to choose the credits that we wished to pursue. I immediately thought of the energy and climate credits because of my experience with energy tracking on campus. My data management work made the STARS reporting for the energy credits much easier since I had already found, sorted and organized the data. These efforts have been instrumental in the creation of institutionalized energy tracking. The STARS class is enforcing the importance of tracking the campus-wide sustainability efforts to staff, faculty and students.

Previously, energy tracking has not taken precedence over other sustainability efforts, and consequently has hindered our ability to assess building performance, building efficiency and occupant behavior and energy use. This is especially challenging when nearly every electrical meter has multiple buildings feeding into it. Our recent efforts to understand campus-wide energy use by tracking utility data is a transition to better understand our sustainability efforts and to begin to quantify those efforts.

The STARS reporting is allowing us to evaluate our efforts, and where improvements can be made. When the time comes where we can quantify the energy use per building, we will be able to implement educational, behavioral change programs. This is the “real” work of the sustainability office; to provide education to the campus community on how to live, work and act more sustainably and live an ecologically aware life. The culmination of our work in the office and with STARS is preparing us, personally and as an institution, to address the imminent global environmental and energy issues of the 21st Century.

Shayne Van Leer

April 29, 2011
Unity College is filling out AASHE’s STARS for the first time...STARS is currently being conducted by our sustainability coordinator and three Unity College students. This assessment is popular among colleges because of its comprehensive focus on sustainability. Not only does it focus on the institution’s environmental performance, it also focuses on the institution’s social performance. The college’s performance includes Operations, Planning, Administration and Engagement, and Education and Research.

With that mind, as I started collecting data and filling out the credits, I noticed that there was a trend towards an institution’s policies. By this I mean that some credits were worded as, “Does your institution have an institution-wide stated preference for…..?” My response to this is; does an institution have to have a “policy” to be sustainable?

Here at Unity College all of the paper we purchase is 100 percent recycled content, all of the cleaning products that our maintenance department uses are Green Seal certified. Unity College does not have a “stated” preference for these things but we do have a preference for these things. In reality, in both situations an institution would be equally sustainable with or without a policy. However, with STARS, Purchasing credits require a purchasing policy to receive full credit.

Yes, there is a benefit to having a written policy; a policy would bind departments to purchasing things like recycled paper and Green Seal certified cleaning products. Here at Unity College things are a little different. Sustainability is intertwined into everything we do. Working towards sustainability is ingrained into our everyday lives. From class projects to classes, from faculty and staff to entire departments, sustainability is part of our job description, culture and our way of life.

In my personal opinion I feel that Unity College would not benefit from having a formal purchasing policy because we follow an unwritten rule of purchasing 100 percent recycled paper and Green Sealed cleaning products. However, if someone wanted to take the time to write a policy it would help us receive credit on the STARS application, but would not further sustainability at Unity College.

Hannia Candelario

April 30, 2011
The Environmental Stewardship Core Curriculum is a primary component of the Unity College education. There are four courses that are distributed through the four years and they prepare Unity graduates for leadership roles in environmental issues, on levels ranging from local to global...

...What draws attention to these classes is the ability that they give students to go after what they are passionate about. As part of my work for the STARS credit report, I took a deep look at the structure and function of academics here at Unity College. I was in charge of collecting information on the Education and Research credits; as I talked to the school’s registrar, teachers and faculty about the co-curricular education credits, it struck me to find out that many schools in the nation are just starting to put together a sustainability curriculum. STARS gives a lot of credit to sustainability education and the fact that all of us at Unity are required to take these classes makes me feel that we are being trained at a deeper level to become environmental stewards. We are a community that is aware of the problems today’s societies are facing and we are being trained on how to approach them while also increasing sustainability awareness on campus.

Sustainability in higher education continues to be an emerging and dynamic field, and, to some, unexplored terrain. Thus, the sharing of knowledge and information is a compelling and propelling force to the higher education sustainability movement, which continues to gain momentum.

In order to emphasize and recognize the institutions that are willing to go above and beyond to not only share their successes but also the lessons they learned during the journey in spite of the end result being different of what was desired, AASHE has created the “Oops” Award for Honest Disclosure of Lessons Learned, as part of the Awards Program (which also includes awards for students, institutions, green building and faculty achievements).

Oftentimes, stories of projects that don’t go as planned can be really helpful, but campuses can be hesitant to tell such stories. The transition towards sustainability requires a willingness to try new things and inevitably this involves some mistakes. Campuses willing to go out on a limb to try something new deserve credit and recognition.

The “Oops!” Award for Honest Disclosure of Lessons Learned, recognizes the best case study of a project that did not go as planned and that offers important lessons from which others can learn. This is an opportunity for your institution to be recognized for disclosing its process for implementing a given sustainability initiative, help peer institutions avoid or prevent similar obstacles, and encourage them to be conversational about their own methods as well.

Winners of the award will receive a complimentary conference pass to AASHE 2011 where the award will be presented. In addition, the winner of this year's award will be featured in Sustainability: The Journal of Record and invited to a VIP reception during the AASHE 2011 conference

To apply, please fill out the application form found here by June 17, 2011.

If you have any questions / comments, please email Niles Barnes at niles@aashe.org.

Sustainability in higher education continues to be an emerging and dynamic field, and, to some, unexplored terrain. Thus, the sharing of knowledge and information is a compelling and propelling force to the higher education sustainability movement, which continues to gain momentum.

In order to emphasize and recognize the institutions that are willing to go above and beyond to not only share their successes but also the lessons they learned during the journey in spite of the end result being different of what was desired, AASHE has created the “Oops” Award for Honest Disclosure of Lessons Learned, as part of the Awards Program (which also includes awards for students, institutions, green building and faculty achievements).

Oftentimes, stories of projects that don’t go as planned can be really helpful, but campuses can be hesitant to tell such stories. The transition towards sustainability requires a willingness to try new things and inevitably this involves some mistakes. Campuses willing to go out on a limb to try something new deserve credit and recognition.

The “Oops!” Award for Honest Disclosure of Lessons Learned, recognizes the best case study of a project that did not go as planned and that offers important lessons from which others can learn. This is an opportunity for your institution to be recognized for disclosing its process for implementing a given sustainability initiative, help peer institutions avoid or prevent similar obstacles, and encourage them to be conversational about their own methods as well.

Winners of the award will receive a complimentary conference pass to AASHE 2011 where the award will be presented. In addition, the winner of this year's award will be featured in Sustainability: The Journal of Record and invited to a VIP reception during the AASHE 2011 conference

To apply, please fill out the application form found here by June 17, 2011.

If you have any questions / comments, please email Niles Barnes at niles@aashe.org.

In August of 2009, I wrote about the findings from the report of the American Psychological Association's (APA) task force studying the interface between psychology and global climate change. That report was in a way, a call to action for additional research and work to better understand the role of human behavior in climate change, the reasons people are not acting and ways to get people to act. The report made clear the many ways psychology as a discipline has important contributions to make in understanding climate change and helping to reverse it.

Jumping forward two years and the May/June 2011 issue of American Psychologist (APA's official journal) is a devoted special issue and follow up to that earlier report.

The special issue includes seven articles written by researchers from colleges and universities around the world, including many from the APA Task Force on the Interface Between Psychology and Global Climate Change. For campus sustainability advocates interested in research on psychology and climate change, the articles are fascinating but can also can provide important concrete lessons for improving initiatives and programs on campus. Robert Gifford's article, "The Dragons of Inaction: Psychological barriers that limit climate change mitigation and adaptation", provides what he calls "dragons of inaction" essentially a taxonomy of seven psychological barriers that limit sustainable behavior change at both an individual and organizational level.

The seven article's include:

• Psychology's contributions to understanding and addressing global climate change.

• Human behavioral contributions to climate change: Psychological and contextual drivers.

• The psychological impacts of global climate change.

• Adapting to and coping with the threat and impacts of climate change.

• The dragons of inaction: Psychological barriers that limit climate change mitigation and adaptation.

• Contributions of psychology to limiting climate change.

• Public understanding of climate change in the United States.

Abstracts to all of the articles are available for free here. If you are on a campus, your library may be able to provide access as well.

Michael Rogers, a recent graduate of urban studies at the University of Richmond, is featured in this installment of the AASHE Bulletin Sustainability Student Diary series. A culmination of almost seven months of planning, Rogers writes about his experience with the planning and approval process for a university-wide composting program. AASHE welcomes questions and invites feedback on each Sustainability Student Diary entry. Submit diary entries of your own for consideration to bulletin@aashe.org.

"This was to be a space that students would appreciate and improve together. Our space."

The University of Richmond’s composting and gardening program started with a conversation between myself and former sustainability coordinator Trey McDonald. We presented the idea to the university’s undergraduates and I believe about 12 people came to the initial meeting in my apartment on Oct. 1, 2009. All were interested in learning more about the possibility of bringing a composting program to campus in order to teach students about composting and to make the process more accessible to the general student population.

It was at this initial meeting that one student spontaneously mentioned the name “U Rot” and it has since been the accepted name of this student-run program. One student in attendance, Carly Vendegna-Ramirez, would later become a large supporter of the concept and partnered with me to start the long process of planning and approval of our idea. These interested students (and many more) met again a week later to continue the process of brainstorming how composting could become a part of the University of Richmond campus community, and specific people to connect to the movement including professors, the university’s living-learning program, Earth Lodge, and administrators.

To me, this project was a reassertion of dignity for the students at Richmond. We began to remind ourselves that we aren’t apathetic and we aren’t afraid to construct a new way of living … even in the small choice of where to put your food scraps. We want new ideas, new relationships and better community. We have noble goals and the passion to see them realized. I really desired to eventually create a safe space for divergent thought that allows for creativity and creates a strong sense of agency. This was to be a space that students would appreciate and improve together. Our space.

A few weeks after the initial meetings, Trey, myself and Backyard Farmer co-founder Sean Sheppard met to walk around the University Forest Apartments in search for the perfect spot for the program to be placed. At the end of this walk, we found a sunny location near the 1900 block of the on-campus apartments. This was the one.

For fun, I wrote a letter to Mrs. Abby Ayers, the wife of our current university president, to tell her about the program proposal and to hopefully get her support in the process. She politely replied with an e-mail saying that she was in support of the program and we were excited to watch the momentum build.

During the fall semester, the team worked to garner support in the student body. We scheduled an outreach program in the Forum during Environmental Awareness Week that received over 120 signatures from students, faculty and staff that were all interested in seeing the program come to campus. After a few more weeks, the group was excited to receive full funding from campus organizations including a gift of $2,000 from the Class of 1992 Environmental Awareness Endowment, $1,700 from GreenUR, $500 from the Westhampton College Government Association and $400 from the Richmond College Student Government Association.

Sean Sheppard compiled the first draft of the “Proposal for Composting System and Garden at the University of Richmond” to be edited by Trey and eventually finalized. Additionally, Sean put together an order for Biobag Composting Systems to be sold to members of the campus community. GreenUR agreed to pay for these systems and they have become an integral aspect of the composting program and student involvement on an individual and communal level.

After several meetings and countless e-mails, the proposal was finally approved and the group began looking for a date to build. The proposal sat for the rest of the fall semester and into the spring semester of 2010. One fateful day in late February, several of us met to discuss the final construction of the composting system. The group settled on March 21 as the day to build the composting system and culminate almost seven months of planning. It was a beautiful day attended by many members of GreenUR, Sean and a Collegian reporter who wrote, “All students need to do now to aid campus sustainability initiatives is save their food waste.”

Since the system was constructed, GreenUR has taken the responsibility of continuing outreach for the program by selling Biobag Composting Systems to students and staff. They are available to students for a deposit of $5 and to faculty and staff for a purchase of $10. In the fall of 2010, more than 40 composting systems were sold to members of the community and several composting demonstrations were scheduled. This spring semester, Lucy Barrett took over as chair of the university’s Agriculture Committee and dedicated herself to continuing the mission of U Rot and the vision of the students who founded it.

Finally, I want to say, “Thank you!” to everyone who helped us along the way with advice and constructive criticism to develop our plans. Without a large group of committed people from all over the campus community it would have never been completed as it now stands. Thanks for taking a chance on us and letting us make our mark on this campus. Carly and I have now graduated and moved away from our Alma mater, but I am confident in the amazing students that are still on campus and will continue what was started almost two years ago. Best of luck in the future and remember that I’m always an e-mail (or gchat) away.

This week’s interview is with Kent Blumenthal, the Executive Director of the National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association (NIRSA) in Corvallis, Oregon. Continue reading to learn more about how NIRSA is promoting sustainability, and the advice Kent has for other campus sustainability professionals. More information on Kent is available here.
If you are interested in participating in the AASHE Interview Series or wish to nominate someone to participate please email Niles Barnes (niles@aashe.org). To read past interviews, click here.

What campus sustainability initiatives are you working on at the moment?
NIRSA is currently garnering member support for the ACUPCC (American College and University Presidents' Climate Commitment), and is partnering with faculty of the National School of Recreational Sports Management to better incorporate sustainability into the School's curriculum. NIRSA is also exploring how to become a Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS) partner organization. To that end, NIRSA will also soon launch a special committee to work with the STARS program to include collegiate recreational sports facilities, playing fields, arenas, and stadia as potential credit criteria.

Other initiatives include developing a sustainability section of the NIRSA website, and having NIRSA's Sustainability Committee Chair serve on the inaugural HEASC committee for the 2011 Campus Sustainability Day.

What resources and training do you offer your members specifically on sustainability issues?
NIRSA offers a variety of sustainability-related educational sessions at the NIRSA Annual Conference & Recreational sports Exposition, as well as periodic webinars on sustainability-related topics. The most recent webinar was entitled, ”Choices with Purpose-How your Purchase can Positively Impact Sustainability,” led by Alex Accetta (Portland State University). Our new professional networking site, Habitat, offers members information exchange about campus sustainability and other issues. Our monthly electronic newsletter, NIRSA KNOW, includes a regular section on sustainability, which our Sustainability Committee Chair uses to communicate important information and updates on sustainability issues and initiatives to the NIRSA community.

How does being part of the HEASC network provide opportunities for learning and collaboration?
Being a part of the HEASC network offers NIRSA many advantages concerning campus sustainability that would be more difficult to realize on its own. The HEASC network allows for:
a) Sharing of practical programs and new ideas among participating groups that are transferable from one association to another;
b) Opportunities to collaborate on special projects, including education and training;
c) Updates about federal legislative and regulatory issues affecting higher education; and
d) Information on public and private funding programs for higher education sustainability initiatives.

What types of sustainability Professional Development do you offer your members?
As previously mentioned, NIRSA offers a variety of sustainability-related educational sessions at our NIRSA Annual Conference & Recreational Sports Exposition, as well as providing periodic webinars on sustainability-related topics. The new Registry of Collegiate Recreational Sports Professionals includes sustainability within its eight core competencies. Registered professionals must pursue continuing education within the eight core competency areas to remain on the Registry.

How did you get started in campus sustainability, and what campus sustainability success are you most proud of?
NIRSA joined the Higher Education Association’s Sustainability Consortium (HEASC) in its second year of operation. The contacts and collaboration that emanated from HEASC jump-started NIRSA’s involvement in campus sustainability. I’m most proud of convening a NIRSA Knowledge Community on Sustainability shortly after NIRSA joined HEASC, which was quickly followed by a webinar on ‘Sustainability and Campus Recreation,’ presented by Dr. Deb Rowe (Oakland Community College, MI) and the establishment of a monthly ‘Sustainability’ column in the online member newsletter, NIRSA KNOW.

In what area(s) do you see the biggest room for growth in the campus sustainability field?
I believe that new ideas and practical applications will continue to proliferate in the campus sustainability field, especially within collegiate recreational sports. According to Dr. Susan Komives, President of the Council of Standards in Higher Education (CAS), collegiate recreational sports reaches more college students on a regular basis than any other campus activity. Likewise, campus recreation offers a tremendous opportunity to positively influence sustainable practices.

How are you incorporating the social dimensions of sustainability into your work?
Employees at the NIRSA National Center in Corvallis, Oregon recycle paper, glass, plastics and other products, and purchase recycled or partially recycled paper products. An in-house staff committee reviews and recommends internal sustainable practices.

NIRSA offers members a chance to participate in a community service project during the NIRSA Annual Conference & Recreational Sports Exposition. More than 200 attendees paid $20 each to volunteer at the 2011 NIRSA Annual Conference in New Orleans, Louisiana and participate in the improvement of trails at City Park, the nation’s second largest urban park that was severely damaged by Hurricane Katrina.

We also engage in sustainable procurement practices, by certifying that sports equipment used in NIRSA’s National Campus Championship Series (NCCS) is developed using fair trade practices.

Is there a particular insight (learning experience or “ah-ha” moment) you have had working on campus sustainability?
It has become commonplace for collegiate recreational sports departments to find new and different ways to accomplish their organizational missions and objectives that directly or indirectly provide a sustainable program element. These new ways of doing business, implemented by NIRSA member institutions, raise-the-bar for sustainability in collegiate recreational sports. Examples include:
a) Bike share program (Washington State University)
b) Returning electricity to the power grid from exercise equipment (Oregon State University)
c) Solar panels within campus recreational sports center that supplements heating (University of Oregon)

How do you spend your free time?
I enjoy regular exercise (weight training & cardio workouts), reading (mostly American history), gardening, camping, fly fishing, and spending time with my family and 13-1/2 year old yellow lab, Nugget.