AASHE Campus Sustainability Hub

There was a mayor change at Cedar Valley College’s (CVC) Sustainability Office this academic year. All the Sustainability Awareness events were developed and delivered by the Student’s Green Club. Over 350 students, employees and community members attended the eight events led by the student club.

The Green Club is a group of CVC students who are spreading awareness of the importance of taking care of our environment by being involved with the external and internal community of CVC. They engage students and communities so they participate in events that create more understanding and action to solve environmental issues. An important part of their formation and outreach effort is to promote and teach sustainable practices and importance in the academic environment and daily life so all can learn how to take care of our natural environment. The Green Club focuses on hosting events to educate in sustainability practices, by engaging in and conversing about overcoming the emerging issues arising in today’s society.

For the first time in CVC’s history there was a sustainability event for the Hispanic population. CVC was we recently have become a Hispanic Serving Institutions. The club created an event called “Don’t Siesta, Fiesta” at the Butterfly and Edible Garden on National Hispanic Heritage month. They served all types of fruits with Tajin (chili- lime powder) and started seedlings that were later planted in the garden.

Another event they hosted at CV was the Mobility Pop-Up Regional Event. The officers of the Student’s Green Club were the moderators of the different panels of experts. They also did a fundraiser where the members of the club sold carved pumpkins, planted sunflower seedlings and organic popcorn. They also designed and delivered a “Go Fund Me” campaign and raised $1200 to attend the Texas Regional Alliance for Campus Sustainability (TRACS)Summit at University of Texas in Rio Grande Valley.

One of the main interest of the Green Club was renewable energy. They hosted a solar oven DIY session. In this event, the members and attendees used pizza boxes, aluminum foil, and plastic wrap to make their own small solar ovens where they made s'mores despite the November chill season. This event gave the members and other attendees the opportunity to learn about the power of solar ovens as we heated up pizza and got the chance to learn about an eco-friendly option to cook with. It also opened an opportunity for a partnership with the North Texas Solar Renewable Energy Group where videos will be filmed with the students making solar ovens and talking about the benefits of renewable energy (the filming was postponed because of the COVID-19 restrictions).

For the National RecycleMania Competition, the club organized a competition between the buildings. groups of students adopted each building and by educating and motivating the students and employees. In the first five weeks of RecycleMania 2020 we increased 20% the amount of recycled waste compared to 2019.

Even after the COVID-19 restrictions and having all classes online. This club continued serving their community, for Earth Day they had an online meeting where they watched a movie about the history of Earth Day and then played a trivia game.

We have had a Green Club for seven years at CVC and this cohort of students has revolutionized the college. The whole community has been impacted with their comprehensive view of sustainability, all the events eight evets hosted by them received excellent reviews and increased the awareness of our environment and the importance in the quality of life of our community. On of the main facts of success of this cohort has been the leadership of CVC’s Students Green Club president, Miriam Gallegos Chavez an Early College student. Ms. Gallegos Chavez has been essential to the organization's successes this year as she has incorporated new and creative methods of designing, planning and promoting events, as well as fundraising.

It is important to point out that Ms. Gallegos Chavez used her presidency as a capstone service project. She has been accepted in Texas A&M, where she will pursue a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Design-Architectural Studies and then a Master’s Degree in Architecture. This student’s career decision was impacted positively by being the President of the Green Club. She is first generation high school and community college graduate. She came from Mexico with her family looking for better opportunities when she was 7 years old. As an ESL student she overcame all the challenges and now is continuing her journey and ready to revolutionize sustainability at Texas A&M. This leadership example and outcome will give a head start to next Green Club members.

The Green Club is a group of Cedar Valley College students who are spreading awareness of the importance of taking care of our environment by being involved with the external and internal community of CVC. We engage students and communities so they participate in events that create more understanding and action to solve environmental issues. An important part of our formation and outreach was to promote and teach sustainable practices and importance in the academic environment and daily life so we can learn how to take care of our natural environment. The Cedar Valley College Green Club focuses on continued education for sustainability practices, and engaging in and conversing about overcoming the emerging issues arising in today’s society. At the same time, students are not the only ones that can make the change happen. One way that teachers can support the interdisciplinary nature of sustainability education is to simply incorporate the principles of sustainability into their discipline-specific.

Our circumstances may be similar to other community colleges in that we have a lot of high school students in our Early College Program on our campus. Ms. Miriam Gallegos Chavez is an Early College student, which means that she started her associate degree at CVC as a junior in High School. She is graduating both in her High School (top 10 student graduates) and at CVC with her Associate Degree in Science. The outcomes and results of the student clubs rely on the faculty advisors, the students’ leadership and commitment of the members. However, this academic year (2019-20), we have had the tremendous fortune of working with an extremely dedicated group of young students, spearheaded by the effective, efficient and innovative leadership of Miriam Gallegos Chavez.

• Improve sustainability awareness at CVC through the Students Green Club by educating about the fundamental importance of sustainable and eco-friendly practices.

• Generate additional funding to attend the Texas Regional Alliance for Campus Sustainability (TRACS) Summit.

• Strengthen sustainability knowledge and leadership, critical thinking, communication and teamwork skills of student members of the Green Club

The success of the implementation of this student project was due to:

• Event planning was essential for the students to create a public buzz around the CVC’s Student Green Club and the events being hosted.

• Creating tangible, hand on activities to galvanize all students, employees and community into realizing the importance of sustainability

• Implementing better fundraising strategies for the next set of Green Club members.

April 2019: Election of the Officers of the CVC Green Club for the academic year (2019-2020)

• August 2019: Swearing in of the Officers of the Green Club and first Club Meeting

• September 2019: Planning and Scheduling of the Fall and Spring Sustainability Awareness Events. Recruiting more members to the Club.

• October 2019- April 2020: Development and delivery of 8 Sustainability Awareness Events. Fundraising activities.

• April 2020 attendance to the TRACS Summit (postponed because of the COVID-19 Restrictions)

• The CVC Sustainability Office provided $70 for each Sustainability Awareness Event (Total $560 for 8 events) and the Club decided what healthy food or materials to buy according to the activities they were hosting.

• The club fundraised an amount of $1200 for their trip to the TRACS Summit.

• More than 350 participants in the events hosted by the Green Club in (2019-2020)

• Increase in 20% of Recyclables in the first 5 weeks of RecycleMania

• A partnership with the North Texas Solar Renewable Energy Group where videos will be filmed with the students making solar ovens and talking about the benefits of renewable energy

• All the senior members of the Green Club are graduating with their Associate Degree and most of them are pursuing a Bachelor’s degree.

• Ms. Miriam Gallegos Chavez won the 2020 CVC President’s Sustainability Leadership Award

Miriam Gallegos Chavez as the President of the Cedar Valley College Green Club, was provided with a solid foundation of the fundamentals of leadership. She also learned the practical application of these concepts as she confronted successfully various challenges with member participation and engagement, as well as fundraising.

She learned that the important part wasn’t directing the club meeting themselves; it was making a connection with each and every one of the members.

She concluded in her Capstone Project: • “I carry that experience with me today and will carry it with me into the future. • The leadership knowledge I curate and strive toward improving will ultimately help me get to my next goal. In a team, those who can encourage a shared vision are looked to as natural leaders who will push the team to success. • All in all, through the leadership experience as the President of Green Club, I learned that to successfully run a club that promotes sustainability a lot of support and knowledge is needed. • Leadership is an irreplaceable skill that every person, group, and firm needs to propel forward. For example, I led club meetings that required scheduling and organizing the agenda. The important part wasn’t directing the meeting themselves; it was making a connection with each and every one of the members. What's more, expressing my interest to be the moderator for the Mobility Solutions for our Community panel discussion last October in Cedar Valley College allowed me to present important speakers and keep track of their time. Moderating a panel discussion required sharp skills when it came to time keeping and good leadership to maintain the flow throughout the discussion. I gained exposure and confidence by networking with all of the panelists before and after the discussion. Most importantly though, the most fundamental lesson I learned is to be in the state of authentic so that one is able to work with others team members and assist when needed. Whether it was during a club event, like Fiesta Don’t Siesta, a fundraising event, like Cupid’s Gift Shop, or through a panelist discussion, it all requires great teams to ensure the achievement of said events, and leadership capabilities are essential for that. When I work on events or am setting up an agenda, I continually keep in the back of my head that other individuals may be looking at my work to learn more, build upon the current work, or produce insights.”

• Maria Boccalandro - Sustainable Communities Institute Director | Dallas College