Public Engagement
Introduction
Engagement in community problem-solving is fundamental to sustainability. By engaging with community members and organizations in the governmental, non-profit and for-profit sectors, institutions can help solve sustainability challenges. Community engagement can help students develop leadership skills while deepening their understandings of practical, real-world problems and the process of creating solutions.
Featured Resources
Latest News from AASHE Bulletin
New Resources
Zero Waste Outreach Strategies - Operational vs. Promotional
- University of Colorado Boulder (CO)
A new day is dawning over the coalfields of Appalachia. A region which has been at the heart of fossil fuel dependence, leading the nation in per capita carbon emissions, …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Passport to carbon neutrality: study abroad and voluntary offsets
- University of Denver (CO)
The University of Denver is uniquely situated near a thriving downtown and in the shadow of the stunning peaks of the Rocky Mountains. Studying abroad enhances and shapes the undergraduate …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Integrating Service-Based Learning and the Flipped Classroom through the National Energy Leadership Corps Program
- University of Kentucky (KY)
Engineering pedagogies traditionally aim to teach students technical skills and large quantities of information over relatively short periods while in a classroom setting. The successful construction of buildings that reach …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Institutional Behavior Change and Sustainability
- University of Louisville (KY)
It is well established that human behavior underlies almost all environmental problems, e.g. air and water pollution, climate change, loss of biodiversity, resource overuse, waste generation and recycling, etc. Most …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Growing Sustainable Economies: From Seeds to Restaurant Tables
- University of Minnesota, Twin Cities (MN)
The case study presentation, Growing Sustainable Economies: From Seeds to Restaurant Tables, located at and near Gandhi Mahal in Minneapolis, will tell the story of a special educational and business …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Campus Sustainability Tours: Seeing is Teaching
- University of North Texas (TX)
The University of North Texas offers special sustainability tours year round to primary, secondary and college level students. The tours also engage the off campus community to include sustainability professionals …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Washington State Higher Education Sustainability Coalition Meeting (2014)
- University of Puget Sound (WA)
Individuals from Washington state higher education institutions attended this business lunch held by the Washington State Higher Education Sustainability Coalition (WAHESC). During this session, WAHESC advisory committee members discussed the …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Fostering Sustainability Through Place-based Ecological Design
- University of Vermont (VT)
This presentation will feature the activities and philosophy of the Ecological Design Collaboratory recently established at UVM’s GreenHouse Residential Learning Community. The Collaboratory has become the hub of design-build activities …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Environmental Leadership Program Networking & Professional Meeting
- University of Vermont (VT)
The mission of the Environmental Leadership Program (ELP) is to support visionary, action-oriented, and diverse leadership for a just and sustainable future. ELP aims to catalyze change by providing emerging …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Enterprise Geodesign: University-Community Sustainability Partnerships
- University of Washington, Seattle (WA)
This brief describes University-Community partnerships initiated within the Masters of Geographic Information Systems for Sustainability Management program at the University of Washington. Enterprise Geodesign University-Community Partnership have been established between …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Willamette University’s Zena Forest & Farm: Serving Sustainability Plus Broader Institutional Goals
- Willamette University (OR)
As more liberal arts institutions establish and acquire nearby farms and undeveloped properties for sustainability education and programming, it is of increasing importance to critically examine these decisions and see …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Sanctity of Sanctuary: Paul Strauss and the Equinox Farm
- Xavier University (OH)
The Sanctity of Sanctuary: Paul Strauss and the Equinox Farm, is an Appalachian love affair between a man, his farm, and his desire to make the world a better place. …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Building a Permaculture Garden with Community
- Xavier University (OH)
Building a permaculture garden with community members, students, faculty and local farmers, has been an exhilarating experience. It started with an alumni neighbor asking if she could work on a …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Sponsored Theater Presentation: Partnerships in Sustainability: A Collaborative Approach Presenters
- GSE Research (West Yorkshire)
Building responsible businesses in a sustainable society is a challenge which faces citizens and governments, employers and employees, producers and consumers alike. Possibly most of all, it is a challenge …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Payment for Ecosystem Services for Carbon Sequestration in Haiti: Offsetting University Air Travel Emission to Meet Sustainability Goals
- Sewanee - The University of the South (TN)
This case study explores the institutional dimension of a university program taking climate action at the community level, with a goal to contribute to sustainable development in Haiti, while building …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Campus Community Garden Completed its First Successful Harvest
- University of Alaska Fairbanks (AK)
After their first successful harvest, members of the UAF Campus Community Garden are looking forward to new opportunities next season. After being conceived last spring, gardening enthusiasts constructed a working, …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Service Learning and Sustainability: Students prepare environmental risk assessment reports for urban homeowners in Nashville
- Tennessee State University (TN)
- Vanderbilt University (TN)
In 2010 the Center for Service Learning and Civic Engagement at Tennessee State University (TSU), a historically black college, presented a proposal to the federal Housing and Urban Development (HUD) …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Adaptation and Sustainability Planning for Metro Davidson County Tennessee
- Lipscomb University (TN)
The City of Nashville experienced a historic flood in 2010 that resulted in $2 billion in estimated damages to private property; rainfall that exceeded 17 inches, highest in 140 years …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
A Call to Action: Higher Education, Civic Engagement & Resilient Communities
- Strategic Energy Innovations (CA)
Climate risk is a function of exposure and vulnerability to impacts, and some communities are at greater risk than others. Impacts of climate change will be felt both as sudden …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Partnerships for Youth Development: Green Leadership Academy for Diverse Ecosystems (GLADE)
- Missouri State University (MO)
The Green Leadership Academy for Diverse Ecosystems (GLADE) is a week-long academy for high school students sponsored by the Greater Ozarks Audubon Society, Missouri State University, Missouri Department of Conservation …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Reinventing Community: Oberlin College's Green Arts District
- Oberlin College (OH)
- BNIM Architects (MO)
The Green Arts District (GAD) is the heart of a regional plan launched in 2009 to transform the progressive college campus and city into a sustainable model of a post …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Lessons from Lama: The Importance of Community in Sustainability
- Virginia Tech (VA)
Sustainability creates communities. Or perhaps it is that communities create sustainability. We in the sustainability field have known for a long time that to get the job done, we need …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Building Resilient Communities through Community-University Partnerships
- Saint Mary's University of Minnesota (MN)
- University of Minnesota, Duluth (MN)
- University of Minnesota, Twin Cities (MN)
- University of Minnesota System Office (MN)
The University of Minnesota builds resilient communities throughout the state: At scales from neighborhood to community to regional to statewide; In duration, from months to semesters to year-long to multi-year …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Developing Resilient Communities through Community-University Partnerships
- Luther College (IA)
One of the key strategies for dealing with global climate change is campus–community collaboration (M’Gonigle & Starke) to develop resilient, sustainable communities (Ausubel); as demonstrated at two small liberal arts …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Don't Go it Alone: Collaborations for Community Resiliency
- Cornell University (NY)
- Ithaca College (NY)
This session will discuss four important mutually beneficial collaborations that Ithaca College and Cornell University have undertaken together or in which they are major participants, along with other sectors of …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Closing the Loop on Waste: How Student Waste Becomes a Community Resource
- Appalachian State University (NC)
At the end of every school year, students leave unwanted goods behind…literally tons of it. Faced with the question of how to handle this wanton waste, Appalachian State University created …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
From the Bayou to our Campus: Immersive Experience as an Opportunity for Student Leadership
- University at Buffalo (NY)
Over the last two years, our students have travelled to southern Louisiana as part of our Alternative Winter Break program to help transform and adapt the landscape into one that …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
The Sustainable City Year Program: An Adaptable Model for Large Scale, University Engagement and Impact
- University of Minnesota, Twin Cities (MN)
In 2012, AASHE recognized the University of Oregon’s Sustainable Cities Initiative (SCI) leaders with the Faculty Innovation Award. The award recognized the Sustainable City Year Program (SCYP), which the NY …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Rehearsing Change: Using Creative Means to Empower the Sustainability Dialogue
- Universidad San Francisco de Quito - USFQ (Pichincha)
This workshop shares methodologies that can be used to addresses several obstacles to engagement and understanding: 1) we work in a multi-faceted field in which the many actors (students, faculty, …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Promoting Sustainable Agriculture and Access to Local Food in the Carolinas Program: Campuses to Communities
- Davidson College (NC)
- Duke University (NC)
- Furman University (SC)
- Johnson C. Smith University (NC)
The Duke Endowment (TDE) schools, Davidson College, Duke University, Furman University, and Johnson C. Smith University, all have significant interest in promoting sustainable farm and food systems in the Carolinas …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Playing Like A Team: Advancing Campus Sustainability By Greening Sports
- University of California, Los Angeles (CA)
- University of Minnesota, Twin Cities (MN)
- Green Sports Alliance (OR)
- Natural Resources Defense Council (DC)
With help from organizations such as AASHE and the U.S. EPA, colleges and universities across the nation are implementing campus-wide sustainability programs to enhance their environmental performance. Many of these …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
What to Know When Building Bridges With Evangelical Christians on Sustainability and Climate Change
- Carroll University (WI)
- Houghton College (NY)
- Center for Environmental Leadership (CA)
Both what American evangelicals believe about the nexus of faith, science and culture, and the fabric of the social institutions they inhabit, influence their responses to environmental sustainability and climate …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Transforming Enemies Into Allies: How to Have Difficult—But Necessary—Conversations in Our Roles as Sustainability Change Agents
- University of California, Office of the President (CA)
- University of Hawaii - West Oahu (HI)
- GreenerU (MA)
This workshop will give us the space to learn and practice some tactics for having those difficult conversations that are unavoidably part of the work of making change happen within …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Beyond Sustainability: Challenges and Opportunities at the Growing Edge of Campus Sustainability
- Appalachian State University (NC)
- Warren Wilson College (NC)
- Western Michigan University (MI)
Over the past 15 years, sustainability has grown from obscurity to a mainstream higher education phenomenon. The field’s maturity was evident in three questions raised during informal conversations at AASHE …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Farm to Institution New England: Successes & Lessons Learned in Institutional Local Food Procurement
- Skidmore College (NY)
- Farm to Institution New England (VT)
After several years of farm to institution projects and initiatives in the northeast, there have been many successes and many important lessons learned. This panel will highlight the ways that …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Renewable Energy Market Transformation Efforts by Illinois Community Colleges
- Heartland Community College (IL)
- Southwestern Illinois College (IL)
The Illinois Green Economy Network (IGEN) is building the capacity of Illinois community colleges to identify and fill gaps in the renewable energy market transformation efforts across Illinois. Attend this …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Practicing Behavior Interventions: Understanding and Implementing Sustainable Behavior Change on Your Campus
- Stanford University (CA)
- GreenerU (MA)
Behavior change is a buzzword in sustainability work – mostly because our job on campuses, among many other responsibilities, is to change people’s behaviors to ones that are more sustainable. …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Collaborative Advocacy in the Southeast: Creating a Southeast College and University Coalition
- University of Arkansas (AR)
- Southeast Energy Efficiency Alliance (GA)
National organizations, such as AASHE, convene institutions of higher education on the premise that the exchange of ideas, resources and best practices better enable the design and adoption of sustainable …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
All Projects are Personal: Making Change by Building Relationships
- University of Massachusetts Amherst (MA)
- CoFED (NM)
Those of us inspired by campus sustainability have ideas for how to make change but often lack the knack for moving an initiative forward with others. People respond to ideas …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Minnesota's Next Generation Environmental Congress: A Sustainability Leadership Model
- Hamline University (MN)
- University of Minnesota, Morris (MN)
The Next Generation Environmental Congress: A Sustainability Leadership Model workshop will provide key insights into and results of a university and state government hosted forum that offered students and youth …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Case Study in Building Sustainable Partnerships: Fair Trade Learning in Vieques, Puerto Rico
- University of Mount Union (OH)
- Susquehanna University (PA)
Prescott College’s limited-residency Ph.D. program in Sustainability Education allows students to design and lead their second year fall residency. In order to enhance the experiential and transformative nature of the …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Beyond the Classroom: Experiential Learning and Students as Agents of Change within Local Communities
- Hillsborough Community College (FL)
- University of South Florida (Tampa) (FL)
Through innovative partnerships, students at Hillsborough Community College (HCC) are extending their education beyond the classroom by providing community-wide leadership in the field of sustainability. In 2012-2013, examples of student-led …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Leveraging Community Partnerships to Enhance Climate Resiliency
- Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc. (MA)
- Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure (DC)
Recent extreme storm events and new studies in climate science have brought to light the need to both prepare for a changing climate and to maintain strong relationships with host …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
The Nature of Sharing: Collaborating across Universities to Develop Education for Sustainability Certificate Programs
- Manhattanville College (NY)
- Webster University (MO)
AASHE Proposal for 2013, Nashville, TN
Short Title: Developing EfS certificate programs
Title: The nature of sharing: Collaborating across universities to develop Education for Sustainability certificate programs
--With universities struggling …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
The Sustainability Research Collaborative: A Multi-Institutional Model for Applied Investigation
- Princeton University (NJ)
- Yale University (CT)
The higher education sustainability field recognizes the need to apply rigorous research to applied campus-based challenges, both operational and cultural. The active networks of sustainability offices across the country make …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Motivating People Toward Sustainability: Applying Psychological Science to Green Behavior
- University of Minnesota, Twin Cities (MN)
Achieving sustainability on university campuses requires engaging and changing the behavior of students, faculty, administrators, staff, and other members of the university community. New programs can suffer unexpected roadblocks if …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Film as a Medium to Engage a Broader Audience
- Northern Arizona University (AZ)
This session will showcase a collection of short films highlighting a variety of initiatives at Northern Arizona University using various cinematic styles. The films are aimed at a wide audience …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Building a Strategy for Changing Behavior at Your Institution
- Oberlin College (OH)
Academic institutions cannot achieve climate neutrality through technology alone; members of the institution must also be engaged in creating a culture of sustainability. Our research project employed a community-based social …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Re-growing the Penn State Student Farm: Designing a Living Lab Experience by Bringing All Partners to the Table
- Pennsylvania State University (PA)
In response to the need for greater integration of sustainability in higher education, many institutions have created student farms on their campuses. Founded originally as an agricultural college, The Pennsylvania …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Environmental Justice: Inspiring Action Through Words
- University of Colorado Boulder (CO)
As the University of Colorado Assembly for Sustainability and Equity, we aim to spread awareness about environmental justice issues, as well as empower individuals with solutions to these issues. Ultimately …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
This tab provides access to data collected through AASHE’s Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System™ (STARS). STARS is a transparent, self-reporting framework for colleges and universities to measure their sustainability performance. STARS enables meaningful comparisons over time and across institutions using a common set of measurements developed with broad participation from the campus sustainability community.
All responses reference content from reports under the latest version of STARS, version 2.2. AASHE membership and log-in is required.
EN 10: Community Partnerships
- Description of a formal community partnership to advance sustainability (first partnership)
- Description of a formal community partnership to advance sustainability (second partnership)
- Description of a formal community partnership to advance sustainability (third partnership)
- Website URL - Community partnerships to advance sustainability
EN 11: Inter-campus Collaboration
- The national or international sustainability network(s)
- The regional, state/provincial or local sustainability network(s)
- Description of sustainability conference(s) and presentation(s)
- Description of sustainability resource center or awards program and submission(s)
- Description of sustainability board or committee appointment(s)
- Description of sustainability-related mentoring relationship and activities
- Description of sustainability-related peer review activities
- Website URL - Sustainability-related inter-campus collaborations
EN 12: Continuing Education
- Percentage of continuing education courses that are sustainability course offerings
- Inventory of continuing education sustainability course offerings (upload)
- Inventory of continuing education sustainability course offerings (description)
- Description of sustainability-related continuing education certificate program(s)
- Website URL - Continuing education courses and programs in sustainability
EN 13: Community Service
- Percentage of students engaged in community service
- Number of annual community service hours contributed per student
- Description of program(s) to support employee volunteering
- Website URL- Community service programs
EN 14: Participation in Public Policy
- Description of sustainability public policy advocacy at the municipal/local level
- Description of sustainability public policy advocacy at the state/provincial/regional level
- Description of sustainability public policy advocacy at the national level
- Description of sustainability public policy advocacy at the international level
- Website URL - Sustainability advocacy efforts
EN 15: Trademark Licensing
- Description of the independent trademark monitoring and verification organization
- The labor rights code of conduct for licensees (upload)
- The labor rights code of conduct for licensees (description)
- Website URL - Trademark licensing initiatives
Additional analysis on scores and quantitative fields can be conducted using the STARS Benchmarking Tool.