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
New Resources
Short, Sweet, and Powerful: Student Engagement through Campus Tabling Campaigns
- Texas A&M University (TX)
An important part of creating a culture of sustainability on a college campus is successful campus engagement. Attaining this can be difficult for many reasons, such as lack of student ...
- Posted Dec. 1, 2017
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Texas Regional Alliance for Campus Sustainability (TRACS) Networking Session
- Rice University (TX)
- Texas A&M University (TX)
This is a networking meeting for Texans and other parties interested in the Texas Regional Alliance for Campus Sustainability (TRACS) to connect and discuss campus sustainability topics unique to the ...
- Posted Dec. 1, 2017
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Empowering Community Engagement Through Event Organization: Connecticut Campus Sustainability Week
- Eastern Connecticut State University (CT)
- Yale University (CT)
Encompassing all parts of university life, sustainability can be a unifying force on college campuses. Since 2015, Connecticut universities have collaborated on Campus Sustainability Week, a week-long celebration held in ...
- Posted Dec. 1, 2017
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Bridging the Gap: Strategies for Sustainability-Athletics Partnerships
- University of Colorado Boulder (CO)
- Green Sports Alliance (OR)
Expanding sustainability goals and programming to include collegiate athletics provides opportunities for unique engagements across the campus community. Doing so requires building relationships and coordinating cross-pollination between campus sustainability professionals ...
- Posted Dec. 1, 2017
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Protest Meets Policy Change: Practical, Local Politics As Key to Building Community Solidarity and Sustainability
- University of Minnesota, Twin Cities (MN)
- Elected Officials to Protect America (SC)
This dynamic workshop challenges participants to engage in politics in ways that build community solidarity and sustainability. In times of great division at the national level, practical projects and local ...
- Posted Dec. 1, 2017
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Power in Numbers: Collaborative Solar Procurement in Virginia
- 3Degrees (CA)
- Council of Independent Colleges in Virginia (VA)
The Council of Independent Colleges in Virginia (CICV) will provide an overview of the first collaborative procurement of on-campus solar energy in Virginia. This session will help participants understand their ...
- Posted Dec. 1, 2017
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Bundled Offsets: Manage Risk and Benefit Local Communities
- Duke University (NC)
- Urban Offsets, Inc.
The strategy of offset bundling involves pairing 3rd party verified carbon offsets with local high co-benefit projects to assure climate impact and build local resilience. Tani Colbert-Sangree, of The Duke ...
- Posted Dec. 1, 2017
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A Co Curricular Course about Sustainability, Leadership, Civic Engagement, Integrity and Interculturality
- Universidad de Monterrey
As part of UDEM´s Formative Model, every student has to take 4 co-curricular courses. From these 4 courses, one is mandatory and they can choose the other 3. META ...
- Posted Dec. 1, 2017
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Ecovillage + Innovation Village = The Future, now!
- Oklahoma State University (OK)
- Earth Deeds (MA)
Daniel Greenberg - exposed students for year to study abroad courses to ecovillages - has suggested that the ecovillage concept and university need each other. Nancy Gift - a professor at Berea College ...
- Posted Dec. 1, 2017
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Working Together Towards Zero Waste
- Post-Landfill Action Network (NH)
This is a meetup for all students, staff, companies, and professionals that are working on campus Zero Waste efforts. Whether you're helping your campus achieve Zero Waste goals, or ...
- Posted Dec. 1, 2017
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Joining Forces to Restore Urban Woodland and Reconnect Students with Nature: A Model for Campus-Community-Commerce Collaboration
- Indiana University Bloomington (IN)
The Bloomington Urban Woodlands Project brings campus, community, and business together to achieve on-the-ground conservation results, enhanced awareness of biodiversity and ecosystem services, and behavioral change that supports sustainability. Working ...
- Posted Dec. 1, 2017
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Social Justice Coffee Hour
- College of Charleston (SC)
Social justice coffee hour is a forum for educated and informal dialogue about different social justice issues by presenting students and attendees with different viewpoints and voices on a certain ...
- Posted Dec. 1, 2017
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State of the Association Address: AASHE Member Meeting
- AASHE (MA)
Come join the AASHE Board and Staff while we present the AASHE 'state of the organization' address. You'll hear highlights from the member survey, programmatic priorities, and AASHE's ...
- Posted Dec. 1, 2017
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Mentor Meet Up
- AASHE (MA)
Matched pairs of the Mentorship Program are invited to join us AASHE staff for a brief meeting immediately after the opening keynote. We'll say a few words about the ...
- Posted Dec. 1, 2017
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AASHE International Networking Meeting
- Portland Community College (OR)
- AASHE (MA)
Members of the international community who are attending the AASHE conference and those who are interested in international issues are invited to join in a networking meeting to share challenges ...
- Posted Dec. 1, 2017
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Applied learning for sustainability projects: Developing high impact student-community collaborations
- Arizona State University (AZ)
- Portland State University (OR)
Applied learning opportunities, from internships, to community-based learning courses to student research provide exceptional training for students in addressing complex sustainability challenges. These endeavors are mostly designed to optimize the ...
- Posted Dec. 1, 2017
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The Ripple Effect: Taking Hydroponic Growing From Missouri State to 32 Other Schools and Eventually the World
- Missouri State University (MO)
- Compass Group (NC)
What began as an effort to showcase herbs grown on campus has already grown to 896 grow towers across the country, with an annual produce yield of 35,000lbs, a ...
- Posted Dec. 1, 2017
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Climatepedia: A Climate Action Network for the Nation
- University of California, Irvine (CA)
Climatepedia was founded by undergraduate students in 2011 by UCLA students. It is now an emerging 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with chapters at UC Irvine, UCLA, and Yale University ...
- Posted Dec. 1, 2017
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Environmental Arts: How Sustainability and Art Can Create Meaningful Community Relationships
- University of Arizona (AZ)
Art in the environment is a constant evolving idea that challenges the notion of how we approach sustainable practices. Using fine arts practices like painting and drawing express creativity that ...
- Posted Dec. 1, 2017
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Hall Move out, With a Twist.
- University of Arizona (AZ)
This session will review the University of Arizona's Hall Move-Out project. Project goals are to collect sellable goods from students moving out of residence halls and hold a rummage ...
- Posted Dec. 1, 2017
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Using Compost to Seek Green Justice Beyond the Campus
- University of Arizona (AZ)
The University of Arizona Compost Cats is an organization that works to divert organic waste from landfills and converts it into valuable soil amendment for Southern Arizona's arid soils ...
- Posted Dec. 1, 2017
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Developing Community Solidarity Through Beekeeping
- Central Community College (NE)
This presentation will cover how a college beekeeping course resulted in an informed community of concerned honey bee supporters. Central Community College started a beekeeping course that drew participants from ...
- Posted Dec. 1, 2017
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Oral History and Sustainability: Campus and Community Engagement Through Student Research in the Humanities
- Central College (IA)
This session introduces oral history as a tool for students to investigate and influence the cultures of sustainability on campus and in the community. Since 2015, Central College in Pella ...
- Posted Dec. 1, 2017
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From the Iowa Caucus to the Iowa State House: Strategies for Sustained Civic Engagement
- Central College (IA)
In 2015-16, leading up to the Iowa caucus and presidential election, Central College focused sustainability education efforts strongly on civic engagement, hosting a mock caucus, debate watch parties, guest speakers ...
- Posted Dec. 1, 2017
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Forming campus collaborations to support student advocacy skills
- University at Albany (NY)
The recent Presidential election has inspired a new activism in our students. They want to be heard by not only campus administration, but by local, state and federal representatives, but ...
- Posted Dec. 1, 2017
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Grow Native - A Plant and Pollinator Garden Catalyzes Engagement and Learning
- Dallas College (TX)
Over the past two years a small, inspired group of students, employees, community friends and alums of Brookhaven College (Dallas County Community Colleges) proposed, designed, crowd-funded, and installed a 4 ...
- Posted Dec. 1, 2017
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Building infographics at the University of Washington
- University of Washington, Seattle (WA)
These posters showcase the environmental impact of buildings on campus, they're informative and show how much impact buildings have on the campus community.
- Posted Dec. 1, 2017
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Nourishing U: Reclaiming Food, Alleviating Hunger, Redressing Health Inequities, and Serving up Food Justice
- University of Utah (UT)
Salt Lake Excess, created by University of Utah Honors College students, is a novel real-time food recovery model focused on eliminating the transportation and coordination barriers to food recovery. Via ...
- Posted Dec. 1, 2017
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Data Mapping Academia's Voluntary Commitments to the United Nations' Ocean Conference 2017
- Tarleton State University (TX)
The purpose of this research is to examine academic institutions voluntary commitments to the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals as published in the Partnership Data for the Sustainable Development ...
- Posted Dec. 1, 2017
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Carbon Pricing & Higher Ed: Internal Carbon Fees, Using Shadow Prices for Life Cycle Analysis, & Engaging Beyond the Campus
- Swarthmore College (PA)
- Yale University (CT)
This interactive workshop will examine different models for internal carbon pricing, including models adopted by Yale, Vassar and Swarthmore. We will cover revenue neutral prices, prices that generate funds for ...
- Posted Dec. 1, 2017
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Models for Collaborative and Implementable Pan-Campus Sustainability Plans
- Georgia Institute of Technology (GA)
- North Carolina State University (NC)
Taking sustainability to the next level, for many higher education institutions, requires a strategic, long-range, and comprehensive sustainability plan. The process by which you develop content, engage the campus community ...
- Posted Dec. 1, 2017
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Empowering Solidarity Through Shared Sustainability Vision and Leadership
- Iowa State University (IA)
Solidarity unifies diversity, creativity and passion toward a common goal. Through a shared sustainability position, Iowa State University's Office of Sustainability and the City of Ames, Iowa, unite together ...
- Posted Dec. 1, 2017
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Campus Sustainability Reporting and WikiRate
- University of Michigan (MI)
- University of Worcester
The University of Michigan (US) and the University of Worcester (UK) are using their sustainability data (STARS and HESA [UK Higher Education Statistics Agency]) to create and test a common ...
- Posted Dec. 1, 2017
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Utilizing the Garden to Integrate Community-Based Learning in the Classroom
- Portland Community College (OR)
The purpose of this presentation is to explore, discuss and reflect on Community-based Learning (CBL) as a form of civic education utilizing a school learning garden or community garden. CBL ...
- Posted Dec. 1, 2017
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It's not just Earth Day, it's Every Day! Building a Sustainability Movement
- New York University (NY)
With the new administration in the White House it is imperative that sustainability offices and clubs build a strong, effective movement to act on climate change by unifying with other ...
- Posted Dec. 1, 2017
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University-Local Government Collaborations on Sustainability
- University of Colorado Boulder (CO)
Climate change can be effectively addressed at a local, rather than national, scale. Cities and universities represent the centers of commerce and culture, as well as the world's population ...
- Posted Dec. 1, 2017
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Resilient Randolph: analyzing risks and establishing measurable strategies for campus-community climate resilience
- Randolph College (VA)
Institutions, businesses, and communities are increasingly incorporating resilience strategies as an essential element of climate action planning to help prepare for the adverse impacts of climate change. In January 2017 ...
- Posted Dec. 1, 2017
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High Priests of Sustainability?! The Promise and Perils of Becoming Your School's Moral Compass
- University of Louisville (KY)
It began as a joke. When I first arrived, colleagues introduced me as the university's 'Green Guru.' Later I got a surprising compliment: 'You are the conscience of this ...
- Posted Dec. 1, 2017
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Student-Led Pollinator Habitat Restoration Project: Low-Cost Implementation and Potential Applications
- University of Kentucky (KY)
Even at its outset, the new presidential administration has made it clear to the public that it is unwilling to support environmental protection at the federal level. In particular, the ...
- Posted Dec. 1, 2017
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Advancing the Green Building Movement through Community Action & Learning
- U.S. Green Building Council (DC)
Every story about a green building is a story about people.' While many academic courses train students on the technical and philosophical aspects of sustainability, professional skills working with people ...
- Posted Dec. 1, 2017
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Advancing Sustainability Through Health and Wellness Partnerships
- Indiana University South Bend (IN)
- Washington University in St. Louis (MO)
Thomas will highlight key partnerships between the Office of Sustainability and Human Resources at Washington University (WashU): the expansion of a Community Supported Agriculture program that encourages students and employees ...
- Posted Dec. 1, 2017
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Climate Leadership Network Carbon Offset Projects Networking
- Duke University (NC)
- Second Nature (MA)
This networking meeting will focus on the development of 'peer reviewed' and 'innovative' carbon offset projects for colleges and universities. Please join us if you are interested in exploring options ...
- Posted Dec. 1, 2017
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Sustainable Campus Competition LIVE!: How $50,000 Created a Replicable Model for Citywide Composting
- Butler University (IN)
- Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) (IN)
At the 2016 AASHE Conference, IUPUI and Butler University were awarded $50,000 as part of the Sustainable Campus Competition LIVE!, a collaboration between AASHE and Kimberly Clark. Because both ...
- Posted Dec. 1, 2017
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Arizona Tri-University Meet and Greet
- Northern Arizona University (AZ)
- University of Arizona (AZ)
Group meeting for Arizona higher education staff and students from Arizona State University, University of Arizona, and Northern Arizona University to plan a future in-state student summit. This meeting not ...
- Posted Dec. 1, 2017
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Sustainability: Formative Assessments Across the Curriculum
- University of Wisconsin-River Falls (WI)
Formative Assessments are the cog in the wheel of the educational assessment cycle. These assessments drive daily instruction, before, during and after instruction, informing the teacher of student understanding and ...
- Posted Dec. 1, 2017
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The Mindful Praxis of Education for Sustainable Development
- University of Wisconsin-River Falls (WI)
This longitudinal inquiry involving 250 teacher candidates per year for five years, explores methods that motivate teacher candidates to create and integrate mindful sustainability curriculum in practice. Elementary and secondary ...
- Posted Dec. 1, 2017
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Art, Science, Ways of Knowing and Agency in Place: Backyard Phenology as a Tool
- University of Minnesota, Twin Cities (MN)
We are inspired by a successful art-science collaboration featuring an adorable silver camper (the 'Climate Chaser') serving as a tiny natural history museum and recording studio to capture stories of ...
- Posted Dec. 1, 2017
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We Are Still In! Using the STAR Community Rating Framework to Strengthen Your Community Outreach Efforts on Climate and Sustainability
- Pennsylvania State University (PA)
- STAR Communities (DC)
Campuses and communities across the country have publicly declared, 'We Are Still In', confirming their support for the Paris Climate Agreement. Campuses and communities are also looking for ways to ...
- Posted Dec. 1, 2017
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Sustainability Competencies: What are They, how to Address Them in Sustainability Courses, and how to Assess Students' Learning
- Arizona State University (AZ)
- Portland State University (OR)
- Leuphana University of Lüneburg
This workshop introduces the following set of sustainability competencies: systems, future, values, and strategic thinking as well as interpersonal competence. The workshop explores how to use these competencies to design ...
- Posted Dec. 1, 2017
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Managing for Triple-Bottom-Line Sustainability from the C-Suite to the Front Line Management Team
- Waste Management (TX)
- Butte County Air Quality Management District (CA)
- Dallas College (TX)
Attendees of this networking session will have the opportunity to interact with peers in all areas of sustainability through the lens of management, or 'Sustainability Management.' After a round of ...
- Posted Dec. 1, 2017
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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.