| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 80.87 |
| Liaison | Megan Butler |
| Submission Date | Jan. 26, 2024 |
Macalester College
EN-3: Student Life
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
2.00 / 2.00 |
Megan
Butler Sustainability Director Sustainability |
Does the institution have an active student group focused on sustainability?:
Name and a brief description of the active student groups focused on sustainability:
Descriptions from the different Organization's own websites and the Macalester Student Organization Directory.
Sunrise Macalester: Mac Sunrise takes inspiration from the national Sunrise Movement to take action against climate change. Our goal is to promote student advocacy around climate justice and equity. Students have and will continue to take action in favor of progressive climate policies like Minnesota's Green New Deal by organizing and executing mass calls to representatives, office visits, and peaceful protests.
Green@MAC: Green@MAC is a student group with a mission to educate Macalester and the surrounding community about urban agriculture, environmental justice, food and gardening. The group maintains a garden on the Macalester campus and provides fresh produce to Cafe Mac. In addition, students in the group work to advocate for advances in conversation practices and renewable energy at Macalester. Focusing on student projects and practical implementation, Green@Mac works to bring the way we live into alignment with the ideals we hold
MacFEAST: The purpose of MacFEAST (Food, Ethics, Advocacy, and Sustainable Transitions) is to create and sustain changes in the Macalester community, increase awareness surrounding food issues, and establish and cultivate a relationship between Bon Appetit and the Macalester students, faculty, and staff.
Food Recovery Network: Food Recovery Network coordinates volunteers to package leftover food from the dining hall which is distributed to shelters by Fish and Loaves, a local charity group.
MacBike is a student-run organization at Macalester College that promotes bicycle-use both on campus and in the greater Twin Cities community. MacBike supports bicycling as a fun, sustainable, and socially just form of transportation.
Outing Club: The Macalester Outdoor club focuses on organizing opportunities for Macalester students to get outside and gain experience with various forms of recreation. They organize local weekend trips as well as longer-distance trips for Mac Students
MacShare: A student-run cooperative that sells produce and dry bulk goods to the Macalester community at weekly pop-up sales. They purchase produce in bulk from local producers or food hubs and sell everything by the pound, at-price. Any food that remains unsold is purchased by Macalester’s Cafe Mac/Bon Appétit. It’s a convenient and affordable way for students to access fresh produce. Sale dates are posted on their Instagram @Mac.Share and in the Mac Daily.
https://www.macalester.edu/environmentalstudies/studentopportunities/environmentalgroups/
https://www.macalester.edu/cec/food-access/#food-resources-at-mac
Does the institution have a garden, farm, community supported agriculture (CSA) or fishery program, or an urban agriculture project where students are able to gain experience in organic agriculture and sustainable food systems?:
A brief description of the gardens, farms, community supported agriculture (CSA) or fishery programs, and/or urban agriculture projects:
Green@Mac is a student group with a mission to educate Macalester and the surrounding community about urban agriculture, environmental justice, food and gardening. The group maintains a garden on the Macalester campus and provides fresh produce to Cafe Mac and occasional pop-up farmer's markets.
MacShare: A student-run cooperative that sells produce and dry bulk goods to the Macalester community at weekly pop-up sales. They purchase produce in bulk from local producers or food hubs and sell everything by the pound, at-price. Any food that remains unsold is purchased by Macalester’s Cafe Mac/Bon Appétit. It’s a convenient and affordable way for students to access fresh produce. Sale dates are posted on their Instagram @Mac.Share and in the Mac Daily. Over the summer of 2023 MacShare also began implementing a summer CSA for Macalester Students. The CSA aims to make community supported agriculture more accessible to students
Does the institution have a student-run enterprise that includes sustainability as part of its mission statement or stated purpose?:
A brief description of the student-run enterprises:
MacSHARES is a student run organization that provides access to locally-sourced organic food and produce at an affordable price. This student grocery cooperative purchases high quality, sustainable food in bulk and sells it to Macalester students for a reduced rate.
Additionally, the Macalester MULCH garden sells its surplus produce to Bon Appetit.
Does the institution have a sustainable investment fund, green revolving fund, or sustainable microfinance initiative through which students can develop socially, environmentally and fiscally responsible investment and financial skills?:
A brief description of the sustainable investment funds, green revolving funds or sustainable microfinance initiatives:
Has the institution hosted a conference, speaker series, symposium, or similar event focused on sustainability during the previous three years that had students as the intended audience?:
A brief description of the conferences, speaker series, symposia, or similar events focused on sustainability:
The Environmental Studies department hosts a regular EnviroThursday speaker series, a weekly lecture on environmental topics for students both within and without the ES Department.
In Spring, 2023 the Sustainability Office hosted a sustainaversary event which featured sustainability projects on campus including fix-it clinics, MacShare and the Macalester Free SWAP
Has the institution hosted a cultural arts event, installation, or performance focused on sustainability with the previous three years that had students as the intended audience?:
A brief description of the cultural arts events, installations, or performances focused on sustainability:
The Macalester Sustainability office annually hosts an art event called "Make Art Not Waste" which features student projects. These projects use a range of mediums, including wire, spray paint, bottle caps, and captured each student's artistic visual representation of sustainability. The goal of the event is to use a new method to engage the student body in thinking about our goal of zero waste.
In Spring 2023, MacShare partnered with the Macalester ceramics studio to conduct an Empty Bowls fundraiser in which participants in the MacShare sale could purchase hand-made bowls. Rather than make new bowls for the event, this year MacShare followed zero waste principles and provided pre-made bowls that were unused in storage from previous events. The proceeds were donated to a hunger-related charity.
Does the institution have a wilderness or outdoors program that follow Leave No Trace principles?:
A brief description of the wilderness or outdoors programs that follow Leave No Trace principles:
The Outing Club offers adventure in the great outdoors through inexpensive trips, reasonable gear rental and expedition-planning assistance. Student led trips are offered minimally each Fall and Spring break. The Outing Club hosts workshops specific for winter camping, low impact camping, and invites the Wilderness Medicine Institute to host first aid courses.
Macalester also offers a pre-orientation outdoor program for incoming first years. Macward Bound seeks to provide shared experiences in which new students will experience supportive community, relationship building and reflection in an experiential outdoor environment. Outdoor camping experiences include the practice of packing out trash, minimizing campfire impact, and more in accordance with the LNT principles.
Has the institution had a sustainability-focused theme chosen for a themed semester, year, or first-year experience during the previous three years?:
A brief description of the sustainability-focused themes chosen for themed semesters, years, or first-year experiences:
Macalester offers several sustainability-focused first year courses. For example, in Fall, 2023 Macalester is offering a Campus Sustainability Focused first year course. Macalester also offers residential first year courses which mean that students in that class will live on the same floor of a residence hall or in the same building. Faculty and preceptors may do programming in the residence hall. This past semester we had residential first year courses with sustainability themes focused upon water and power and conservation in neotropical landscapes.
Does the institution have a program through which students can learn sustainable life skills?:
A brief description of the programs through which students can learn sustainable life skills:
In addition to Dirty Training, a program for first years to learn the basics of waste sorting at Macalester
The Sustainability website has a page offering tips for sustainable living.
The Sustainability office provides activities and programming focused upon modeling sustainable behaviors
Fix it all free for alls: The Sustainability office offers annual fix it all free for alls in which students and community members can come and learn how to fix household items, fix bikes and mend clothing
During the 2023/2024 school year the Sustainability Office is hosting a 101 series aimed at teaching students new environmental skills. Some topics covered in the series include: gardening, seed saving, beekeeping, hiking, and camping
The EcoHouse is a housing option that operates as a "living laboratory" where students can live in a building equipped with green renovations such as a recyclable steel roof, wall insulation, and more.
Does the institution offer sustainability-focused student employment opportunities?:
A brief description of the sustainability-focused student employment opportunities offered by the institution:
Sustainability Office: The Macalester Sustainability Office employs 10-20 students each semester to develop sustainable projects, continue ongoing projects like our Free Swap and bike share program, and increase outreach and education about sustainability topics on campus.
Post Action Landfill Network Atlas Fellowship: Over the past three years, Macalester has been working with the Post Action Landfill Network to develop a strategic plan for achieving zero waste. As of fall, 2023 five ATLAS fellows have worked to move Macalester through three phases of the program.
Facilities Data Manager: The Data Manager in Facilities manages the Zero Waste data-- numbers pertaining to Macalester's levels of composting and recycling.
Bon Appetit work studies: At Macalester, a special position through Bon Appetit offers student workers the chance to work directly with the cafeteria to improve sustainability of food sources by researching farms and other food producers and making recommendations.
Does the institution have a graduation pledge through which students pledge to consider social and environmental responsibility in future job and other decisions?:
A brief description of the graduation pledge(s):
Since 2000, Environmental Studies students have organized the "Senior Graduation Pledge" for commencement. Taking the pledge is voluntary; students determine for themselves what they consider to be socially and environmentally responsible. The students who pledge wear a green ribbon on their graduation gown.
A brief description of other co-curricular sustainability programs and initiatives that do not fall into one of the above categories:
The Civic Engagement Center regularly offers volunteer opportunities working with local sustainable organizations and initiatives like Urban Roots.
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.