Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 65.76
Liaison Allison Jenks
Submission Date Jan. 26, 2017
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

New Mexico State University
EN-5: Outreach Campaign

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 4.00 / 4.00 joni newcomer
Mgr. Env. Policy and Sustainability
Facilities and Services
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Has the institution held at least one sustainability-related outreach campaign during the previous three years that was directed at students and yielded measurable, positive results in advancing sustainability? :
Yes

Has the institution held at least one sustainability-related outreach campaign during the previous three years that was directed at employees and yielded measurable, positive results in advancing sustainability?:
Yes

Name of the campaign:
Discover Sustainability Symposium

A brief description of the campaign, including how students and/or employees were engaged:

The Discover Sustainability Symposium brought together three speakers on three important environmental topics: water, soil, and attachment to Mother Earth. The three speakers spoke from their hearts about the importance of their individual topics to taking care of the planet with climate change affecting us so deeply now and in the future. We want people to walk away with an understanding that sustainability is more than just recycling. We want to expand their horizon of thinking.

During the symposium we also introduced our Greening the Curriculum program that was recently approved and completed in the curriculum for three different minors.
https://newscenter.nmsu.edu/Articles/view/11697/nmsu-to-host-first-discover-sustainability-symposium


A brief description of the measured positive impact(s) of the campaign:

Impacts were pretty quick! We had three professors offer to speak at the next symposium on their research topics. Outreach to the community was good because many community members mentioned how happy they were that the Office of Sustainability has branched out to different areas of education. The Sustainability Manager was asked to guest lecture at two new classes during spring and fall semester 2016.

For the curriculum side, the sustainability manager spoke with three of the professors who are part of the minors in sustainability and their sustainability-focused classes filled up almost immediately when registration opened because students were heavily involved in the symposium.


The website URL where information about the campaign is available:
Name of the campaign (2nd campaign):
PeopleTowels Research Project

A brief description of the campaign, including how students and/or employees were engaged (2nd campaign):

NMSU was part of the research study for PeopleTowels waste reduction study on campuses. Students were given a week to record on an app how many paper towels they used a day. Then they were given two PeopleTowels to use and they recorded their use of paper towels on an app for four more weeks. The study is posted on PeopleTowels website (link below).


A brief description of the measured positive impact(s) of the campaign (2nd campaign):

There were 50 students on NMSU campus involved in the study. Students were made more aware of the fact that paper towels are trees (students typically don't think that one extra step as to the origin of what they are using). We kept in direct contact with about 30% of the students in the study on a regular basis to remind them of the importance of lowering their waste and that PeopleTowels are an easy way to do that. Most of the students that are still on campus still carry their towels with them! I now have faculty and staff asking me for towels, so we hope to get a custom "Go Aggies! Go Green" towel designed and purchased as a fund raiser or as thank you's to guest speakers and others.


The website URL where information about the campaign is available (2nd campaign):
A brief description of other sustainability-related outreach campaigns, including measured positive impacts:

Dona Ana Community College Architecture Discovery Camp
This two-week program is designed for mid and high school students interested in learning about architecture, sustainability, and related fields. Students will gain hands-on experience in architectural design, drawing, software, model building, presentations, and team building. Students will also learn about famous architects, architectural styles and sustainable design.
Presenters will include DACC and Texas Tech University Professors, DACC President Dr. Renee Scott, Las Cruces Mayor Ken Miyagishima, Local Architects, Engineers & Developers, experts in the areas of sustainable design, and student volunteers of the DACC – AIAS (American Institute of Architecture Students) organization.


The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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