Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 68.61
Liaison Alan Brew
Submission Date Feb. 26, 2018
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Northland College
EN-4: Outreach Materials and Publications

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.00 / 2.00
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Does the institution have a central sustainability website that consolidates information about the institution's sustainability efforts?:
Yes

A brief description of the central sustainability website (optional):

Northland College's focus on sustainability—integrated into its mission in 1975 and re-articulated as recently as 2012 during its strategic planning process, seeks to promote sustainability in all published media in all of its forms: health, community, culture, environment, energy, and economy. It is from a full-spectrum point of view that the College seeks to understand, develop, and respond to its institutional goals of fostering greater sustainability.

One of the five main navigation areas on Northland College’s website is sustainability. In this section, we feature our five centers that are part of our sustainability story as well as green living and buildings, eating locally on our campus, composting, student initiatives, sustainability data, and more.


The website URL for the central sustainability website:
Does the institution have a sustainability newsletter?:
Yes

A brief description of the sustainability newsletter:

The College does not physically print a newsletter because we decided that the lifespan of a printed piece was too brief and less effective than the numerous social media channels on campus (listed below). Instead, the College highlights sustainability stories through our online sustainability newsfeed (blog or online newsletter) in the sustainability section of our website: https://www.northland.edu/sustainability/.


The website URL for the sustainability newsletter:
Does the institution have social media platforms (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, interactive blogs) that focus specifically on campus sustainability?:
Yes

A brief description of the social media platforms that focus on sustainability:

FACEBOOK
• Northland College Eco-Reps: https://www.facebook.com/ncecoreps/
• Northland College Environmental Council: https://www.facebook.com/NCEnvironmentalCouncil/
• Conserve-athon at Northland College: https://www.facebook.com/Conserve-athon-at-Northland-College-1519415118339626/
• Sunshine Community Bike Shoppe: https://www.facebook.com/Northland-College-Sunshine-Community-Bike-Shoppe-122081657852808/
• Northland College Outpost: https://www.facebook.com/NCOutpost/
• Ride Share Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/146992785408763/

INSTAGRAM
• NC Environmental Council @environmental_council: https://www.instagram.com/environmental_council/
• NC Outpost @ncoutpost: https://www.instagram.com/ncoutpost/
• Sunshine Community Bikeshop @sunshine_community_bikeshop https://www.instagram.com/sunshine_community_bikeshop/
• Northland Conservathon @northland_conserveathon https://www.instagram.com/northland_conserveathon/
• NC Greenhouse @nc.greenhouse: https://www.instagram.com/nc.greenhouse/
• Reuse Room @reuseroom: https://www.instagram.com/reuseroom/
• Ncrecyclingcoordination: https://www.instagram.com/ncrecyclingcoordination/


The website URL of the primary social media platform focused on sustainability:
Does the institution have regular coverage of sustainability in the main student newspaper, either through a regular column or a reporter assigned to the sustainability beat?:
Yes

A brief description of the regular coverage of sustainability in the main student newspaper:

Every publication of the student newspaper, "Drifts", has articles or columns about sustainability. These vary from initiatives on campus, sustainability tips for campus living, or issues of concern/interest on campus. Contributors include students, faculty, staff, and the campus sustainability coordinator.


The website URL for regular coverage of sustainability in the main student newspaper:
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Does the institution produce a vehicle to publish and disseminate student research on sustainability?:
Yes

A brief description of the vehicle to publish and disseminate student research on sustainability:

The Dexter Library keeps on reserve the student research abstracts (2011 to present). Abstracts are also published in the Northland College magazine, the Honors Day pamphlet, and in the postings from the Parsonage Fund.


The website URL for the vehicle to publish and disseminate student research on sustainability:
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Does the institution have building signage that highlights green building features?:
Yes

A brief description of building signage that highlights green building features :

Signage is posted throughout the McLean Environmental Living and Learning Center (a residence hall that was one of the prototypes for developing national LEED standards) as well as the Dexter Library (the fourth LEED Gold building in the state of Wisconsin).


The website URL for building signage that highlights green building features :
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Does the institution have signage and/or brochures that include information about sustainable food systems?:
Yes

A brief description of the signage and/or brochures that include information about sustainable food systems:

The Hulings Rice Food Center, which houses Northland College's new food lab and the composting facility, promotes a large graphic sign that shows the lifecycle of food at Northland College. The sign illustrates food production from on-campus gardens and from local farmers, the destination of that food (including the local cafeteria), and the recycling of nutrients back into the soil through comprehensive composting practices.

There are also large photos in the cafeteria of our local farmers and signage by the cafeteria entrance that shows the farmers on a map and what they produce for the cafeteria.
Signage is placed throughout the cafeteria and on-line about sustainable food systems at Northland.


The website URL for food service area signage and/or brochures that include information about sustainable food systems:
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Does the institution have signage on the grounds about sustainable groundskeeping and/or landscaping strategies employed?:
No

A brief description of the signage on the grounds about sustainable groundskeeping and/or landscaping strategies employed:
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The website URL for the signage on the grounds about sustainable groundskeeping and/or landscaping strategies employed:
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Does the institution produce a sustainability walking map or tour?:
Yes

A brief description of the sustainability walking map or tour:

Sustainability tours are given frequently as part of campus events such as our annual Fall Festival, perspective student Visit Days, new employee oreintation, and on request. The admissions office has added many of the sustainability tour items into their individual campus tours.

For those not able to come on campus, a sustainability photo tour is available online at https://www.northland.edu/sustainability/.


The website URL of the sustainability walking map or tour:
Does the institution produce a guide for commuters about how to use more sustainable methods of transportation?:
Yes

A brief description of the guide for commuters about how to use more sustainable methods of transportation:

Northland partners with the Bay Area Transit (BART), the regional bus and van system in the two-county region (http://www.bartbus.com/) to provide expanded services and free bus passes for students, faculty, and staff. To utilize BART, students and employees of the College simply need to show their Northland ID and the ride is free for any destination. In addition to daily commuting, many of the faculty members use the BART system as transportation during class field trips. Furthermore, the orientation program uses the BART system for transportation in many of the outdoor orientation trips.

For other travel, the College has a ride share Facebook group that is active all year long, especially during holidays and breaks: https://www.facebook.com/groups/146992785408763/

The on-campus Sunshine Bike Shoppe also is active on campus. The shop has tools, parts, and plenty of advice to offer to anyone who wants to repair, modify, or build a bicycle. The Shoppe also stocks more than thirty rental bikes that any student or employee may use for free.


The website URL for the guide for commuters about how to use more sustainable methods of transportation:
Does the institution produce navigation and educational tools for bicyclists and pedestrians (e.g. covering routes, inter-modal connections, policies, services, and safety)? :
Yes

A brief description of the navigation and educational tools for bicyclists and pedestrians:

Northland College is situated in the small town of Ashland, a community of less than 9,000 people. Bicycle routes are abundant and easily found. While Northland College has no formally published navigation tools, students disseminate the necessary information by word of mouth, through orientation programs, and through special bicycling programs hosted on campus.


The website URL for navigation and educational tools for bicyclists and pedestrians:
Does the institution produce a guide for green living and/or incorporating sustainability into the residential experience?:
Yes

A brief description of the guide for green living and incorporating sustainability into the residential experience:

Student-oriented web pages provide sustainability information to students in the areas of campus dining, composting, energy integration through res halls, volunteering, and the campus bike shop.
https://my.northland.edu/life/campus-living/living-green/
https://www.northland.edu/live/sleep/energy/
https://www.northland.edu/sustain/full-spectrum-sustainability/our-sustainability-story/


The website URL for the guide for green living and incorporating sustainability into the residential experience:
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Does the institution produce other sustainability outreach materials or publications not covered above?:
No

A brief description of these materials or publications:
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The website URL for these materials or publications:
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Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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