University of California, Irvine
EN-7: Employee Educators Program

UCI's Peer-to-Peer Campus Recycling Program is an established employee educators program. This ongoing program is implemented through UCI recycling staff, who provide regular training, education and other tools to representatives in buildings throughout the campus regarding recycling best practices and procedures. These representatives then serve as recycling champions to communicate information and tools provided to them to inform their peers in support of UCI recycling program resources and practices. Building representatives receive education through semi-annual training sessions, field visits, and follow-up communications from UCI recycling staff. UCI's peer-to-peer recycling education program has resulted in UCI achieving one of the highest waste diversion rates of any US campus.

Peer-to-Peer Campus Recycling Program information: http://sustainability.uci.edu/portfolio-items/waste-management/

Employee educators are campus staff who have participated in training sessions offered and instructed by UCI Recycling staff. Employee educators have also demonstrated interest and commitment in becoming a recycling leader for their workplace, helping to continue to educate and inform their peers about proper recycling and waste disposal.

Employee educators receive training from UCI Recycling staff through face-to-face training sessions that include presentations, videos, and waste sorting activities. UCI staff also provides background information on the campus's goal to become Zero Waste, and the important role the employee educators and their peers have in helping to achieve this goal.

All training materials are created by UCI staff for use with all campus employees. These materials are always accessible in the Campus Recycling Resource Library, allowing employee educators ease of resource accessibility and sharing of information with peers. Visit the resource library here: http://sustainability.uci.edu/recycling-resource-library/

UCI supports this activity by paying the salary of one FTE and five student employees who work 10 hours a week. The program utilizes UCI facilities and equipment, and employees are granted time to participate in the various trainings as part of their normal work duties.

In support of campus sustainable transportation objectives to increase alternative transportation use, UCI Transportation hosts the League of American Bicyclist's Smart Cycling program, an ongoing program that aims to increase peer-to-peer understanding of essential cycling skills, including repairing, handling, and riding bicycles legally in traffic. League Cycling Instructors from UCI Transportation provide opportunities for campus representatives to become "Smart Cyclist" certified, demonstrating their knowledge of cycling skills and safety. Smart Cyclists then inform their fellow campus peers about the essentials of cycling by volunteering at several campus biking and transportation festivals, such as WhimCycle and uciRIDEtoberfest. Smart Cyclists provide hands-on guidance about proper cycling etiquette, how to use gears efficiently, and how to plan the best routes on campus and beyond. UCI's Smart Cycling program has greatly contributed to the growth in UCI's biking community.

Smart Cycling Program: http://bike.uci.edu/events/smart-cycling/

Employee educators are faculty and staff who have successfully completed the certification component of the League of American Bicyclist's Smart Cycling program.

Smart Cyclists receive training from UCI Transportation staff who are certified League Cycling Instructors (LCIs). The seminar training focuses on teaching and demonstrating techniques for future riders, both on the road and in the classroom. View one of the training PowerPoints here: http://sustainability.uci.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2018/04/UCI-Smart-Cycling-Winter-2018.pdf.

Trained Smart Cyclists are provided with informational materials to support them in educating their peers on cycling essentials. For example, Smart Cyclists are provided with a Bike Festival Volunteer Guidebook that covers the key cycling skills their peers should be educated on. An example of this resource can be found here: http://sustainability.uci.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2018/04/Bike-Festival-Volunteer-Guidebook.pdf

UCI Transportation covers the cost of the Smart Cycling training seminars, with each seminar costing approximately $500, plus employee time. UCI Transportation also covers event costs for campus bike festivals in which trained Smart Cyclists assist in educating campus employees about cycling skills and safety.

UCI GREEN LABS (38 faculty and staff directly served in 2017)
UCI Green labs provides tools and resources for faculty, staff, and students working in campus laboratories to improve sustainable practices. This includes topics such as energy, water, green chemistry, waste management, and field work. As part of this program, laboratory representatives are provided information from campus sustainability staff who then reach out to their peers within their lab group, or colleagues in other campus labs, to communicate Green Lab initiatives and practices. Participating labs who demonstrate improved sustainability receive official UCI Green Labs certification. An initial set of UCI laboratories were certified in 2017 through a pilot program using this peer-to-peer approach. UCI Green Labs is now available to all 300 laboratories across the campus.
See: http://sustainability.uci.edu/green-lab/


DINING - GREEN CAPTAIN PROGRAM (886 employees directly served in 2017)
Sustainability staff from UCI Hospitality and Dining coordinates the Green Captain program, a program that helps to reduce the environmental impact of campus dining through peer-to-peer education. Green Captains are employees from each of UCI's dining locations (dining halls, retail, and catering). To participate in the program, Green Captains attend trainings from Sustainability staff to learn about sustainable dining practices and support implementation of new sustainability projects. Green Captains then educate their peers about sustainable dining practices in the workplace and during events, such as, Wiping Out Waste, Vegan Hacks, and #MyLastTrash. To support them in these efforts, all Green Captains receive the Green Captain Handbook: https://aramarkhighereducation.app.box.com/s/pm7oh8npd6aro8pf72d2qyp7ifj34uly

UCI employs several employee educator programs to expand the reach of campus sustainability staff to provide training and resources to certain campus employees, who then use those tools to educate their peers on important campus sustainability initiatives. This collaborative approach allows UCI's limited number sustainability staff to achieve greater results than would occur from traditional one-on-one or group training.

The information in this credit was provided by:

Anne Krieghoff
Sustainability Program Manager
Facilities Management
(949) 824-9097
akriegho@uci.edu

Carolyn Hernandez
Acting Sustainable Transportation Manager
Transportation Services
(949) 824-1173
cjlh@uci.edu

Erika Hennon
Media Design and Communication Specialist
Transportation Services
(949) 824-5951
ehennon@uci.edu

Carrie Metzgar
Green Lab Program Coordinator
Environmental Planning & Sustainability
(949) 824-6316
cmetzgar@uci.edu

Lotus Thai
Sustainability Coordinator
Aramark
(949) 824-3170
thai-lotus@aramark.com