| Overall Rating | Bronze |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 29.24 |
| Liaison | Laurel Pikcunas |
| Submission Date | March 3, 2022 |
University of Hawaii Windward Community College
EN-3: Student Life
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
1.25 / 2.00 |
Christian
Palmer Assistant Professor Anthropology |
Does the institution have an active student group focused on sustainability?:
Name and a brief description of the active student groups focused on sustainability:
Windward Community College has the Student Sustainability Hui. They hui is led by a faculty advisor who helps them create a semester-wide agenda with specific projects to complete. For example, the student sustainability hui build recycling receptacles to connect off of every single trash can on campus in 2017. In 2019, the student hui helped facilitate campus composting and tree planting efforts.
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:
WCC has the Hawaiian Studies Mala, the Rain Garden, the La‘au Lapa‘au garden, the Ginger Garden, the aquaponics workshop, and the Hale ‘Iolani Garden.
The Hawaiian Studies māla is a traditional Hawaiian taro terraced garden with a traditionally built hale. The māla is is incorporated into Hawaiian studies courses and is also the home of many service learning workdays throughout the year.
The Rain Garden is a garden in front of the natural sciences building that diverts rainwater from the gutters into a depressed area to water native plants. The rain garden is managed by the Sustainability Curriculum Committee. Workdays are held twice a month for students to learn about native plants, irrigation, and invasive species management.
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:
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:
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:
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 Sustainability Club leads hikes with participating students to windward Oahu hikes. The club president or faculty advisor makes sure to leave no trace or pick up trash as the hikes progress.
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:
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:
The various garden workdays mentioned above also couple as sustainable life skills opportunities for interested students. Students learn about fishpond and rock wall construction, hale building, medicinal gardening tips, home garden techniques, and invasive species management. The sustainability speaker series also includes field trips and workshops where students can learn about composting and waste reduction techniques.
Does the institution offer sustainability-focused student employment opportunities?:
A brief description of the sustainability-focused student employment opportunities offered by the institution:
WCC's Federal Work Study employment offers a student sustainability assistant position. This position offers students 16 hours per paycheck employment to engage in sustainability work throughout the campus. The assistant for the 2018-2019 academic year assisted with the recycling projects on campus.
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):
A brief description of other co-curricular sustainability programs and initiatives that do not fall into one of the above categories:
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.