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With the publication of the College Sustainability Report Card 2010, more than 1,100 school survey responses from over 300 institutions are now available online. In total, these surveys offer more than 10,000 pages of data collected from colleges and universities during the summer of 2009. To access surveys from other schools, go to the surveys section of the website. To see grades, or to access additional surveys submitted by this school, please click the "Back to Report Card" link at the beginning or end of the survey.
Name: Danielle Ostafinski
Position (in student organization): President
Date survey submitted: July 10, 2009
STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS
1) Please describe the student-run campus environmental/sustainability organization in which you have a leadership role.
Name of organization: Student Environmental Coalition
Number of active members: 15
Website: http://gvsu.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2202200782
Date of last meeting: April 14, 2009
Frequency of meetings: weekly during the school year
Key issues addressed and programs implemented since August 2008:
GVSU Community Garden – growing organic food locally for community stakeholders and Campus Dining
PowerShift - sent 20 students from GVSU to the PowerShift conference in Washington, D.C. in March, ReGeneration – Hosted the Michigan Student Sustainability Coalition Summit (250 students) which was the premier youth sustainability conference in Michigan
Environmental Awareness Week in April- called attention to water issues (water bottles), local food, critical
mass bike ride, Really Really Free Market, Fall/Spring Ravine Clean-up
Progress made on each issue/program since August 2008:
GVSU Community Garden – have expanded participation and started a composting program
PowerShift – increased the level of civic engagement for GVSU students
Regeneration – Hosted a very successful summit for 250 students
Environmental Awareness Week – working to ban bottled water on campus, led a cleanup of the ravine, led a carbon neutral bike ride around campus, hosted the Really Really Free Market to limit landfill waste
SUSTAINABILITY CHALLENGES AND COMPETITIONS
2) Does your group organize any sustainability challenges/competitions for your campus and/or with other colleges?
[ ] No
[ x ] Yes. Please list details for each competition.
#1 - Name of competition: Recyclemania
Year initiated: 2008
Frequency of competition: Annually
Participants: 24,000
Incentives: National recognition and awards given in four categories
Goal of competition: To increase our recycling rate and decrease landfill waste
Percent of energy/water/waste reduced: 68.9% increase in recycling from 2008 to 2009, and reduced landfill waste by 4.67 pounds per person during the competition
Lasting effects of competition: The 2008 competition raised the recycling rate to 30% of our waste. That rate continued until the 2009 competition when the rate increased again.
Website: http://www.gvsu.edu/facilitiesservices/index.cfm?id=7A35702E-D089-7913-B495E8C24D8EB962
#2 - Name of competition: Conserve Energy Challenge
Year initiated: 2006
Frequency of competition: Twice each year
Participants: All students living on campus (about 5500)
Incentives: Give the winning housing unit a prize to be picked by the winners
Goal of competition: To reduce energy consumption in a housing unit by a larger percentage than the others
Percent of energy/water/waste reduced: Energy usage is reduced by 9% during the competition
Lasting effects of competition: After each competition there is about a 2% carry over in energy conservation
Website: http://www.gvsu.edu/housing/index.cfm?id=9DC6E3F5-D32D-D1D8-1C457A25568C0082
SUSTAINABILITY IN STUDENT GOVERNMENT
3) Does your student government include a specific position or committee dedicated to campus sustainability issues?
[ ] No
[x] Yes. Please describe: The Sustainability sub-committee works to spread the word about Sustainability and what efforts that Grand Valley State University has taken to go green. Working with the Director of Sustainability Initiatives, Norman Christopher, the committee hosts various luncheons, focus groups, conversations around sustainable living and applied best practices. Chair Senator is Mia Pokriefka www.gvsu.edu/si
OTHER ACTIVITIES
4) Please describe any additional campus sustainability activities or projects that you or your group has initiated at your school: A Campus Sustainability Pledge was developed with over 200 signees pledged to reduce their ecological footprint and practice sustainability.
--Each year we partner with departments campus-wide to host Campus Sustainability Week (CSW). Events scheduled throughout this week attract over 2,000 participants ranging from Grand Valley students, faculty, and staff to members of the surrounding communities.
5) Please list and briefly describe any other student-run organizations related to campus sustainability at your school, and provide URLs if available (e.g., student groups; student government committees; student-run food co-ops, gardens/farms, bike co-ops) and provide contact information of the student leaders, if possible:
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Students for Fair Trade - Students for Fair Trade works to educate GVSU students about Fair Trade and campaign to increase the availability of Fair Trade on our campuses. President Brian Cesarotti
http://www.gvsft.info
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GVSU Community Garden - Provides a forum for education, discussion and practice of the importance of consuming local and organic foods. It also creates a space for learning about the environmental, social and economic constructs of food systems. Contact Danielle Ostafinski
www.gvsugarden.com
Questions 6 is for informational purposes only; your response will NOT be included in the Report Card evaluation process.
6) Please list any regional or national networks with which your group is affiliated (e.g., Energy Action Coalition/Campus Climate Challenge, Sierra Student Coalition, a state PIRG, a state student sustainability coalition): Michigan Student Sustainability Coalition, Powershift, Society for College and University Planning, Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education
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