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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: Liz Foster
Position (in student organization): Student member
Date survey submitted: 7/24/2009
STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS
1) Please describe the student-run campus environmental/sustainability organization in which you have a leadership role.
Name of organization: MacCARES (Macalester Conservation and Renewable Energy Society)
Number of active members: varies. The average is between 20-40 depending on the year.
Website: http://www.macalester.edu/maccares/
Date of last meeting: May 2009.
Frequency of meetings: Weekly as a group. As needed in smaller task forces to work on specific projects or to plan the facilitation of larger group meetings.
Key issues addressed and programs implemented since August 2008: campus heating/cooling systems, ampus Sustainability Plan/Strategic Planning Process, MacCARES organizational structure, recruitment of new members, fundraising and attending Powershift 2009 in Washington D.C.
Progress made on each issue/program since August 2008: increased dialogue with administration and Facilities Services, participated in and facilitated parts of the Strategic Planning Process, formalized group roles, detailed a new student recruitment plan, organized ran various events on campus and Powershift 2009.
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: Minnesota Campus Energy Challenge (MCEC)
Year initiated: 2006-2007
Frequency of competition: Yearly
Participants: Macalester College, other schools in Minnesota
Incentives: recognition, $ from energy savings, prize (to be introduced in 2009-2010 competition)
Goal of competition: energy reduction, increased sustainability dialogue, increased communication between colleges and universities in Minnesota,
Percent of energy/water/waste reduced: varies with school. Winner of the 2008-2009 competition had an overall (combined heat/electricity) reduction of 12%.
Lasting effects of competition: behavior changes, operations improvements
Website: http://www.teammn.org/ (other website under construction – and will become the official one at a later date)
#2 - Name of competition: Recycle Mania
Year initiated:
Frequency of competition: website
Participants:
Incentives:
Goal of competition: 6 total, please see website
Percent of energy/water/waste reduced: ?
Lasting effects of competition: waste reduction, operations changes, behavior changes,
Website: http://recyclemania.org/
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 student government appoints students to several sustainability committees. Individual members of the student government often dedicate themselves to improving campus sustainability through individual and group projects.
OTHER ACTIVITIES
4) Please describe any additional campus sustainability activities or projects that you or your group has initiated at your school: MacCARES students have been heavily involved in a number of projects as the main organizers or as supporters. Work has included operations changes, behavior change campaigns, the creation of a Sustainability Office, college policies, a Sustainability Student Worker network, and more.
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: numerous organizations. Full list in answer to main survey and also available on MAC Sustainability Office website.
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): numerous, some include: EAC, SSC, MPIRG, TEAMMN, etc.
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