Overall Rating	Bronze
Overall Score	26.56
Liaison	Noah Hughes
Submission Date	Dec. 31, 2022

STARS v2.2

Modesto Junior College
EN-3: Student Life

Status	Score	Responsible Party
	1.00 / 2.00	Noah Hughes Prof of Earth Sciences Earth Sciences

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Student groups

Does the institution have an active student group focused on sustainability?:

Name and a brief description of the active student groups focused on sustainability:

In pre-COVID times, there was a student club called "Operation Green" that focused on sustainability. They engaged in public outreach events to teach sustainability concepts to students and the public, including hosting a booth at monthly Science Nights and organizing an annual Earth Day celebration and educational event. However, since the campus closure, this club has not been operational. We hope that it is operational again soon.

Gardens and farms

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?:

Yes

A brief description of the gardens, farms, community supported agriculture (CSA) or fishery programs, and/or urban agriculture projects:

The Environmental Conservation classes utilize an "environmental conservation" section of our campus to study sustainable food production. This area includes closed loop food production systems, including fruits, vegetables, bees(honey) and aquaculture. Students experiment with various "fertigation" recipes (with fertilizer produced by the aquaculture tanks where tilapia grow) to see how well they work in fruit/vegetable production. This area also includes a native plant nursery where students study beneficial insects. There is a rainwater capture system that will provide water. Systems (including aquaculture tanks) will be powered by solar panels. All food products will be sold to the public at a "country store" on campus (see "Student-run enterprises")

Student-run enterprises

Does the institution have a student-run enterprise that includes sustainability as part of its mission statement or stated purpose?:

Yes

A brief description of the student-run enterprises:

All food produced by Environmental Conservation classes (see Gardens and Farms), as well as other areas within our Agriculture School, is sold to the public through a "country store" on campus that will be managed in part by Agriculture Business students. This store functions as a learning lab for Ag Business students where they will gain experience in product development, sales, marketing, and inventory management around sustainable food products.

Sustainable investment and finance

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:

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Events

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?:

Yes

A brief description of the conferences, speaker series, symposia, or similar events focused on sustainability:

We have several science-based speaker series on our campus that often focus on sustainability topics.
The first of these is MAPS (Modesto Area Partners in Science) which is a monthly science lecture series (Fridays at 7:30 PM) that is free to students and the general public. Most of these speakers have a sustainability focus, but not all of them. Recent topics include "How AI can Help Us Build Better Batteries" (by a Dr. Evan Reed , an associate professor of Materials and Engineering from Stanford) and "Will There Ever Be Another Earth" (by Dr. Margaret Turnbull, SETI Institute and NASA Ames). The MAPS website: https://www.mjc.edu/instruction/sme/maps.php
The other is Science Colloquium, a semi-weekly lecture (Wednesdays at 3:15 PM) that is free to all students and the general public. Topics usually focus on issues around sustainability. Recent talks included "The Rise and Recent Fall of Sierra Nevada Glaciers due to Climate Change" (by Dr. Greg Stock, Yosemite NP Geologist) and "Wise About Water" (by Denise Godbout-Avant, Stanislaus County Master Gardener)

Cultural arts

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:

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Wilderness and outdoors programs

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:

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Sustainability-focused themes

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:

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Sustainable life skills

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:

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Student employment opportunities

Does the institution offer sustainability-focused student employment opportunities?:

Yes

A brief description of the sustainability-focused student employment opportunities offered by the institution:

Agriculture Business students can work at the student store where goods produced by MJC Environmental Conservation and Agriculture students are sold. See "Student-run Enterprises"

Graduation pledge

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):

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Optional Fields

A brief description of other co-curricular sustainability programs and initiatives that do not fall into one of the above categories:

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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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