Oregon State University
EN-1: Student Educators Program

The OSU Center for Civic Engagement works to create more sustainable, caring, and equitable communities through engaging students in education, direct service, and advocacy. Their outreach team offers programs and presentation designed to educate their peers and topics related to social, economic, and environmental justice. Examples of outreach activities include planning and implementing educational events, such as cooking workshops and gleaning projects that educate students on food insecurity and sustainable sourcing, site leading projects to local community organizations to learn about food and housing justice, staffing educational booths at campus events, and advertising sustainability programs to students at Oregon State University. Students also facilitate workshops on social change leadership and pathways for public service and civic engagement for their peers. Furthermore, the student leaders facilitate community projects for their peers to work towards creating more sustainable communities through projects like environmental conservation and restoration with Corvallis Parks & Recreation, community gardening, building homes with Habitat for Humanity, packing food at the local food share, serving meals at the local soup kitchen, and more. Program info at http://sli.oregonstate.edu/cce (https://cel.oregonstate.edu/).

The Center for Civic Engagement staff has 16 paid student positions selected based on a competitive application process and hired by full-time program coordinators. Staff is selected based on demonstrated personal commitment to sustainability and civic engagement (social, economic, and environmental justice), experience in the sustainability-related fields, and aptitude of candidates for conducting peer learning activities, event planning, and other related activities.

The Center for Civic Engagement staff receives weeks of formal training in organizational development, peer-to-peer education, communication, project management, assessment, purchasing, student leadership development, sustainability principles, and community organizing and empowerment. Training is conducted by OSU staff and ranges between two weeks for staff, plus additional development opportunities throughout the year.

OSU dedicates a minimum of 3 FTE of staff time to civic engagement and sustainability program coordination. Other resources include assistance in purchasing, processing payroll and other logistical support, and additional program assistance from departments like the Sustainability Office, Campus Recycling, the academic colleges and many others. The CCE budget for FY19 was approximately $204,000, funded from student fees. This number does not include costs associated with the salary and benefits of full-time and graduate assistant staff.

Eco-Representatives (Eco-Reps) are hired students responsible for advancing and institutionalizing a culture of sustainability in the residence halls in which they live. This includes: - Planning and executing sustainability-focused events (at least one per term) - Advertising and encouraging involvement in campus-wide sustainability events, including inter-hall recycling and energy competitions. - Educating residents about sustainable lifestyles and resources (common methods included staffing a booth, visiting rooms to talk to residents, hanging or creating posters/signage, Facebook posts, and organizing hall events). - Coordinating their hall's composting program - recruiting participants, educating and engaging participants, and maintaining compost bins (weighing and tracking data, emptying, and cleaning). - Coordinating their hall's recycle right program - educating and engaging participants, testing different outreach methods of influencing recycling behavior, and assessing the outreach methods’ impact on actual levels of contamination in residence hall recycling stations. Eco-Reps work 5-8 hours per week and are paid hourly. There were eight Eco-Reps during FY19.

Candidates were selected following a competitive application process. Students in any residence hall were invited to submit applications. A hiring committee was assembled (made up of the various partners contributing to the Eco-Rep program) to select applicants to interview, conduct interviews, and select the top candidates. These top candidates determined which halls would have Eco-Reps.

Early in the academic year, Eco-Reps receive specialized training targeted specifically for the types of tasks expected of them. They attend weekly meetings throughout the year with their supervisor and campus partners and received informal trainings from partners on campus sustainability programs and resources. A lesson book was created by the Sustainability Office specifically for the Eco-Rep program. It is based on Northwest Earth Institute course material. Content is read and reviewed at each Eco-Rep weekly group meeting with a facilitated discussion led by the Eco-Reps.

Four campus entities contributed funds to build a $7,800 budget for FY19 wages: $3,900 from Campus Recycling $1,300 from University Housing & Dining Services $1,300 from Community Engagement & Leadership $1,300 from the Sustainability Office These same partners offer additional resources, such as printing and supplies, as needed, for Eco-Reps' projects. The Residence Hall Association also provided access to their resource room (which offered computers, printing and office supplies) and the Hall Councils provided funds for event materials when Eco-Reps requested them. In addition, partners contributed staff time to support Eco-Reps, as needed. In particular, the Sustainability Office supported and supervised the Eco-Reps, providing training, work assignments, admin support, etc.

Waste Watchers is a joint group between Campus Recycling and the Center for Campus Engagement whose mission is to engage students and the community in waste reduction at OSU by providing educational programming, meaningful opportunities for action, and empowerment of future leaders. The program has several chair and leadership positions that are elected by the larger group. Waste Watchers volunteer at events such as Repair Fairs, RecycleMania, and #BeavsRecycle. Repair Fairs are events which serve the OSU community by helping attendees fix up broken items rather than throwing them away. People can bring broken items and volunteers will help them learn how to repair their belongings, attend demos to learn more skills. RecycleMania and #BeavsRecycle are two campaigns throughout the school year which focus on increasing the amount the OSU community recycles.

General members of Waste Watchers are volunteer positions trained for outreach and events. Chair positions including Program Leader, Membership Chair, Recruitment Chair, and Social Chair are elected into their positions.

Waste Watchers are trained for outreach and events by a full time professional outreach team member from Campus Recycling. Typical training includes social norming, how to conduct traditional outreach like tabling and class presentations, etc.

As a joint group between Campus Recycling and the Center for Civic Engagement, the group is funded by both entities. Additionally, both provide staff support "Waste Watch Coordinators" for the group.

Campus Recycling's Student Outreach Assistant position is a paid student position that focuses on educating and engaging the OSU community (primarily students) in recycling and waste reduction. Duties include planning and implementing educational events (Earth Week, Repair Fairs, RecycleMania, etc.), communicating electronically (writing for the blog, Facebook, and recycling website), planning and staffing booths, presenting to student clubs, distributing informational materials, and helping coordinate the student volunteer team the Waste Watchers (including recruiting volunteers, setting meeting agendas, facilitating meetings, and coordinating volunteers at events).