University of Colorado Colorado Springs
EN-1: Student Educators Program

Trained students from the Office of Sustainability train Resident Life Staff on sustainable living. The Resident Life Staff consists of students who then educate the entire residence community on sustainable living. https://www.uccs.edu/residence/sustainability.html

Residence Advisors (RA) are selected during an application process. RAs were required to make sustainability a focal point. All of the RA's attended a required sustainability educator program.

During RA training the Office of Sustainability conducts a one hour training session with all RA’s to educate them on sustainable efforts to be focused on for the duration of that academic year. After they have received the training, the RA's conduct meetings with their residents to discuss the sustainability focus for each academic year.

The Sustainability Office staff provides ongoing assistance, education, and support to sustainability campaigns to all RA's in residence housing.

Students within the office are trained on waste-diversion. They in turn train zero waste volunteers who serve at events such as new student orientation, basketball games, Earth Day, Mount Trashmore, Clean the Stream, convocation, and other large events.

There is an application/interview process in order to become a member in the Office of Sustainability. Student volunteers sign up to staff waste/recycling stations at athletic games, concerts, and other campus events. They then interview with students in the office to determine if they are a good fit.

All students working in the Sustainability Office receive formal training including readings, strategic plans and goals, practices we encourage on campus, and how to work with other students and campus members. Sustainability Office staff educate volunteers on single stream recycling, what is recyclable, composting, etc. Volunteer students, in turn, educate other students on zero waste.

The Sustainability Office staff time supports this program. This is a General Funded program. Specifically, there is a student Recycling Coordinator who directs the initial training.

The UCCS Wellness Center includes a teaching kitchen which is used for educational programming around healthy food choices, proper food preparation, and overall healthy living. We currently employ three graduate sports nutrition students, all of whom are also registered dietitians.Gateway Program Seminar (First Year) Classes visit the kitchen to learn more about local, nutritional foods and how to cook them. Students will be using a Community Supported Agriculture share from local farms as part of their program. The program is expanding in 2018 to do more outreach to veterans, LGBT, students with disabilities, and more.

Student educators in this program are registered dieticians and must apply for the positions.

They are already trained to be dieticians and work with students on nutrition. Additional training includes sustainable sourcing of food, reducing waste, composting, and teaching cooking.

A significant portion of this program has been funded by the Green Action Fund. There is a goal of getting more of this base funded in future years.

Food Next Door is a student directed educational program focused on local and organic food, reduced meat consumption, and students to healthier foods. These 4 students work with volunteers each week to design a menu, secure ingredients, cook, and then serve and teach other students in the dining hall. These students are paid for their work through Dining and Hospitality Services and though graduate stipends. Students served 1000. Farmhouse Fridays invites campus eaters to learn more about their food and watershed and engage in hands-on experiences from seed to plate. Farmhouse Fridays take place at the UCCS Farmhouse (FARM on campus map, http://map.uccs.edu) from 12-4pm. As part of Farmhouse Fridays, we have launched a Green Action Fund supported project, called SWELL and the Farmhouse-Local Food and Grain Literacy. This project takes place on Fridays throughout the semester, with each class focusing on a different aspect of local food or grain. This project aims to provide students the opportunity to learn through interactive hands-on experiences, while empowering them with the knowledge, skills, and tools needed to connect health and sustainability through local food. Students reached 100. UCCS Farm - Student volunteer program, managed by students. Student leaders work with individual students as well as classes to do farm work and learn about sustainable farming. Students reached 250. Campus Conservation Nationals - 4 week training provided by students in Sustainability Office to residents in housing. The 1627 students are already included above.

https://www.uccs.edu/diningservices/swell/the-flying-carrot.html https://www.uccs.edu/diningservices/swell/farmhouse/farmhouse-fridays-projects.html https://www.uccs.edu/diningservices/swell/food-next-door.html https://www.uccs.edu/recwellness/nutrition/cookingregistration.html