University of San Diego
EN-1: Student Educators Program

The Be Blue, Go Green (BBGG) club is a student-run club that educates the USD students through programs and events on campus and in the community. This advocacy group builds awareness and knowledge of sustainability issues and engages with other students to make a change. Outreach includes tabling in front of the University Center, holding free events and programs on campus, and creating and distributing educational materials to the Residence Halls and around campus. The following are a few of the activities that are initiated by the BBGG members in the 2015-2016 academic year. Film screening: Screening of sustainability educational material in-order to raise awareness and encourage peer-to-peer informative platform. Gathering for Earth Month: Creative ideas to celebrate Earth Month around issues such as water conservation, energy efficiency, and responsible disposal of waste and recycling/reuse. Food Day: Highlight the various advantages of locally grown food products through a Farmer's Market hosted on campus and Meatless Monday tabling. Information regarding the program can be found at: http://www.sandiego.edu/sustainability/take-action/be-blue-go-green.php

When we first established the BBGG club, student members were required to fill out a short application of their interest in the club. Currently, student members can join on voluntary basis, however the Leadership Team within the club goes through an application and interview process. This process ensures that the students leading their peer members are capable of the responsibilities and duties necessary for compliance and inclusion on campus. An executive board is accountable to take care of the drafting the responsibilities for the up-coming year and chartering the roadmap of the club.

A yearly retreat is held during the school year that focuses on team-building, leadership, and knowledge around the various topics advocated for on campus. Weekly meetings are also held throughout the semester that educate the student members on the issues facing the campus and students brainstorm on best practices to educate the student community. The committee also gains full access to all informational resources of the Office of Sustainability and other material related to sustainability to enhance their areas of interest.

Paid graduate assistants are provided to the student council to supervise all activities from meetings to events. A full-time employee of the Office of Sustainability is also assigned to oversee and advise the programs and events. They also provide support and act as a liaison between the student body and the university administration. The USD student government, Associated Students, provides funding for events and some funding for marketing and educational materials for student participants. A paid student Sustainability Senator position through the Associated Students is responsible for educating the student body of the recent activities of the club, best practices in the sustainability field, and creating sustainable resources for students.

Zero Waste is the idea that we can live anywhere without accumulating waste. With a Zero Waste perspective we imagine a future where all goods are either reusable indefinitely, recyclable, or biodegradable. The Trash Talkers program (2013-2016) communicated and facilitated events on campus such as employee staff meetings, club events, MBA networking events, career fairs and speaker series, completing the following agenda: - Initiated and instilled awareness among organizers and educate them about Zero Waste events. If the event was been agreed to be a Zero Waste event then various forms of suggestions were provided to the organizers. - Zero Waste Gurus consulted the organizer about sustainable sourcing of all materials relevant to the event such as utensils for serving and other disposable arrangement material such as cup, beverage bottles etc. - Worked with upstream vendors to have a good array of vendors to suggest for the Zero Waste events and made events as responsible as possible. - Sustainable sourcing of food was also encouraged with special emphasis on farmers markets and local businesses that are sustainable and organic in nature. - Trash Talkers visited the events and helped spread awareness amongst the attendees on the advantages of Zero Waste events, carbon foot print reduction of the campus and the initiatives of Office of sustainability. - Trash Talkers also helped attendees sort food wastes from the events into relevant bins encouraging them to recycle and reuse. - Larger events such as games, and sporting events were visited by numerous Trash Talkers who stood by bins and helped encourage recycling and responsible disposal of wastes.

Graduate Assistants from the Office of Sustainability were responsible for creating the roadmap for the Trash Talkers program. The core team was responsible for sourcing volunteers from the campus on a monthly basis while mapping the events on campus in parallel. A database was created to document all volunteers who showed interest in volunteering and were reached out to regularly with a list of opportunities to "Trash Talk" at Zero Waste events.

The Graduate Assistants educated Trash Talkers before each Zero Waste event with basic guidelines of their responsibilities along with handouts of signage and information regarding responsible disposal of waste. The training was split into 2 divisions: Pre-event and At-event Guidelines Pre-event Guidelines: Information regarding vendors, responsible sourcing of material such as food containers that were later composted or recycled, and reusable/ recyclable cutlery was given to Trash Talkers. At-event Guidelines: Awareness material regarding composting, separation of food waste and recycling was discussed with the Trash Talkers who later educated the attendees with the same knowledge.

Paid Graduate Assistants were responsible for the program with facilitation provided by the Office of Sustainability. Volunteers were offered the opportunity for internship credit for their long-term involvement each semester with planning and execution of events with Zero Waste Gurus. Opportunities to network/ intern with companies associated with Office of Sustainability such as Waste Management, SDG&E, and other local organizations were provided along with access to all educational material from the Office.

The purpose of the Environmental Law Society is to increase awareness of environmental issues and their legal, political and social implications; to provide students with practical experience in the field of environmental law; to create opportunities for students to connect with local attorneys and other professionals working in the field; and to encourage and organize green and sustainable initiatives on the USD campus and in the San Diego community.

Student Educators are members of the Environmental Law Society and any law student is eligible to join.

The student educators work with local nonprofits and attorneys to receive training and participate in local events in the community.

Lunch meetings are funded by the law school's Student Bar Association.