University of Wisconsin-Green Bay
EN-3: Student Life

Public and Environmental Affairs Council (PEAC): The purpose of The Public and Environmental Affairs Council is to see that the University fulfills the roll of being ECO-U. We stand up for the environment, and hope to create a more sustianable campus and Green Bay Community through environmental awareness programs. With lots of hands-on work by enthusiastic people, the organization has been and will continue to be successful in achieving its goals. SLO Food Alliance: This student group’s goals are: 1) Educate the campus community about the importance of locally grown, sustainable food, 2) Encourage a sustainable food system on campus and throughout the community and 3) Maintain the UWGB Campus Garden and use it as a focal point for the student organization. Members of this organization manage the campus organic garden which grows produce and herbs supplied to the Union’s food service. The group also offers a weekly garden stand for the UW-Green Bay campus for home use. Student Government Association: Environmental Affairs Committee: It is the goal of the Environmental Affairs Committee to see that affects to the natural environment are considered in all matters taken up by the University. The original founding of the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay focused on the connections between the natural environment and higher education. Throughout time this view has been transformed in various ways and continues to change even today. Our goal is to see to it that the environment continues to be as important of a voice as it was in previous times. The Environmental Affairs Committee also works to understand the concerns of the current student body on local, state and federal matters related to the environment and the impacts of such matters on this University. Energy Conservation Corps: The Energy Conservation Corps conducts a competition in campus housing to reduce energy consumption. The Corps members educate students about the easy ways they can reduce their energy consumption on campus.

SLO Food Alliance: This student group’s goals are: 1) Educate the campus community about the importance of locally grown, sustainable food, 2) Encourage a sustainable food system on campus and throughout the community and 3) Maintain the UWGB Campus Garden and use it as a focal point for the student organization. Members of this organization manage the campus organic garden which grows produce and herbs supplied to the Union’s food service. The group also offers a weekly garden stand for the UW-Green Bay campus for home use.

Environmental Management and Business Institute Annual Conference In April 2013, EMBI’s annual Green Innovations conference held with the theme of “Urban Agriculture and Community Sustainability." This conference brought together faculty, students, business and government leaders to learn from each other. The iPat film series continues in 2013/2014. UW-Green Bay’s environmentally focused iPat Movie Series is back for the new school year, debuting with “Pandora’s Promise” at 7 p.m. Tuesday (Oct. 1) in the University Union’s Christie Theatre. The movie examines the issues of energy production and climate change, exploring the emerging divide within the environmental movement over nuclear energy. Each iPat showing is followed by a commentary and Q & A session featuring a local expert or faculty member, and Prof. Emeritus Michael Kraft will be the speaker Oct. 1. The series will have two additional installments this semester — a showing of “Trashed” Tuesday, Nov. 5; and a screening of “More than Honey” Tuesday, Dec. 3. The iPat (Impact=Population*Affluence*Technology) series is sponsored by the Department of Public and Environmental Affairs and the Center for Public Affairs.

UW – Green Bay has a Camping and Climbing Club that provides students an opportunity to learn and experience new outdoor activities beyond what the school can provide through coursework. It has an e-mail distribution list of interested students. Events scheduled during Spring 2011 included a winter camping trip, a trip to an indoor rock climbing venue and a climbing/camping weekend to Devils Lake, Wisconsin.

The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay’s Common Theme for the 2009-2010 school year focused on “Realizing our Sustainable Future.” The Common Theme is a yearlong program designed to engage the campus and community in the ideals of a liberal arts education and the UW-Green Bay interdisciplinary mission. It encourages faculty, staff, students and community members to focus on a general theme from multiple perspectives and have a shared experience with open discussion and critical thinking. The “Realizing our Sustainable Future” theme is designed to engage individuals in conversations about the quality of life on Earth. Sustainability requires people to take responsibility and action to be stewards of the planet, Common Theme organizers say. The public and the campus community are invited to participate in a common reading. This year’s book is Red Sky at Morning, by James Gustave Speth. Speth is renowned as a visionary environmentalist leader and warns that, in spite of all international negotiations and agreements of the past 20 years, efforts to protect Earth’s environment are not succeeding, according to his website. “For 20 years, thoughtful people and intelligent leaders should have known that we needed to get busy,” Gustave Speth said in a statement “Precious time has been wasted. And now a new generation has been given a climate problem that is deeper and more difficult.” The public was invited to add to an online blog discussion moderated and updated regularly by UW-Green Bay faculty. Other on-campus events, including classroom sessions, public discussions and other events, incorporatee elements of the Common Theme.

Beginning in Fall 2013, all freshman residence buildings have an Eco-Rep assigned to build awareness and increase participation in green and sustainable ways of living on campus and beyond. The Eco-Reps provide a variety of learning opportunities throughout the year and have targeted events such as up-cycling materials for Halloween decorations.

The pilot Eco-Reps program provides a stipend to the four students serving in this role. Their employment totally focuses on increasing sustainability knowledge in freshman housing units.

The Public and Environmental Affairs program spearheads the Green Ribbon graduation pledge among graduating seniors. Departing seniors are invited sign the pledge statement. They’ll get green ribbons to wear on their robes in return, signifying their support of the following statement: “I pledge to explore and take into account the social and environmental consequences of any job I consider and will try to improve these aspects of any organizations for which I work.”