Live GOC VIII: The Evolving Role of Regional Campus Sustainability Organizations

Submitted by Andrea Webster on September 21, 2009 - 10:43am

During the first session I attended, 'The Evolving Role of Regional Campus Sustainabiliity Organizations,' at GOV VIII: Embracing Change, Troy Goodnough, the Sustainability Coordinator at the University of Minnesota, Morris; Juliana Goodlaw-Morris, the Midwest Campus Field Coordinator for NWF Campus Ecology;  Praween Dayananda, the Southwest Field Coordinator for NWF Campus Ecology; and Jon Jenson, the Director of Environmental Studies at Luther College (IA) spoke about various regional campus sustainability groups that have formed or are in the process of establishment around the US. Here are a few of the groups that were mentioned, and points of contacts if you're interested:

  • UMACS, the Upper Midwest Association for Campus Sustainability - The group recently launched a new website and holds a conference every other year.  The next conference will be April 9-10 at the University of Wisconsin, River Falls.  Contact: Jon Jenson
  • A Chicago-based group of campuses working towards sustainability.  The group is just getting started and doesn't even have a name yet, but it is informally known as the ChicagoLand Group.  Their goal is to hold quarterly meetings for all the campuses in the Chicago area to work with the City of Chicago to move their campuses towards sustainability. Contact: Juliana Goodlaw-Morris
  • Texas Regional Alliance for Campus Sustainability (TRACS), led by UT Austin - During an informal gathering at AASHE2008, a group representing eleven Texas campuses discussed the possibility of forming a Texas regional version of AASHE, and TRACS was the result.  The group has created a wiki and its next statewide summit will be in April 2010. Contact: Praween Dayananda
  • Re-Energize Texas - Student  campus sustainability group in Texas.  Contact: Praween Dayananda

What are the schools that are part of these groups looking for?  They're looking for face-to-face interactions and ways to collabroate to create change in their areas.  They're also looking for regional support for how to create climate action plans, how to integrate sustainability into their curriculum, how to do composting in a city, and how to green their facilities (which is usually affected by their regional climate).  

-Live from GOC VIII, Andrea Webster, Publications and Education Coordinator