Central Piedmont Community College 2008 Campus Sustainability Leadership Award Application

Category

Community Colleges & Other Two Year Institutions

imageCPCC Campuses are NWF Wildlife Habitats
Photographer: Ernie McLaney

Contact

Ernie McLaney
Program Coordinator
Center for Sustainability
Central Piedmont Community College
Charlotte, NC
(704) 330-6427
ernie.mclaney@cpcc.edu

Governance & Administration

In order to respond to the powerful and growing trend of environmental sustainability, and to successfully meet the need for training, we created a Center for Sustainability in 2007 with the following program goals:

  1. To increase community awareness of the importance of living and working in an ecologically responsible manner. *Earth Day *Seminars *Publications *Speaker Series
  2. To conduct continuing education training and seminars for the general public which focus on teaching people how to live in an environmentally friendly manner  *Organic gardening *smart houses *composting *home insulation *automated lighting *backyard habitats, etc.
  3. To conduct training sessions for professionals in the construction industry, engineering, information technology, environmental impact compliance courses, Leeds certification training, etc.
  • CPCC has a dedicated Program Coordinator working to increase awareness, promote continuing education and community programs and to encourage sustainability thinking in all elements of instruction and college operations.
  • CPCC established the Center for Sustainability Advisory Board in 2007 made up of community business leaders from various organizations. Members have been challenged to actively support and channel the college's focus on those topics and programs that will support environmental education and workforce development in the Charlotte region.

We highly suggest a tour of our website for the complete story and supporting images: www.cpcc.edu/cfs

Operations

As a non-profit institution of higher education, CPCC is challenged with an extremely limited budget and resources that must be committed to learning.

  • CPCC Facilities Services plans energy efficiency into all construction projects. This includes energy reduction in all lighting and HVAC and also includes water conservation design and environmentally friendly landscape maintenance.
  • All CPCC Maintenance diesel vehicles are being converted to run on biodiesel. We have positioned ourselves to primarily use Bio-diesel by increasing the number of diesel vehicles in our service fleet.
  • CPCC Facilities Services added two Ford Escape Hybrids to its fleet during 2007.
  • Building construction uses motion detection light system, auto shut-off sinks, and CFLs for lighting.
  • CPCC Facilities Services reported over 50 tons of paper and electronics recycled by the college in 2007.
  • CPCC Facilities Services reported that the college recycles about 2240 cubic yards of waste per year.
  • CPCC uses 70 yards of composed soil in flower beds which improve water conservation. A majority of the composting materials come form the college's own landscape maintenance recycle program.
  • CPCC offers discounts to employees for Charlotte Transit Bus passes, encouraging use of mass transit.
  • CPCC is in year two of a three year project to have all six campuses registered with the National Wildlife Federation as Certified Wildlife Habitats. Our Central Campus was officially certified in December 2007. These areas on each campus will serve as environmental education resources showcasing landscape management opportunities using native drought tolerant plants that attract a variety of wildlife. This project came about from an internal Innovation Grant provided by the college to encourage forward thinking by faculty and staff.
  • "2007 Earth Day service project - In conjunction with National/Global Youth Service Day, CPCC Service-Learning Center sponsored a day of environmental service on April 19, 2007 that involved 100 students and staff in six different service projects around the county, accumulating over 400 service hours of work cleaning up streams, landscaping greenways, and establishing wildlife habitat areas on three of our campus locations.
  • Little Sugar Creek Adopt-a-Stream - CPCC Student Life and Biology Departments have worked in partnership for 10 years, including during 2007, to clean and monitor the section of Little Sugar Creek adjoining the CPCC Central Campus. During that time, we have conducted 20 stream clean-up projects and involved over 1000 students in environmental service and education on Little Sugar Creek.
  • CPCC was one of the first institutions in North Carolina to offer on-line self service services (admission, registration, bill payment, grade view) and a majority of our students utilize these services. This reduced the need for students to drive to the college and for the college to keep its offices open round the clock.
  • Workstation, Printer and Projector Power Management - CPCC is implementing a power management plan that consists of powering down assets remotely to conserve energy during non operating hours while still allowing for remote maintenance.

See much more about our "green" operations at: www.cpcc.edu/cfs

Curriculum & Research

CPCC has submitted to the North Carolina Community College System a proposal for its Environmental Science Engineering Degree program and is waiting for approval.

 In the meantime, Corporate and Continuing Education classes are being offerrd which include:

  • ENV 7001 What's your Carbon Footprint
  • ENV 7135 Environmental BioDiesel
  • ELC 233 Energy Management
  • GDN 8032 How to Grow, Harvest and Store Culinary Herbs
  • GDN 8050 Organic Gardenting for the Fall & Winter
  • GDN 7050 Planning your own Home Landscape Design
  • GDN 8051 Organic Gardening for the Spring Season
  • GDN 8052 Organic Gardening for the Summer Season
  • GDN 7052 Utilizing Native Plants in Your Home Landscape
  • GDN 7060 Common Pests in the Charlotte Landscape
  • GDN 7250 Designing a Backyard Pond
  • GDN 8000 Mulitply your Favorite Plants through Plant Propagation
  • WWT 7001 Wastewater Treatment Cetification Level 1
  • WWT 7003 Wastewater Treatment Certification Level 2
  • GIS 8902 GIS/GPS Primer for Environmental Use
  • GIS 8112 Creating and Integrating Data for Natural Resource Applications

We highly suggest a tour of our website for the complete story and supporting images: www.cpcc.edu/cfs

Campus Culture

Some of the sustainability education efforts offered by CPCC  to students, faculty and staff, that are not part of the fromal curriculum include:

Community Spearker Events:

  • "Kilowatt Ours" Documentary hosted by the Film Director; Jeff Barrie. April '08
  • "Conservation Geography: GIS, Computer Mapping, and Activism" - Dale Loberger, ESRI
  • "Sustainability Driving Technology" - Dr. John Wear, Jr.
  • Environmental Engineering Speaker Series - Dr. Helene Hilger from UNC-Charlotte
  • "Energy Consumption and Emerging Trends" - Dr. Brian Raichl

  • North Carolina Conservation Network: Take Action Tour - to elevate consumer awareness of environmental issuues and tips on wise conservation choices aimed at improving our environmental quality of life.

  • CPCC is listed as an Environmental Education College through the North Carolina Office of Environmental Education and listed on their website; http://www.eenorhtcarolina.org/

  • CPCC is working with the Mecklenburg County Park & Recreation Department on environemtal education elements to be incorporated into the county's Greenway that runs along the CPCC campus.

Please take a brief look at our website for the complete "Events" story and supporting images: www.cpcc.edu/cfs


Community Service and Outreach

Some of the sustainability education efforts offered by CPCC that are not part of the fromal curriculum include:

Community Spearker Events:

  • Speaker Program: "Conservation Geography: GIS, Computer Mapping, and Activism" - Dale Loberger, ESRI
  • The Center for Sustainability Program Coordinator: Ernie McLaney participated on a Charlotte radio station program "Charlotte Talks" to speak on the college's wildlife habitats and native plants.
  • Speaker Program: "Sustainability Driving Technology" - Dr. John Wear, Jr.
  • Speaker Program: "Energy Consumption and Emerging Trends" - Dr. Brian Raichl
  • "Kilowatt Ours" Documentary hosted by the Film Director; Jeff Barrie. April '08

  • North Carolina Conservation Network: Take Action Tour - to elevate consumer awareness of environmental issuues and tips on wise conservation choices aimed at improving our environmental quality of life.

  • CPCC is listed as an Environmental Education College through the North Carolina Office of Environmental Education and listed on their website; http://www.eenorhtcarolina.org/

  • CPCC is working with the Mecklenburg County Park & Recreation Department on environemtal education elements to be incorporated into the county's Greenway that runs along the CPCC campus.

  • CPCC wins community green award: (Details on our website).

There's so much more to see on our website for the complete story and supporting images: www.cpcc.edu/cfs