NOVEMBER 5TH, 2016 | 11 AM- 5:30 PM
BACKGROUND
The annual symposium brings together peer-to-peer student sustainability educators/leaders (sometimes called ‘Eco-Reps’) from many different colleges and universities in the Northeast to learn and be inspired by each other for a half-day conference.
The symposium is a set of presentations, workshops, and roundtable discussions by students or regional professionals. The structure of the symposium allows students from different schools to lead sessions on a variety of topics, providing valuable presentation experience as well as facilitating the spread of ideas between schools. Sessions are typically grouped by broad topics, or tracks, such as “engagement,” “building a program,” or “communications.” The symposium fills an important role by showing students that they belong to a larger community of people like themselves who are all working for the same cause of creating a sustainably conscious community at their college or university.
-->Register for the conference here<--
LOCATION
Registration and Check In:
Amherst Room
10th Floor of the Murray D. Lincoln Campus Center
1 Campus Center Way
Amherst, MA, 01003
PARKING
http://www.umass.edu/transportation/where-park
MAP
WORKING AGENDA
11:00-12:15 Registration, Casual Lunch & Icebreakers
12:15-1:00 Welcome and Introductions
1:00-1:10 ~Travel Time~
1:10-1:50 Workshop (3 track options)*
1:50-2:00 ~Travel Time~
2:00-3:00 Case Studies* OR Optional Campus Sustainability Tour
3:00-3:30 Networking and Refreshments
3:30-3:40 ~Travel Time~
3:40-4:20 Workshop (3 track options)*
4:20-4:30 ~Travel Time~
4:30-5:10 Resource Roundtable Discussion
5:10-5:30 Closing Remarks
CASE STUDIES & WORKSHOPS
Case studies will be 20 minutes long and presenters will focus on presenting specific projects happening at their school.
Workshops will each be 40 minutes long, and presenters will focus on skill building and engaging with their audience.
We have created a suggested list of case study and workshop topics based on feedback from past SSLS attendees. See topics below:
Infrastructure
- Dining (Diet options, Real Food Challenge, local sourcing, working with private vs public dining providers)
- Energy systems (behavior change, renewables, efficiency)
- Purchasing, fair trade and sustainable products
- Recycling/waste reduction (hard to manage wastes, composting, move in/out reuse programs, signage, student education/compliance)
- Land/Invasive species management
- Facilities/sustainable building policies/green building.
Institutional Structure/Change
- Changing campus infrastructure and the structure of other Offices of Sustainability
- Different infrastructures of Eco-Rep programs/sustainability clubs
- Environmental leadership networks/coalitions and how they operate effectively
- Engagement:
- Detailed toolkit on campaign building
- Coalition building across campus (students, faculty, staff, administration)
- Student body education, behavior change (personal impact)
- Fundraising (crowdfunding, grant writing, institutional funding, revolving funds, student green fees)
- Faculty engagement and curriculum.
Student Action
- Divestment
- How to diversify sustainability movement on campus (environmental justice, social justice)
- Projects about more holistic approaches to sustainability i.e. social impact projects
- How to build sustainability into life after college
