Geography 499: Sustainability Practicum
How do we create a sustainability plan for campus?
The situation:
- I’m not a sustainability expert, nor is anyone on campus or in this class, but I know we can figure out how to create a real sustainability plan together using our collective skills and knowledge.
- I need your help to make this happen: this is a collaboration. You need to play an active role. You guys all are smart, have a range of knowledge but mostly skills in problem solving, research, and expression (written, spoken).
- Collaboration!
- Sustainability in the real world is put into practice under circumstances like those here at OWU. Not ideal but workable. Experiences in this course will help you – whether in graduate school, in a job or in life in general. It’s about figuring out stuff and making things happen.
- Work in this class is also tied to changes and developments in the Environmental Studies program:
- “The proposed OWU Center for the Environment consists of an enhanced Environmental Studies program focused on active student learning about sustainability and environmental issues. A full time staff member and office facilities with a budget for speakers, visiting scholars, and student research will provide an intellectual and physical center for the program, greatly enhance the experience of current majors and attract new students. The Environmental Studies major will continue to consist of selected courses from across traditional disciplines, but the core of the major will focus on engagement in regional sustainability and environmental research projects. Environmental Studies will be the first major at OWU centered on theory-into-practice.”
- Seeking funds from Alumni donors, grants (Government and private foundations)
- Capstone course! (Geog, ES, whatever)
- Slow but progress: a budget for ES 2015-16!
A few more confessions:
- I thought there would be 3 or 4 students in this class!
- I am extremely prepared and very much (planned) unprepared for this course!
- Let’s look at the course as a cool project you are getting credit for
What Next?
- We will make this class together
- Work in groups or individuals? The latter for now…
1) Review the sustainability plan for Denison University. It’s more or less what we need to do for OWU.
- Find one more sustainability plan (internet search) and briefly review both
- How to make this happen?
2) Look at the schedule for the semester and think about how we can most effectively use our time. Suggest a general plan for the course that leads to our desired outcomes: A draft OWU sustainability plan delivered to the Sustainability Task Force by Earth Day 2015 (Wednesday April 22). In other words, how would you put together this class and project if you were in charge?
Review of what we need to accomplish:
- define a plan for how to proceed given the time we have this semester
- figure out how to put together a sustainability plan
- do the research necessary for the sustainability plan
- develop a grant proposal seeking external funds to cover costs related to sustainability on campus
- define a plan for publicizing our work and sustainability on campus, culminating in events around Earth Day 2015 (April 22)
Spring Semester 2015
- Week 1: January 13/15 (no meeting Thursday January 15: Luce Grant Call)
- Week 2: January 20/22: present / discuss ideas (below) on 20th, maybe 22th.
- Week 3: January 27/29
- Week 4: February 3/5
- Week 5: February 10/12
- Week 6: February 17/19
- Week 7: February 24/26
- Week 8: March 3/5
- Week 9: March 10/12: Spring Break
- Week 10: March 17/19
- Week 11: March 24/26
- Week 12: March 31/April 2
- Week 13: April 7/9
- Week 14: April 14/16
- Week 15: April 21/23: Earth Day Week!
- Week 16: April 28/30
3) Be prepared to introduce yourself and (briefly) present a plan one week from today in class: Follow this format, print and bring a copy with you:
1 page: Comments on Denison Sustainability Plan with a focus on how we can construct a similar plan for OWU. Indicate major concerns or challenges (where you have no idea how to proceed), where you believe you can contribute, or you have ideas as to how to proceed.
1 page: Review the other resources (besides the Denison plan) at the end of the course syllabus and include a few comments on these sources so I know you looked at them.
1 page: Annotated schedule for the semester with your ideas for structuring our work week by week (in general) to reach the desired outcomes.
1/2 page: What you believe to be your personal strengths & weaknesses in the context of this project and this practicum course.
Finally:
- Please email me a copy of your report before we meet (on Tuesday January 20)
- Please feel free to talk to me about any of this
- I will add you to this blog as an author (no need to post anything yet)
- Don’t freak out
