Below is my internship paper... enjoy! If you are less interested in the final product, and would like to read about my adventures-just keep scrolling down. Thanks for visiting my site!

I. Sustainability in Higher Education
II. CCAT Voices: Summary of interviews about CCAT
III. Case studies:
A) HSU Campus Initiatives
1) Recycling
2) Alternative transportation club
3) Community Education Farm
B) Arcata Community Endeavors
1) Arcata Community Marsh and Wildlife Sanctuary
2) Community Bike Library
3) Farmers’ Market
IV. SENS In-reach: Ideas about how SENS can reach out to internal offices/departments
A) Courses
B) Residence Halls
C) Offices
D) Clubs
E) Administration

I. Sustainability in Higher Education
“Institutions of higher education, through their teaching, operations, and research, have long been at the forefront of addressing the world’s most critical challenges” (National Wildlife Federation iii). The issue of sustainability is no different than other revolutions fomented in the campus environment. Colleges and universities are ideal places to work for sustainability for a number of reasons. They are a large part of the economy, shapers of leaders who will have great potential to change, and sized at a manageable scale to deal with sustainability issues.
In America alone there are 4,168 colleges and universities (Institutional Data 1). These institutions spend an estimated $225 billion each year (Introduction xii). Directing a portion of this money toward sustainability has the potential to create great change.
Another reason colleges and universities need to be working toward sustainability is that they shape tomorrow’s leaders. Most of the world’s powerful decision makers have at least some college education. Also, on average people with a college education make more money and have the potential to be the largest consumers if not educated about sustainability. In the past, colleges and universities have provided information without knowledge and equipped generations of students merely to be “more effective vandals of the earth”, it is time to change this trend (Earth in Mind 5).
According to David Orr, “seemingly unsolvable global problems are often very solvable if approached at the right scale and with sufficient commitment”(Earth in Mind xi). Because colleges and universities are microcosms of society, they are appropriate places to pilot sustainability programs. If something is successful on a campus it is likely that it could also be transferred to a greater community as well.

I. CCAT Voices: Summary of interviews about CCAT
In an attempt to learn about the multiple facets of CCAT, I interviewed various members of the CCAT community. I focused primarily on former directors and administrators who had worked closely with the group. Below is the compilation of the interviews.

1. How do your policies facilitate a peaceful living/working environment? How do you cope with the fishbowl effect?
POLICY:
-Communication! (Meetings at least once a week.) (4)
-Cleanliness is huge! (We have specific chores; we may get a house keeper) (3)
-Enforce closing times. (2)
-Communal dinners, take turns cooking. (2)
-We talked about how important it is to respect each other’s schedules-it’s critical to attend meetings. (1)
-Recognize that you live in a public place. (1)
-Try to be fair about things, draw straws, etc. (1)
-Know what other resources are available, have good handouts to save your own energy. (1)

PERSONAL COPING:
-Leave when I need to (3)

2. How do you establish roles among the co-d’s? What roles would you say are most necessary for the program?
-When interviewing we look to folks to fill the positions we’ll need. (2)
-The co-d’s sort of fall into place with what they’re interested/talented in. (2)
-We have three roles (internal affairs, external affairs, and physical site). (2)

CRITICAL JOBS:
-outreach coordinator (4)
-grant writer (3)
-grounds (3)
-info request coordinator (2)
-website administrator (2)
-tour guide (1)
-budget (1)
-labor force (1)
-office manager (1)
-good office manager/historian (1)
-housekeeper (1)

3. How involved is CCAT with the other green endeavors on campus?
-CCAT serves as a center for AT on campus. (There could be more of a network of green initiatives on campus.) (4)
-This fluctuates a lot according to co-d’s. (1)
-I think the co-d’s are a really strong voice for the students interested in green things. (1)
(Other organizations include: students for energy independence, Alternative Transportation club, Bicycle learning center, emerging green builders club, green campus, student naturalist club, Campus Recycling Program, etc.)

4. How effective are the steering committee meetings?
-Meetings were a good opportunity to update people on what is going on, more structure would be helpful. (3)
-Generally not effective, unless there’s one big issue that the co-d’s really need advice on. (Monthly steering committee meetings keep them updated enough to give advice when needed. If we don’t have anything to talk about maybe we should just leave it open and have the option of ending early.) (2)

5. What are some of your best programs to bring in a variety of people?
-classes (4)
-workshops (2)
-potlucks (2)
-big events/festivals (1)

6. How have you seen CCAT improve in your time here? How were those improvements implemented-who suggested them, etc?
-The organizational structure suggested by former co-director Jeff Adams. (2)
-Improved documentation (bi-weekly newsletter, electronic files). (2)
-Working with the university administration. (2)
-Re-evaluation of the mission statement, brought up by Garrett. (1)
-Employee binders for each position. (1)
-More outreach. (1)

7. What sort of feedback mechanism does CCAT have?
-The steering committee is the largest feedback mechanism. (3)
-I think we are lacking in this department. (3)
-Employee meetings. (2)
-Co-d generational meetings. (1)

8. How do you feel the program is accomplishing it’s mission statement? Do you have any suggestions for revising the mission statement?
-We are working toward it (the biggest accomplishment is establishing a sense of community). (4)
-We need a strategic planner to develop a mission statement that reflects our goals. (1)

9. How do you feel your opinions were heard?
-When I spoke up, my opinions were heard. (4)
-I feel like they were heard most as a co-d. (2)
-Not with administration. (1)
-Yes, except at a few steering committee meetings. (1)

10. Why are there three co-d’s? Do you think this is an effective amount?
-Three is an effective number because you can communicate well and it is odd, so there is less division. (4)
-It would be more effective to increase the role of middle management. (1)
-I think having people around that were more involved than employees, but less than co-d’s would be helpful. (1)

11. How do you feel about the one year term limit?
-After a year people are normally burnt out. (4)
-It is a handicap of the program. (3)
-It should be easier for a co-d to apply for an additional year if interested. (2)

12. Do you have any suggestions other than changing the one year term, to improve the continuity?
-Co-d training would be helpful. (3)
-Staggered terms help provide some continuity. (2)
-Write reflective papers, journals, and take pictures. (2)
-The January co-d should be required to be involved the semester before they start. (1)
-Maintain a contact list. (1)
-Create reference binders. (1)
-Be more open to people re-applying. (1)
-Require that co-d’s have experience working with CCAT before they are hired. (1)

13. What kind of turnover is there with CCAT? Were there any times you’ve wanted to leave CCAT, what are some of the things that make you want to leave?
-I have felt burnt out by the endless amount of work to do at CCAT. (3)
-Most co-d’s aren’t very involved after their one year term. (1)

14. What keeps you going?
-The fact that I’m a stronger person from all that I have learned here. (2)
-My commitment to CCAT. (2)
-The fact that I’m helping to educate others and myself. (1)

15. Anything else?
What would you do different?
-I would focus more on a few things rather than try to tackle everything. (2)
-If I could do anything differently, I would spend more time reading the CCAT library. (1)
-Make the learning process more of a group activity. (1)
-Utilize campus resources more, network more. (1)
-I could have been more vocal about my opinions and needs. (1)

Before my internship, I conducted a similar interview process in the SENS program. Below is the compilation of the SENS interviews. Interviewees included present and former directors, faculty who work closely with the program, and labor supervisors of other departments who work with the SENS program.
1. How have you seen SENS improve in your time here? How were those improvements implemented-who suggested them, etc?
-More structure in labor meetings. (4)
-Personalized meetings with Richard. (2)
-There is more guidance from the supervisor. (2)
-The interest on improving our program is excellent, not sure who suggested it. (1)
-Better recruitment. (1)
-Improvement in the motivation of workers. (1)
-Suggestions have come from both workers and Richard. (1)

2. How do you feel the program is accomplishing it’s mission statement? Do you have any suggestions for revising the mission statement?
-Continue to find ways to work with CAs. (5)
-Find more ways to involve the campus. (Possibly have a few 0-5 positions for folks who live in dorms.) (4)
-Explain community living. (That residents will learn how to cook, budget for ecologically conscious diets, develop strong relationships with people they work, live, and learn with.) (4)
-Change “It’s desirable to be a SENS major or minor”. (Because we have attracted great workers from other departments. This helps SENS branch out. The statement that we prefer SENS majors probably scares off some good workers.) (3)
-Remove “involvement with EV governance”. (From past experience, this has not been a beneficial thing to be involved in.) (2)
-Make SENS a 10-15 position. (2)
-Reduce the dichotomy of the “residential” and “non-residential” directors. (2)
-Change mission statement to include what the SENS worker can gain from the experience. (“As directors, students will experience a personal increase in understanding of how they fit into their environment, community living, etc.”) (1)
-We should find more ways to work with CDL. (1)
-Do more educational programs. (1)
-List our resource library on BANC like other depts. do. (1)
-We actually have 7 directors not 6! (1)
-Change the mission statement to focus on the SENS labor program and not the SENS House. (1)
-Write a SENS program mission statement. (Visit the
http://www.tgci.com/magazine/98fall/mission.asp for tips on how to create a mission statement that includes:
1. What needs or opportunities you are addressing (your purpose)
2. Tell how you are addressing them (your business)
3. Explain the guiding principles of your work (your values)) (1)
-We are accomplishing our mission statement in a lot of ways. (In the SENS House, we eat mostly locally grown organic food, we hold each other accountable, we’re all working on different but connected sustainable projects, we maintain communication with each other and other sustainable efforts on campus, we are conscious about our personal decisions in the house.) (1)
-Add that the SENS House should be a hub for connections to be made with other student efforts on campus. The SENS labor program should be a model of interdisciplinarly learning and teaching. (1)
-Use positive wording instead of “without degrading the environment” use “while maintaining a clean and beautiful environment.” (1)
-Add that our Ecovillage is family housing and not an intentional community. (1)

3. How do you feel your opinions are heard?
-I feel my opinions are heard. (Our supervisor listens to my ideas and responds in a helpful, honest manner.) (2)
-At labor meetings, it is hard to hear each other out without structure, this is changing. (2)
-I didn’t feel that my opinions were heard. (1)

4. Do you have any ideas for a way we could encourage and work with director feedback?
-Conduct entrance, exit, and mid-term evaluations. (Base evaluations on if the student is meeting their indicators of progress.) (5)
-Have a comment box to be read at labor meetings. (3)
-Do evaluations with a scan-tron section so we can get an idea of statistically how we’re doing. (1)
-Meet with supervisor every semester and during the semester and step back to ask “What do we need to do to make this semester a success?” (Reflection mid-term would be helpful.) (1)

5. One suggestion has been to reduce the number of directors to 4 so working together will be easier. How do you feel about this?
-Increase the number of SENS positions to get more folks involved. (Possibly reduce hours of each director) (4)
-Is there any possibility of other directors being offered apartments in the EV as well? (1)

6. Comments on the turnover in SENS:
-Some turnover is to be expected, folks join SENS as soph., junior, senior. Most study abroad. (1)
-It doesn’t seem appropriate to put a standard on years directors can live in the house, because selection varies with gender balance and is so multi-factored. (1)
-It’s not bad to let others experience SENS if you feel they could contribute more. (1)

7. Issues/stresses of the SENS labor program:
-Need some type of orientation. (Include guidelines about what to count for hours. Include manual of the house, job descriptions, instructions for EM, how you care for gardens and food forest. Each semester have students attend student organizing training. Learn how to make strategy charts, outline goals, and plan how to make the most of the semester. ) (6)
-Lack of direction/focus. (6)
-The lack of feedback can be frustrating. (Feedback should include what we’re supposed to be doing.) (5)
-I felt isolated from other directors. (3)
-Looking for more hands on or varied work. (2)
-Fifteen hours a week is an adjustment. (2)
-Stress, it can feel like SENS is a class, and commitment to the program can be overwhelming. (1)
-I didn’t feel like I was getting much accomplished with SENS. (1)

8. Positive aspects of the SENS labor program:
-The job fits with my ideals. (4).
-Opportunity to be involved in lifetime experiences. (2)
-Opportunity to live in SENS house (experience community living, reduced footprint, personal growth). (2)
-The coworkers are awesome! (1)
-I like the rotating facilitator role at meetings. (1)
-It’s encouraging to see our supervisor put so much effort into the cause. (1)

9. Suggestions for improving the SENS labor program:
-Establish a strong orientation. (6)
-Define labor roles. (Focus on integrating SENS with the campus to avoid compartmentalization.)(6)
-Reduce weekly hours to 10. (Allow some directors to have a 10 hour position with SENS and a 5 hour other places to help balance time.) (4)
-SENS workers could work in teams or pairs more on projects. (Especially on easy routine tasks. Creativity exists between high and low input, people can’t operate at 100% all of the time. Suggest folks spend 80% of their time working on their own projects and 20% helping others.) (4)
-We should think outside our “staff” and try to find ways to involve other groups. (3)
-Involve an advisory board with other SENS professors and Connie. (Possibly broaden this to include other relevant departments: Tech, Black Studies, CELTS.) (3)
-Hold student director meetings occasionally, to regroup. (2)
-Establish the Grade 5 as more of a leadership position, to offer help to other directors. (The grade 5 can make sure that no one person is overextended and delegate jobs when appropriate.) (2)
-Include time management in the orientation. (1)
-Retreats at the beginning of every semester would be beneficial. (1)
-Folks need to feel like their work is being appreciated. (Assure workers that because their work is innovation, they won’t feel 100% about everything.) (1)
-Have informal mentorships for new directors. (1)
-SENS seems to appeal to a certain type of person, efforts should be made to invite others. (1)
-It might be nice to have a place away from home to work together. (1)
-Encourage Compton interns to continue their internship. (1)
-Maybe SENS needs a staff person. (1)
-Be in the Pinnacle every time. (1)
-Offer to do sustainability audits for offices to get other departments involved. (1)
-When creating public posters and campaigns avoid using scare tactics. (1)

By comparing the mini-evaluations of each program I have been able to find common threads that may be inherit qualities of campus sustainability initiatives. Both groups felt overwhelmed at times by the amount of work to be done as well as the sense of urgency with its importance. Also, both groups struggled with documentation, orientation, and continuity. How could these issues best be addressed?
The first commonality of feeling overworked and under the pressure of urgency is a part of the importance of the environmental movement. People running any sustainability initiative that is in tune with the current state of the world, will inevitably feel this way at times. On the other hand, the problems of documentation, orientation, and continuity can all be addressed through increased documentation. These problems occur in part because when feeling the rush to address environmental issues, documentation becomes a difficult thing to justify prioritizing. Improving documentation can in turn provide a basis for an orientation and lead to a more solid sense of continuity. From my experience, if documentation becomes a habit it is no longer something additional to be done. It is important that orientation be conducted before new workers have their own initiatives to work on, because this is when they are most willing to take the time to be trained and have yet to form any habits that would detract from continuity. Another problem faced is the lack of an effective feedback mechanism. Both programs could address this issue by conducting interviews, possibly in the form of a questionnaire, each year. The results should be discussed as a group.
Another observation I gleaned from this process is a better idea about the impact being a part of Berea College has on the SENS program. This became apparent as I compared and contrasted SENS and CCAT. As a part of a larger university CCAT is able to have three co-directors and 18 student employees. At Berea, it has been difficult to fill our 7 labor positions. Also different about the two colleges is the time the average student takes to graduate. Berea is very firm about their four year limit, whereas it is common for HSU students to stay five or more years. (HSU students tend to stay longer in part because unreliable state funding limits availability of classes required for graduation). I believe this difference is one of the reasons SENS struggles with recruitment. Because Berea students all have campus jobs and take a full course load every term, they are less likely to partake in a labor position that is notably more challenging than other options or volunteer with the program.
Personally, this internship helped me realize that what I perceived to be struggles in the SENS program are really common threads among campus sustainability initiatives. I also learned more about community living. As someone with both an insider’s and outsider’s view of CCAT, I had a unique perspective about communication. During the semesters I had spent in the SENS house previous to my internship I frequently found myself needing to set personal boundaries and not knowing how to do so. Witnessing that same need in another group of people I was reassured of the importance of open communication in a demonstration home. Also, the realization that taking care of oneself is vital to the success of any program was one that I gained this summer. In my previous semesters with SENS, I had overworked myself to the point of resenting the position. Now, SENS is part of a more balanced life for me, and I feel that I have been able to accomplish more as a director.

III. Case Studies:
A) HSU Campus Initiatives
1) HSU Campus Recycling Program (CRP)
HSU Campus Recycling Program got its start in the 1970s as one of the first recycling programs among state facilities in the US. After a course in recycling systems two motivated students, Bruce Delgado and Sandy Floyd, and one 1956 chevy truck were able to collect four tons of glass and aluminum. The dynamic program now helps HSU divert over half of its waste.
What started as a simple recycling program has grown by leaps and bounds to accomplish its current successes. One interesting facet of the CRP is the Reusable Office Supply Exchange (ROSE). Managed by two students working up to a combined 20 hours each week, ROSE provides a facility for the redistribution of used office supplies. They accept tape, staplers, paper clips, pens, pencils, calculators, notebooks, binders, folders, envelopes, computer accessories, typerwriter supplies, office furniture, white and colored paper, and backpacks. This not only diverts a great deal of waste, but saves students and faculty a great deal by providing goods for free. To estimate the value of ROSE’s services, goods are signed in and out of the storehouse.
Another way the CRP diverts so much waste is through a composting program, which originally started as a part of CCAT. Initially the group collected food waste from cafeterias. Currently, the group also allows community members to add their compost to the mix, as well as providing buckets around campus for more student accessibility. The program is run by students who host monthly workshops, weekly volunteer days, and an annual festival. Future projects include locating a permanent site and making a transition to biodegradable flatware in food service.
The educational component of the CRP has added to its success. Monthly newsletters are distributed around campus. The newsletters cover a variety of issues from green cleaning to disposing of hazardous wastes. Another educational/outreach activity that CRP conducts are the annual “donation dashes”. CRP volunteers sort through trash of students moving out for recyclable and things that could be donated to local charities. CRP also provides suggestions for reducing, reusing, and recycling on their website.
Some of CRP’s initiatives would be difficult to replicate at Berea because of the limited number of labor positions allocated to recycling. I believe we could set up a small ROSE in the CPO. This idea will be piloted next semester when we make a display with free binders. Even if we are not able to have a large ROSE, even a small display will increase education about freecycling and the availability of office supplies at campus recycling. I also think Berea has the potential to host a donation dash at the end of the semester. This is something Michael is excited about and is working to implement.
2) HSU Alternative Transportation Club
HSU’s Alternative Transportation Club’s mission is “to reduce the number of single occupant vehicle use through educational events, outreach, and encouraging institutions to adopt policies that further this goal” (Alt. Trans. Club 2). The group meets weekly to discuss ways to live up to their mission. Each year ATC hosts a car free day celebration. The group also puts out a newsletter each semester. Another goal of the ATC is to connect people interested in alternative transportation. They do this through a multitude of events and an up to date webpage with a calendar that allows public postings. Their webpage also provides links to local rideshare pages.
Berea Bikes is the most similar organization to the ATC at Berea. They could host more frequent critical mass rides and put on a car free day. However, these things would be a challenge to get started initially.

3) Arcata Community Educational Farm
A spin-off of a former CCAT program, the Arcata Community Educational Farm is a 1.6 acre organic farm run by HSU students. The farm’s produce goes to an 80 member Community Supported Agriculture group. The Arcata Ed. Farm was started in 1993 by Susan Ornelas, an HSU graduate and local farmer. The farm is a part of the City of Arcata’s Bayside Park. The educational component comes in through tours to local students, HSU classes involvement in the farm, and community volunteer days. They also maintain a very informative website with resources on organic gardening.
I thoroughly enjoyed the time I spent volunteering at the farm. The farmers were very friendly and helpful in a non-condescending way. We planted potatoes using part of an old bike as a row-maker. Afterwards we enjoyed good conversation and a delicious meal together. I think the Berea College greenhouse could provide similar educational opportunities. Even just sending out periodic e-mail invitations to volunteer and tour the gardens would be a great place to start.

B) Arcata Community Endeavors
1) Arcata Community Marsh and Wildlife Sanctuary
In 1986 the Arcata Marsh and Wildlife Sanctuary was constructed. This facility serves the multiple purposes of wastewater treatment, education, wildlife habitat, and recreation.
Wastewater treatment at the marsh starts with primary treatment. The primary treatment consists of the “headworks” where the water is pumped through a screen and the large solids are removed. The next step is to go through two clarifiers to allow finer sludge to settle out. The sludge is used to produce biogas, which is not currently being used. The remaining sludge is then dried, composted, and then used by the city of Arcata for fertilizer. To complete the primary treatment, the water moves to the oxidation ponds.
The oxidation ponds cover 55 acres and are 5 feet deep. Water flows through the ponds very slowly allowing more solids to settle out. These ponds contain algae which aids by producing oxygen for the microbes and bacteria that digest the sewage. Along with the algae, mechanical aerators are also used at this point. After the two oxidation ponds, the water flows through two treatment marshes. These marshes cover almost 8 acres and are 2 feet deep. The purpose of the treatment marshes is to filter out dead algae, remove unwanted nutrients, and to slow down the water so that even more solids can settle out. One specific plant they utilize is the Scirpus acutus, a native bulrush. The next step is the chlorine contact basin in which water is exposed to chlorine for one hour. Immediately after this basin, sulfur dioxide is used to remove extra chlorine. At this point depending on water level, water can either be released into the Humboldt Bay or sent to the enhancement marshes. The enhancement marshes further clean the water and are used for educational, research, and recreational purposes. This entire process usually takes around fifty days to complete.
The marsh provides educational opportunities as well. One example is the educational website about the marsh that was created by Environmental Engineering students at HSU. Another example is the Friends of the Arcata Marsh welcome center, complete with informative displays created by Natural Resources Interpretation students from HSU. Students of biology, wildlife management, botany, and other fields use the marsh as an outdoor classroom. More than two hundred thousand people visit the marsh annually and all leave with more knowledge about this unique water treatment plant.
One of the reasons the marsh is so educational is because it is a rich wildlife habitat. It is estimated that the marsh houses more than three hundred bird and mammal species, one hundred plant species, and 6 species of fish. Also adding to the list of species is the aquaculture fish hatchery. HSU students maintain groups of chinook salmon, coho salmon, steelhead, and cutthroat trout.
The marsh also provides a space for community recreation. Typical activities at the marsh include organized and spontaneous nature hikes, jogging, bicycling, and picnicking. The recreational activity that draws the largest crowds at the marsh is bird watching. The Redwood Regional Audobon Society leads free bird watching tours every Saturday morning. Along with everyday recreation at the marsh there are also several annual events such as Waterfront Days and an Independence Day 5k race.
SENS would greatly benefit from a student committed to working with the Ecological Machine pursuing an internship with the Friends of the Arcata Marsh. The student could research how Arcata residents worked with their local legal regulations, as well as what regulations are pertinent to the EM in Kentucky. Also, this student could create a webpage about the EM so that others would be able to learn from our experiences just as they can learn from the Arcata Marsh. The student’s SENS position could be a continuation of their internship and they could lobby to release the treated water into another wetland.
2) Arcata Community Bike Library
Visiting Arcata? The uniqueness of this city makes it unnecessary to rent a car for your stay. Not only do the main roads have spacious bike lanes, but the Community Bike Library will loan you a bike for a refundable deposit of twenty dollars. This bike library is the second largest in the United States (Arcata Community Bike Program sec. 3). The mission of the library is to “promote the use of bicycles as a safe, efficient, and environmentally sound means of transportation” (Arcata Community Bike Program sec. 1). The bike library also gives bikes to people who could not otherwise afford them. A variety of volunteers from ages twelve to sixty run the library.
The procedure for checking out a bike includes picking from the library section of the shop and depositing twenty dollars. Once this has been done, the bike is yours for the next six months. At any time in this period, you may trade your bike in for another or return it to receive your deposit. After six months the deposit is donated to the library and the bike is yours to keep. However, providing affordable bikes to purchase is not the goal of the library, they would prefer you check in with them every six months so they can assure your bike is safe to ride. If you have any trouble with your bike the volunteers will give you supplies and teach you how to fix it. I really appreciated this, when one of my bike tires went flat days after I checked it out. For the other end of the spectrum, people looking to get rid of old bikes, the library offers something as well. They have a donation station where they collect old bikes to be rebuilt. They also receive donations from local thrift shops.
The library has a number of special programs, such as an after school program for kids and parents to volunteer and learn about bikes. A program called “Promise Bikes” saves the best quality bikes for town residents who promise not to have a car. They hosted a series of educational programs on bike matainance and repair. Eager to spread this great program, volunteers have organized a bike loaning station in nearby town, Crescent City.
The program’s success has not gone unnoted. Arcata’s bike library has received one of the 2004 WRAP (Waste Reduction Awards Program) awards. Also noteworthy, they were named the Best Organization Waste Reduction Program by the Humboldt County Division of Environmental Health. Most recently, the PBS children’s show ZOOM filmed a segment at the bike library. They were especially interested in a minor who have been a volunteer for two years.
This library is, among other things, a local attraction. Rebuilt bikes hang from the ceiling, tires lie in mounds, bikes in heaps, and the volunteers are as colorful and interesting as the bikes they loan. The eclectic shop is home to an educational pedal power display constructed by local expert Bart Orlando. On sunny days Bart can be spotted around town riding his custom built bike pulling his mobile solar cooker. The bike library is clearly more than just a lending station for bikes, but rather part of the character of the town.
This would be a wonderful organization to send a Berea intern to. A HEAL student working with Berea Bikes could learn a lot about bike matainance and building specialty bikes and human powered vehicles. Even if someone did not do an entire internship, this would be a good group for Berea Bikes to be in contact with.
3) Arcata Farmers’ Market
A trip to Arcata would not be complete without visiting the notorious Saturday celebration of local food. Every Saturday from June through November there is fresh food and music at the North Coast Grower’s Association Arcata Farmers’ Market. Local produce, eggs, honey, cheese, and cut flowers are among the usual items available. The market has a rich history of development over the past twenty three years. What started as a handful of growers has now grown to an impressive seventy vendors. They do not have enough room for all seventy at once, but as the season passes, some farmers have more or less to sell. Along with the Saturday Arcata market the Growers Association also has markets at Southern Humboldt, Fortuna, Eureka’s Old Town , Wildberries Grocery in Arcata, and Henderson Center in Eureka throughout each week.
This growth in farmers markets is one thing Berea has also seen a recent surge in. Currently Berea farmers sell at the MERJ (Madison Estill Rockcastle and Jackson counties) market, the Artisan Center market, and at the College Square market. Because of the work of the MERJ market and the LFI (Local Foods Initiative) through SENS, local foods are growing in popularity in this area. One great way to strengthen this would be through a local foods internship where one student would work with local farmers and organizers to learn about Berea’s food system, this could be done in conjunction with or separate from Bill Best’s summer internships.
IV. SENS Inreach
One student in the field of Environmental Education coined the phrase “sustainability inreach” to include non-curriculum efforts to integrate sustainability into the campus community (Townsend 1). Becky J. Townsend attempted to quantify the number of colleges in North and South Carolina who had inreach initiatives as well as their depth of commitment. She found that the most common inreach efforts were those that required the least management (Townsend 2). She also found the average number of inreach hours paid work per college was 10.2 (Townsend 2). The SENS program potentially has 105 student labor hours each week. Based on this, we have a potential to excel compared to most colleges. Below are inreach suggestions that I have gleaned in my time working with SENS as well as during this internship. Because SENS is in part a curricular program I am using the term more loosely, to cover all fronts that SENS could possibly reach.
One inreach initiative taken this year was the celebration of Berea’s first Campus Sustainability Week. The goal of the week was to raise campus awareness about the sustainability initiatives going on around campus. Many of the programs were very successful. During CSW the Pinnacle printed an article about how Berea College is not sustainable along with a student poll revealing that over two thirds of those questioned felt the same way. While we are doing so much work in the SENS program, clearly much of the campus is not aware of it. This demonstrated the need for more in-reach. Because there are many leaders around campus who could further promote lessons of sustainability, inreach needs to be multi-facetted. An inreach campaign should address the campus community through working with courses, residence halls, offices, clubs, and administration.
A) Courses
One effective way to reach courses is to involve them with SENS events. In this manner, SENS supplements classrooms with real world issues. This can be accomplished by talking with professors and asking them to promote the event in their classes and/or offer students extra credit for attending. Also, classes can be involved in events by being a part of them. This is most applicable to SENS classes.
B) Residence Halls
Residence halls can be reached through programming. This works best if SENS students are able to work with R.A.s. I have found the collegium are helpful in making these connections. Also, it would be helpful to have a SENS student present during the R.A. training before school starts. Also, it is helpful to e-mail R.A.s about SENS programming and remind them they can count it as a 90% program for their requirements. In the future residence halls could be places for experimentation in sustainable living, such as thermal curtains, hand towels in the bathrooms, and compost. We could ask for feedback from residents to see what they might be interested in trying in their halls. Some projects may be more suitable for the specialty houses, such as composting. To really strengthen this area, a SENS director could focus on programming with R.A.’s.
C) Offices
Offices on campus can also be great settings for sustainable changes. SENS could offer “green audits” complete with recommendations to campus offices and local shops. A more time efficient way to reach offices would be to hold a luncheon with take-home suggestions for office sustainability.
D) Clubs
Clubs are another source of leadership on campus and also provide a means for reaching a great number of students. Clubs could be reached by creating a sustainability resource packet to be distributed to all club presidents. In the packet we could include information about purchasing sustainable tee shirts and borrowing the SENS house dish set rather than using disposable plates. We could also include contact information for Kevin Long to invite groups to have recycling receptacles at their events. If a SENS director was interested, we could offer to have compost receptacles at events as well as someone to supervise and explain the process. Also, we could include contact information for local farmers so clubs could have easier access to more sustainable food. Depending on interest, SENS could host a club president dinner to distribute the information packets.
E) Administration
The administration’s voice represents the college on so many levels, educating them about sustainability is a very relevant task. One way to work on this is to invite them to conferences and SENS events. They should receive a copy of the SENS newsletter. Another way to reach them is by sending e-mails or letters about sustainability issues.




Works Cited
Alternative Transportation Club. 2005. Humboldt State University. 12 Nov. 2005.

Arcata Community Bike Program. City of Arcata. 17 Nov. 2005.

Institutional Data. 2003. NACEWeb. 1 Nov. 2005

National Wildlife Federation. State of the Campus Environment. Reston, VA: National Wildlife Federation, 2001.

Orr, David W. Earth in Mind. Washington DC: Island Press, 1994.

Orr, David W. Introduction. Ecodemia. By Julian Keniry. Washington DC: National Wildlife Federation, 1995.

Townsend, Becky J. “Sustainability ‘Inreach’: Baseline Data about Campus Environmental Awareness Initiatives.” MA thesis. North Carolina State University, 2005.





Works Consulted

Arcata Community Marsh and Wildlife Santuary. Humboldt State University. 12 Nov. 2005.

Arcata Educational Farm. 2003. City of Arcata. 12 Nov. 2005.

Campus Center for Appropriate Technology. 2005. Humboldt State University. 17 Nov. 2005. <>

Campus Recycling Program. 2005. Humboldt State University. 12 Nov. 2005.

Kramer, Terry. “Growing Pains for Farmers’ Market.” North Coast Journal 2 Sept. 1999, A1.