Understanding, Teaching, and Influencing Campus Sustainability from a Systems Perspective

Understanding, teaching, and influencing campus sustainability from a systems perspective OCT. 10, 2011 AASHE 2011 S T E PH EN P O SNE R SUSTAINABILITY F ELLOW/E CO- R EPS C OORDINATOR O FFICE OF S USTAINABILITY

ANNA MIKA SUSTAINABILITY F ELLOW O FFICE OF S USTAINABILITY

U NIVE R SITY O F V E R M ONT ( U V M )

Brief history of campus sustainability at UVM

2002 Permanent Environmental Coordinator position created 1996 Environmental Council creates ½ time graduate fellow staff

2006 First campus sustainability course offered

2008 Office of Sustainability established

2011 Climate Action Plan, Clean Energy Fund, STARS

Course history How are decisions with environmental impacts made within the University?  Environmental Management Systems (2006-2008)  6 - 8 upper class students  Taught by UVM staff involved in campus environmental programs  SL: Campus Sustainability (2009-2011)  Over 20 primarily 2nd and 3rd year students  Taught by UVM staff and graduate fellows  Listed as Service-Learning course in sustainability studies track of Environmental Program

Collaboration at multiple levels  Ongoing campus greening work:  Greening UVM  Tracking UVM 

Cooling UVM?

 Middle management

interest in sustainability  Upper management support of UVM as “Environmental University”  Sustainability Tracking, Assessment, and Rating System (STARS)

2010 Course focus  Two Service-Learning Courses: 

ENVS 195 “Campus Sustainability” 



Operations

CDAE 295 “Sustainable Development Policy” 

Planning, Administration & Engagement

?

 Preliminary research and formulating questions 

Helped the Office of Sustainability and instructors focus the students

 Interviews and write-up of credits 

Development of professional skills for students

2010 Course focus  STARS Systems Thinking 

Visualization of potential credits for UVM

PAE

Operations Water Buildings

TOTAL: Education & Research

Coordination & Planning

39/100

TOTAL:

Waste

Public Engagement

Co-Curricular Education

Climate

Research Transportation Dining Services Purchasing

TOTAL:

Energy

Diversity & Affordability

?

Investment

Grounds

?/100

?

Curriculum

Human Resources

58/100

2011 Course focus  Multi-media learning 

 

Field trips Presentations Group activities

 Technical topics included in 2011 

 

Environmental aspects and impacts as defined by STARS Climate action planning and GHG accounting Systems thinking

 Teachers’ expertise 

 



environmental management systems ecological economics GHG accounting and climate action planning campus sustainability

Systems thinking  Donella Meadows,

especially Leverage Points  Conceptual system dynamics applied to campus

 Viewed whole systems related to specific aspects of

campus sustainability  

Within university Between university and environmental and social contexts

Optimal scale

Campus

Environment

Environment

Matter

Matter

Campus Campus

Energy

Campus Environment Extraction

Waste

9

Energy

Student reflections: Mind Map

by Caylin McKee Focus on waste

Relationships with other aspects

Connection to personal experience

Poster project outlines facts

Media project focus on key elements within system

Student reactions to unit on systems thinking  Systems was most, and least, liked part of course  Not the way we usually teach  Comes naturally to some, more difficult for others

 Low turnout at first systems class  Need common definition  Different backgrounds and perspectives  Define our purpose and questions first

Challenges to systems approach and recommended solutions  Intermediate course that does not fit into traditional

academic subjects 

Develop two campus sustainability classes: one intro, one advanced focusing on intervening in systems

 Different kinds of thinking and learning required 

Natural systems thinkers; those who find systems difficult

 Systems squeezed

into just 2 classes 

Integrate better throughout course

Strengths to systems approach  Applied learning in immediate environment  Awareness of how we are part of university system  Leverage points offer opportunities for strategic change

 Connections among students, staff, and

administrative decision-makers  Courageous and creative (re)design of campus

sustainability solutions

Main points  Characterizing universities as complex systems

makes sense

 Systems thinking can be used to identify leverage

points for change and to evaluate sustainability programs

 Teaching with systems thinking can help students  see relationships  understand system behavior  more effectively act as agents of change

Understanding, teaching, and influencing campus sustainability from a systems perspective

THANK YOU Q U EST I O NS?