Western News Features FeedStudents monitoring campus sustainability
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Every fall, the Sierra Youth Coalition hosts the Sustainable Campuses National Conference to train students from across Canada how to implement sustainable practices on their own campuses.
The primary focus will be to train and equip
the approximately 150 attendees to conduct a full comprehensive sustainability
assessment of their own campus.
The Campus Sustainability Assessment
Framework (CSAF) is the standard in campus sustainability assessments.
Published in 2003, the CSAF has been introduced in universities and colleges
across Canada
as a comprehensive measurement of how well an institution performs on issues
such as social equality, good governance, water management, and land use.
fter an assessment has been completed, the
results are complied in a cohesive report that describes how the
university/college measures according to a list of sustainability indicators,
then outlines where and how improvements can be made.
The final CSAF report has
served as an elemental figure in implementing sustainable practices on campuses
across Canada.
During the conference, attendees will
receive extensive training on how to properly conduct such an assessment.
They
will learn how to organize and manage a team dedicated to the project; how to
conduct effective research; and how to compose a comprehensive and transparent
report.
The attendees will also learn the
nitty-gritty facts and issues behind contemporary environmental and social
problems from expert speakers in the field of sustainability.
Additionally, a
Sustainability Fair will be host to some of the key interest groups and
businesses from the local community involved with developing sustainability.
A full sustainability assessment of
Western's main campus is underway.
In partnership with Physical Plant,
EnviroWestern's “Sustainability Assessment Team" is conducting research on how
well Western manages water, waste, energy, air quality and space.
The
assessment is a highly research-intensive project, requiring the dedication of
a small team of students in cooperation with faculty and staff from various
departments. Completion of the university's first sustainability assessment is
expected to be ready for publication sometime during the fall term.
The Sustainable Campuses National Conference
2007 will not serve to simply train delegate students on how to implement
sustainable practices within their respective institutions, but it will also
serve as an invaluable launch for introducing sustainability here at Western.
There are dozens of sustainability projects
in full-swing on campus, yet there are very few people in the general community
who are aware of them.
This conference will allow these groups to capture the
university audience, and enable them to foster a broader consciousness of sustainability
throughout campus.
The Sustainable Campuses National Conference
2007 is an invaluable opportunity for Western to ride the green wave and begin developing
sustainability.
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