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Eckerd College Launches Sustainability Site
posted on 11/28/2007
Eckerd College, the only national private liberal arts college in Florida, has launched an informational sustainability website this month. The site, www.eckerd.edu/green, illustrates Eckerd's commitment to both minimizing its ecological footprint and maximizing environmental awareness and green practices.
"Many in the Eckerd community believe that the most pressing social, economic, political, and moral issues of the 21st century have to do with the environment, and our particular location here on the Gulf of Mexico especially enriches that dimension of the College," says Dr. Donald R. Eastman III, President of Eckerd College. Dr. Eastman is one of more than 400 college presidents to sign the American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment.
Eckerd's list of sustainable endeavors is extensive: the Presidents Climate Commitment that addresses climate change; the hands-on, student-run recycling program; the participatory Yellow Bike program designed to increase bicycle use on campus and decrease automobile traffic; the annual weeklong Visions of Nature / Voices of Nature environmental film festival; Iota Complex, a residence hall for which Eckerd is seeking LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification; facilities vendor UNICCO's GreenClean green products approach; food services vendor Bon Appetit whose Circle of Responsibility and Eat Local Challenge aptly match Eckerd's environmental ambitions; and the popular Environmental Studies major that explores relationships between humans and the natural world.
"Eckerd has had a longstanding commitment to educate students about the environment and ecologically thoughtful practices," says Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies Allison Ormsby. "Students who major in Environmental Studies are prepared to become thoughtful and effective environmental professionals, whatever career path they ultimately choose." Eckerd's Environmental Studies graduates use their degree to launch careers in such diverse fields as environmental education, natural resource management, parks and recreation, environmental and urban planning, landscape architecture, environmental law and policy making, scientific journalism, and public health.
Just ask Eckerd alumna Audrey Copeland who graduated in May 2007 with a double major in Environmental Studies and Anthropology. She applied her studies immediately in her current role as Eckerd's Environmental Service Learning Intern. "In my role as president of the Sustainable Campus Task Force during my junior and senior years, I worked with our food services vendor to switch from Styrofoam to biodegradable containers in the College's eating venues," says Audrey. "Now, I get to focus on assisting with the first steps of the Presidents Climate Commitment by taking an inventory of greenhouse gas emissions on campus and making recommendations on how Eckerd can achieve climate neutrality."
Eckerd's sustainability site offers in-depth explanations of its green endeavors. Information will be updated regularly as campus initiatives emerge and are implemented, providing like-minded individuals and organizations the chance to discover a college community that takes its environmental role seriously.
For more information, contact news@eckerd.edu.
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