TRI

By Kelly Middleton and Lennox Alfred

i s

g o i n g

Todays society is becoming increasingly environmentally conscious. Some people are largely inspired by their own consciences, others by doomsday proclamations about the need to go Green, others by recent trends, and still others by notions that we need to be kinder to the environment and the planet.
What seems clear is that there are some real environmental and sustainability challenges facing us, which have fed into calls for a Green Revolution. With the increasing interest in Green initiatives, there are more and more programs geared towards the Green Revolution cropping up every day and this consciousness and effort has spawned an economy of its own, with new industries and jobs being created to meet the demand for this movement. TRIO programs are at forefront of taking up the charge to create a more environmentally sound and sustainable planet. Whether it entails participating in community recycling initiatives, integrating Green curriculum into programming, exposing students to Green Industry jobs, or finding economical ways to reduce their carbon footprint, TRIO programs and students are doing a great deal to create a more environmentally friendly and sustainable planet. We would like to share some highlights of TRIOs Green Revolution. The TRIO Green initiatives and TRIO projects highlighted in this article are far reaching, diverse, and demographically richprograms that span from such places as California, New York, and Arkansas
22

creating opportunities for students to become exposed to environmentalism and to become active participants in the Green Revolution.

Making a Difference: Partnership and Volunteering in the Community Pima Community College East Campuss Upward Bound project in Tucson, AZ, initiated the first annual Volunteer Day in April 2009, a partnership between the East Campus Upward Bound project, the Groves-Lincoln Park Neighborhood Association, and the City of Tucson Clean & Beautiful Program. Students and partnering organizations volunteered to pick up litter in the 44-acre Lincoln Park and Atturbury-Lyman Bird & Animal Sanctuary.

Students participated in several hands-on field trips and activities in order to gain exposure to environmentalism.
COE NETWorks

GREEN
23

Rock Valley College Upward Bound students test water samples from the Rock River.

bus, etc. Students learn the value of recycling and receive a little extra money when they need it.

Reducing Your Carbon Footprint Waubonsee Community Colleges Student Support Services project in Illinois is easing students off paper copies of newsletters, reminder letters, and events fliers. Students will now be able to access these items online on the campus website.
The Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Fort Worths Upward Bound Program in Texass leadership club called Tomorrows Resilient Leaders Keystone Club made recycle boxes for paper, plastic, and glass to put at two of their tutoring sites. Students maintain the recycling center and help get more students involved in recycling. Loyola Marymount Universitys Upward Bound in California banned plastic water bottles and provided students with eco-friendly reusable bottles. Students also participated in a community service project at Ballona Creek Wetlands educational program and clean-up. In addition, their summer programming theme was Green Future and Global Elements. All summer courses and their TRIO Quest website entries incorporated the Green theme. Integrating Green Curriculum into College Access Programming Bloomsburg Universitys Upward Bound project in Pennsylvania created a summer Green curriculum entitled UB Green. Students participated in several hands-on field trips and activities in order to gain exposure to environmentalism. Some of these trips and activities included trips to a

The University of Cincinnati, Clermont Colleges Upward Bound has participated in the annual Clermont County spring trash pickup for the last couple years. The event is sponsored by Clean and Green, a program of Clermont2020, a nonprofit organization in Clermont County. Students and staff members pick up trash along roads. In partnership with West Virginia Universitys Center for Civic Engagement, WE CAN (West Virginia University Environmental Conservation Awareness Now), West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection, and the Monongalia County Solid Waste Authority, the West Virginian Universitys Upward Bound Summer Program participants created more than 1,800 recycling kits

for the Mountaineers Recycle Program. The kits were distributed to fans and tailgaters in the parking lots outside of the WVU football stadium at the first home game of the season. The recycling kits provided enough recycling bags for the entire season for fans to place all of their empty aluminum cans and plastic bottles. All recycling proceeds benefited WVU Childrens Hospital.

with PaceButler for the cell phones and Empties4Cash for the printer cartridges. In 2007, Harvey Mudd College Upward Bound in California started the Recycle for Scholarships program. Students from every grade level collect recyclables from their homes, schools and communities in the East San Gabriel Valley. Harvey Mudd Colleges Upward Bound awarded more than 25 scholarships in two years. For three years, the Central Maine Community Colleges SSS program has been collecting bottles/cans, returning them and using the money received for student needs. The money has been used for a myriad of reasons: gas money, help buying textbooks, gift certificate rewards for earning honors, lunch money, money for a taxi or the

local recycling center, visiting an area college powered by windmill power, a presentation by a dining services team on food waste and Green efforts in food service (e.g. packing leftover food from the dining hall for a local womens organization), a presentation by a faculty member on bio-fuels and the universitys shuttle bus powered by French fry oil, an educational field trip to the Fairmont Waterworks in Philadelphia where students took water samples from the Schuylkill river and analyzed them for contaminants, an educational field trip to the Philadelphia Zoo to study animal conservation and visit their new Green aviary, a research project on local watersheds, and a collaborative service project with United Water of Pennsylvania and the Fishing Green Watershed Association during which students, TRIO faculty/staff, and the above organizations worked side by side cleaning up a water shed and planting seed to prevent soil erosion. Metropolitan State Universitys Upward Bound project in Minnesota and the University of Wisconsin-River Falls Upward Bound project jointly created a summer program focused on environmentalism entitled: Sustaining Our Abilities, Sustaining Our World. Students participated in an integrated curriculum that included understanding the importance of recycling, career exploration in Green Industries, volunteering at community gardens, and working with several local organizations and agencies to gain knowledge of Green initiatives in their area.

How Can You and Your Students Go Green and Participate in the Green Revolution?

Reach out to organizations in your community that have established environmental initiatives in the community. Contact your local and state governments to identify Green initiatives. Working with campus departments and faculty can create opportunities for students to volunteer and gain valuable

Find Out What is Going on in Your Community

Funding is always an issue when creating programming. Check your institution, local and federal agencies, and private organizations to identify funding streams to bolster your Green activities. You dont have to start from scratch to create a Green curriculum for students. More organizations are

Research Resources for Going Green Programming

Fundraising and Scholarship through Recycling The University of Wisconsin-Platteville Student Support Services project has a support group for students with disabilities called Students Planning for Success. The group has been collecting cell phones and printer cartridges as a community project/fundraiser for a scholarship. The group collaborates

Decide the Intensity of Your Green Programming and Implement It

Implementing Green activities can be as simple as

beginning a recycling program with your students, using

less paper and going to online materials.

Implementing Green activities can be as simple as beginning a recycling program with your students, using less paper and going to online materialsor as intensive as a six-week summer program with a Going Green Curriculum. Determine the level of Green activities you are capable of implementing in your program. Consider what activities can be done daily, weekly, or during the summer. Also consider what activities best suit the students you serve and the program you direct. No matter how intensive the activity may be, providing Green programming for students allows them to become more environmentally conscious and exposes them to other opportunities that the may have never known were available.

24

COE NETWorks

25