Sustainability Summit 2020

Students for Environmental Awareness and Sustainability (SEAS)
Zach Miller, Co-President of SEAS, Undergraduate Student - Geography & Environmental Studies + Anthropology minor
Jenna Lozano, Co-President of SEAS, Undergraduate Student - Geography & Environmental Studies

Q&A with Zach and Jenna: 

• The closure of the Drake powerplant in downtown Colorado Springs by 2023 is amazing! How does this impact our energy grid?
  • Check out the CSU Renewable Energy Plan and the commitment to increase wind and solar power generation. If you want to help continuing to green our city, reach out to us. We are currently working on influencing the city budget to invest in green transportation and more "beyond carbon" initiatives. 
• What were those websites and emails to get involved?
  • We’d love to have you join our efforts in both engaging our UCCS and broader Colorado Springs communities! Email uccs.seas.official@gmail.com and visit mlc.uccs.edu/organization/seas
• How has SEAS helped you find community at UCCS?
  • SEAS helped me (Jenna) find community not just at UCCS but in the greater Colorado Springs area. I have met students at Colorado College and Pikes Peak through organizing around a common cause. I have also made friends through outreach and art builds/trainings that I wouldn't have met otherwise. I also made connections with organizations like Sunrise, 350.org and Sierra Club which have given me opportunities that UCCS couldn't.  
• How can I as a COS resident get involved in Colorado Spring Utilities' energy greening? 
  • The current residential solar use program is at capacity. However, if you  call (719) 448-4800 or email askus@csu.org and express your interest in getting your home enrolled in renewable energy that will incentivize them to roll out more solar sooner for residents. You can also attend City Council meetings and give public comments at CSU meetings. 
• How can we get involved in SEAS the Moment?
  • Look out at events for us in order to help us complete our SEAS the Moment project, letting us know which of the sustainable gifts we are giving that you will use the most!

• It’s amazing what work you have done especially with student input (I personally love the water bottle refilling stations) and I like the idea of providing students with more reusable gear to lower our carbon footprint ,but what future projects do you have in mind now that we are under pandemic restrictions?

  • This semester, with the shutdown of campus and the uncertainty of starting projects that would translate poorly to social distance, we have decided to further our own understanding of sustainability in areas we are less proficient in, primarily indigenous culture. In order to do that, we have, for now, been reading Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teaching of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer, which has provided thoughts and discussion in our meetings surrounding our relationship with the planet based on our everchanging understanding. For coming semesters, we hope to restart the garden at the sustainability house, continue to work on the foundation for projects such as Divestment and We Are Still In, both of which deal with investments and carbon admissions across the CU system, and further establish a working relationship with other groups across the greater Springs area. That being said, we are always open to new projects and assess our goals for around the start of every semester, so who knows what the future will hold!

Green Action Fund
Natalie Rodriguez, Project Coordinator, Graduate Student - Applied Geography & GIS Certificate

Q&A with Natalie: 

• What would be your number one tip for someone wanting to propose a project?
  • Reach out to the Project Coordinator! We want your project to succeed, so we'll help you strengthen your proposal before you submit it. Email st-sus01@uccs.edu at any stage of brainstorming
• When are the Spring 2021 deadlines? 
  • Large grants - April 2nd; Small grants, Research Seed - April 9th
• How can I apply to be on the committee? 
  • Follow this link to the bottom of the page, which will take you to a form to fill-out. The committee can have up to 13 student representatives. 

Sustainability Culture Survey
Hannah Daugherty, Sustainability Research Assistant, Undergraduate Student - Geography & Environmental Studies
 

Q&A with Hannah: 

DRIVE ON
Claudia Werckle, Graduate Research Assistant | Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, Graduate Student - PhD Candidate

Q&A with Claudia: 

• Are there other projects for student like this one that I could look into?
  • The SAE team here at UCCS builds a new EV every year to participate in a formula-e type race. You can find them on MLC.
• Will students be able to ride in the vehicle?
  • At events, if able, we will look into offering short rides to demonstrate the technology.
• If I'm interested in this topic, what classes should I look for in the course catalog?
  • Check out classes taught by Dr. Plett and Dr. Trimboli here. 
• You mentioned that project ASPIRE; where can I learn more information about it?
  • Read about ASPIRE here. 

The Importance of a Vibrant Urban Core | Colorado Springs Case Study
Dr. John Harner, Professor of Geography & Environmental Studies
 

Q&A with Dr. Harner: 

• If I’m interested in taking a course on this topic or topics like it, where should I start looking?
  • If you wish to pursue this topic through a course, take GES 3610: Urban Geography, this spring 2021.
• How can I get involved in UCCS Downtown?
  • If you wish to get involved in the downtown UCCS campus, contact Stephanie Adams:  sadams8@uccs.edu.
• What other ways can I engage in this topic of strengthening our downtown?
  • If you wish to engage in ways to strengthen the downtown, seek out internships or jobs with agencies like the Downtown Partnership or the Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum.  Also, many city agencies, like planning, GIS, or engineering also offer internships, as does the Pikes Peak Area Council of Governments.  Finally, you might look at groups like the Chamber of Commerce, Pike Ride, or any private firm located downtown. 

• Thanks for an interesting talk, John. Congrats on the book, which I look forward to seeing! I'm wondering what you think about the expansion (in time and space) of parking meters downtown? Is this a positive effort to nudge visitors toward other forms of transit or is it likely to discourage people from coming downtown to shop, eat, etc.? Or does it all depend on what the fees collected go towards (i.e. funding public transit or park maintenance vs. general operating budget)?

  • While everybody complains about paying to park, meters are an effective way to ensure turnover that actually helps shops.  If cars can park in front of your store all day, that deters new customers from arriving.  And parking is enormously expensive to provide, so it is only fair that drivers should expect to pay for the privilege of parking their cars.  Rather than push to remove meters downtown, we should instead advocate for equity by charging for parking in all locations, including shopping malls and big-box store locations.  Free parking is another subsidy to car travel and only encourages more, all the while taking up enormous amounts of land that could be put to better use. Providing free parking increases the cost to build anything. One final note, you are right--the parking meters also pay for downtown upgrades, so the money returns to the place where it is collected.

Ozone Garden
Jesse Smith, Ozone Garden Intern, Undergraduate Student - Geography & Environmental Studies

Q&A with Jesse: 

• What has been your favorite part of volunteering as the Ozone Garden intern?
  • Hands down the people! The Office of Sustainability has an incredibly supportive and passionate team, which has inspired me in numerous ways. What I enjoyed most about the work was tending to the ozone garden each day and collecting data based on the level of visible symptoms the plants displayed. It’s a very hands-on project. I’ve learned an incredible amount about bioindicator plants, ozone, air quality, and the measurable effects it has on the world around us. I have gained knowledge that has led me to alter daily activities, such as fueling my vehicle in the evening when temperatures are lower, and the sun is not at its peak. I’ve learned valuable lessons on how to decrease my carbon footprint, which makes me incredibly content. I highly recommend applying for the ozone garden internship! 
• Has learning more about this aspect of sustainability changed how you see the intersectionality of the field?
  • Yes, the ozone garden internship has taught me about uneven distributions of poor air quality and the negative effects it can have on minority communities. Even though humans share the same air minority communities often reside closer to industrial power plants where high levels of pollution are continually released. This puts minority communities at higher risk of respiratory disease, among other issues. I believe every community should have a personal ozone garden to benefit its citizens in becoming more aware of the quality of the air they’re breathing so they can begin to take action in finding solutions. For those of you who are interested in learning more, I challenge you to seek out the nearest ozone garden in your area! Study the bioindicator plants to see if the air is as clean or dirty as you thought. Take action!

Trails on Campus + Revegetation Study
Dr. Maggie Gaddis, Lecturer, Biology
Skyler Rorabaugh, Director of Campus Recreation
Lacey Meek, UCCS Alumni '20
TJ Peck, Coordinator of Facilities, Campus Recreation

Q&A with Dr. Gaddis, Skyler, and Lacey: 

• If I'm interested in this topic, what class should I look for in the course catalog?
  • GES 4800 Sustainability Seminar
• When will the TUCCS program start and how can I get involved?
  • Email Dr. Maggie Gaddis and Skyler Rorabaugh! 
• What types of jobs could this experience lead me to?
  • In the Pikes Peak Region, students who engage in volunteer trail work often get jobs with the City of Colorado Springs, USFS Pikes Peak Ranger District, and Cheyenne Mountain State Park to work in land management. Many go back to UCCS to get a graduate degree in GES to attain professional skills and certifications to move up in this career stream.
• Ho can I learn more about Lacey's research?
  • Visit her blog to learn more about her soil and revegetation research. 

• Thanks for an interesting presentation. It's great to learn about the TUCCS effort! I wonder if there might be additional ways to focus student-faculty-staff research and interest on the trail system in the semesters to come? I think there ought to be potentially useful connections to several other GES courses (and surely some in other departments, too), and would be interested in seeing us organize a BioBlitz on the north campus open space to get a sense of the baseline condition for native and invasive plants. Is there a way Lacey's work could tie into something like that?

  • Yes, we can definitely do a BioBlitz. The City Nature Challenge is a BioBlitz that occurs in the spring. We could have a site on campus for this City Nature Challenge. There is also a Bioblitz in the summer and Creek Week in the Fall. I am a volunteer for Colorado Native Plant Society. In 2020, I got CoNPS involved in these three bioblitz efforts in our city. We can absolutely include UCCS in this effort with very little front end work (from my perspective).

    In the longer term, I hope that the TUCCS program has a research component that is support by the Office for Student Research or the Office of Sustainability. I can email the Office of Student Research now to alert them to our talk and then ask them about this potential partnership.

PIPs (Positive Impact Points)
Ryan Maikell, PIPs Program Coordinator, Undergraduate Student - Communications

Q&A with Ryan: 

• How can I earn PIPs for attending this event?
  • Submit a question to one of the presenters and in the question box, add that you participate in PIPs. We will collect all the names and award PIPs by December. Please make sure you add your name and email in the submission form!
• Since we’re going 100% remote as of Thanksgiving break, how can I continue to earn PIPs?
  • Check out these downloadable QR codes for PIPs at Home! We encourage you to continue earning PIPs through the in-app trivia, walking and look for ways our campus partners are hosting remote earn options. Here's a list of our campus partners.

• What types of sustainability events or activities do you plan to offer PIPs for in the future? How can students get more involved with promoting the program? I personally really enjoy the PIP's program and I want to continue to see it grow and succeed!!!

  • PIPs’ programming continues to grow each and every semester. For spring, we are looking to expand our program to the Career Center (plus a few others 🤞🏼).

    Students can help get involved in the promotion of PIPs through our surveys and focus groups, to start. We have a survey that is currently live here until 11/23. But the biggest way that you can help is by telling your friends and classmates about PIPs. People are more likely to try something if they have heard it from a friend.

    We thank you for your participation with PIPs. We believe it has a big impact, and it is great to hear that from our students.

Composting in KFL
Mauricio Soriano, Sustainability Coordinator, Undergraduate Student - Biology

Q&A with Mauricio: 

• What is one way to positively impact our campus' diversion rate?
  • Increase the number of reusable items you use. The less single-use items, the less chance it'll end up in the wrong bin.
• Why isn't composting in all buildings?
  • The infrastructure and maintenance of adding composting is quite costly. We encourage you to purposefully walk through buildings to dispose of your coffee cups and other items from the coffee shops and Cafe 65. We’re slowly saving funds and conducting building waste audits to determine the next expansion of the program.
• Where does this compost go?
  • Waste Management collects our compostable materials and transports it to Midway Landfill where there is a composting facility. Our material is added to large windrows, and continuously turned to create soil. The piles get really hot, which is why they can accept items like dairy, meat, and oils. These usually don’t do well in backyard compost bins because those piles are smaller, and that’ll attract animals since they don’t break down.

Sustainability Strategic Plan 2030
Joel Tonyan, Systems & User Experience Librarian & Assistant Professor, Kraemer Family Library
Jaymee Collins, Sustainability Coordinator, Undergraduate Student - Communications + Creative Writing Minor

Q&A with Joel and Jaymee: 

• How did we progress from the 2020 UCCS Sustainability Strategic Plan goals? 
  • Check out this visual update to learn about the various progress made on each goal set in 2012.