Sterling College Integrates Sustainability in Student Learning and Development

Though sustainability has recently taken institutions nationwide by storm, Sterling College has championed the environmental part of sustainability since the late 1970s. Its mission is to combine “structured academic study with experiential challenges and plain hard work to build responsible problems solvers who become stewards of the environment as they pursue productive lives.” The college recently introduced the initiative, Sustainable Sterling, to integrate sustainability in every aspect of learning and living on the campus.

“We are proud that we fully integrate the concept of sustainability in every aspect of a student’s life on campus,” said Christina Erickson, Sustainability Coordinator and faculty member at the Sterling College.

Sterling College has made sustainability a part of its core curriculum by offering such courses as the Humans in the Environment, Ecology, Environmental Science, Watershed Analysis, Environmental Policy, Economics & the Environment, and Systems Thinking. Also, the institution has developed a weekly seminar series where guest speakers lecture on topics of sustainability, environmentalism, and research. The seminar series is open to the general public.

“We are particularly pleased that the seminar series provides students with opportunities to learn from leaders and practitioners within the environmental and sustainability fields,” said Erickson.

To further support its mission, Sterling College developed Work College Consortium where residential students participate in jobs that support sustainability, such as Recycling Coordinator and Garden Harvester. They also are required to work on a farm and in a kitchen or do residence cleaning chores for once week per semester. In exchange, students receive a tuition reduction and bookstore credit. 

Several departments on campus are supporting the mission of sustainable living. The food services department uses ingredients of meals served on campus are organic, locally grown, or locally purchased, whenever possible. The campus grows vegetables in about one acre of certified organic gardens and supports local farmers that promote sustainable agriculture. Also, the dining hall does not support the use of plastic or paper products. Instead diners eat from ceramic plates, use silverware, and compost their unbleached napkins.  

In addition, the college’s Career Resource Center works to prepare students for a long-term commitment to sustainability. Students must complete, “Work Search,” a one-credit course that focuses on creating resumes, writing cover letters, and pursuing careers that relate to the cause of sustainability. 

Students are following the institutions’ lead by initiating their own campus greening organization, under the National Wildlife Federation Campus Ecology program. Students meet each week to work on energy conservation projects and attend various state-wide and regional events relating to sustainability.

The programs and departmental efforts at Sustainable Sterling shows how a college can be comprehensive in its planning and design to promote a sustainable living and learning environment for students.

While other colleges have emphasized the social justice and social health part of sustainability, Sterling has focused on the environmental component of sustainability. For more examples of sustainability on campus, visit the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education at http://www.aashe.org/.