Six Present at National Sustainability Conference

November 25th

In late October, six Lehigh University staff and students traveled to Portland, OR, to present at The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) Conference (http://conference.aashe.org/2014/). The conference, which draws more than 1,800 participants, is a national gathering of sustainability professionals, faculty and students interested in sharing effective models, policies, research and collaborations. During the four day conference, the Lehigh contingency shared information and best practices with peer institutions and colleagues on the topics of waste and recycling, the Greek Greening program, the Eco-Reps program, and community building through permaculture. For more information about each presentation, read the profiles below.

Maria Cuenca ('15), Green Greening program

Poster Session: Integrating Sustainability Into the Greek System

Maria Cuenca presented on Lehigh's Greek Greening Program, which started in 2010 with a student initiative focused on the addition of sustainability into the Greek accreditation process. Maria spoke on the success of integrating Campus Sustainability Plan goals into Greek systems through building successful partnerships. conducting waste audits, conducting research, and providing educational presentations to all members of the Greek organization. Maria's presentation highlighted effective ways to engage with the Greek community, successful project ideas, and tips for building a program at a university with a large Greek system.

Kristiana Barr ('16), Eco-Reps program

Presentation: The Evolution of an Eco-Reps Program to Advance Institutional Goals

Kristiana Barr presented on the evolution of the Lehigh Eco-Reps program, which began in the fall of 2010 as a pilot project by environmentally-minded students. Kristiana shared information about the various stages of the program, which were designed to further promote sustainability in residential living, engage a diverse group of students, and develop strong student leaders and educators. In her presentation, Kristiana shared tips and recommendations for building a robust, respected and effective peer-to-peer educators program.

Katie Klaniecki, Sustainability Program Coordinator, Office of Sustainability

Poster Session: Creating a visual identity system to improve waste diversion rates

Katie Klaniecki presented on Lehigh University's waste collection system and the process to streamline the look and feel of the system to increase overall waste diversion. Katie presented on the actions Lehigh underwent to develop a visual identity for the waste collection system when it was determined that the existing waste system was confusing, mismatched and difficult to use. The result of focus groups, surveys and a literature review was the creation of a visual identity system which defines the style of bin that should be placed in each area, the color of bags, the style of signs, the location of the bins, and the placement of the bins.

Katelyn Armbruster, Heather Doll & Emily Gibbs: Community Leaders' Initiative for Permaculture (CLIP)

Student Summit Workshop: Community Building Through Permaculture: Engaging Stakeholders for Effective Programming

Katelyn Armbruster, Heather Doll and Emily Gibbs lead a workshop for students focused on building community and sustainable practices through the lens of the permaculture movement. The three presenters provided participants with tools that produce tangible results, such as how to engage with existing organizations in your community by creating culturally approximate programming. They led the workshop based on their experiences leading the Community Leaders’ Initiative for Permaculture, a student group at Lehigh University that utilizes the principles of earth care, people care and fair share in culturally approximate ways to encourage sustainable practices across disciplines.

For more information on the CLIP group and their work in our community, please view this video: