Santa Clara University

Sustainability News and Events

News & Events at SCU related to Sustainability. For more events, visit the Sustainability Calendar.

• High School Sustainability Decathlon Exhibition

  Friday, May. 8, 2009

  When: Saturday, May 9, 9 am - noon
  Where: Commons at Kennedy Mall, and a reception following at the Solar Decathlon 2007 home
  What: Students from six local high schools will present their ongoing work to enhance sustainability awareness and initiatives at their schools.
  Judges: Leslie Gray, Tim Hight, Meghan Mooney, and Keith Warner

  A sample of what you might expect to see:

  • St. Ignatius Prep. participated in San Francisco's Arbor Day celebration, and has developed a sustainability plan for their school... including how they operate their cafeteria, eliminating water bottles, etc.
  • Presentation School held an earth day event and has plans to start a community garden near their campus, lead by parents.
  • Silver Creek High took young students hiking to help them develop a connection to nature, and held an eco-fashion show.
  • San Jose High is starting a recycling program based on free resources provided by the city of San Jose.
  • Wilcox High developed a speaker series to bring visitors to lecture at their school. They regularly volunteer at a local habitat restoration project in Santa Clara.
  • Harker school helped commuters by sampling tire pressure in their school's parking lot. Drivers were informed if they should inflate their tires to improve their car's gas mileage.
  • ... and more!

  Read more about the Sustainability Decathlon.

  SCU students mentor local youth.
  Teams from six high schools throughout the bay area will compete in the 2009 Sustainability Decathlon a 10-category competition ranging from environmental education, conservation, and social responsibility, in which high school students “green” their schools.

  The Sustainability Decathlon was created by Santa Clara University (SCU) students in 2007 as a platform to communicate sustainability and engage local youth as an outreach component of the SCU Solar Decathlon project. The Solar Decathlon, an international competition sponsored by the Department of Energy, challenges 20 colleges and universities to build completely solar-powered, sustainable homes.

  Students participating in the Sustainability Decathlon have a unique opportunity to meet the SCU students involved in design and construction of the solar home and learn more about this international competition. The Sustainability Decathlon also offers leadership opportunity and an extracurricular academic experience to high school students as they learn and teach their peers about sustainability.

  Fifteen SCU undergraduates are enrolled in ENVS 140 “Sustainability Outreach”, a course in which they learn about supporting others’ reflections and interpretations of sustainability.

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• 39th Annual Senior Engineering Design Conference

  Thursday, May. 7, 2009

  Join the School of Engineering Thursday, May 7, 2009 for the 39th Annual Senior Engineering Design Conference. Come and watch our seniors present their projects before faculty, alumni, industry leaders, parents, and friends of the School of Engineering.

  Students have explored engineering solutions for green building, water purification, renewable energy generation, and more.

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• ALL SHOW WITH NO GO? Tired of Sustainability Hippies on Campus? Think SCU is 'Greenwashing'?

  Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2009

  STUDENTS INTERESTED IN THE FUTURE OF SUSTAINABILITY AT SCU: CHECK OUT THIS ETHICS CASE!!

  WHAT DO YOU THINK? TO COMMENT, PLEASE FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS BELOW TO GET TO THE DISCUSSION BOARD ON THE ETHICS FACEBOOK SITE.

  Here is the case:

  Jimmy is involved with Santa Clara's SLURP project (Sustainable Living Undergraduate Research Project). As part of the project this year, he is planning on volunteering with the annual water bottle display on Kenna Mall. Every year, students collect water bottles that were thrown into the trash to inform students on campus about the number of bottles we waste. In doing so, the SLURP members hope to help their classmates make more ethical decisions about recycling their trash.

  Some of Jimmy's friends find this display offensive. They feel as though the display isn't making any statement except to show how inadequate Santa Clara students are about recycling. What the display really does, in their opinion, is discourage students. Jimmy wants to reach out to the students and feels that maybe the water bottle display isn't an effective way to do so.

  Should Jimmy continue with the water bottle display or find another way to educate Santa Clara students about the importance of recycling? Also, what are your feelings about the water bottle recycling displays around campus? Do they do more harm than good?

  To get on the Ethics Facebook group:
  Search Ethics in the search box on Facebook, click on the "Ethics" Facebook group and "Join Group" to comment.
  This case is being presented in coordination with the forthcoming March 5 student-led event on the future of sustainability at SCU.

  Information about the event follows:
  ALL SHOW WITH NO GO?
  Tired of Sustainability Hippies on Campus? Think SCU is 'Greenwashing'?

  Student-led Discussion about the weaknesses, strengths, and future of sustainability at Santa Clara featuring:
  -- Meghan Mooney, SCU '09
  -- Nick Obradovich, SCU '09
  4 p.m., Thursday, March 5 Media Room A, First Floor of the Learning Commons

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