AASHE’s Academic Commons contains curriculum materials from across disciplines organized by type (lesson plans, syllabi, lab assignments, etc.), discipline, and tag. Search for an idea or find out how you can add you own! Also curriculum case studies are available to provide insight into the work of faculty who are teaching sustainability.
AASHE’s Academic Commons February 26, 2013
Calling all Academic Librarians – feedback needed! November 29, 2012
Please add feedback to STARS 2.0 (background info) before Fri. 11/30 6pm PST. All the info to plug in is below — or add your own comments! Help AASHE see that libraries are a vital part of sustainability! Anyone can comment. You don’t have to be an AASHE member.
1) Go to the Public comment form
2) Select: Individual
3) Select Other: Academic Librarian (or whatever title you choose to use)
4) STARS subcategory: Research
5) Enter text box: ER 10: Support for Research (tweak if you wish!)
Librarians as a resource and partner in research, teaching, and outreach to support sustainability across the campus, including curriculum development, sustainability literacy, materials selection, research guides, and e-learning objects, covering topics related to social equity, diversity, and the environment. The preservation and sharing of campus sustainability output via the Institutional Repository that has global reach.
By 6pm PST – Friday Nov 30 2012
See the original text (go to section ER10 B. #4)
AASHE 2012 Registration Ends Oct 8 October 2, 2012
Only ONE WEEK LEFT for registration as Monday, October 8, is the last day to register for AASHE 2012. Register Now! The conference is always packed with good information, networking, and ideas! Some great keynotes too like L. Hunter Lovins talking about “Innovation in Higher Education: Leading the Change; and the ” The Crossroads Project, a live musical performance along with physicist Dr Robert Davies combining music, information and intellect for a unique session! There are plenary speakers, Lunch Meetings, networking events, and of course the conference sessions…I hope some are by librarians but there was no way to search and find sessions by librarians. So if you are presenting or know of something there, comment here or send me an email!
Ebook: 2011 Higher Education Sustainability Review August 4, 2012
AASHE‘s “2011 Higher Education Sustainability Review” is now available for Amazon Kindle to members and non-members at just $1.99. (Also available to members in PDF format ) This review reveals an increased focus on higher education access, affordability and success; more green building efforts than ever; and growing campus community engagement with food security initiatives, among many other achievements. Contributors include Lumina Foundation’s James Applegate, Sustainability Education and Economic Development (SEED) Center’s Todd Cohen, Ball State University Council on the Environment’s Robert J. Koester, and the University of Vermont’s Mieko A. Ozeki. The review also takes a look at “what’s next,” profiling four innovative campus-community partnerships toward resilient, secure, sustainable communities to keep an eye on in the coming years.
AASHE & RIO+20 June 28, 2012
The AASHE blog allows for members to express thoughts and ideas with the wider AASHE audience. With the recent Rio+20 UN Conference on Sustainable Development, the blog has offered summaries and thoughts on the conference’s effects on higher ed. I liked this particular quote and can see how libraries can be a part of these efforts though providing access and hence education to all:
I truly believe that higher education must be a leader in these efforts but we will not be effective unless we have a systems-based approach where our political, economic and social institutions work closely in collaboration with education across all ages and in much more applied and practical ways. The Higher Education Sustainability Initiative, launched by UNESCO and led by UN Asst Secretary Elizabeth Thompson, is a start, as it raises the recognition of higher education’s contributions to sustainable development efforts. (from Kim reports from #Rio20 post)
Stay informed and follow the blog online, through RSS feed or checkout AASHE other social network options.
2nd Annual Green Schools National Conference January 19, 2012
WHEN: February 27 – 29, 2012,
WHERE: Denver, Colorado
WHAT: national gathering of K-12 leaders and educators! Find out more and register here.
Also check out other upcoming green student competitions and challenges!
AASHE 2011 Conference Presentation Materials Now Available December 15, 2011
AASHE (Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education) now has available all of the conference posters, panels and presentations from 2011 conference in Pittsburgh last October and the 2010 in Denver. The conference materials are in one searchable database, searched by conference year, category, organization, session type and keyword. Blog posts, photos and videos can also be found on the AASHE conference website.
Libraries for Sustainability – Networking Event at AASHE 2011 November 9, 2011
Librarians who attend the AASHE Conference in early October gathered together for a networking event called “Libraries for Sustainability”. Though the participants mostly included sustainability officers there were also a handful of librarians. Their discussion resulted in 10 ideas for connecting campus libraries as partners in the sustainability movement. Madeleine K. Charney, University of Massachusetts Amherst and Bonnie J. Smith, University of Florida wrote up a summary of the discussion which is a must read for any academic librarian to review! Read the full report here.
Thanks to those who participated and wish I had been there in person too!
AASHE Conference 2011 – registration now open! August 18, 2011
Registration is currently open for “AASHE 2011: Creating Sustainable Campuses and Communities,” October 9-12, 2011; Pittsburgh, PA. Dr. Wangari Maathai, Nobel Peace Laureate, will be the conference’s opening keynote speaker and Bill McKibben, author and founder of 350.org, will be the AASHE Student Summit keynote speaker. See other additions in the conference program overview. I attended last year and it rocked! I hope some of you green librarians get a chance to attend too!
AASHE conference: ways to be green at events! October 12, 2010
I am thrilled to be attending and presenting at a (non library!) conference – AASHE, the association of sustainability in higher education. It’s very important that librarians get out and mingle with non librarians to hear what’s happening beyond our own world as well as show other just how diverse, important and relevant libraries are in so many sectors of our world today. My presentation was on a virtual sustainability conference I helped my university run last year – since virtual is greener than traveling (ironically I had to travel to present here on the subject). But I’m thrilled to learn about all the wonderful and inspiring campus initiatives for a more sustainable world: from small to large ideas, from administration to students driven projects, from small to huge universities. there are even a few librarians here and involved!. And the number of students attending – and presenting – is incredible which gives us all hope for future sustainable endeavors - and gives them the chance to network, gain skills and respect.
As most of us do travel and attend conferences, I wanted to post about this conference’s green practices that I wish I could see more of at library events:
First of all, the Denver Convention Center is a very green place to host a conference. There are compost cans everywhere next to the trash and recycling bins. Our box lunches, including the little containers, the utensils and the box itself are all compostable. The food is healthier, (much of it local & fair trade) than usually get at events and there are way more vegetarian/vegan meals than non (majority of attendees are veggie folks). There are NO water bottles – everyone has their own reusable bottle and there are filling stations everywhere. Everyone has their own coffee mugs too. The few cups available are compostable. They parter with contractors who work hard at keeping room temps, energy output and lights set in most sustainable way as well as more sustainable measures from supply chain to offsite material usage.
AASHE presenters offer NO handouts… yup people here take their own notes (on paper or computer) and I never heard one complaint about no handouts. Everything will be online to access so attendees can choose to print later if they wish. Attendees can purchase carbon offsets if they want. There are great public transportation options here but also arranged are ride share and zimride. Hotel choices were those with more sustainable practices. Dine-arounds are at local green option places. Even the signage was done to be reused next time.
My only complaint is the lack of virtual options. I love in person networking too but maybe every other year in person, and host a much greener virtual option in between years to better role model what they are promoting!
(hmm, maybe ALA could do their midwinter conference as virtual to be green and save money and allow for more participation by all!)
