University receives recognition for environmental education from Citizens for a Healthy Bay
January 24, 2008
Citizens for a Healthy Bay presented the university with an award for Excellence in Environmental Education, citing the university's dedication in providing excellent environmental education programs for the next generation. The award was given to President Ron Thomas at an annual gathering of civic leaders at the President's House on January 9.
"I am pleased to accept this recognition on behalf of the university," President Thomas said. "Environmental education is extremely important here at Puget Sound, both inside and outside the classroom. The development of sustainable practices and the commitment to improve the health of our community is more than just a list of prescribed practices or operational changes - it is a way of critically thinking about our role in the world and preparing our students for leadership in solving environmental challenges."
President Thomas is a member of the Leadership Circle in signing The Presidents Climate Commitment, a pledge to develop plans for the campus to become climate neutral, and also signed the Talloires Declaration in 2004, joining together with other institutions of higher learning around the world to advance sustainable practices and environmentally responsible education.
Key environmental education programs at University of Puget Sound include the university's Civic Scholarship Initiative, which focuses on nearshore habitat restoration. Professor of Biology Joel Elliott and university students have been working in partnership with government agencies, community groups, and environmental organizations to develop effective protocols for restoring eelgrass to the shoreline of Commencement Bay. Puget Sound students also participate in an Environmental Studies Program designed to help them integrate their major areas of study with the scientific, social, and human dimensions of environmental issues. A recent grant to the university from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation will expand the program by funding a new faculty position in international environmental policy.
Other activities on campus include workshops on incorporating sustainability into the curriculum, funded by grants from the Luce Foundation Environmental Policy & Decision-Making Initiative led by Luce Professor of Environmental Policy Dan Sherman; a campus-community sustainability partnership funded by a Russell Family Foundation Sustainability Grant; a week-long EcoFest educational program sponsored by Students for a Sustainable Campus; an Energy Task Force focused on energy usage and green energy issues on campus and in the local community; and a graduation pledge by seniors to consider social and environmental consequences of their future jobs.
One of the university's signature environmental programs is the recycling program Move Out, coordinated with the City of Tacoma at the end of the school year, reducing solid waste disposal by 32 tons annually. These and other innovative sustainable practices are coordinated by the President's Sustainability Advisory Committee, convened by Professor of Chemistry Steven Neshyba and Executive Director of Community Engagement John Hickey and consisting of students, faculty and staff from throughout the university.
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