Water in the West, March 11
Tour recycling and waste diversion organizations including the campus recycling center, Eco-Cycle and the Hard to Recycle Center.
Eco-Social Justice, April 8
Tour organizations involved in eco-social justice on campus and at the听neighborhood听and national听levels, including Revision, Earth Guardians and听GrowHaus.
Please 听for more information and to register.
There are so many great things to learn from campus professors and instructors鈥攆rom reading books and writing papers to working in labs鈥攂ut there is also a lot to learn by getting out of the classroom and into the wider world of sustainability.
The CU program was founded to help students with an interest in sustainability move from the classroom out into the听world to meet innovators and leaders in sustainability.听Typically, the events begin on campus听before loading into vans and heading out into the community, going so far as Denver.
Students get to know each other and discover volunteer, internship and career opportunities at each stop, all while learning more about the sustainability theme.听Eco-Engage has听hosted听eight events so far this year, with听two more planned for the spring semester.
Take a look below at some of the past听events听and how students liked them.
Local and Sustainable Food
During this event, the group visited the C4C (Center for Community) dining hall to hear the听campus dining sustainability officer talk about听sustainability in campus dining, as well as the Farmer鈥檚 Market, Boulder Food Rescue and two local farms. At the latter, participants learned to pick ripe watermelon, held chickens and more.
What students said about it:
鈥淚t was phenomenal!鈥澨�
鈥淢y favorite part was getting to meet people who are involved in local food and listen to their talks and experiences.鈥�
鈥淪o much better than expected!鈥�
鈥淟earning about CSAs was super cool!鈥�
鈥淒ennis [one of the farmers]听was inspiring.鈥�
鈥淟earned more and had more hands-on interaction than I expected."
Compost and Waste Farming
Participants spent a day听visiting on- and off-campus organizations that focus on organic compost and waste farming. They stopped听at Eco-Cycle to learn听about compost tea manufacturing and later听heard from an Environmental Center staff member about Zero Waste and composting in the University Memorial Center. .
What students said about it:
鈥淚 can鈥檛 wait to intern at Eco-cycle!鈥�
鈥淚 really enjoyed meeting the CU grads who had their own startup. It gave me hope for my future.鈥�
鈥淚 learned that there are so many more people who are pushing green tech than I ever imagined.鈥�
鈥淢y favorite part was seeing people taking action and making a difference.鈥�
鈥淩eally good program!鈥�
Renewable and Sustainable Energy
This Eco-Engage event was focused primarily on solar energy but also a little on carbon farming. They started with a visit to the to learn听about the many ways the facility uses renewable energy and then moved to Namaste Solar Company, a worker-owned cooperative in town; visited Bloom Algae, a carbon-farming startup; and a large community solar garden.
What students said about it:
鈥淚t inspired me!鈥�
鈥淢y favorite part was the new things I learned and the entrepreneurship!鈥�
鈥淚 was very interested about all of the sites! Great choices.鈥�
鈥淰ery good volunteer and internship opportunities presented.鈥�
鈥淚 feel much more informed about solar energy and benefits, limits, impacts, technologies, business aspects, etc.鈥�
鈥淚 liked learning about what our school has to offer as far as groups, organizations, help and certificates.鈥�
鈥淐ool to see a solar garden and touch a panel!鈥�
Sustainable Building Design
Participants toured the and learned about the many ways sustainability features were incorporated in听the design of the building. They also visited Boulder鈥檚 own earthship and听met a tiny-home builder who is currently building her own tiny home to learn about water catchment, passive solar design and many other green building products.
What students said about it:
鈥淚 loved both female home builders!鈥�
鈥淚 learned that I am intrigued by building design and will do further research.鈥�
鈥淕ained solid knowledge about alternative houses!鈥�
鈥淕reat community connections!鈥�
鈥淰ery interesting and fun!鈥�
鈥淢y favorite part was the earthship. I had never heard of that.鈥�
鈥淰ery educating and responsive on every question that students had. Very resourceful.鈥�
鈥淢y favorite part was the tiny house; [the tiny-home builder]听was very informative.鈥�
