For college students who love travel, surfing, the environment and helping others, there’s nothing quite like the Eco Surf Volunteer effort. This program – which is truly in the spirit of one of our favorite green celebs and do-gooders, Jack Johnson – takes groups of students to historic beach town of Canoa, Ecuador for surfing, relaxing on the beach, learning about the local culture – and most importantly, helping school kids.

Eco Surf Volunteers – Canoa, Ecuador – Footage courtesy of Nicole Andersen & Sarah Han from Sam Bailey on Vimeo.

From Surfline.com:

To these students, the idea of merely visiting an international travel destination was not an option. These student’s desired a deeper sense of adventure, one that would immerse them completely in Ecuadorian life, the Spanish language, and the exotic South American beach culture.

As a participant with Eco Surf, each student-volunteer spent half their day working with local children by teaching English in an English Through Art program, helping in local medical clinics, and building new playground equipment from recycled and natural resources. The second half of their day was spent surfing with local Ecuadorian surf guides, all peers their own age. Volunteer team members not familiar with surfing were offered two hour surf lessons each day.

Additionally, Eco Surf donated three new laptop computers to the community, effectively establishing the first academic computer lab in the village.

Interested in going along next time? Future volunteer projects are scheduled for January 2-10, March 20-28, and July 31-August 9, 2010. For more information about Eco Surf Volunteers, visit www.EcoSurfVolunteers.org or email info@ecosurfvolunteers.org.

Link [EcoSurfVolunteers.org]

Rotten economy? So what?! Colleges around the nation are still going green despite declining endowments, according to the new 2010 College Sustainability Report Card results, compiled by the Sustainable Endowments Institute.

Twenty-six out of 332 schools evaluated for the report card got the highest possible grade of A-minus, determined by a number of criteria in areas like administration, climate change & energy, food & recycling, green building, student involvement, transportation, endowment transparency, investment priorities and shareholder engagement.

That’s up from just 15 schoools getting an A-minus last year. Among the new schools on the list are Amherst College, Arizona State University-Tempe, Luther College, Macalester College and the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill. Ultra-green list veterans include Brown University, Carleton College, Middlebury College and Oberlin College. A few of last year’s highest fell off the list, including Dartmouth.

Congratulations to all the colleges that made it, and everybody else who moved up a grade for 2010. Keep it up!

Link [Green Report Card] via [Yale Environment 360]

Jerkass fans of the University of Georgia football team descended upon the Athens, Georgia campus last weekend and left a wake of trash, abandoned grills, urine and feces behind when they left. And this is far from the first time it has happened.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that tailgaters left the lawn covered with 70 tons of trash. They peed in doorways and shat in various places that are definitely not toilets. UGA President Michael Adams said he was “appalled” and is asking for help from fans before the next home game to make sure it doesn’t happen again.

From AJC:

“There were tons and tons of trash and lots of inappropriate behavior that most of our fans don’t like or tolerate,” he said.  “It’s not pervasive. I don’t know if it’s 15 or 20 percent, but it is a substantial enough group. But if you’re going to haul all this stuff in for pregame, why not add a recyclable bag or two and either take it with you or put it on the side of the street where the appropriate people can take it away?”

“What happened last week is typical,” said George Stafford, UGA’s associate vice president for auxiliary and administrative services. “It takes 200 to 300 people on Sunday morning to pick up and bag up all the trash, throw it on a truck and haul it out to the landfill. A typical day game produces 35 to 40 tons of trash. A night SEC game like this we have 70 or more tons.”

Stafford said last year’s “Blackout Game” against Alabama produced a record 75 tons of trash on campus.

Are these people Neanderthals or what? Seriously, aren’t college sports fans supposed to have some pride in their schools? Sure, sports crowds can get unruly anywhere in the world, but to walk away at the end of the night and leave this much destruction is just shameful.

Wake up, people: there are these things called trash bags and toilets that keep us from having to live in filth. Party foul x 1000.

Link [AJC]
Photo credit: Tom Ritch

Pomona College, a small private college located in Claremont, California, stands out even in a state with a large number of impressively green schools. Though this college has had an environmental policy since 2003, renewed dedication and enthusiasm for sustainability has led to a wide array of programs and initiatives that take their commitment to the next level.

President Oxby signed the Presidents Climate Commitment, seeking to reduce Pomona College’s carbon footprint. The college has a full-time sustainability coordinator and an advisory committee made up of faculty, staff and students who develop strategies for making the college greener.

Solar arrays, renewable energy credits and a number of energy-saving products and policies help accomplish Pomona College’s goal to use energy resources wisely. The college has committed to purchasing Energy Star appliances, and uses a number of other measures to control energy consumption.

Pomona currently has three LEED-certified buildings: the Richard C. Seaver Biology Building (LEED Silver-certified) and the Lincoln-Edmunds Buildings (LEED Gold-certified). The New North Campus residence halls will also be LEED Gold-certified once completed.

The college is also a supporter of local farms, purchasing produce from 25 local suppliers. They also have their own 2.5-acre organic farm on campus, which is mulched with composted food and landscaping waste. Dining services also provides fair trade coffee and some organic goods, and offers biodegradable utensils and paper to-go boxes.

A fleet of folding bicycles available for rental make it easy for students to get around without cars – they’re perfect for taking on public transportation as needed. Another program provides used bikes for rental and offers free bike repairs. Students also get discounted Metrolink passes, and a rideshare program encourages faculty to carpool.

Learn more about Pomona College’s green efforts at Pomona.edu/Sustainability.

Link [Pomona College]

Not all of North America’s sustainable colleges and universities are in the United States – far from it, in fact. Canada has quite a few of them, with the University of Calgary among the most impressive. This public university with over 24,000 students has made great strides toward inserting green values and practices into virtually all areas of campus activity.

A signatory of the Talloires Declaration, U of C is working to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030 and has begun retrofits to the central heating plant that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 43 percent below 1990 levels. One campus building – the Child Development Center, which is LEED-Platinum certified – uses 100 percent renewable electricity, 10 percent of which comes from solar panels.

All new building projects at the University of Calgary will achieve the highest level of LEED certification possible within budget constraints, and in addition to the Child Development Center, two more buildings are on track for certification. Carpoolers at U of C get premium parking, and students ride on public transit at a discount. A student-run program loans out bikes and provides a place for cyclists to socialize.

Food from over 19 local farms and producers is provided on campus, including local dairy. Fair trade coffee is also available. Students who bring reusable cups get a discount on drinks.

A number of student groups address sustainability issues, including the Sustainability Stewardship Program and many more. U of C also holds campus-wide competitions like the Commuter Challenge held this past spring, which prompted students, faculty and staff to record sustainable commuting choices like walking, cycling and carpooling.

Learn more about what the University of Calgary is doing to go green at UCalgary.ca/sustainability.

Link [University of Calgary Sustainability]

The University of Minnesota is among the nation’s most sustainability-dedicated institutions of higher learning, with green projects and practices extending into all areas of campus activity. Becoming a sustainable university is a tough goal to reach when you’ve got over 60,000 students, and UMN definitely deserves some major props for all of their hard work.

President Robert H. Bruininks has played a major part in increasing the University of Minnesota’s commitment to sustainability, signing the Presidents Climate Commitment and funding research and development in renewable energy. The university also adopted a sustainability and environmental policy, and a broad-based committee oversees campus sustainability priorities.

The University of Minnesota requires all new construction and renovation projects to meet sustainability guidelines, and has already completed a 50,000-seat LEED-gold certified stadium that is due to open this September. Science Teaching and Student Services Building, and the New Bell Museum of Natural History are also seeking LEED certification. UMN is also powered partially with biomass, and solar panels were installed on the College of Design for demonstration and research.

Students, faculty and staff get around on public transportation at discounted rates, and many also ride bicycles. The university also has 75 E85 vehicles in its fleet, as well as 53 hybrids. UMN purchases B20 fuel made from waste oil and soybeans.

A member of the Heartland Food Network,  UMN purchases 18 percent of its food locally and also gets some of its food from campus’s Minnesota Landscape Arboretum and UMN Cornercopia. The university recycles approximately 30 percent of the school’s solid waste and 50 percent of its debris waste.

UMN is also a great choice for students who want to become the green leaders of the future, from scientists to business people. In fact, several environment-related departments and graduate programs are highly ranked at the national level by the National Resource Council, including Evolution Ecology and Behavior, Geography and the School of Public Health.

The University of Minnesota has many more sustainability initiatives and improvements than we can go over here – learn more about their efforts at the UMN sustainability website!

Link [UMN] + [Green College Report Card]

Millions of teenagers across America are preparing to head to college, and they’ve got long lists of supplies they need to bring, from bedding to shower shoes. Sometimes the hardest part is finding truly eco-friendly versions of all of these items – if only they were all sold in one place!

Luckily, Ideal Bite has put together a great list of recycled, organic and otherwise environmentally friendly gear – perfect for parents who are scrambling to find everything in the last frenzied weeks before their kids fly the coop.

1. Sheet smarts.

All-nighter pulled. Paper slipped under the Prof’s door five minutes before it was due. Time to crash…on soft, 100% organic-cotton sheets – no pesticides involved. PBteen’s Organic Sheet Sets ($89) come in twin size, with cheery graphic prints like flowers and turntables. Also: organic towels. Give it.

2. Board games.

Great for keeping class schedules and phone numbers handy, Envi Combo Magnetic Dry-Erase/Cork Bulletin Boards ($38) are Cradle-to-Cradle certified – made from recycled materials and designed to be recycled. Pair with nontoxic pens, and emblazon it with a bon voyage message (or a reminder about your birthday – oh, whoops, was that permanent ink?). Give it.

3. Electric bookaloo.

One thing’s for sure – they’re going to read. A lot. Give ‘em an electronic book reader like the new bigger-format, 9.7-inch Kindle DX ($489) – no trees necessary. They can download 300K books (lighter and cheaper than paper = less shoulder pain, more beer money), plus magazines and newspapers; highlight and make notes as they read; and download books anywhere. Give it.

Check out the rest over at IdealBite.com.

Link [Ideal Bite]

How can sustainability be defined with art? That’s what Arizona State University’s Art Museum set out to answer this fall with Defining Sustainability, a series of dynamic and interactive projects that will come together to illustrate sustainability ideas.

From ASU News:

Each exhibition or project tells a simple story – an artist’s proposal for green transportation or a designer’s solution for recycled shade structures – which together convey the complexity of sustaining life on earth. A nontraditional art museum project, artists and designers, faculty and students will engage the greater Phoenix community in their creative processes and in conversations about sustainability. The diverse projects range in materials and format, and are installed throughout the ASU Art Museum to tell stories of environmental, social and cultural sustainability.

In Defining Sustainability, art and the museum are catalyst and site for campus and community members to gather and further the conversation about sustainability. While many of the projects focus on this place, they have implications for art, museums and urban centers throughout the country and the world. Today’s art museum is a pristine, controlled environment, keeping the landscape, with all its environmental systems, hazards and problems, at bay. The ASU Art Museum strives to forge a new model for the university art museum as an interdisciplinary lab to explore real-world issues through the lens of the creative process.

Defining Sustainability will run from August 26th, 2009 through February 20th, 2010 and will feature exhibitions in all media by regional and international, emerging and established artists.

Learn more and view a few examples at the ASU website.

Pictured above: Shade structures made by ASU architecture faculty member Jason Griffiths, who will be leading the upcoming project Political Ply at ASU Art Museum in October 2009. Photo courtesy Jason Griffith.

Link [ASU News]

Clark University is among America’s greenest, a nationwide sustainability leader with a long list of impressive accomplishments. This small private college in Worcester, Massachusetts is lucky to have both an administration and a student body that is fully dedicated to energy conservation, recycling, local food, green building, community outreach and much more.

President Bassett signed the Presidents Climate Commitment, promising to work toward carbon neutrality, and Clark is also a signatory of the Talloires Declaration, an action plan for incorporating sustainability in higher education. The university has a full-time sustainability coordinator, an environmental sustainability task force and a student group called the Campus Sustainability Initiative who all work together to make Clark University even greener.

A program called Choose Renewable Energy gives students the option of helping fund Clark’s purchases of clean energy. With the support of the student body, the university has been able to purchase renewable energy credits. Clark also runs an energy awareness program and has completed a number of energy efficiency projects on campus.

Two of Clark University’s campus buildings are LEED certified. The Lasry Center for Bioscience Building earned Gold certification, while the Blackstone Hall student residence achieved Silver. Among the eco-friendly features in the buildings are enhanced natural daylighting, Forest Stewardship Council-certified wood, super-efficient water features and an incredible recycling rate of 97% during construction.

Clark University also offers its students, faculty and staff an array of local foods including hormone-free milk from a nearby dairy. Fair trade coffee and cage-free eggs are available as well as organic rice, produce and oatmeal. For special dinners, Dining services purchases produce from a local urban garden.

Congratulations to everyone at Clark University – your hard work is definitely paying off!

Link [Clark University]

The world is about to welcome a whole new generation of sustainability experts, bigger than ever before – and it couldn’t have come at a better time. College students are flocking to sustainability programs in droves, graduating with the knowledge they need to help guide the world to a greener, more sustainable way of life.

From Earth 911:

With an emphasis on trans- and interdisciplinary research and teaching, schools such as Stony Brook, Colorado State University, the University of Washington, Arizona State University, the University of Pennsylvania and others are incorporating sustainability into subjects such as business, architecture, biological science, social science and more.

Some universities are even creating stand-alone schools related to sustainability. Additionally, According to the Association for Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education’s (AASHE) most recent count, 66 sustainability-oriented academic programs were created in 2008.

The academic knowledge base of sustainability will likely continue to be needed and expanded as more “green collar” jobs emerge.

With the noticeable increase in academic programs related to sustainability, universities increasingly appear up to the task of educating the next generation of leaders so that they might tackle the pertinent environmental, social and economic issues of our age.

We profiled some of the nation’s best undergraduate sustainability programs earlier this year in an article entitled ‘Becoming Tomorrow’s Green Leaders: Top Environmental Undergrad Programs’. Among the chosen colleges and universities are Middlebury College in Vermont, Warren Wilson College in North Carolina, Northland College in Wisconsin and the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Want to learn more? The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) has an exhaustive list of schools offering various kinds of environmental programs available on their website.

Link [Earth 911] + [AASHE]