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 neighborhood and national levels, including Revision, Earth Guardians and GrowHaus.
Please visit the Eco-Engage webpage for more information and to register.
There are so many great things to learn from campus professors and instructors—from reading books and writing papers to working in labs—but there is also a lot to learn by getting out of the classroom and into the wider world of sustainability.
The CU Eco-Engage Events program was founded to help students with an interest in sustainability move from the classroom out into the world to meet innovators and leaders in sustainability. Typically, the events begin on campus 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. Eco-Engage has hosted eight events so far this year, with two more planned for the spring semester.
Take a look below at some of the past events 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 campus dining sustainability officer talk about sustainability in campus dining, as well as the Farmer’s 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:
“It was phenomenal!”
“My favorite part was getting to meet people who are involved in local food and listen to their talks and experiences.”
“So much better than expected!”
“Learning about CSAs was super cool!”
“Dennis [one of the farmers] was inspiring.”
“Learned more and had more hands-on interaction than I expected."
Compost and Waste Farming
Participants spent a day visiting on- and off-campus organizations that focus on organic compost and waste farming. They stopped at Eco-Cycle to learn about compost tea manufacturing and later heard from an Environmental Center staff member about Zero Waste and composting in the University Memorial Center. Read more about this event on the CU Environmental Center blog.
What students said about it:
“I can’t wait to intern at Eco-cycle!”
“I really enjoyed meeting the CU grads who had their own startup. It gave me hope for my future.”
“I learned that there are so many more people who are pushing green tech than I ever imagined.”
“My favorite part was seeing people taking action and making a difference.”
“Really good program!”
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 CU Indoor Practice Facility to learn 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:
“It inspired me!”
“My favorite part was the new things I learned and the entrepreneurship!”
“I was very interested about all of the sites! Great choices.”
“Very good volunteer and internship opportunities presented.”
“I feel much more informed about solar energy and benefits, limits, impacts, technologies, business aspects, etc.”
“I liked learning about what our school has to offer as far as groups, organizations, help and certificates.”
“Cool to see a solar garden and touch a panel!”
Sustainable Building Design
Participants toured the CU Recreation Center and learned about the many ways sustainability features were incorporated in the design of the building. They also visited Boulder’s own earthship and 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:
“I loved both female home builders!”
“I learned that I am intrigued by building design and will do further research.”
“Gained solid knowledge about alternative houses!”
“Great community connections!”
“Very interesting and fun!”
“My favorite part was the earthship. I had never heard of that.”
“Very educating and responsive on every question that students had. Very resourceful.”
“My favorite part was the tiny house; [the tiny-home builder] was very informative.”
