Nearly 250 Colorado Mountain College students, faculty and staff came together in Steamboat Springs April 17 and 18, 2014, for the inaugural Sustainability Summit. This was the first time even many long-time CMCers remember a gathering like this, and it was empowering, surprising, and, well, a lot of fun.
Among the numerous highlights were:
• CMC President Dr. Carrie Besnette Hauser opening the summit with an overview of the sustainability progress we’ve made so far:
• Signing the American College Presidents’ Climate Commitment, which includes pledging to be carbon neutral by 2050
• Investing $3.6 million in energy-saving measures throughout the college
• Creating the first-ever college sustainability roadmap – which generated the idea for this summit
• Conducting biofuels research and soon-to-be production at our campus in Rifle
• Installing solar arrays at our campuses in Rifle and Leadville
• Building geothermal exchange systems at our campuses in Steamboat Springs and Spring Valley
• Establishing that one of our first two bachelor’s degrees is in sustainability studies
• Alex Orton leading the charge for the Steamboat campus to sign on to the Real Food Challenge (http://www.realfoodchallenge.org/), and Dr. Peter Perhac signing the challenge just before the keynote talk. Participants in the Real Food Challenge seek to purchase 20 percent “real food” by 2020 for dining hall consumption. Real food includes local, organic, fair trade and humane food sources.
• Keynote speaker Dr. Stephen Mulkey, president of Unity College, who spoke on his manifesto for higher education: Climate change is the defining environmental factor in the Environmental Century. Some notable quotes:
“Sustainability must be the primary mission of education . . . and the economy.”
“This [climate change] is the monster we have to take out from under the bed and look in the eye. Things will change. Much will be lost. How much depends on what we do now.”
“I believe that sustainability will diversify our economy.”
“Tina Evans has written a book (“Occupy Education: Living and Learning Sustainability”) that is an intellectual tour de force.”
Other Conference Highlights:
•Dr. Hauser giving Nancy Genova, vice president of our Rifle campus and collegewide sustainability guru, the first-ever CMC Sustainability Award
•Steamboat faculty member Cynthia Zyzda presenting students with the Creative Expressions of Sustainability Awards. They went to:
-Ben Saheb, first place, for his video “Routt County Roots.” Check it out: https://coloradomtn.info/ben-saheb/
-Nancy McCormish, second place, for writing “Treat Me Like Dirt”
-Shoshanah Ferguson, third place, for writing “For Their Sake”
•Caroline Jordan’s informative and visually dynamic and professional social marketing presentation that was integrated with the meals themselves. Her work focused on food system sustainability and food choices.
•Presentations, roundtable discussions, and film showings led by students, staff and faculty, on topics as varied as zoopharmacognosy (animals that use natural herbs for medicine), maintaining optimism, sustainability internships, electric transportation, permaculture, energy management at CMC, honeybees, greenhouses, and much, much more.
•Student poster sessions! Approximately 50 posters – presented by Sustainability Capstone course students, other sustainability studies students, biology students and more – captivated the participants who stayed until the very end of a thought-provoking summit filled with laughter, great local food, and joyful problem-solving. Thanks to all the organizers who brought us all together, the presenters and capstone completers who shared their insight, and the Steamboat Springs campus for hosting this excellent event.