Eco-Representatives unite!
Last spring, the Research Service Learning Program collaborated with the Office of Sustainability to create a set of classes that will keep the environmental needs of the campus in mind.
In the fall, graduate teaching assistant Andrew Marcum, from the Research Service Learning Program, taught a course that involved the Office of Sustainability. The class was the beginning of the UNM Eco-Reps program.
“The idea is to get students who live on campus to think about developing a sustainable lifestyle, and understanding how the things they do every day impact the environment,” Marcum said. “We want to help them develop habits that are sustainable. Once we get residents to notice that, then we can get them to be environmental leaders on campus.”
The class created an Eco-Rep training guide specific to UNM. The class used eco-rep programs from universities nationwide as models for the UNM program, Marcum said.
The guide covers topics such as waste management, energy conservation, green consumerism and campus resources.
Marcum said waste management will address recycling, trash deposits and how to safely and responsibly discard chemicals.
For energy conservation, the class will learn how to save energy in the dorms. Green consumerism will discuss how students can buy local foods that are humanely and sustainably grown. Campus resources include a list of green services on campus, such as the Zipcar system that offers students a rental car to use for a minimal cost, Marcum said.
“It gives them an idea of what they should promote and how they can involve (other) students,” Marcum said. “The Eco-Reps are not just (around) to get students aware of being more environmentally conscious. They are also responsible for developing projects and engaging students in environmental issues.”
The class recruited 15 students from the dorms to serve as Eco-Reps. Each representative is elected in by the Community Associations. The students are interested in environmental issues, and they are leaders who are willing to get involved. The reps are all volunteers, but there is an idea to offer course credit for the representatives’ participation, Marcum said.
“The program is basically in the hands of the residents,” Marcum said. “We are willing to cooperate with any of the ideas that they come up with, but they are in charge of getting the students involved.”
There will be a course offered during the second eight weeks of the spring semester for students interested in participating in environmental issues as an Eco-Rep. The course will be one to three credit hours, depending on how far the student chooses to go with the program, Marcum said. The course is divided into parts, ranging from basic awareness of sustainability to environmental movements, said Dan Young, director of the Research Service Learning Program.
“The students are the center of this program,” Young said. “Obviously, the Office of Sustainability is involved, but we want it to be a student-run organization down the road. The goal is to have the students develop their goals, and to have them learn with them.”
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The Research Service Learning Program has worked with classes in the past that deal with environmental issues. They have worked with Project Share, Inc. in Albuquerque in creating a community garden for the homeless and created the program Garden
Exchange Albuquerque.
Each program is aimed at helping students who have an interest in environmental movements, Young said.
“There are a lot of reasons why this is beneficial,” he said. “It teaches students the process of creating sustainability, and also promotes it. We want students to take initiative, because a lot of the times we can get an idea and eventually get burnt out. If any student is interested in the environment and wants to make a difference, this course can tell them how to make it happen.”
