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By Racquel Palmese

Following an extensive research process by editorial staff that involved contacting every community college campus in the state, Green Technology has launched a Directory of Sustainability Programs at California Community Colleges, the first of its kind.

Faced with the necessity of helping shift a large part of the nation’s workforce into the green jobs market, community colleges in California, and across the nation, are stepping up to the challenge and showing their students what it means to be green. The directory project was initiated to showcase what California’s community colleges are doing on their campuses to instill a green focus for their building programs, energy efficiency projects, transportation, curriculum, recycling and other activities.

From Mendocino Community College’s 24 years of sustainable building practices to Feather River College’s newly-hired sustainability coordinator, these institutions are committing themselves to an ethic of environmental stewardship that they will pass on to their students.

“I was really excited by the extent of some of the programs I learned about working on this project,” said project director Shanna Atherton. “Lake Tahoe Community College has an agriculture program that is backed up by a certified Sustainable Agriculture Farm. De Anza has the Kirsch Center for Environmental Studies, the first LEED platinum building at a community college in the nation - but these are just the tip of the iceberg. These colleges are really walking their talk.”

Each directory listing indicates general areas in which the college is working to become green (e.g., facilities, recycling/waste management, and curriculum), as well as a brief description of the college’s efforts. The listing is accompanied by a link to the school’s sustainability webpage, if one exists, and contact information.

“The staff I spoke with are enthusiastic about sustainability and welcome the opportunity to share information,” Atherton said. “Not every idea is going to work for every college, and not every college has decided what works best for them. That’s where the Directory can help. It will give administrators the opportunity to see what other colleges are doing to become sustainable and to consider how they might apply these ideas to their campuses.”

The directory project was launched in conjunction with preparations for the 2009 Green California Community College Summit (October 5-7, 2009 at the Pasadena Convention Center, Pasadena, California).

“It’s really accessible,” Atherton said. “All of the information is right there. We’ve even inspired one school to create their own sustainability webpage.” 

The directory will be updated as new community college programs are added. To view the directory, click here.

To contact the directory project, write to editor@green-technology.org.

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