Transformative Sustainability STARS, SENCER, and the Future of the University

Transformative Sustainability STARS, SENCER, and the Future of the University Mike Bryson College of Arts & Sciences Maria Cancilla College of Professional Studies Rebecca Quesnell Campus Planning & Operations 2016 Summer Institute Roosevelt University Chicago, Illinois 31 July 2016

Contexts & Confluences: sustainability, SENCER, & Roosevelt University The City as Laboratory: exploring (& restoring) urban & suburban nature Transformative Sustainability: developing RU's sustainability plan & STARS report Future Prospects: sustaining our universities through science & service

What Does a Sustainable Future Look Like? Exploring Stearns Quarry Park w/ CIMBY students, Summer 2013

What Does a Sustainable Future Look Like? Mr. Will Allen -- Urban Farmer, Founder of Growing Power, & Sustainability Entrepreneur 2016 Book by SUST Adjunct Professor and Oceanographer, Dr. Carla Jones (U Cal Press)

What Does a Sustainable Future Look Like? Environmental resources are conserved for both future human generations as well as non-human biota. Economic development occurs not at the expense of the natural environment, but in a way to mitigate ecological costs and impacts. Equity social, economic, and environmental justice governs the process of sustainable development. Hiking Northerly Island, 2011 (photo by L. Bryson)

SENCER & Sustainability: Natural Affinities Search Results on SENCER Resources Website: Sustainability (147 matches) Environment (316 matches) Urban (83 matches) Service Learning (251 matches)

Sustainability at Roosevelt Developments Since 2010 Sustainable Buildings & Operations Wabash Building (LEED Gold) Goodman Center (LEED Silver) Chicago Campus building retrofits Schaumburg Campus redevelopment Sustainability Planning 2014-15 Academic Innovation SENCER pedagogy in Biology & Chemistry Sustainability Studies undergrad program launched Fall 2010 (1 st in Chicago) Env Science Minor revamped Fall 2012 Service Learning & Internships Campus Sustainability Research/Projects Student Organizations & Activism RU Green (revived in 2015-16) RU Reforesting (conservation biology) RUrbanPioneers (Schaumburg garden) RISE (student activism & social justice) Net Impact (business and sustainability)

Sustainability at Roosevelt: Faces & Places Sustainability Studies Science & Math Bennett Institute of Real Estate Hospitality & Tourism Management Environmental Science Mansfield Institute for Social Justice

Sustainability Meets SENCER: RU's Math Club Created a declining balance formula to track energy saving projects in campus operations Assessing progress and setting goals for future energy use reduction Student-driven, faculty & staffsupported

Chicago: An Urban Laboratory for Science & Sustainability SUST 350 Service & Sustainability / Fall 2014 Planting trees at Eden Place Nature Center in Chicago's Fuller Park neighborhood

Case Study: Urban Waterways Understanding the Chicago River as a modified natural ecosystem (natural sciences) Developing conservation policies (social and natural sciences) Representing the river as a cultural resource (arts and humanities) Restoring the river: water quality, biodiversity, riparian zone integrity, citizen access and recreation (all disciplines) Sense of Place Urban Sustainability

Assessing Water Quality (Chemistry) Temperature ph Turbidity Dissolved oxygen (DO) Nutrients (nitrate, phosphate) Bacterial indicators (coliform) Metals and organic contaminants (lead, copper, benzene, PCBs, hexavalent chromium) Emerging contaminants (pharmaceuticals, synthetic hormones, flame retardants)

Assessing Water Quality (Biology) Sampling macro-invertebrate benthos in the North Branch (May 2010)

Engaging the Community Identifying macro-invertebrates from the North Branch (May 2010)

Exploring the River Canoeing Bubbly Creek (May 2012)

Learning from History A chicken stands upon Bubbly Creek, c.1911 (Chicago Historical Society)

Making Connections: Water / Urban Land Use / Food Growing Power's Iron Street Farm in Chicago, on the west bank of Bubbly Creek (2012)

Rethinking Development in the Suburbs

Schaumburg: Roosevelt's Suburban Home Map from the Schaumburg Biodiversity Plan (2004) identifies & classifies green space according to type and ecological value

Shopping?... or Sustainability? There's Roosevelt's 24-acre campus: just north the Woodfield Mall and across the street from IKEA

RU began its Sustainable Landscape Redevelopment Project in 2011 to enhance its green space, retain water onsite, and provide wildlife habitat. This map is from 2013.

Prescribed burn of detention pond/wetland (April 2011) at SCH Campus to discourage non-native plants and stimulate growth of native wetland/prairie species.

Prairie restoration at detention pond (Fall 2012): though an artificial wetland, RU's humble stormwater pond is an example of biodiverse green infrastructure.

Transforming RU: from concrete slab... Aerial view of RU Schaumburg Campus, pre-redevelopment (Google Maps)

... to living lab* Schaumburg Campus prairie restoration, Summer 2013 (photo: M. Radeck, a SUST major who also coined this phrase*)

Building on the Past, Staking out the Future Efforts to build on the next few years: Strategic Sustainability Plan, adopted Spring 2015; STARS Assessment Report, submitted Fall 2015

Fall 2014: Planning for the Sustainable Future SUST students help lead strategic sustainability planning workshops, Fall 2014; Strategic Plan approved Spring 2015 (photo: M. Bryson)

Spring 2015: Students Tackle STARS Research Why STARS? Connection to 5-Year Strategic Sustainability Plan SUST 390: The Sustainable Campus (Spring 2015 seminar)

Fall 2015: STARS Analysis Core Action Group STARS Internship Breaking in the Roosevelt Urban Sustainability Lab Rebecca Quesnell and Maria Cancilla work on the STARS report in the Roosevelt Urban Sustainability Lab, est. Fall 2015

December 2015: STARS Submission

2016: Learning from STARS Academics: connect science, general education, & sustainability across the curriculum Engagement: increase student involvement & environmental literacy Operations: gather & analyze data, reduce waste Planning/Administration: prioritize & invest in sustainability as part of university's mission & identity Overall Reflections: build connections, expose people to sustainability

Students Can Drive Us Forward On the Campus: Environmental literacy Sustainability education Research symposia Waste reduction Energy conservation Climate action plan GHG mitigation Student and staff engagement New student orientation Green living & learning communities RU s Chicago Campus c. 2014

Students Can Drive Us Forward In the Community: Sustainable development Public engagement / citizen science Applied environmental research Detecting & remediating toxins Soil / air / water analysis Environmental justice advocacy Community sustainability asset mapping Sustainability leadership RU s Chicago Campus c. 2014

Get on the SENCER & Sustainability Bus! SUST 350 Service & Sustainability: last Fall 2014 workday at Eden Place Nature Center, Chicago IL, 2 Dec 2014 (M. Bryson)