Explore what can be done to make your campus more sustainable — too many colleges & universities focus on cosmetic activities or recycling, instead of taking bold steps to reduce GHG emissions.
This internship is not offered for all campuses. Send an email to Internship Coordinator Peter Crownfield for more information.
As interns learn more about campus sustainability and what other colleges are doing to be more sustainable and to mitigate climate change, they also gain insight into what could work on their campus, and will prepare a report or presentation on sustainability at their campus.
Many colleges and universities assess progress on sustainability using STARS, the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment, and Rating System developed by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education [AASHE]. Several students have pointed out to us that a campus could achieve every possible credit under STARS and still be far from sustainable, so we will look at the various credits used in STARS and recommend to AASHE ways to improve future versions.
Interns will work on a combination of the following tasks and will gain a strong understanding of the multiple elements of sustainability and strengthen their project development and project management skills:
- Research campus sustainability efforts at other colleges and universities, including climate action plans
- Explore ways that colleges & universities can serve as a positive role models for sustainability in the communities where they are located
- Develop a presentation on campus to share your insights and raise awareness of the need for colleges & universities to become more sustainable
- Write articles and/or blog posts on various aspects of campus sustainability
- Analyze the STARS system and draft recommendations designed to improve future versions of the system (Some of the recommendations submitted by our campus sustainability interns in 2007 are reflected in what is now known as STARS.)
[Updated March 2018]