Climate change, sustainability, and environmentalism are generally topics that people agree are important in some aspect. Where people disagree is how much these things should be focused on. Since the United States pulled out of the Paris Climate Accord, many experts have said that the United States is far behind many other countries in their commitment to the lessening their environmental impact.
An article published by Ryan Vlastelica for Marketswatch reported that a research-firm called Morningstar investigated dozens of countries around the world in terms of their ESG (environmental, social and governance) metrics and concluded that the U.S. is “closer to the back of the sustainability score.” Vlastelica also included that the U.S. has a score of 45.2, just barely making the second tier which cuts off at 45, and “scores below both Mexico and Canada, as well as Chile and Brazil.” This study is a good comparison of the commitment that countries around the world have to lessening their environmental impact, and unfortunately, points to the fact that the U.S. is low on the list of developed countries.
While the U.S. as a whole may be falling behind, many individuals and small groups have taken it upon themselves to become more environmentally-minded. College students rely heavily on their home campuses as a place where they can start learning and experimenting with how to make a difference in the world.
While Arcadia is not one of the top schools for sustainability, there are many efforts that the university staff, clubs, and departments work on to make the campus as sustainable as possible. Walking through campus, it is often overheard that students don’t think that Arcadia recycles, or does much of anything to be sustainable.
Cindy Rubino, the director of the Community and Civic Engagement Center (CCEC) at Arcadia University, disagrees. When asked about the sustainability of Arcadia, Rubino at first replied “The word sustainability is pretty generic. There are so many versions of sustainability.”
The CCEC office organizes many different events and initiatives on campus in order to repurpose, reuse, and give back. One of the main tasks that the office takes on is placing students in work study positions in the community to allow students to receive some practical job experience that also qualifies for federal work study payment.
Rubino states that, “This office [CCEC] has started many initiatives that are being continued still on campus. In fact, the club Environmental Network started out of this office.”
“We work very closely with TTF (a watershed partnership in Philadelphia) placing students as interns there and partnering to do cleanups and storm drain marking. Within the local township, we even have students working at the local parks and arboretums.”
The CCEC office also organizes major repurposing events like the Martin Luther King Day Recycling and Repurposing event where people can donate old things and bring papers that they want shredded, all for free.
Rubino comments on this, saying, “One of the major reasons that the Martin Luther King Day event was started was the recognition that people have a need to repurpose not only their paper goods with the free shredding we offer, but also recycle Ewaste which includes metal and electronics, and it is one of the largest programs around. We are a leader in that.”
The office also organizes a spring and fall flea market for the community, students, and alumni to come and sell their extra stuff and organized the end of the year collection for campus, “Our end of the year collection was one of the first and has been happening for over 22 years.”
Rubino believes that Arcadia students are aware of the environmental opportunities and possibilities on campus, but Tom Macchi, Arcadia University’s Associate Vice President of Facilities and Capital Planning, has a different idea.
Macchi says that, “I don’t think we brag enough about it. There is certainly lots to see and report regarding our green efforts. I guess when folks walk past the 1,000 trees and 30,000 plants, they simply take it for granted. None of this ‘just happened’. It was all the result of thoughtful efforts and physical work.”
For information on the green initiatives on campus, Macchi is the most knowledgeable person on campus. When asked about the history of Arcadia’s green initiatives, Macchi responded saying, “We started our Green program 14 or so years ago. There are a great many additions to be proud of at Arcadia. The University has invested heavily in this area and the results are all around us. Yes, we do have solar power, it’s on the front of the Commons – Haber Green side. We have 6 Green Roofs, 3 Rain gardens, numerous underground retention basins to capture and hold rainwater, a pond that uses recycled water and may other significant improvements.”
Macchi also shared that their most recent project is upgrading all the light bulbs on campus with high efficiency bulbs and upgrading the energy management systems, “so far we have replaced over 3,000 bulbs and upgraded our sensors and machines.” This upgrade will end up saving the university over $200,000 dollars each year.
The improvement of Arcadia University is a major focus and passion for Macchi. Macchi wants to share the improvements of the university with the students that go there and anyone else that is curious, offering tours and even having a whole part of the website designated to this information (you just have to search a little for it, or ask Macchi and he’ll send you a direct link).
Even as facilities staff of Arcadia University are working to make the campus as environmentally friendly, there is only so much they can do without the support of students. Professor Augusto Macalalag Jr, an Assistant Professor of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education, teaches both undergraduate and graduate students in the education program.
Macalalag works directly with students in a classroom setting and a large part of his courses are a project requirement. When asked about his focus on environmentalism and sustainability in courses he pointed out specifically his ED697 and US221.1 as focusing on sustainability. In his ED697 Macalalag says that, “Students learn about how to teach environmental, sustainability, and social science issues.” With the course, he also takes students to Sicily, Italy to experience the three focuses in a different cultural context.
In his University Seminar course, an important project is to choose something you want to change on campus. Macalalag highlighted two projects: one that researched recycling on campus and another that tried to implement a bike sharing program.
With the recycling program, Macalalag stated that “The setudents researching found that it was difficult to change the behavior of students. They tried many things to get students in the chat to recycle, but the only thing that worked was when a person stood next to the recycle bin and gave out candy encouraging people to recycle. They also found that the university doesn’t really recycle and if they do, we don’t know where it goes.”
He also said that the bike sharing program worked, but once the temperature started getting colder, students stopped participating. In conclusion he said that “students in general just don’t want to be bothered.”
Macalalag is the first to say outright that he doesn’t feel that students have enough interest in helping the university and themselves be more environmentally friendly. His opinion may be an accurate generalization of the campus, but there are a few projects that students do on campus of their own free will to try and help the environment.
The Environmental Network Club meets every Tuesday night to discuss topics relating to the environment and to plan future projects. Some of these projects include planning and organizing Scarlet Gray and Green Day, which occurs on Earth Day. This year they are even partnering with the Astronomical Club in the evening. This club is also trying to start planning the establishment of a greenhouse on campus.
Many other students use assignments of projects to work towards a sustainable Arcadia that they want to see. This often includes Honor’s Projects (this year a bee garden is being planted) and assignments for classes like Macalalag’s and many of the Global Field Studies courses that focus on sustainability.
However, it is clear that the efforts of the University are not well known to the students and faculty of the university as a whole. Many students don’t know about the efforts that have been done and continue to be done in the past, but it is also a question of whether the student body as a whole really cares.
As for the future, many people have suggestions of things they would like to see. Rubino wants to see an on-campus store and better food waste management. Macchi wants to see more students physically working on projects. Macalalag wants to see improvement on programs that the university already has including reducing the plastic waste. Environmental Network wants to see a greenhouse.
Many people all over Arcadia University’s campus have ideas of how to improve the campus to lessen its environmental impact, but the question still remains of whether current and upcoming students and staff as a whole will make it a point to commit to these initiatives if they are established. Right now, it still seems like the overall conclusion is no.
If you’re interested in making a difference, attend an Environmental Network meeting on Tuesday nights, or meet with someone on campus who can help get you involved.
Featured image credit: Jnzl’s Photos Shingle plant via photopin (license)
