Ongoing Projects
The CCU Campus and Community Sustainability Initiative is involved in the following projects:
CCU Recycles Project
In 2005, we received a $10,000 SC Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) grant to promote recycling on campus. CCU Student Sustainability Coordinator Marissa Mitzner is working to make campus-wide recycling a success.
Georgetown County Habitat for Humanity High Performance Green Building Project
The Sustainability Initiative spent the fall 2005 semester working with Georgetown County, SC Habitat for Humanity to develop a sustainable building and living program. Our specific goals were to be a resource to Habitat on sustainability issues, to help them incorporate sustainable practices and materials into their homes, and to develop a service learning ⁄ mentoring course that would connect CCU students with Habitat volunteers as well as the residents of Habitat homes. The Initiative will continue to work with Habitat for the long-term on this same program. In Fall 2006 we are instituting a service learning course, Honors 325, which will work with Habitat residents on energy and water conservation, recycling, and other sustainability issues.
CCU High Performance Building Initiative
The Sustainability Initiative worked closely with the CCU Buildings and Grounds Commitee to write the High Performance Building and Renovation Initiative, which resolves that CCU should make all new construction and renovation LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified. The CCU Faculty Senate unanimously passed the resolution in its December 2005 meeting. The Initiative and the Buildings and Grounds Committee are now working with CCU’s adminstration to discuss implementing this plan.
High Performance Building Workshops
The Sustainability Initiative is also working with the community to promote environmentally responsible development. Our first focus is high performance green building, which saves natural resources and money, improves indoor environmental quality, and enhances learning and productivity. Accordingly, the Initiative partnered with the North Inlet – Winyah Bay Coastal Training Program (CTP) and the ACE Basin Coastal Training Program to offer an introduction to high performance (green) building on Wednesday, January 25th at the Waccamaw Higher Education Center of Coastal Carolina University in Litchfield. Among the presenters were representatives of Myrtle Beach’s own Beach First National Bank, which is building Horry County’s first LEED-certified building (on the corner of 38th Ave N and Robert Grissom Parkway). Architect Chris Friend of the Graham Group and Beach First president Walt Standish described the project to an audience of over 100 local decision-makers (architects, engineers, builders, bankers, school district representatives, county council members, etc.). PowerPoint presentations from the event are available at http://www.northinlet.sc.edu/training/training_events.htm.
Campus Environmental Audit
The Sustainability Initiative is working with its Eco-reps and professor Craig Gilman’s advanced environmental science course to conduct CCU’s first campus environmental audit. Data will be collected from spring through fall 2006, and will be collated in CCU’s first State of the CCU Campus Environment report.
Campus Sustainability Plan
The Campus Sustainability Plan will be developed during 2006 - 07 after the campus environmental audit is completed.
Santee-Cooper Solar Demonstration Project
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Current Environmental and Sustainability Issues Course
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Community Presentations
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Future Activities
The Center plans on building on the activities and programs of Year 1 and continuing to promote sustainability through education about and use of sustainable practices and equipment, supplies, and materials; sponsoring and participating in sustainability-related community activities, including service learning by CCU students (e.g., mentoring area K–12 students); documenting monetary savings as CCU begins adopting sustainable practices; serving as consultants on sustainability to local communities; and fostering a sense of social and environmental responsibility in CCU students that will be a key feature of their experience at CCU. We also will work closely with Aramark to improve sustainability in dining services, including buying more food locally and composting. The Center will continually monitor and improve recycling on campus and through outreach efforts (e.g., providing resources for entrepreneurs to start a restaurant recycling program). We would like to institute a mini-grant program for faculty to make the transition to sustainability in their discipline smoother.
