Greening the Woods Committee
Why "Green The Woods"?
We recognize our unique position as an institution of higher education sponsored by the Sisters of Providence, who have done much to advance the notion and practice of eco-justice and living sustainably (particularly through the work of the White Violet Center), to address the increasingly important issue of working toward a sustainable society. We would like to add our Greening The Woods committee to a growing list of green campus initiatives at college and university campuses across the country.
The following list is just a sample that serves to illustrate the growing recognition of the role of college campuses in the area of environmentalism and sustainability.
- Harvard Green Campus Initiative
- Greening CU (University of Colorado at Boulder)
- Green Campus Consortium of Maine
- Berkeley Green Campus Initiative
- Green Campus Project (UC Santa Cruz)
- Castleton’s Green Campus Initiative
- Brown is Green
- UB Green (SUNY Buffalo)
- Greening The Woods (SMWC)
Consider the following excerpt:
“The United Nations has designated 2005–2014 as the “Decade of Education for Sustainable Development,” with its overall goal “to integrate the principles, values, and practices of sustainable development into all aspects of education and learning...[and to] encourage changes in economic behavior that will create a more sustainable future in terms of environmental integrity, economic vitality, and a just society for present and future generations.”
Educational institutions across the United States, particularly colleges and universities, have recognized that they are in a unique position to address these issues. Not only are they the educators of future generations of professionals, they also possess the intellectual capacity and resources to effectively integrate educational initiatives into their mission and programs. To this end, students and faculty at several colleges and universities have undertaken efforts to make their institutions more sustainable, as well as to educate others on the importance of resource use and sustainable development.”
When and how did GTW begin?
The Greening the Woods committee came into being the summer of 2007 after Sr. Joan Lescinski, previous SMWC president, recognizing that one of the “values growing in society today is care for the Earth and environment”, asked a group of faculty members to meet and to assist the cabinet in setting up a College committee “to help us deal with environmental issues in a more formal and systematic manner and “to improve what we currently do in this area at SMWC.”
What are the goals of the Greening The Woods Committee?
- Consider and specify how the concept of sustainability corresponds with Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College’s mission statement
- Realize that students, faculty, and staff are interdependent members of the campus community, who must work together to successfully achieve mutually agreed upon goals to enhance the sustainability of our campus
- Identify both short and long term goals.
- Based on these goals, plan for and implement projects and assess progress
- Facilitate awareness of the role and practice of sustainability in facilities & operations
- Facilitate student, faculty, and staff awareness of and involvement in sustainability
- Encourage the inclusion of sustainability into our curriculum
Who are the members of the GTW committee?
- Gordon Afdahl, co-chair (Vice President for Finance and Administration)
- Tammy Tintjer, co-chair (Assistant Professor of Biology)
- Mary Lou Dolan, CSJ (Director of ELM)
- Kim DisPennett (Administrative Assistant Academic Affairs)
- Jeanette Wrin (Office Manager WED)
- Terri Boland, SP (Assistant Professor of Education)
- Elaine Yaw (Assistant Professor of Journalism)
