Shasta College is dedicated to becoming a North State community leader in sustainable development and has engaged in a variety of campus and community efforts to meet this goal. Shasta’s sustainability efforts include: the development of new courses and inclusion of sustainability topics in courses; two renewable energy programs (fee based and unit instruction) designed to meet increasing industry demand for Photovoltaic Solar Technicians and Wind-Generation Technology Technicians; the creation of a dual enrollment program, E-Tech, that introduces high school students to renewable energy technologies and industries as well as other sustainable fields and topics; the establishment of a student lead Sustainability Club; the formalization of a Sustainability Steering Committee intended to assist in achieving climate neutrality; Board of Trustee approval to purchase and install a one-megawatt solar array; awards of several grants related to renewable energy and sustainability; and plans to develop a one of a kind organic teaching garden designed to teach community members sustainable farming techniques. Shasta College has an extensive recycling and reuse program and utilizes all of the Food Service’s green waste for composting and use at the Campus Farm. The District is committed to investing in technologies that reduce environmental impacts and green house gas emissions such as the new high efficiency HVAC system and Energy Star purchasing policy.
Recently, our institution joined AASHE - the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education. (check out our school's name on AASHE's member list and view their home page www.aashe.org) AASHE is a membership-based organization of colleges and universities working to advance sustainability in higher education.
Shasta College STAFF can take advantage of all the benefits that AASHE membership provides. As AASHE members, we have access to an array of online resources and numerous opportunities for networking, information sharing, collaboration, and professional development. Click here to view a letter to the STAFF of Shasta College reviewing the benefits of membership.
Gary Lewis, Superintendent/President at Shasta College, signed the Presidents Climate Commitment. (http://www.presidentsclimatecommitment.org/) The American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment is a high-visibility effort to address global warming by garnering institutional commitments to neutralize greenhouse gas emissions, and to accelerate the research and educational efforts of higher education to equip society to re-stabilize the earth’s climate.
Building on the growing momentum for leadership and action on climate change, the Presidents Climate Commitment provides a framework and support for America’s colleges and universities to go climate neutral. The Commitment recognizes the unique responsibility that institutions of higher education have as role models for their communities and in training the people who will develop the social, economic and technological solutions to reverse global warming.
 |
Gary Lewis, Superintendent/President at Shasta College, signed the Talliores Declaration (http://www.ulsf.org/programs_talloires.html) The Talloires Declaration was Composed in 1990 at an international conference in Talloires, France, this is the first official statement made by university administrators of a commitment to environmental sustainability in higher education. The Talloires Declaration (TD) is a ten-point action plan for incorporating sustainability and environmental literacy in teaching, research, operations and outreach at colleges and universities. Click here to view the ten-point action plan. It has been signed by over 350 university presidents and chancellors in over 40 countries. |