Greenest of season's greetings from EcoHousers at our 3rd Annual Yuletide Gathering.
In this UCONN EcoHouse Weekly Digest...
Dearest EcoHousers,
The past 3 years, building this amazing Living and Learning Community with you all, has been INCREDIBLE, to say the least! We have ventured to Patagonia, Acadia National Park, West Virginia, and many other places together. We have moved to East Campus, built a Permaculture Garden, held countless events and programs, enaged in even more than countless (whatever that is) meaningful debates and discussions, cleaned campus several times, and more.
So, it is with a heavy heart that I notify you all that I am stepping down as the EcoHouse Program Coordinator. I wish I could have shared my news with you all sooner and said farewell in person, but my new offer was only official today.
I am accepting a post as the Director of Experiential Learning with Averett University in Danville, Virginia. I am joining a new, highly motivated team, working on a new service-learning initiative from the University President, whom I've already met, strategized with, and am excited to say is a great leader. The best part: my new team believes in the work we have accomplished with Friends of Milam Creek so much, that I am empowered to continue my connection and work with them AND you all (!), so Honey and I will still be seeing all EcoHouse ASB participants in McGraws, WV this March.
My last day at UConn will be on January 7, 2015, so please swing by to say good bye, if you can. But, know that, even after I leave, I am committed to your success as students and a learning community, so please do not hesitate to contact me, if I may support you in any way. You can reach me through facebook, my cell phone 856-340-5633, and personal email brigidbelko@gmail.com.
Honey and I will miss you all very much! And, wish you all of the best! Thank you for welcoming us into this little, sometimes nutty, but always awesome House of Eco. It has meant the world to us.
Apply to return to the LC for 2015-2016. Current UConn students who want to return to EcoHouse need to apply via their UConn Housing Application. The Housing Application will open for current students on December 1 and stay open until January 26, 2015. Students must indicate their interest in living in a LC for the 2015-2016 academic year when they fill out this application.
Enroll in Spring 2015 EcoHouse Courses!
Prepare to enroll in EcoHouse courses! According to the EcoHouse policy, students are identified as the following:
1st year in EcoHouse: Acorn
2nd year in EcoHouse: Sprout
3rd year in EcoHouse: Sapling
4th year in EcoHouse: White Oak
EcoHouse Alum: Canopy
Course Enrollment Policy: All acorns and sprouts must enroll in UNIV 1840 and a special topics EcoHouse course. Saplings and White Oaks have the option of enrolling in either one of special topics EcoHouse courses or UNIV 1840. They are permitted to enroll in both, but are only required to enroll in one. Spring Valley Student Farmers need not enroll in UNIV 1840.
Courses available for Spring 2015 are:
UNIV 1840- 1-credit; environment for Fall and Spring semesters. This course does not meet. Students receive 1 credit for completing 32 hours of environmentally-related service or experiential learning. Examples of how students earn their hours:
* Volunteering at Rentschler Field's "Green Game Day"
* Trail clearing and GIS mapping trails
* E-waste recycling events
UNIV 3820- UConn Almanac, Wednesdays 4:40- 5:30; Discovering the timeless ideals of Aldo Leopold’s Sand County Almanac. The course-long assignment will be structured around an online GIS map of the UConn Storrs campus, in which students will creatively document sections of campus as Aldo Leopold did for Sand County Almanac so many years ago
UNIV 3820- Sustainable Scholars, Thursdays 4-5; Students will have the opportunity to interact 1-on-1 with multiple visiting scholars at the top of their field. We will also explore hands-on research available here in the UConn area with field trips. From dinners with faculty to inspecting new, yet to be published, research, students will broaden their knowledge in several eco-fields like climate change, green businesses, and biodiversity
CHEG 4995 and POLS 2998, Tuesday Thursday - 11-12:15- SUSTAINABLE ENERGY IN THE 21st CENTURY (3 credits); States are increasingly under pressure to reform their energy policies given the concerns with global climate change, declining sources of affordable fossil fuels and the geopolitics of supply security. While the need for clean energy seems obvious, the transition to a low-carbon, sustainable economy in many countries around the world has been neither inevitable nor smooth. Needless to say, there are many technological and economic challenges: which energy sources provide the most viable and affordable replacement for fossil fuels? What are the potential and pitfalls of different energy technologies? To what extent can alternative energy sources be integrated into our existing technical and economic systems? How sustainable are they? What would be the cost and benefits to the citizens and the economy in general of reliance on alternative energy sources?
Enroll in your EcoHouse courses by e-mailing Brigid Belko for a permission number. If you are not currently enrolled in EcoHouse classes, but registered to be an EcoHouse member, you will be contacted this week regarding enrollment.
The School of Business is offering an undergraduate course in sustainability this spring in Storrs!
FNCE 4895: Sustainable Real Estate. This is a one-credit course that meets on two Saturdays - March 7 and April 11.
The course will provide an overview of the techniques, approaches, materials and technologies used in the internationally recognized Leadership for Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) green building rating systems. Students will learn how buildings can be designed, constructed and retrofitted to improve sustainability, promote water and energy efficiency, and minimize environmental impacts. After completing the course, students will be eligible to take the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) LEED Green Associate exam, providing a credential that demonstrates green building expertise in non-technical fields of practice.
Summer Job for Biology-interested students
Dominion is currently accepting applications for the summer internship program. If you know of any Fisheries, Marine Science or Biology undergraduates looking for a great summer opportunity, please encourage them to apply to the program within the next month. https://campusconnection-dominion.icims.com/jobs/5316/intern---environmental-biology---summer-2015/job
Intern with ZOOM Connecticut
Announcing recruitment for the fourth class of ZOOM Public Policy Fellows! Priority applications are due by Friday, February 20th. The ZOOM Public Policy Fellowship empowers emerging leaders to increase their impact through the opportunity to work on high-level projects in Connecticut and participate in an intensive professional development and network building program. Fellows will develop the professional and leadership skills necessary to lead change for the public good. Spotlighted below, Meg Hourigan, one of six current ZOOM Fellows, is working in the Office of Governor Dannel P. Malloy and the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. https://www.zoomfoundation.org
Great undergraduate summer research opportunity at the College of Earth, Ocean, and Environment, University of Delaware.
Supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation's Division of Ocean Sciences, this REU (Research Experience for Undergraduates) program supports ten undergraduate students to conduct research in marine science. We especially encourage applications from members of minority groups underrepresented in science.
The program will run for 10 weeks (June 8 - August 14). Please go to our website http://www.ceoe.udel.edu/academics/for-current-undergraduates/marine-sciences-summer-program to find out more about the program. Student support includes a $5,500 stipend, campus housing, and travel assistance. The application form and instructions for submitting supporting documents are available at http://www.ceoe.udel.edu/academics/for-current-undergraduates/marine-sciences-summer-program/application.
Interns will work with faculty and research staff in a graduate student atmosphere on a research topic in chemical, physical, or biological oceanography, marine biology, or marine geology.
This internship program will take place at the University of Delaware's Hugh R. Sharp campus in the resort community of Lewes, located on the shores of the Delaware Bay and Atlantic Ocean near Cape Henlopen State Park.
If you have any questions, please contact Joanna York (302) 831-7040 or at jyork@udel.edu.
Apply for Maryland Sea Grant's Research Experiences for Undergraduates in Estuarine Science
http://mdsg.umd.edu/REU
Since 1989, NSF has supported bringing students to conduct individual research projects with a scientist-mentor at either Chesapeake Biological Lab or Horn Point Lab of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science. This is a great opportunity to conduct research with a mentor and spend a summer by the Chesapeake Bay.
DETAILS:
- 12 week program: May 17 to August 9, 2015.
- $6,000 stipend plus housing and travel support to and from host institution
- Applications due: February 20, 2015
- Application and guidance http://ww2.mdsg.umd.edu/reu/apply/index.php
We select undergraduates in diverse disciplines, including engineering, biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics, ecology and marine and environmental science.
We are particularly interested in supporting talented students from institutions where access to marine science and to research projects is limited and who are from underrepresented groups in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).
If you have any questions please feel free to email us at reu@mdsg.umd.edu
