Operations
Eco-Reps
UofL's peer-to-peer sustainability outreach & education program for students, faculty & staff.
Interested in learning more?Do you care about sustainability and want to make a difference?
Welcome to the University of Louisville Eco-Reps program!
**** Results of the first Eco-Reps Basic Certification Examination!! Congratulations to Maurice Hardy, Sr., a staff member from the University Post Office, and Angie Carlson, a Humanities major!! Do you want to take the Eco-Reps Certification exam? Email Brian Barnes whenever you're ready!****
The Eco-Reps Program
UofL's Sustainability Council has lunched this new, ongoing peer-to-peer sustainability outreach and education program for all students, faculty, and staff! At the core of the Eco-Reps program is an online training series focused on topics in sustainability, particularly as they apply at UofL. The series is not intended to be exhaustive concerning sustainability as a whole, nor any individual topic, but the intent is to empower and educate you, our students, staff, and faculty, about the different ways UofL is addressing sustainability and what we, the UofL community, must do in order to help move forward.
There are two tiers of training for Eco-Reps at the University of Louisville - both a Basic and an Advanced program. The Basic training includes a series of videos (available on our Eco-Reps Channel) and accompanying supplementary materials available online. You'll also soon be able to take the online examination for Eco-Reps Basic certification. If you'd like to become a certified Eco-Rep at U of L, please 1) watch the video series, videos number 1-6, 2) review the supplementary materials associated with each video, 3) think about how you could serve the university as an Eco-Rep, 4) think about your own understanding of the concept of "sustainability" and how your personal history has caused you to think about it in that way, and 5) contact Brian Barnes through this website to get a copy of the exam and instructions for returning it. Certified Eco-Reps will lead workshops, educate peers at UofL, and offer their expertise to community projects both on and off campus. If you’re interested in going deeper, you can also become certified in Advanced Sustainability Topics through the Eco-Reps Advanced certification program.
Once you become an Eco-Rep, you’ll be expected to serve as a resource person for sustainability in your sub-community at UofL, whether it’s your immediate peers and colleagues, your department, your building, your club, your residence hall, or any other realm where you live, work, and play. We encourage you to become conscious of the specific physical and social systems in your own department or residence hall. Help your peers understand the options and advantages of more sustainable solutions during planning meetings or when designing systems.Special thanks to Chelsea Cook for her service to Eco-Reps, Sodexo, and Blue Skies Recycling during Fall 2012. Chelsea almost single-handedly operated the post-consumer waste composting station during lunches in the SAC multipurpose room. Chelsea instructed students regarding how to separate compostables from non-compostables, and she also helped them do it! Many thanks to Chelsea for her dozens of hours of sustainability service and education in the SAC during Fall 2012! Special thanks to 2011 alumnus Tyler Gill for researching and compiling the supplementary materials for the basic videos.
Training #1 - Eating Sustainably at UofL
Eating Sustainably - Supplementary Reading
Training #2 - Sustainable Transportation
Sustainable Transportation - Supplementary Reading
Training #3 - Healthy Eating
Healthy Eating - Supplementary Reading
Training #4 - Energy & Water
Energy & Water - Supplementary Reading
Training #5 - Waste
Training #6 - What is Sustainability?
Sustainability in the Classroom
Sustainability in the Classroom - Supplementary Resources
Advanced Training #1: Bicycling for Transportation
Bicycling for Transportation - Supplementary Reading
...Stay tuned! More trainings to come, along with supplementary materials for each topic. More Advanced videos will be available during Summer of 2013!
Service
Eco-Reps stand for sustainable action, so we also encourage you to actively demonstrate your personal commitment in those places where you can have the most impact. Eco-Reps are not “green police.” Eco-Reps are educators and mentors. As an Eco-Rep, you should feel free to politely observe and make note of problem behaviors or unsustainable systems, but you should always be courteous, respectful and supportive rather than punitive. It’s important to remain sensitive to the university's policies and structure. Eco-Reps should also be a voice for sound practices regarding our campus environment, its inhabitants, and the planet at large. Eco-Reps should always strive to “practice what they preach” and to lead by example.
Eco-Reps will be expected to attend three meetings per semester to discuss your own sustainability activities in a public forum (with food!), and at least once per year, each Eco-Rep will report on your activities and ideas about Sustainable practices to UofL's Sustainability Council. We’ll also expect you to submit a brief monthly report designed to help everyone brainstorm and document more effective strategies for Eco-Reps representation across campus.
Eco-Reps will engage in an annual project to be decided by the current Eco-Reps at the beginning of each fall semester. The projects should engage the community around UofL in some highly visible and meaningful efforts. Eco-Reps are encouraged to partner with RSOs, Residence Life, the Student, Staff, and Faculty Senates, and other campus organizations to spread the word about sustainability on campus, and to help identify opportunities to engage with sustainability.
The Eco-Reps Advanced certification program at UofL offers serious sustainability advocates the opportunity to work with a UofL mentor in a particular sustainability area to develop a focused project that addresses the needs of the university or wider community. The Advanced program begins with video training about a particular topic, such as bicycling for transportation, making solar panels, or vermiculture. You’ll then explore a set of supplemental materials on the topic and develop a proposal for a community project. Proposals will be reviewed by the Sustainability Council and the Eco-Reps mentor. If approved, the project will be conducted under the supervision of an Eco-Reps mentor. After successful implementation, you’ll receive an Eco-Reps Advanced certification in the special topic and will be listed on UofL's Sustainability website as being among UofL's advanced community mentors available for consultation.
The Eco-Reps training series is grounded in two main definitions of sustainability. These are from the US Environmental Protection Agency and from UofL's Assistant to the Provost for Sustainability Initiatives, Dr. Justin Mog. Justin has not only studied sustainability in depth, but seeks to live its tenets in his own life by being car-free, converting his home to 100% solar power, growing his own food, and taking as many steps as possible to be zero-waste (including bringing his own plate and utensils to avoid disposables!).
The Eco-Reps training program at UofL relies upon a video series and supplementary materials to create an action-oriented educational experience for anyone interested in sustainability initiatives at UofL. Taken together, the series is intended to prepare you for becoming certified in sustainability practices at UofL. There is one examination for the entire Basic Eco-Reps training series.
NOTE: Eco-Reps Basic and Advanced Certifications are not accredited or approved by any educational body, including the University of Louisville. They represent the completion of extracurricular training and examination by the UofL Eco-Reps training body, but no aspect of the Eco-Reps training program qualifies for any higher education credits of any type at this time.
Interested in learning more? Sign-up below!
You can also email us at ecoreps@louisville.edu
Call Brian Barnes at 502-338-1338
