The Roosevelt sustainability student organzation, RU Green, is hosting a showing of the documentary Climate Warriors on Monday, December 7th, at 5 pm. This film follows many stories of climate injustices around the world and shows what people are doing to combat these atrocities. Following the documentary will be a short discussion about the climate justice movement.
All RU community members are welcome to attend! To register for the event please go to https://linktr.ee/rugreen so RU Green organizers can get a rough headcount of attendees and work out final logistics. RU Green will email responders a link on the day of the event. For more info, contact RU Green president Sophia Gallo (sgallo01@mail.roosevelt.edu).
Hey, SUST 350 students! One of the unique experiential learning (EXL) features of our online section of SUST 350 Service & Sustainability is that you get to determine what your individual service project is for the Fall 2020 semester. This is your chance to contribute to the sustainability efforts of an organization you care about that is advancing sustainability and/or enhancing resilience within in your home or neighboring community, in the city of Chicago, here at Roosevelt University, or even beyond the borders of the Chicago region. It also serves as an analog to the on-site service work at Eden Place Nature Center and Farm performed during the last several years by students in past F2F versions of this course.
So what counts as a suitable project in this context? And what do we mean by community-based sustainability work? You will address these questions from the perspective of your own personal/academic knowledge and background, work and educational experience, personal interests, geographic range/limitations, and personal/family safety considerations here in the Covid-19 era.
My own general answer as the SUST 350 instructor is that there are a wide variety of service projects you can undertake, whether in person or remotely, as long as they contribute in some form or fashion to the advancement of any one or combination of the Three Es of sustainability within a given community — environment, economy, and/or equity — which in turn impact the resilience of that community.
Join members of RU Green, the Math Club, and others in an all-ages Chicago Youth Climate Strike march in Grant Park in downtown Chicago this Friday 9/20/19 in solidarity with climate strike marchers all over the world. Options for meeting:
10:30am WB Lobby, 425 S. Wabash Ave., then walk with RU Green to Grant Park
11:00am, south end of Grant Park (Roosevelt & Columbus)
RU students, want to help make signs? Join RU Green outside the CSI office (WB 3rd floor) on Wed 9/18 @5pm. Bring your own poster-making supplies if you have ’em (supplies limited).
Questions? Email RU Green prez Samantha Schultz (sschultz10@mail.roosevelt.edu).
The Sustainability Studies Program @RooseveltU is hiring two (or more) undergraduate students to serve as Sustainability Student Associates for the Fall 2019 semester. Information and application instructions for the position can be found on Student Employment website: to apply, just login to the Career Central job posting system and upload your letter of interest and cover letter.
Deadline for applications is Tuesday 9/3/19. Interviews will be conducted that week in person or via Zoom with the goal of hiring by the week of 9/9. Depending upon the applicant pool, the available hours (30/week) may be split among 2-4 students. A cover letter, updated résumé, and writing sample (which can be paper written for an RU class) are required for your application. Your letter should explain your interest in advancing campus sustainability as well as highlight your prior knowledge about and/or skills in relevant sustainability issues and practices (e.g., recycling, gardening, event planning, data analysis, student outreach, etc.)
Desired Majors: Sustainability Studies, Sociology, or Biology preferred; however, all majors will be considered.
Required Skills/Knowledge: Knowledge of and interest in sustainability; strong writing/editing skills; effective communication skills; dependability and strong work ethic.
These 15 hour/week at $13/hour student positions support the mission, pedagogy, and service work of the SUST Program at Roosevelt by the following (other duties as assigned):
developing & supporting campus sustainability projects in consultation with the program director, department faculty, Operations and Planning staff, and the RU Green student organization;
serving as the primary student liaison between the SUST Program and the university community in the advancement of RU’s 2015-2020 Strategic Sustainability Plan
Student Associates will work closely with the SUST Program Director, Prof. Mike Bryson, and utilize the RUSLab at the Chicago Campus as their home base. Funding for the positions is provided by federal work-study funds as well as Testa Produce of Chicago.
Please email Prof. Bryson (mbryson@roosevelt.edu) for questions about the position or application process.
I was honored to be interviewed for this Chicago Tonight special report on the current status of Bubbly Creek, aka the South Fork of the South Branch of the Chicago River. This was an effort by students in the DePaul University Center for Journalism Integrity and Excellence. Legendary local TV journalist Carol Marin came to my RU office in downtown Chicago, where we chatted about the Creek’s history and present condition while the students filmed us. Take a look, and let me know if anyone can saying “capping the sludge” better than Carol!
Cleaning up the banks of Bubbly Creek at Canal Origins Park, May 2018 (M. Bryson)
This April is #RUEarthMonth2019, and there are lots of ways to go green at Roosevelt as part of our campus sustainability efforts — from recycling and composting promotional events to fun urban ag field trips to our annual sustainability symposium. We’ll add to and update this list as the month unfolds, so please check back frequently!
All Month —Participate in RU’s waste reduction efforts every day by using and promoting our new compost bins, which are now located literally everywhere. help us divert waste from the landfill and reduce our GHG emissions by rinsing out your recyclables and putting biodegradable waste in the compost. It’s easy and fun!
All Month —Environmental Justice and Policy online activism: Students, please take this 1-minute survey developed by the SUST 250 Sustainable University water team about bottled water usage here on campus. All, please read this environmental justice petition from our friends at the Southeast Environmental Task Force, where recent RU alum Yessenia Balcazar (BA ’18, Sustainability Studies) works as an EJ advocate; please sign and share as your conscience dictates.
Fri 4/19 & 4/26 — Field Trip toWashington Park Youth Farm with Windy City Harvest: Join SUST Prof Vicki Gerberich and students in her SUST 230 Food class on this urban ag field trip. Open to students, faculty, staff, & alumni. Small fee, big-time fun. Details here!
RU folk view the solar eclipse in 2017 (it wasn’t even Earth Day)
Mon 4/22 — Earth Day is here! Get outside if you can, rain or shine. Then, when you come back inside, join students from the SUST 250 Sustainable University class and RU Green as they promote our new composting initiative in that nexus of RU food consumption, the RU Dining Center, from 12-5pm. There may be prizes (or at least a pleasant endorphine rush) for tossing your stuff in the right bin. Plus, you can avoid otherwise unpleasant tasks by taking an Earth Day Quiz and reading these Earth Day Tips!
Tues 4/23 — RU Green Nature Outing: Join students from the environmental org RU Green on an urban nature adventure to McKinley Park, where they’ll help out the park by picking up litter and planting seeds, then have a nice little picnic. Meet at the SUST Lab, AUD 526, at 5pm; RSVP to RU Green president Samantha Schultz (sschultz10@roosevelt.edu).
SUST students, faculty, & alumni working on RU’s Rooftop Garden, Sept. 2018 (M. Bryson)
Wed 4/24 — WB Rooftop Garden Work Day: Fresh air and fun! Get your hands dirty with those tireless and enthusiastic students from RU Green as they work on our 5th story Rooftop Garden from 5-6pm. Space is limited, so RSVP to RU Green president Samantha Schultz (sschultz10@roosevelt.edu) to save your spot. Bring extra oxygen for working at high altitude. (Just kidding. Work gloves would be good, though, if you’ve got ’em.)
Thurs 4/25 — Meet Recycling & Composting Expert Rebecca Quesnell: One of the living legends among the many SUST alumni working for positive change out there in this great big world of ours is Rebecca “Beeka” Quesnell (BA ’15 Sustainability Studies), who now works as the Sustainability Coordinator for Independent Recycling Services. That’s huge, because Independent collects RU’s recyclables at the Chicago Campus! Stop by the info table in the WB Lobby from 11:30am-2pm to chat with Beeka and current SUST students, get your burning questions about recycling/composting answered, and feel enlightened.
Thurs 4/25 — RU Green Farmers Market Outing: Join those always-adventure-seeking students from RU Green on a jaunt to one of Chicago’s many urban farms and markets, Growing Home, at their Wood Street Urban Farm Stand. Meet at the SUST Lab, AUD 526, at 12:45pm; RSVP to RU Green president Samantha Schultz (sschultz10@roosevelt.edu) to let her know you’re coming.
Fri 4/26 — Field Trip to Growing Home Farmat 1pm. Because you really can’t go to Growing Home enough, can you? Yet another outstanding field trip opportunity with SUST Prof Vicki Gerberich and students in her SUST 230 Food class. Growing Home has been using urban agriculture as a catalyst for change for over a decade in Englewood, an underserved community on Chicago’s South Side. Open to students, faculty, staff, & alumni. Details and RSVP here!
Sat 4/20 & Sat/Sun 4/27-28 — Earth Day Service Opportunities & Events throughout Chicago, sponsored by the Chicago Conservation Corps (C3) and other organizations. Check out the many events listed here by C3 as well as these by the Cook County Forest Preserves. Help clean up parklands, restore natural areas, and meet conservation-minded and nature loving sustainability nerds from across the city. Fun and rewarding in a deeply spiritual and dirt-under-your-nails kind of way!
Wed 5/1 — SUST Student Symposium: An annual festival of student creativity and action research that features four team presentations by RU undergraduate students in Prof. Mike Bryson’s SUST 250 The Sustainable University class. Food. From 2-4pm in WB 1214, teams will describe their work on campus sustainability projects on food waste reduction in the Dining Center, recycling/composting in the WB Dormitory, rooftop gardening, solar energy generation, and water conservation. Free food. From 4-5pm we’ll feature two individual presentations: SUST senior Bria Jerome will recount her adventures this spring as RU’s first-ever intern at Seven Generations Ahead in Oak Park and Chicago; and distinguished SUST alum Yessenia Balcazar (BA ’18) will talk about her path from RU to working with the Southeast Environmental Task Force on the front lines of the environmental justice on Chicago’s Far South Side. Did I mention food above? [Quite possibly.] Yes, refreshments will be served! RSVP to Prof. Mike Bryson (mbryson@roosevelt.edu) to feed your brain AND your belly.
Wed 5/8 — Bubbly Creek Clean-up: Join students in Prof. Mike Bryson’s SUST 250 Sustainable University class on the field trip to Canal Origins Park on Chicago’s Near Southwest Side, where we’ll continue our yearly tradition of picking up litter along the riverbanks of Bubbly Creek where it meets the South Branch of the Chicago River. Enjoy great views of the Chicago skyline, fresh air, and a gratifying sense of fun and companionship as we work together to clean up our adopted city park! Meet at 2pm in the WB Lobby; RSVP to Prof. Mike Bryson (mbryson@roosevelt.edu) with questions and to confirm attendance.
SUST 240 Waste students clean up Canal Origins Park, Fall 2018 (M. Bryson)
This event list will be updated throughout Earth Month and maybe a little bit beyond.
As we enter finals week this F18 semester, don’t nelgect your planning for next year’s classes! Advising and registration are ongoing for the Spring & Summer 2019 semesters here at @RooseveltU — and there are still seats left in most of our SUST classes. The Sustainability Studies program is once again offering a wide range of on-campus and online courses for the next two exciting semesters of learning, research, and campus outreach projects!
Students, please look over the Spring 2019 schedule using this coursefinder, check your remaining course requirements, and email or call your assigned academic advisor with your planned schedule and any questions you have about your upcoming classes. Your advisor will help you craft your schedule and provide you with an RU Access registration code so you can register.
Sustainability Studies courses offered in Spring 2018:
* Ideas course in new CORE general education curriculum, effective Fall 2018; recommended for SUST majors and minors!
§ 8-week accelerated online courses; these work great taken back-to-back.
◊ Experiential Learning (EXL) designated courses: satisfy EXL requirement in CORE.
Sustainability Studies courses offered in Summer 2019:
I know November is a super busy time of the academic year, but be sure to make a little time to get in touch with your advisor to sign up for the classes you need! For additional useful info, see this Advising Resources page here on my faculty website.
Good luck with your final exams, papers, and projects!
Scientists from Field Museum and around the world need your help! Join us in transcribing scientific label data from our collections and from field notes books using online and computer tools. Activities may also include hands-on curation with specimens. This event will be held daily from this Thur10/18 thru Sun 10/21, 2018 and is based at Field Museum.
You will be part of a global effort to digitize centuries of data about life on Earth. Organisms may include ferns, fungi, mosses, insects, and mammals. Participants will have an opportunity to meet Field Museum scientists and join in behind-the-scenes tours or talks about the significance of the scientific collections!
WeDigBio is ideally for teens aged 15+ and adults. Refreshments will be available, but you should feel free to bring lunch. Space is limited; please register in advance.
Details:
For those attending on-site activities, free admission to the museum will be available after the event.
Each day there is one session, including registration, the event and tours. Registration will open at 9:30am and the event will be held from 10:00am to 2:00pm.
This year’s inaugural event will feature organic and fresh food from Eden Place and local area farms. Enjoy a four-course meal prepared by three of Chicago’s best restaurants, live music and a host of special guess attendees. Enjoy Delicious Cuisine Creations from Majani Restaurant, Roe’s Gratitude, Sweet Blooms, and Eden Place Farms.
