State of Affairs at the ASCP: January
Welcome back, Auraria! We hope you enjoyed some good rest and relaxation over break and have returned with new energy for the semester ahead. We here at the ASCP have been very busy and we want to tell you about it.

New Sustainability Coordinator: The ASCP has hired a new Sustainability Coordinator! This means the ASCP is now up to two full time staff members, which means we can accomplish even more! The Sustainability Coordinator will focus on education and outreach efforts to reach a higher % of our campus population through programming and marketing. The February newsletter will go more in depth on this new hire and the other staff that comprise the ASCP's awesome team!

Green Offices Pilot Launch: The ASCP will be launching a Green Offices program this semester to work with 10 academic and program support offices to make their offices more sustainable! Participants will receive compost bins, LED light bulbs and behavior change ideas to reduce their ecological footprint and will walk through an office audit to identify other opportunities to increase sustainable practices. Interested in becoming a Green Office in the future? Email scp_contact@ahec.edu to get more information and to get on the wait list for next semester.

Water Action Plan: Together with MSU's One World One Water Center and the Brendle Group, the ASCP has been working on developing a Water Action Plan to identify water conservation measures for our campus. Over the past several months we developed a baseline to understand current use and trends. By June we hope to have a first draft of strategies to reduce water consumption! Stay tuned for information on a design competition this spring...

5 New Reusable Water Bottle Filling Stations: We've installed five new reusable water bottle filling stations in the Science building! This brings the total count of ASCP-funded water bottle filling stations to 34! Look out for new stickers on these stations in February that teach us why it's important to decrease plastic use. This project, like many of our projects on campus, was initiated through a proposal by MSU student, Kalli Hawkins.

Solar Panels on the Library: The ASCP/AHEC is currently fielding proposals from solar companies to spec out the proposed 700 kW array that will be installed on our Library (hopefully this summer). We are very excited to move this project forward!

Zero-Waste/Compost Expansion Pilot: We are in the process of launching a pilot of some new zero-waste/compost infrastructure, signage and waste sorting education. See article below for more information and how to get involved. We need your help!
Zeroing In on Zero Waste at Auraria
By Joel Cruz

We hear you Auraria! In our recent survey, you informed us that waste diversion efforts must become a priority for a more sustainable campus. As a result, The Auraria Sustainable Campus Program has been collaborating with stakeholders across the campus on how to enhance the current waste system. Since last Fall we have conducted multiple waste audits in which we sorted through landfill, recycling, and compost bins as well as the waste produced back of house from vendors on campus. As a result from our audits, we have found that (on average) 53% of the waste produced on campus can be composted , however, it is instead put in the landfill. It is time to change that.
We are proud to announce the rolling out of the Zero-Waste Pilot program this Spring in which we will replace individual landfill and recycle receptacles with a single Zero-Waste stations that includes streams for Compost, Recycle, and Landfill (see image above). Pilot locations will include the 2nd floor break room in West Classroom and the Library Cafe. The staff at Sonos, iPie, Library Cafe and Simply Fresh (North Classroom) are also participating in the pilot with their back-of-house waste and food prep scraps. If the pilot is successful (aka if we measure increases in proper waste sorting/waste diversion and custodial operations are able to adapt to the changes), we will expand this three-bin infrastructure to other parts of campus.
In addition to new bins, we will also be replacing and updating waste sorting signage and guidelines to make the waste stations more user friendly. We will be placing table tents on tables in food vendor areas educating customers on how to sort waste properly among the three streams and will publish a very detailed Zero Waste Brochure to store on our website and to distribute to students so that they can improve and exhibit their Zero-Waste skills on and off campus.

Finally, and very importantly, volunteer Eco Reps will work together with the ASCP to stand beside bins and help students sort their waste correctly—that way everyone can have a hands-on learning experience. We need your help! We are currently in need of more volunteers to provide this waste education and conduct waste audits. If you're interested in making Auraria a zero-waste campus, please sign up here to attend a brief training.

As part of the ASCP’s vision of “thinking globally and acting locally” it is our duty to empower and unite the students of Auraria campus through sustainability. Come be a part of the movement!
Spotlight: Campus Sustainability Hero
Hope Bartlett, College of Professional Studies Dean's Office
My name is Hope Bartlett, and as the Office Coordinator for the College of Professional Studies Dean’s Office, I have a special hand in turning our offic e “Green”. We have worked on several small projects in our office to make ourselves more sustainable. Printing off the Recycling Guidelines for the Auraria Campus has been a great help to eliminate guesswork on what is recyclable or not, and has helped more people recycle. The biggest step I facilitated for our office was to reduce our use of single use items, such as paper plates, cups, and silverware. Once I suggested this idea to the office, everyone was joyfully on board! We hid away all of our single use products and I brought in some old plates, bowls, cups and utensils to the office.
The biggest challenge we face in our reduction of single use kitchen items is the fact we do not have a sink in our office suite. However, our team has stepped up and we all take turns washing dishes for one another.
Single use plastics are a huge contributor to pollution and litter, and making simple changes results in h uge impacts. By introducing my team to the reduction of single use items, other conversations about sustainability have naturally sprouted. We often talk about other ways to reduce our waste, our water use, and we have a strict “only print when really needed” policy.

Every month, the ASCP highlights a "Sustainability Hero" on the Auraria campus who is doing something worth celebrating. Want to share your story or nominate someone else? E-mail jackie.slocombe@ahec.edu with a brief description of the work being done!
Upcoming Events (on and off campus)



Know of any upcoming events related to sustainability? E-mail us at scp_contact@ahec.edu so we can post them here!
JOB CORNER:

The ASCP is hiring for a new Student Ambassador focusing on Graphic Design, Social Media and Marketing. Deadline is Jan 31st. The position is already live on the CU Denver Handshake page and will be live on the other schools' job sites shortly. It is open to students from any of the three schools.  Applications are being accepted now through January 13th.

Do you know of any Sustainability-related job or internship opportunities? Are you looking to hire for sustainability-related positions?Let us know so we can share! Email scp_contact@ahec.edu.
Get Involved!

Every year, the ASCP reviews or drafts dozens of proposals brought to us by students, staff, and faculty. Do you have an idea that could make the Auraria Campus more sustainable? Let us know!