Sustainability

Students are helping HSU rack up thousands in energy savings while gaining skills for a green career through a statewide student-run program that promotes energy efficiency and education on college campuses.

It’s game on for a group of Humboldt State students who are competing against 15 other universities nationwide. The game is “Kill The Cup,” and campus culture indicates the HSU squad might be the favorite in this field.

A partnership between HSU and the Redwood Coast Energy Authority (RCEA) is saving the campus money and reducing carbon emissions one light bulb at a time.

Where there are cars, there is pollution. And when it rains, oil and other residues left behind on roads and parking lots are swept off the surface and deposited in wastewater systems virtually untouched. Thanks to a $1.4 million grant secured by the City of Arcata in collaboration with Humboldt State and the Northern Humboldt Unified School District, environment-friendly technology is addressing that problem throughout town.

Fog is as much a part of Humboldt County as the redwoods. In fact, with their unusual ability to take in water through both roots and needles, redwoods directly benefit from the mist-laden air.

The Klamath River is a massive, breathtaking, and complex system with its own unique ecology and affected by political, economic, and cultural factors. It’s home to diverse communities including Native American tribes, farmers, and fishermen.

Humboldt State is one of 37 colleges and universities across the country to receive support from the Recycling Bin Grant Program, made possible by Keep America Beautiful (KAB) and the Coca-Cola Foundation. The program awarded HSU with 50 recycling bins, which will be used to expand waste reduction efforts at outdoor events such as football games, concerts and club fairs.

Humboldt State is partnering with local volunteers and charities next week to ensure that students moving out of the residence halls have a minimal impact on the environment and the community.

Humboldt State University has donated a redwood tree that fell on the Campus Apartments to two local Native American tribes—the Bear River Band of the Rohnerville Rancheria and the Wiyot Tribe.

Humboldt State University has again been named among the 353 most environmentally responsible colleges according to The Princeton Review. The education services company features HSU in the 2015 edition of its book, The Princeton Review Guide to 353 Green Colleges.

The spring edition of HSU’s popular Sustainable Speaker Series continues through April with a variety of lectures on topics ranging from clean energy, environmentalism, to climate activism.

What started as an effort to change the way HSU’s School of Business taught business has led to a big next step–accreditation.

Electricity use accounts for nearly one quarter of the greenhouse gas emissions generated at Humboldt State, while transportation emissions from business travel, commuting, and solid waste disposal are responsible for over one third of the total. Those are two of the key findings from a comprehensive inventory of HSU’s greenhouse gas emissions, recently prepared by HSU’s Office of Sustainability.

Humboldt State University topped over 50 universities across the country in the 2014 Game Day Challenge, a national competition that encourages waste reduction at university and college football games.

Humboldt State University is moving aggressively to green up its endowment, taking a leadership role in higher education by further divesting from fossil fuels and adopting a broad definition of socially concerning sectors to be avoided. Significantly, the effort involves targeting mutual funds.

A solid waste research management proposal put forward by Humboldt State’s Environmental Resources Engineering program is one of three submissions selected for funding by the Environmental Research & Education Foundation (EREF).

As California copes with its fourth year of record low rainfall, Humboldt State is taking broad steps to reduce campus water use in its domestic and irrigation systems.

Think of Founders Hall as you might consider a classic car. Since it was first constructed in 1920, the venerable structure has undergone a variety of remodels, including paint jobs and bodywork. Still, its restoration to cherry condition remains incomplete.

Humboldt State University presents the fall Sustainable Futures Speaker Series through Nov. 20 on the HSU campus.

Humboldt State students, staff and faculty took a sustainable ice bucket challenge at Trinidad Beach on Sept. 12, to raise awareness for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

Humboldt State University will join a global climate march Sept. 19 from 1 to 4 p.m. on the HSU campus.

In California a new story of environmental change is emerging. It is a story that tells how nature and civilization are no longer adversaries but partners, together creating healthy environments amid vibrant economies.

Julie Brusaw (’91, Psychology) and her husband Scott are paving the way to a more sustainable future.

Humboldt State University and the Redwood Parks Association have received a $32,000 grant from the Bureau of Land Management and the Conservation Lands Foundation to promote stewardship of the Headwaters Forest Reserve.

This May the HSU Sustainability Office and the Waste Reduction & Resource Awareness Program (WRRAP) hosted Donation Dash, an annual event designed to reduce waste generated by students moving out of the residence halls.