Unity College Hosts Sustainability Training Institute, Anticipated Benefit for Maine Communities

     Thirty-two students from 12 Maine colleges and universities converged on Unity College during the weekend of February 27-28 to participate in the Unity College Sustainability Training Institute.  They learned how to serve communities that are striving to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and increase their energy security.

     The sustainability training institute was the result of brainstorming by students at Unity College and other participating institutions, faculty and community leaders who have seen students in action in places like Brunswick, Waterville, and Unity.

     “In Unity, our Neighbor Warming Neighbor program demonstrates the unique, positive contributions that students can have on communities,” said Doug Fox, a Professor at Unity College and Chair of the institute.  He is also Director of the Center for Sustainability and Global Change at Unity College. “Whenever citizens gather to plan for community sustainability, we want students to have the capacity to take a place at the table.”

     He added that the institute was focused on helping participants to develop real world, hands on sustainability skills to benefit Maine communities.

     The two-day training featured tracks in greenhouse gas emissions accounting, building weatherization, and assessing renewable energy opportunities.  Fox and Unity College Community-Based Learning Coordinator Jennifer Olin, were part of the institute’s planning committee, which also included members from Bates, Bowdoin, Colby, and the Maine Campus Compact – a statewide consortium that supports civic engagement, community development, and service partnerships at Maine colleges.

     Students were selected on a competitive basis to represent their institutions. Workshops included material on basic thermodynamics, greenhouse gas inventories, community-based weatherization programs, renewable energy technology and creating change in communities.

     In the first session, students reviewed energy concepts in a small group exercise where they were asked to figure out how many chocolate truffles you would need to feed a student on a bicycle generator to power a Maine household for a day. The first figure they calculated, 204, sounded attractive to some, but when they realized they would need to eat over 2000 to account for friction and metabolic losses to heat, even the chocoholics cringed.

     Charlie Wing, co-founder of the Shelter Institute, noted author and award-winning teacher, showed students how home weatherization programs can be the most cost-effective strategy for reducing heating oil bills. Several students who had been involved in community-based home weatherization pumped Wing with questions about specific issues they have faced.

     In a panel discussion following Wing’s workshop, Jen Olin, herself an experienced weatherization volunteer leader, asked panelists from Habitat for Humanity, Keep Belfast Warm, and Neighbor Warming Neighbor questions about developing community weatherization programs.

     Jamie O’Connell, Regional Associate for ICLEI, an international organization that helps communities to plan for sustainability presented a workshop on how to document greenhouse gas emissions and form a climate action plan.

     On Sunday, February 28, students listened to experts in solar energy, geothermal, lighting, and biomass heat present the latest technology, its costs and benefits, and where communities might find the most effective sites for installations.

     Throughout the Institute, and in a special workshop called Creating Change in Communities, students discussed with noted community sustainability experts from around the State the most effective strategies for introducing energy sustainability to communities.

     Unity College’s Sustainability Coordinator Jesse Pyles has worked side by side with students as a volunteer home weatherizer. He has seen the relationships students have developed with community organizations and citizens.

     “The success of the Sustainability Training Institute is a testament to the service-focused approach to sustainability education on Maine campuses – students don’t just want to learn about energy and climate, they want to apply this learning through meaningful community partnerships,” said Pyles.

     "Bringing student energy and focus to bear in partnership with community organizations to find local solutions to global warming is exactly the kind of education we need,” noted Liz McCabe Park, Executive Director of the Maine Campus Compact. “The Sustainability Training Institute is a marvelous collaborative effort, and the wave of the future.”

“Wherever Maine citizens gather for long-term energy planning or for direct measures to reduce climate change and increase their energy security, our students are prepared to take a seat at the table,” said Fox.

     Based on the success of the 2010 sustainability training institute, organizers plan to expand the program next year, offering more students the training necessary to be sustainability advocates on their campuses and in their communities.

     Unity College is a small private college in rural Maine that provides dedicated, engaged students with a liberal arts education which emphasizes the environment and natural resources.  Unity College graduates are prepared to be environmental stewards, effective leaders, and responsible citizens through active learning experiences within a supportive community.