Chandler-Gilbert Community College Environmental Technology Center

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Chandler-Gilbert Community College Environmental
Technology Center

• Dr. Darien Ripple - ETC Coordinator

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Environmental TechnologyCenter

• Part I
• History Strategic Plan
• Part II
• ETC Pedagogy Outreach
• Part III
• Experiential Learning and Student Projects

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The goal of the Environmental Technology Center
(ETC) is to maintain a low-impact and cost
efficient living classroom. The ETC serves as
an area for experiential learning projects that
will allow students and community members the
ability work on the evolving structure and
surrounding gardens. The ETC seeks out ways of
being sustainable while attempting to create a
sense of place within the community.
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Historical Development

• Fall 2006
• Darien Ripple presented a paper to administration
  calling for the creation of an interdisciplinary
  academic certificate in Sustainability and
  Ecological Literacy and the development of an
  Environmental Technology Center
• Spring 2007
• The proposal was introduced to the Global
  Learning Committee

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2008

• Seed money from a Shared Futures Grant was to
  be used to create the ETC
• A consultant provided suggestions to construct a
  simple structure.
• An preliminary plan was approved by the CGCC
• Spring 2009The ETC location was approved and the
  first student graduated with the Sustainability
  and Ecological Literacy certificate

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Spring 2010 The first gardens began

• Summer 2012
• A new ramada with a solar roof was built and
  sponsored by
• Salt River Project
• Current Projects
• 6 Clubs have garden plots
• Educational collaborations with 11 CGCC
  instructors
• Education projects with 4 public Schools
• Daisy troop educational tours
• Native Seed Project
• Adobe Brick Project

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Chandler-Gilbert Community College
2007-2012STRATEGIC GOALS OBJECTIVES
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GOAL 4 - Advance Global Learning
Sustainability

• Objectives
• 4.1 Embed Global learning and sustainability into
  the curriculum.
• 4.2 Expand and enhance programs and services that
  increase student and employee awareness and
  understanding of global issues that sustain life
  and learning.
• 4.3 Collaborate with external partners to support
  programs for a socially, environmentally, and
  economically sustainable society.
• 4.4 Examine current practices, as well as
  opportunities, to move the college toward a
  highly sustainable, carbon neutral mode of
  operation and work with stakeholders and vendors
  aligned with principles of sustainability.

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GOAL 6 - Strengthen CommunityEngagement and
Civic Participation

• Objectives
• 6.1 Strengthen and expand community and corporate
  partnerships
• 6.2 Expand outreach and promotional efforts to
  inform and engage the community.
• 6.3 Encourage a culture of civic engagement and
  social responsibility.

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Academic Certificate in Sustainability and
Ecological Literacy

• Description The Certificate enhances students
  understanding of sustainable living practices
  associated with economics, equity and the
  environment. Through a combination of coursework
  and experiential learning, students engage in
  critical thinking, inquiry, and discourse, skills
  necessary for becoming socially responsible
  citizens who are environmentally aware. The
  certificate is designed for, although not limited
  to, students seeking an Associate in Arts Degree
  and planning transfer to four-year colleges and
  universities. Total Credits 16

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• Required Course Credits 3 -PHI216 Environmental
  Ethics
• Required Science Based Course Select 4 credits
  from the following courses
• BIO105 Environmental Biology with Lab (4) or
  GLG110 (GLG111) Geological Disasters with Lab (4)
• Required Humanities, Social Science Courses and
  Wellness Credits 6
• Students will choose 2 different courses from the
  following list
• ENH206 Nature and Environmental Literature (3),
  ENH260 Literature of the Southwest (3),
• HUM201 Humanities Universal Themes (3),
  SBU200 Society and Business (SB) (G),
• REC150AB Outdoor Adventure Skills (3)
• Humanities and Social Science Electives Credits
  3
• Students will choose 1 course from the following
  list
• HIS110 World History to 1500 (3), HIS111 World
  History 1500 to the Present (3)
• HUM250 Ideas And Values in The Humanities (3),
  PHI104 World Philosophy (3)
• POS120 World Politics (3), PSY132 Psychology
  and Culture (3)
• SOC101 Introduction to Sociology (3)

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Defining a Sense of Place
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Experiential Learning

• Experiential learning is a process in which the
  learner works on a learning task or activity and
  is largely independent of the teacher who acts as
  manager of the learning programme and as resource
  person (Higgs, 1988, pp.40-41).

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Observation and Reflection

• The days following the development of the
  mixing pit, people came and went, but not me. I
  was having a good time. Adobe making gave me a
  sense of belonging. I was content that somebody
  appreciated the skill of the common people and
  realized that in many ways it makes a lot more
  sense than our so called advanced technology. I
  was ready to show the world the beauty and magic
  of adobe bricks.

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Experiential Learning

• Sensory gardens
• Edible Schoolyard
• Learning Stations
• Experiments

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Place-based education

• Coordinator- Darien Ripple
• History of the area Paul Petrequin
• Georegion Roy Schiesser
• Service Learning Alison Whiting
• Educational Outreach Chris Schnick
• Educational Materials Larry Miller 
• Instructional Technology Tom Foster
• Applied Engineering Bassam Matar

In regards to the place-based education, faculty
and staff performed particular roles to enhance
the student learning process.
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Faculty Projects

• Outreach to Area Schools
• Soil Temperature Analysis
• Food Bank Garden
• Applied Math Plant Growth
• Composting Writing
• Computers Soil Testing
• Adobe and Art
• Environmental Ethics Food
• Various Honors Projects

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Student Projects

• Rain Harvesting Compost
• Pepsi Grant Public relations
• LED Lighting Mixed Use Gardens
• Green House Native seeds
• Solar Panels Green Roofs
• Soil Testing Adobe Bricks

This project to me was not simply a project of
researching green roofs but to also research what
it means to live greener.
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Adobe Project
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Building Communities
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Academic Excellence Through Experiential Learning
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A Sustainable Future
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