From the Pace Academy for Applied Environmental Studies to our Environmental Center to students taking on Big Coal to our celebration of Earth Day every day, you don’t even need to walk off-campus to feel like you’re making a difference in the world.
Whether you’ve been at Pace for a few minutes or a few years, there’s no denying how much we cherish the environment here. From Pace Academy programs such as the Environmental Consortium and the grassroots How Green is My Town? to the Environmental Gateway, your guide to all of Pace’s environmental offerings like internships and externships, student organizations, and more; to our extending Earth Day into a full month of campus clean-ups and tree plantings; Pace disproves Kermit’s whole “It’s Not Easy Being Green” schtick.
Here are just some of the ways we’re making this a greener Pace.
Pace Sustainability Committee
In 2008 a university-wide committee was started at Pace to examine implementing green initiatives on our campuses. The committee is officially called GreenPace and is working on several efforts to make our campus more sustainable. With GreenPace came the GreenPace Awards, which recognize faculty, staff, and students who are helping Pace meet its commitment to sustainable practices. Pace’s GreenPace Sustainability Committee gave four awards this past April. Recipients were the NYC Counseling Center; Bill Batina, University Energy Manager, Facilities Planning and Design; Steve Feyl, Associate University Librarian; and Christina Blenkle, Electronic Resources Librarian, Mortola Library.Read more or nominate someone today!
Are you interested in creating a more environmentally sustainable Pace? Then the Student Sustainability Subcommittee is the group to work with! Meeting throughout the year, the subcommittee works to engage students from all campuses and disciplines who want to create a healthier and more ecologically friendly future for Pace.
Clinics, Research Centers, and Institutes
The Pace Academy for Applied Environmental Studies works with every academic unit of the University in a comprehensive program to increase educational opportunities for students and faculty, expand collaborations and partnerships with external institutions and experts, and create research and advanced study programs on matters of community, national, and global import. By leveraging one of Pace’s greatest strengths–our academic, practical, and professional expertise in environmental studies–the Academy continues a long Pace tradition that combines learning, scholarship, and service.
Pace’s Environmental Center, part of the Department of Biology and Health Sciences in Dyson College, serves as a resource for environmental education for the Pace Community and the general public. Environmental education courses and seminars are held at the center, including a summer graduate course for teachers interested in incorporating environmental studies into their classrooms. Located in a natural setting, the center provides Pace students and area high school students with opportunities for hands-on field studies and internships. This spring, the Marty McGuire Museum opened as a home to the center’s living collection of animals, reptiles, amphibians, and other wildlife exhibits.
The Pace Institute for Environmental and Regional Studies (PIERS) aims to foster a sustainable relationship between people and nature by studying the diverse ecological, political, economic, social, and cultural values of New York City and the Hudson River Valley Region.
The Pace Energy and Climate Center, a nationally recognized leader and advocate for energy efficiency and renewable energy, recently received the Outstanding Outreach Partner Award from the Alliance for Clean Energy New York for its work as a “tireless advocate” for clean energy. The Center, as a partner with Cornell University and three other schools, was also awarded a nearly $5 million grant by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to help create educational opportunities for students interested in bioenergy careers.
The Environmental Litigation Clinic is an award-winning clinic that gives students the opportunity to represent public interest environmental groups including the Riverkeeper, an organization dedicated to protecting the Hudson River. Last fall, the clinic took on Big Coal, when student interns under law professors Karl S. Coplan, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and Daniel Estrin, took the first step in bringing a lawsuit against three mining companies in Kentucky for violations of the Clean Water Act.
The Land Use Law Center is dedicated to fostering the development of sustainable communities and regions through the promotion of innovative land use strategies and dispute resolution techniques.
Student organizations include NATURE (Natural Activists Teaching an Understanding and Respect for the Environment) and Students for a Smarter Planet. In WP, the Environmental Law Society participates in all kinds of local and regional outreach events. And just because NYC has less green space than Westchester doesn’t mean it cares less. T.H.I.N.K. Environment (The Healthy, Independent, Natural Knowledge of the Environment) has helped transform Drumgoole Park, the One Pace Plaza roof gardens, and more!
Other initiatives include:
Adopt-a-Bin: Are you part of a student organization in PLV? Advertise it! The University will give you a location on campus where you can decorate a sign to promote your group. Imagine all of the students who will see your group’s name on a daily basis! So you’re probably thinking “What’s the catch?” All you need to do is support recycling and decreasing littering. Seems pretty reasonable, right? The program’s simple. Your organization signs on to support the Clean Campus Pledge and you are awarded a recycling/trash receptacle that your organization will sponsor all year round! Email sss@pace.edu for more information.
Trash to Treasure: Saving the planet and your wallet! Collect boxes during move-in and reusable items during move-out to help reduce waste and money. Check out the Trash to Treasure page for details.
Summer Environmental Program for High School Students: During the week of July 18, Pace will host Yonkers high school students to experience a college-level program with an environmental focus. The program offers students the opportunity to gain practical knowledge about current environmental issues, using both classroom and field work.
If you want to do more for the environment, get in touch with our departments and centers here at Pace to learn how you can make a difference.