Mennonite Higher Education Sustainability Summit
SCHEDULE
Watch for updates on this tentative schedule
Thursday, August 4
3pm: Rooms open (dorms at EMU), check-in.
5:30pm: Picnic dinner at forest river park (Riven Rock), Rawley Springs (15 min from EMU).
Friday, August 5
7:30 – 8:30am: Breakfast
8:30-9:00am: Worship
9:00-9:30am: Welcome and Introduction
9:30 – 10:30am: Goal-setting discussion
10:30am: Break (coffee and snacks)
11am-12:00pm: Case studies in campus sustainability
We will share together a set of stories from one or two campuses about some of the complexities of sustainability change over time: how did the campus set the stage for changes? Which parts came easier, and which harder? Where has time/inattention/lack of maintenance eroded some of those gains? These profiles highlight some of the realities of this change on our campuses.
12:00-1:30pm: Lunch
1:30-2:30 pm: Workshop Session #1 (Below are sessions that will be offered at various times during the three session periods. Check back for exact schedule.)
- Hope and Despair in times of climate change
- Sustainability themes in campus ministry
- How does sustainability relate to reconciliation with indigenous communities?
- Connecting sustainability with diversity, equity and inclusion
- Mitigating the impacts of travel abroad programs
- Institutional Support: Taking steps to incorporate sustainability commitments in our planning
- Sustainability in a financially-constrained environment
- Curricular and co-curricular models for sustainability education
- Encouraging and supporting student-led initiatives
- Counting the cost: carbon and nitrogen footprinting
- Messaging sustainability to support Mennonite colleges
- Land management
- Sustainability and Food (Services)
2:15-3:15 pm: Workshop Session #2
3:15-3:45pm: Break
3:45-5pm: Solar energy field trip
We will have the chance to see local solar installations, and talk with companies involved with campus-scale solar installation.
5:30pm: Dinner
6:30-7:30pm: Workshop Session #3
7:45pm: Summarizing the day
Saturday, August 6
7am – 8am: Breakfast
8am – 8:30am: Morning devotions
8:30am – 4pm: Shenandoah National Park Field Trip and/or Shenandoah River Canoe Trip. You have the chance to join one of two field trips: 1) To beautiful nearby Shenandoah National Park. We will have opportunity to hike, speak with park rangers, and otherwise spend a day enjoying this amazing bit of creation! 2) To the equally beautiful and storied Shenandoah River, where you can spend the day canoeing, swimming, and observing the river life. This is a chance to have conversations with your colleagues, and to think about the larger context of sustainability within our society. All costs are covered by CSCS.
5:30pm: Dinner
7:00pm: “Keynote” event. Watch for details on a featured event that helps us center our experiences with creation care.
Sunday, August 7
7:30-8:30am: Breakfast
8:45-10am: Processing Results of Workshop Sessions
10-10:30am: Break (coffee and snacks)
10:30am-11:30am: Conclusions and next steps
11:30am-12:00 pm: Closing worship
12-1pm: Lunch