Sustainability education at Santa Fe Community College provides not merely explanations and definitions; you’ll be able to see sustainability in action.
Sustainability courses at SFCC teach students to make their own electricity, build homes that will never have heating bills, store water, grow their own food, and even grow their own diesel fuel. Students can even get certified in that most sustainable New Mexico tradition: adobe building. Don’t feel like doing all that yourself? Not to worry, you can find someone at SFCC who will help you out. Entrepreneurship and collaborative learning are part of the culture in the college’s approach to sustainability education.
TEACHING AND INVESTING
As sustainability catches on, SFCC continues to expand its offerings. Students can earn certificates and associate degrees or take noncredit courses in everything from Biofuels to Green Building and Greenhouse Management to Water Conservation and Weatherization.
But it’s more than the curriculum. SFCC walks the walk, putting sustainable practices into action on campus with greenhouses, a culinary arts garden, solar panels, energy-efficient lighting, water catchment, and more – proof of their commitment to changing how we use and produce energy.
Years of investment in the academic programs have started to bear fruit. The number of student credit hours, for example, has increased by 40% over the past 10 years. With such commitment and positive results, SFCC demonstrates that sustainability is more than a fashionable term; it’s the wave of the future.
THE LONG GAME
A leader in clean energy and sustainability, SFCC signed the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment. The college continues to strengthen that commitment through a systemic approach to managing campus life with policies and procedures that support sustainability. As energy-saving technologies become less expensive and more widely available, it’s a safe bet that we’ll need to keep growing a trained workforce to sustain it all. Webster’s Dictionary defines sustainability as: “able to continue or last for a long time.” SFCC is clearly working hard to make sure its own promising programs and investment in Santa Fe are truly sustainable.
