Environmental Center Initiatives
Environmental Center

The mission of our Sustainable Food initiative is to create a just, green, and viable food system and develop student connections to local food within Fort Lewis College’s campus and the broader SW Colorado region. Some of the projects and efforts that this team focuses on are:

• Overseeing our campus growing spaces (garden and orchard)
• Pushing for more socially and environmentally responsible food in our dining hall
• Raising awareness about food production and access issues
• Supporting access to nutritional and culturally appropriate foods 

The mission of the Lands and Ecology initiative is to connect students to opportunities to protect and restore the fabric of our regional biological ecosystems, and to advocate for the protection of lands that have cultural and ecological significance. Some of the projects and efforts that this team focuses on are:

• Working on land and water stewardship projects in our region
• Pushing for more ecologically-friendly management practices on campus
• Education on regional land use and conservation issues 

The mission of our Climate Action initiative is to push for on campus and regional climate action in the form of energy conservation, shifts toward renewable energy, and other greenhouse gas reduction measures. Some of the projects and efforts that this team focuses on are:

• Raising awareness about the fact that climate change is one of the most critical issues of our time.
• Promoting innovative climate action such as local carbon offset programs
• Educating our campus community on climate friendly behaviors such as energy conservation and alternative transportation
• Supporting grassroots efforts to push for changes to our campus and regional energy infrastructure 

The mission of our Zero Waste initiative is to advance zero waste principles across FLC and the greater community and reduce the amount of material headed to our regional landfill from FLC every year until zero waste status is achieved. Some of the projects and efforts that this team focuses on are:

• Overseeing our campus composting and food waste reduction programs
• Supporting re-use by collecting items during residence hall move-out and hosting an on-campus free thrift store, the Free Store
• Educating our campus community on the social and environmental issues associated with reducing, reusing, and properly recycling
• Researching and promoting ways to improve our campus and regional waste management