UW-Green Bay offers Sustainability Certificate Program

Program Aims to Meet the Needs of the Present Without Compromising Future Generations

GREEN BAY, Wis.—The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay is launching a new noncredit Sustainability Certificate Program in January 2021. The goal of the certificate program is to educate business professionals to implement sustainable decisions into their everyday roles to make a positive impact on both their organization as well as the world around them.

The certificate program consists of four flexible and 100% online courses, which can be completed in less than seven months. On completion, participants will receive an exclusive UW-Green Bay digital badge. For optimal learning, participants should expect to commit 2-3 hours per week to the coursework.

Each course is six weeks long and focuses on a facet of sustainability, including environmental, organizational behavior, and economics and society. The final requirement is a capstone course, which incorporates course concepts and requires participants to address a sustainability issue or idea in their business, nonprofit, government or community setting by creating an action plan.

  • Environmental Sustainability January 11 – February 19, 2021
  • Sustainable Business March 1 – April 9, 2021
  • Economics in Society and Sustainability April 19 – May 28, 2021
  • Capstone – Sustainability and Business June 7 July 16, 2021

Sustainability instructors include John Arendt, Director of Environmental Management and Business Institute at UW-Green Bay, Tara Reed, Associate Professor, Department of Natural and Applied Sciences at UW-Green Bay and Matthew Winden, Associate Professor of Economics and Assistant Director of the Fiscal & Economic Research Center at UW-Whitewater.

“Developing an understanding of the benefits and barriers is critical to advancing any sustainability project,” says Professor Arendt. “The capstone course will guide the student-designed sustainability project from inception to consideration to implementation over the six-week course length.”

The certificate program is being created and facilitated by UW-Green Bay’s Division of Continuing Education and Community Engagement. For more information on the certificate program, please visit www.uwgb.edu/sustainability-certificate/ or contact Melissa Betke, Program Specialist, at betkem@uwgb.edu. 

About the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay
The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay is a comprehensive public institution offering undergraduate, graduate and doctoral programs to more than 8,700 students with campus locations in Green Bay, Marinette, Manitowoc and Sheboygan. Established in 1965 on the border of Green Bay, the University and its campuses are centers of cultural enrichment, innovation and learning. The Green Bay campus is home to one of the Midwest’s most prolific performing arts centers, a nationally recognized 4,000-seat student recreation center, D-I athletics, an award-winning nine-hole golf course and a five-mile recreational trail and arboretum, which is free and open to the public. This four-campus University transforms lives and communities through student-focused teaching and research, innovative learning opportunities, powerful connections and a problem-solving approach to education. UW-Green Bay’s main campus is centrally located, close to both the Door County resort area and the dynamic economies of Northeast Wisconsin, the Fox Valley region and the I-43 corridor. UW-Green Bay offers in-demand programs in science, engineering and technology; business; health, education and social welfare; and arts, humanities and social sciences. For more information, visit www.uwgb.edu.

About UW-Green Bay’s Division of Continuing Education and Community Engagement
The Division of Continuing Education and Community Engagement focuses its mission on creating educational opportunity and access for all ages, encompassing K-12 student programs, personal and professional development and customized training to meet the needs of a progressive economy. The division develops, collaborates and executes responsive solutions for diverse communities statewide, all of which reflect a deep commitment to inclusion, social justice and civic responsibility

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Vintage photo of an environmental awareness demonstration political activist ralley circa 1970.

Echos of Eco U—More on the newly formed Office of Sustainability

Portrait photograph of John Arendt
John Arendt

UW-Green Bay has created its first Office of Sustainability and has named John Arendt as director. Last year, working with then Provost and now current Chancellor Alexander, the campus Sustainability Committee identified the need for a dedicated office. Its mission? To address the campus’s sustainability needs and to serve as a conduit between the campus and UW System sustainability representatives.

Arendt sees many similarities between today’s climate and the ‘turbulent 60’s’. “In many respects, the conditions we are operating under seem eerily similar to the planetary crisis going on when the University was founded.” He also envisions the office taking an activist role for the University and the region. “Including a need for new thinking, teachers looking for novel ways to instruct and looking to a younger generation to provide leadership out of the current paradigm.”

One of those current needs will be reporting the campus sustainability efforts to the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education’s Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS) report, which is due in spring 2021. Surveys consistently show that sustainability practices remain extremely important for students when considering which college to attend.

The STARS report communicates the university’s sustainability rating to prospective college students in publications such as Princeton Review and Sierra Club’s Cool Schools report. The Office of Sustainability will be housed in the Environmental Management and Business Institute (EMBI), where Arendt will also continue to serve as director. The EMBI office is located in ES 105 and Arendt can be reached via email arendtjo@uwgb.edu or on the contact page of the campus sustainability webpage.

 

 

UW-Green Bay opens the Office of Sustainability

UW-Green Bay has created its first Office of Sustainability and has named John Arendt as its director. Last year, working with then provost and now current Chancellor Mike Alexander, the campus Sustainability Committee identified the need for a dedicated office and staff person in order to address the campus’s sustainability needs and to serve as a conduit between the campus and UW System sustainability representatives. One of those current needs will be reporting the campus sustainability efforts to the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education’s Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS) report, which is due in spring 2021. The STARS report communicates the University’s sustainability rating to prospective college students in publications such as the Princeton Review and the Sierra Club’s Cool Schools report. The Office of Sustainability will be will be housed in the Environmental Management and Business Institute (EMBI), where John Arendt will also continue to serve as director. The EMBI office is located in ES 105 and John Arendt can be reached via email or on the contact page of the campus sustainability webpage.

UW-Green Bay EMBI student interns help make the annual Green Bay Garden Blitz a great success

Caitlin Curtis gives the camera a thumbs up.

Pong Moua (Environmental Science) served as Garden Blitz communication coordinator and Caitlin Curtis (Environmental Policy and Planning) as assistant volunteer coordinator at the seventh annual Green Bay Garden Blitz from May 28-31, 2020. Moua (pictured above), Curtis and 48 volunteers installed 74 raised bed garden boxes at private homes, Kennedy School and Veterans Manor.

Facing challenges due to COVID-19 concerns, the 2020 Garden Blitz accomplished its goals safely and on schedule. Kim Diaz, Blitz coordinator, said “working with Pong and Caitlin was a joy because they were so talented, dedicated and willing to learn.”

Did you miss it? Here are the Virtual Earth Day 50 videos

If you missed out on the fun of Earth Day and couldn’t join the live videos and discussions, you still have the opportunity to watch the programming! Below are the links to videos streamed on Earth Day 50.

Historical Perspectives on Earth Day Panel Discussion. Learn about what it was like at “Eco U” during the first Earth Day, how Earth Day fits into the environmental movement and progress and what the next 50 years of Earth Day will bring.

Virtual Nature Walk with Prof. Georjeanna Wilson-Doenges (Psychology)

“Earth Talks” with ​Profs. Michael Draney and David Voelker, Associate Director of the Cofrin Center for Biodiversity at the University of Green Bay Vicki Medland and Senior Legal Analyst for the River Alliance of Wisconsin Bill Davis

Other Earth Day Videos from Faculty and Guest Speakers:

Earth Week and Virtual Earth Day 50 at UW-Green Bay

A cross-University committee has compiled online Earth Week Events and educational resources as well as an online/virtual event on April 22, 2020, Earth Day 50 at UW-Green Bay. The day includes presentations and discussions from the University community, including live videos and panels to celebrate the 50th Earth Day, together, virtually for the Eco U community.

See all virtual opportunities.

Earth Day Events

Here is the current line up for Earth Day 50 at UW-Green Bay, Wednesday, April 22, 2020:

10:30 a.m. – Historical Perspectives on Earth Day, Panel Discussion with Faculty Emeriti

UW-Green Bay Prof. Emeritus H.J. “Bud” Harris (Biology and Environmental Science) 2020 Wisconsin Academy Fellow, Prof. Emeritus Robert Wenger (Mathematics and Environmental Science) and long-time collaborator with the School of the Environment at Beijing Normal University, Prof. Emeritus  Michael Kraft, (Political Science and Public and Environmental Affairs)  and U.S. environmental policy expert, Prof. Emeritus John Stoll (Economics and Public and Environmental Affairs) was as UW-Green Bay student at the time of the first Earth day and the co-founder of  Environmental Business & Management Institute (EMBI) and Prof. Kevin Fermanich (Environmental Science and Water Science) and soil and water resources extension specialist, serving as moderator.
Join the discussion via Blackboard Collaborate

Noon – A Virtual Nature Walk

Join Prof. Georjeanna Wilson-Doenges live on Facebook

1 p.m. – ‘Earth Talks’

  • Michael Draney, “My life with Earth Day”
    I was 2 ½ years old during the first Earth Day in 1970 so Earth Day and I have gone through life together. I want to reflect on how it’s doing as we enter our fifth decade together.
  • Vicki Medland, “Is nature slipping away?”
    Earth Day was in part a response to an environment that the organizers no longer recognized. Today, we are shocked by what seems to be a sudden and massive loss of biodiversity and natural landscapes. Why do we not notice these massive changes to our environment?  
  • David Voelker, “Earth Day 2020 in Perspective”
    How can we understand the 50th Earth Day and the environmental movement that it helped launch in historical perspective, and in light of the Covid-19 pandemic?
  • Bill Davis, “A New Water Agenda for Wisconsin.”
    What would a system look like that could achieve our human health and ecology goal regarding water?
  • Kevin Fermanich, Moderator

‘Earth Talks’ Speaker Biographies:

  • Michael Draney is professor of Biology and chair of the Department of Natural & Applied Sciences at the University of Wisconsin–Green Bay.
  • Vicki Medland is the Associate Director of the Cofrin Center for Biodiversity at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay and teaches courses related to environmental science and sustainability.
  • David Voelker is a Professor of Humanities & History at UW–Green Bay. He teaches courses in environmental history and humanities, and he is the program coordinator for the 2020 Common CAHSS conference, which will focus on the theme “Beyond Sustainability.”
  • Bill Davis is currently the senior legal analyst for the River Alliance of Wisconsin. He has worked in the environmental movement since 1987. He has an undergraduate degree in Wildlife Ecology and a law degree both from the University of Wisconsin. He has served as the executive director of three environmental advocacy organizations: Wisconsin’s Environmental Decade (now Clean Wisconsin), Citizens for a Better Environment, and the State Environmental leadership program.

Join the discussion on Blackboard Collaborate.

2 p.m. Sustainability in Action – What are you doing?

Guest speakers include Kevin Fermanich, Vicki Medland, John Arendt and Ericka Bloch
Join “Sustainability in Action” via Blackboard Collaborator

Speakers/performers for virtual Earth Day 50 event wanted

Events in celebration of the 50th Earth Day here at Eco U have been moved virtual. The Earth Day 50 at UW-Green Bay planning committee is looking for interested faculty and staff to record brief (10-15 minute) videos for this virtual event speaking to some aspect of Earth Day from their own academic perspective. Videos will live on the virtual event’s website, along with other opportunities to engage and celebrate the 50th Earth Day. If you are interested in creating a brief video that touches on sustainability, Earth Day, the environment, etc., including readings, music, cultural stories, science, policy, reflections, experiences, calls to action, etc. or speaking/performing virtually and live on Wednesday, April 22, please reach out to John Arendt, Director of EMBI (Environmental Management & Business Institute), arendtjo@uwgb.edu.

2020 EMBI Earth Caretaker Award Ceremony, April 21

The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay’s Environmental Management and Business Institute (EMBI) and the Alumni Association, in conjunction with the Cofrin Center for Biodiversity’s 20th anniversary year long celebration, cordially invite you to a reception honoring the 11th Earth Caretaker Award recipient, Linda Parker ’85. This reception will take place on Tuesday, April 21, 2020 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the Phoenix Room, University Union, Green Bay Campus. To RSVP, please respond by Monday, April 13 to John Arendt at 920-465-2953, or email embi@uwgb.edu.

The Earth Caretaker Award recognizes UW-Green Bay graduates who have distinguished themselves in their professional field and are widely recognized for their career accomplishments in the areas of sustainability, environmental management, environmental policy or other closely related areas. Linda Parker received her bachelor’s degree with a double major in Biological Resource Management and Biology from UW-Green Bay in 1985. Linda is the Forest Ecologist on the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, where she is responsible for several large programs including ecology, botany and climate change. Serving in this position since 1991, Linda provides leadership and expertise on rare plants, non-native invasive plants, fire ecology, landscape ecology, natural areas, ecological restoration, pollinator management and climate change adaptation.

EMBI to co-sponsor regional sustainability event, March 24

The Environmental Management and Business Institute (EMBI) will be co-sponsoring a Regional Sustainability Event on March 24 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. This event will be at 1471 McMahon Dr. in Neenah, Wis. This event is open to the public, with a cost of $25. To register, please click here. The program is designed to dive into the following: Leveraging use of the Green Masters Program; regional networking, collaboration and support for sustainability; emerging financial trends and their connections to sustainability. Persons interested in learning about sustainability and how it adds value from regional businesses, those interested in sharing and exploring how to leverage the use of the Green Masters Program, those interested in expanding networking opportunities in the region and anyone interested in learning more about growing importance of sustainability in financial decision making should consider attending this event.