En-ROADS Climate Action Simulation 2023
In February we hosted an En-ROADS Climate Action Simulation and had 52 attendees, and twice as many students as we expected! ARCC students are clearly interested in addressing climate change, and they turned to the production and use of electricity as a major lever to create change. A primary tool choice for addressing climate change in the simulation was to increase electrification of transportation, buildings and industry. They chose to increase energy efficiency in these categories as well. Finally, to bolster electrical production, they chose mostly to subsidize the implementation of renewable sources to produce energy with little to no carbon dioxide emissions or air pollution.
Earth Month 2022
We were happy to be able to host a variety of events during Earth Month 2022 covering issues from solar power to indigenous rights and activism to careers in sustainability and more!
Sustainable Development Goals Launch Event
We are excited to have joined Century College for a virtual sustainability event in late February 2022 – the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals Launch!
This virtual sustainability event was held for a total of about six hours over February 23, 24 and 25, 2022.
This event, put on by the Foundation for Environmental Stewardship is called the SDGs Launch. The event is an educational and skills training program showcasing the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (U.N. SDGs) which helps students take action and mobilize around community initiatives for sustainable development. We were joined by students, staff and faculty at Century College and Minneapolis Community & Technical College (many thanks to the Century College Foundation and Century’s STEM Program for inviting us!).
Minnesota GreenCorps
ARCC Sustainability was grateful to have Brent Paulson serving the college as our 2020-2021 Minnesota GreenCorps Member! Brent served Anoka-Ramsey by helping us to assess our campus greenhouse gas usage and the creation of an action plan to improve our campus sustainability efforts.
Earth Month 2021
This year we encouraged students, staff and faculty to celebrate their love for Mother Earth with ARCC Sustainability, and get to know other green-minded individuals! All events were free and open to all.
Earth Month 2020
Celebrate Virtual Earth Month with ARCC!
While the Sustainability Committee had planned a number of awesome, in-person events, the requirements of social distancing due to the COVID-19 Pandemic instead led us to develop an alternative, VIRTUAL EARTH MONTH!
We participated in the Earth Day Ecochallenge, and encouraged students, staff and faculty to join our team – ARCC Sustainability!
The Challenge ran from Wednesday, April 01 to Thursday, April 30 and was a great opportunity for participants to connect their values with their actions, while helping to prove that individual action can help to effect collective change!
2019 Student Sustainability Summit
The Sustainability Committee hosted our first Student Sustainability Summit on Monday, November 18th. We had a number of organizations in attendance, including MN350 & Anoka County Climate Action, Metro Transit, the ARCC Sustainability Club, and PlugInConnect. We also had student presentations from Introduction to Business and Introduction to Sustainability classes (and of course free food)!
A number of our creative students participated in an Upcycled Fashion Show & Contest, in which they created a wearable, upcycled item using previously loved materials. Cub Foods Gift Cards were awarded to the winning entries!
The Sustainability Summit also included a Sweater Swap, where participants brought in their clean, lightly used but no longer needed sweaters to swap with others.
2019 Earth Week
ARCC’s Sustainability Committee sponsored a number of different activities during Earth Week (April 22-27th). Read more about the fun below!
Earth Week Tabling – Monday, April 22nd-Thursday, April 25th
To encourage the campus community to think about how their actions relate to environmental sustainability, the Sustainability Committee set up a number of tables at the bottom of the Grand Staircase. Volunteers engaged with participants in a number of different ways, like helping them to complete a climate quiz, consider their carbon footprint, or educate them on “Meatless Mondays.”
Trash Talkers – Monday, April 22nd-Thursday, April 25th
Contamination of our waste streams is a huge issue and can result in both organics and regular recycling being thrown away entirely, which not only is bad for the environment but also costs us money! Over Earth Week, volunteers stood next to the trash and recycling bins to help educate the campus community on how to properly dispose of their waste.
Campus Clean Up – Tuesday, April 23rd, 9am-3pm
Phi Theta Kappa and other volunteers helped to remove litter from our campus.
Bike to School Day – Wednesday, April 24th
Our second Park-and- Bike Day was held on Wednesday, April 24th! As we did in fall 2018, faculty members lead fellow riders from various Park and Rides around campus. Each of these parking areas is less than 1 hour to campus.
2018 Bike Week
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 12TH
Park & Bike – Faculty and Staff Bike Leaders met at various Park & Ride locations throughout the Twin Cities to bike for part of their morning commute. Although some groups met some rain, it proved to be an enjoyable ride for all!
Student Lunch Ride – Students were invited to take a guided bike ride to Coon Rapids Dam Regional Park, where we enjoyed FREE LUNCH, followed by a ride back to campus.
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13TH
“Bikes Mean…” Academic Talk – Communication Studies Professor Melody Hoffmann and Writer/Sidewalk Geographer Bill Lindeke discussed the various meanings of bikes, bike infrastructure and bike culture ·
Faculty/Staff Ride – Faculty and Staff rode together to Coon Rapids Dam Regional Park, then to Alloy Brewing Company where we received $1 off beers for participating in the ride! Thanks to Alloy Brewing for their support!
2017 Upper Midwest Association for Campus Sustainability Meeting
In September 2017 a group of ARCC Sustainability Committee members, along with Sustainability Club President Paige Hansen, attended the meeting of the Upper Midwest Association for Campus Sustainability (UMACS) in Pella, Iowa. UMACS is a group of sustainability professionals in higher education and is comprised of members from Minnesota, Iowa, South Dakota and Wisconsin. Anoka-Ramsey Community College is also a member of the UMACS Steering Committee, and is the only community college with a representative. At the 2017 Meeting Lisa Becker, John Herbert and Victoria Downey presented on “Addressing Sustainability in Community Colleges: Challenges and Opportunities.” More about UMACS can be found here: Upper Midwest Association for Campus Sustainability
2017 Spring Faculty Development Day
January 5th, 2017 was our first Faculty Development day devoted to sustainability. Our theme was “Sustainability–Educating Today for a Greener Tomorrow.” Faculty Development leaders arranged for guest presenters from numerous outside organizations, including the Black Permaculture Network, Macalester College, Metro State University, Republic Services, Hamline University, St. Cloud State University, Second Harvest Heartland, Pollinate Minnesota, the City of Coon Rapids, Metro Transit, University of Minnesota Morris and various local businesses, as well as presentations from some of our own accomplished faculty.
As this was a day on Sustainability, we used many different strategies in an effort to be as sustainable as possible. The schedule for the day and all of our important material was sent out via email. We encouraged everyone to participate – a raffle was held with one entry per each sustainable action. Victoria Downey (Geography) even volunteered to compost our lunch waste.
Sustainability 
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