Environmental Groups at Brown and Beyond
Brown Organizations working on campus:
Beyond the Bottle is an organization working to eliminate the supply and demand of bottled water on Brown's campus. Our work involves coordinating with staff and faculty to find and implement new strategies for providing drinking water on a daily basis and at special events. We also focus heavily on personal outreach to students, faculty, and staff in an effort to foster a community of educated individuals who choose tapped water over bottled water. Contact Paige_Kirstein@brown.edu.
Campus Climate is the starting point in gaining the advice and funding associated with the MEEIO fund (allocated for small to medium projects that will help Brown decrease its carbon footprint) and Supply Chain Sustainability Funding (targeted at increasing the efficiency of the University’s supply chain to accrue environmental, social and financial benefits). The project process involves going through development stages with a Sustainability Intern and the Office of Energy and Environment and review by the EEAC in order to achieve a sophisticated project that will be funded in order to achieve a meaningful impact. Please contact Benjamin_L_Howard@brown.edu.
EcoFlow is concerned with water conservation and management on campus. Currently, we are focused on upgrading water fixtures (shower heads and faucets) to high-efficiency models. Contact tim.dingman.11@gmail.com.
EcoReps are passionate, environmentally minded individuals who work with Facilities Management to help raise environmental awareness and foster green living habits among all Brown students. EcoReps develop and implement creative projects that inspire the Brown community to protect the planet in their everyday actions. We operate on the philosophy that we can improve the environment by making simple changes in our lifestyles. Past projects include: collecting recyclables at football games, painting murals and handing out CFL light bulbs in dorms. We also coordinate annual events such as RecycleMania and CleanBreak. For more information look us up at http://brownecoreps.wordpress.com, or e-mail kai-morrell@brown.edu, or adam_maynard@brown.edu.
emPOWER is a an umbrella organization of environmental groups on campus. We facilitate a space and time for groups to meet, pool resources, and give updates. Our weekly e-mail digest provides information about environmental opportunities at Brown and in the community. Not sure what to get involved in? Want to start something entirely new? Join us Sunday in Wilson 302 at 9:00 PM and we’ll hook you in to a great network of environmentalists. Contact Paige_Kirstein@brown.edu.
The Institute for Climate + Energy will bring together faculty, classes and research opportunities from the life sciences, the physical sciences, and the social sciences in a truly interdisciplinary manner. We believe that the path to global sustainability is an interdisciplinary one, and that dialogue and collaboration between these fields of study is imperative; no person, department, or center can hope to forge this path alone. We hope to facilitate this alliance by creating an intellectual and physical space where students and faculty can meet and discuss solutions to climate change and alternative energy. This semester, ICE will host meetings, workshops, and seminars in order to further refine our draft, due for presentation to the APC in late March. Contact Ryan_Chan@brown.edu for more information.
Real Food at Brown seeks to ensure that Brown University is a responsible participant in the local, national, and international food economy. We work to increase Brown's dining purchases of local, organic, and sustainable food and the transparency of its buying practices. We're an offshoot of the Real Food Challenge, a nationwide student movement concerned with justice and sustainability in the food system. Contact lillian.h.mathews@gmail.com for more information.
The Sustainable Food Initiative is a student group working on promoting local, sustainable food options and awareness at Brown. SuFI manages the on-campus student-run garden, a community-supported agriculture Market Shares program, film screenings, and events on campus. Contact jessica_daniels@brown.edu for more information.
Watershed: Journal of Environment & Culture is a Brown-RISD publication that explores how we relate to the environment through prose, poetry, art, science, photo essays, journalism, or whatever other creative means are at an artist's disposal. Our guiding question: "What is the natural?" is one means to investigate this relationship. We're a tight knit publication where you can learns the ropes of the publication process as you go along. We're looking to add some editors and designers this semester so if you're looking to help get the word out on environmental issues by exploring the relationship between nature-culture come join us! Contact dena.adler@gmail.com.
West House, on the corner of Brown and Meeting St, is home to Brown’s Environmental Program House. Although only 14 people live in the house, our community includes a total of 32 individuals who are a part of the West House Food Co-op. And every Friday we open up West House to the entire community for Open Dinner. All our food is vegetarian or vegan, and we try to get as much local, seasonal produce as we can. By sharing costs and responsibilities of cooking and cleaning, we keep food affordable as well as sustainable. Each of us also has a House Job, with responsibilities ranging form coordinating environmental initiatives to managing the garden and compost in our backyard. Applications for housing go out at the end of the month. Contact carmen_tubbesing@brown.edu for more information.
Brown Organizations working in Providence:
Beyond the Bag seeks to reduce plastic bag consumption on campus and in the Brown community. We are taking a community based social marketing approach, directly educating consumers about the environmental harms of plastic bag consumption in an effort to reduce demand. We need volunteers to help us staff bag swaps outside grocery stores this semester and to work with local businesses to find alternatives to plastic bags. Contact melanie_friedrichs@brown.edu for more information.
CCURB (Community Carbon Reduction at Brown) is a program that provides funding to student-led projects aimed at reducing the carbon output of the community outside of Brown. (For on-campus projects, see EEAC.) Past and current projects include Project 20/20 (replacing incandescent with CFLs) and Pump It Up (properly inflating tires to increase fuel efficiency). Submit your proposal for funding approval today! Please contact danielle.dahan@gmail.com for more information
emPOWER’s Climate Education group visits high schools to speak about climate change and answer students’ questions. We deliver a 30-40 presentation, which we created with help from an NGO in California. Our goal is to educate youth and inspire them to take a stand through personal conservation and climate activism. No environmental science or public speaking background necessary: if you care enough to make others care, *we want you*. In other words, there’s really no excuse not to join. Contact Jonathan_Hiles@brown.edu
OLEEP (Outdoor Leadership Environmental Education Project) is a mentoring program for Met High School students. Brown volunteers engage with the Met students in one-on-one mentoring relationships, weekly environmental education/science workshops, and camping or backpacking trips. OLEEP strives to foster individual environmental awareness, experiential science education, personal challenge, and leadership skills in Brown and Met students as they learn from each other. Contact brownoleep@gmail.com.
Providence Home Weatherization Team is the newest CCURB (Community Carbon Use Reduction at Brown) at Brown. We work with the RI Environmental Justice League and the Capital Good Fund to weatherize low to middle income homes in the Providence Community. We also focus on tying this work to broader climate change and environmental justice issues. You can play an important role in the project in a wide variety of fields including graphic design, website development, community outreach and technical energy metrics. Contact becca_rast@brown.edu for more information.
Pump it Up is a student-led project to reduce carbon emissions from cars. The goal of Pump it Up is to generate a consumer behavioral shift towards maintaining proper tire inflation and other fuel efficient measures. We pump tires at gas stations while spreading awareness to drivers on fuel efficiency tips each week. Pump it Up is funded by the Community Carbon Use Reduction at Brown "CCURB" grant fund. This semester, we will be expanding the project, and we need your help! Contact danielle.dahan@gmail.com for more information.
The Sustainability Consulting Partnership (SCP) is a student organization committed to helping businesses and organizations in the greater Providence area achieve sustainability goals and reduce environmental impact while driving the economic bottom line. The impact of a business on the environment is deeply multi-dimensional, and includes its carbon footprint as well as resource use, waste outputs, site planning, and more. The SCP team works with businesses to develop and implement innovative approaches to their everyday operations. SCP hopes to contribute to the long-term success of our economy, our society, and our planet. Contact spencer_fields@brown.edu.
Community Organizations in Providence:
Childhood Lead Action Project. Since 1992, the Childhood Lead Action Project has worked to eliminate childhood lead poisoning through education, parent support and advocacy. Childhood lead poisoning remains the most pervasive, yet preventable environmental health problem in Rhode Island. It is one of the most insidious indicators of environmental injustice – children of color continue to have alarming rates of poisoning. Over the years, the Childhood Lead Action Project has come to be recognized as a leading education and information resource by the community and as a catalyst for social change. Contact laura@leadsafekids.org for more information
Environmental Justice League of Rhode Island is an alliance of individuals and organizations working together to promote environmental justice in Rhode Island through advocacy, education, networking, organizing, and research. Our mission is to build power in the communities most affected by environmental burdens by developing leaders to take action to promote safe and healthy environments for all; so that we all have a healthy place to live, work, and play. Contact amelia.rose@ejlri.org.
Project Get Ready Rhode Island (PGRRI) is a non-profit organization that encourages the mass adoption of electric vehicles in the Ocean State. PGRRI launched over winter break, and is working to make 2% of Rhode Island's vehicle fleet, 10,000 vehicles, have plug-in capability by 2014. Project Get Ready seeks Brown students to get involved in developing consumer awareness and public advocacy. To learn more, visit us on the web, or contact Yoni Dolgin '10 yonidolgin@gmail.com.
RI Sierra Club. The Sierra Club is America’s oldest, largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization. The Rhode Island Chapter of the Sierra Club consists of 2500 members, and the chapter is excited to recruit student volunteers this semester. Come help us in our efforts to increase public transportation in Providence, advocate for clean, renewable energy, or simply join us on one of our hikes. We encourage your involvement in leading the effort to explore, enjoy and protect our planet! Contact danielle.dahan@gmail.com.
RI Student Climate Coalition (RISCC) is a coalition of students from all over RI working towards a just, clean energy future. Over the past 3 years RISCC has been active both on a state-wide and national level working towards legislation to halt carbon emissions. RISCC is also a crucial place for students from all over RI to share ideas and perspectives on what climate and environmental organizing can look like. Contact Becca.Rast@gmail.c