Projects & Initiatives

SEED Projects

SEED (Spreading Everyday Environmentalism in Dorms) projects present opportunities for the Green Living Coordinators to implement their personal sustainability initiatives in their residence halls. Previous initiatives include placing removable timers in showers, facilitating usage of hand towels in place of paper towels, and providing residents with laundry racks to use in place of dryers. The Green Living Council provides funding for project supplies, and each Green Living Coordinator generally champions one of the several initiatives we begin each year.

EARTHSYS 18 : Promoting Behavior Change at Stanford - The Fall Quarter GLC Training Course

In order to provide Green Living Coordinators with the training and resources to maximize their effectiveness as sustainability advocates, the GLC offers a 2-unit course in the fall quarter which focuses on strategies for successful behavior change campaigns. Taught in partnership with Professor Tom Robinson at the Stanford School of Medicine, the course draws on scientifically-tested ideas from the fields of psychology, sociology, social marketing, and communications. Students learn the basics and apply them in a final project by designing a sustainable behavior change intervention, focusing on at least one behavior or habit they would like to address in their residence.

Resources for Pilot Projects in Student Residences

For students that have designed pilot projects and behavior change interventions in the GLC Training Course, we offer access to funding and other resources to help members actually implement their projects.

Energy and Water Wars

Energy is, at its most basic, our ability to make things happen and is the foundation of civilization. Today, we have more energy available at our fingertips than at any other point in human history—inevitably, such ease of access creates equal potential for waste. Similarly, water is perhaps Earth’s most precious resource, the compound most fundamental to the existence of life. While it is often called a renewable resource, in reality, freshwater is hard to come by, and we are now using water much faster than it can be replenished.

Most wasteful behavior is the result of poor understanding of the motivations and strategies for conserving. Fortunately, combating such sources of waste is as simple as outreach and education. In this spirit, the GLC leads inter-dorm competitions employing modern water and energy monitoring technologies to educate student residents about the importance of conservation.

Green Screens

Throughout the year, we organize public screenings of environmental films including full length features and episodes. The purpose of these screenings is to provide students with a fun study break and to help spread awareness of a variety of important issues related to sustainability. We generally attempt to organize the screenings three times a quarter in the Arrillaga Family Dining Commons. 

Earth Day at Stanford

Earth Day is a national day of sustainability outreach and education celebrated on the 22nd of April. Each year, the Stanford adminstration and the sustainability student groups orchestrate a campus festival to celebrate Earth Day. The precise details of the event generally vary from year to year, but consistently include behavioral pledges, giveaways, sustainability crafts, education, and of course free food.