Dendros’ work with Sustainability Strategic Planning at Macalester College to be highlighted in Sustainability: The Journal of Record.
We’re happy to announce that an article, Engaging the Campus Community through Participatory Sustainability Strategic Planning at Macalester College, co-authored by Jonathan Bucki and Suzann Savanick Hansen will be published in the April 2011 edition of Sustainability: The Journal of Record.
Here’s the abstract:
During the 2008-2009 academic year, Macalester College engaged over 400 students, staff and faculty in sustainability strategic planning. Macalester, in urban St. Paul, Minnesota, is a small, liberal arts college with an educational program known for its high standards for scholarship and its special emphasis on internationalism, multiculturalism, and service to society. Macalester has had a long commitment to sustainability and environmentalism. Using a highly participatory approach, the campus generated a plan with specific, measureable priorities and increased engagement in sustainability efforts on campus. Making use of several cross-college teams, the process engage the campus community in several planning phases: 1) Capacity Building, 2) Practical Vision & Obstacles, 3) Data Collection and Stakeholder Input, 4) Strategic Directions, and 5) Implementation. In addition, a senior Environmental Studies seminar worked on developing recommendations for climate neutrality. Lessons learned include how to provide for appropriate and constructive participation, the importance of multi-modal communication strategies, the importance of staff capacity, leveraging college resouces for tasks such as data collection, and the importance of connections to senior college leaders.