Sustainability Committee

Mission Statement

The WVC Sustainability Committee is a group of faculty, staff, administrators, and students that strive to engage, educate, equip, and empower the college and surrounding communities in social, environmental, and economic sustainability issues We welcome all interested individuals or groups, including alumni and community members, to participate with us.

Unlike some college committees, membership on the Sustainability Committee does not require approval or election. Furthermore, the committee works with many "friends" who do not regularly attend meetings. The members list includes regular meeting attendees and the aforementioned friends.

The Sustainability Committee meets on second Friday of each month from 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM on Zoom.
  • Friday, February 9   
  • Friday, March 8
  • Friday, April 12
  • Friday, May 10

Zoom Meeting ID: 927 2957 9843  
Passcode: 480900 

 
Member Department
Brad Chin, Committee Chair Math
Heidi Brueckner, Core Team Art
Chris Cruz Park Management
Matt Fellenz Associated Students of WVC
Elizabeth Flynn, Core Team Chemistry
Leticia Gallardo Biology
Michelle Geary Biology
Meg Giberson Community Member
Rebecca Hiller Math
Diane Hurd Interior Design
Ana Lobato Admissions & Records
Nicole Markelz Fashion Design
Heidi McFarland, Core Team Park Management
Neeti Mittal, Core Team Math
Karen Schneider–Brodine WVC Facilities
Brooke Marie Schwartz Associated Students of WVC
Amy Vu Math
Randy Wu, Emeritus District Facilities
West Valley-Mission Community College District is committed to sustainability and reducing its carbon footprint. Across both the campuses, projects are implemented continuously in order to conserve energy and natural resources.

See the full storyboard of sustainability efforts at West Valley College.

Awards of up to $500 each are available to classified staff, faculty, student groups, and administrators for efforts related to sustainability at West Valley College. Proposals would ideally reduce the environmental impact of administration, instruction, and/or learning, improve the sustainability of the campus, or enhance instruction in sustainability or resilience.

The total amount of funds available is limited, and proposals will be reviewed as they are submitted. Funds must be dispersed by Saturday, April 30. However, use of the funds is not limited to the Spring semester; an instructor, for example, can purchase a
resource in March with the intent to use it in the summer or fall.

Complete the Sustainability Grant Form.

The Sustainability Committee would like to encourage you to take a step forward towards making your celebrations more environmentally friendly. In the spirit of learning and growing together, we are sharing sustainable celebration ideas. Please feel free to add more ideas to the list. 

Additionally, we would appreciate it if you could make at least one pledge to make your celebrations more sustainable (though we would be delighted to have more than one pledge from you!). Please share your pledge and some information about yourself in the Sustainability Pledge document. We look forward to seeing pledges from our community and hope to have a lot of fun learning from each other.

Role within Organization

  • Study current issues and trends related to climate change
  • Present findings to the institution and local government agencies
  • Propose recommendations for future planning and community outreach

Duties and Responsibilities

  • Researcher will meet with supervisors weekly to determine scope of research
  • Share research findings with various stakeholders
  • Plan, prepare, and draft reports for specific research project

General qualifications

  • Excellent research skills, specifically scientific research and data analysis
  • Strong written and verbal communication
  • Time management and organizational skills
  • Passion for local sustainability and community outreach/education
  • Strong interest in climate change/sustainability

Required Technical Skills

  • Setting up and managing SharePoint
  • Managing and updating webpages

Supervisor

Brad Chin and Mel Vaughn

If interested, please submit a resume and a cover letter that highlights any of the above skills that you may have.

See Earth Stewardship Symposium Event

Strategic Plan

Our vision is a culture of responsible stewardship.

Our mission is to educate and inspire the West Valley College community to embrace and implement sustainable practices campus wide.

In Spring 2022, a subset of our committee's members worked on Sustainability Master Planning. A draft of the Master Plan is provided below. We encourage and welcome the WVC community's input on this master plan. All input and queries can be emailed to the Sustainability Committee Chair. 

Sustainability Master Plan
Course Group Course Name
ArchitectureARCH 053: Introduction to Architectural and Environmental Design
ArchitectureARCH 060: Green Building and Sustainable Design
ArchitectureARCH 072: History of Landscape Architecture
ArchitectureARCH 81: Landscape Plants Summer and Autumn
ArchitectureARCH 82: Landscape Plants Winter and Spring
ArchitectureARCH 83: Plant Composition
ArchitectureARCH 084: Sustainablity in Landscape Architecture
AnthropologyANTH 001: Introduction to Physical Anthropology
AnthropologyANTH 002: Introduction to Archaeology
AnthropologyANTH 003/H: Introduction to Cultural Anthropology
AstronomyASTR 014: Life in the Universe
AstronomyASTR 020: Family of the Sun
AstronomyASTR 020: H Family of the Sun
AviationAVIA 30B: Introduction to UAS Systems
AviationAVIA 30C: UAS Image Analysis
BiologyBIOL 002: Environmental Biolog
BiologyBIOL 002L: Environmental Biolog Lab
BiologyBIOL 10: Introduction to Biology
BiologyBIOL 10L: Introduction to Biology Lab
BiologyBIOL 12/12L: Introduction to Ecology and Wildlife
BiologyBIOL 13/13L: Natural History of California
BiologyBIOL 14/14L: California Plants and Animals
BiologyBIOL 18/18L: Marine Biology
BiologyBIOL 24 BIO: in the News
BiologyBIOL 35/35L: Biology of Birds
BiologyBIOL 36: Animal Behavior
BiologyBIOL 37: Evolution-Life on Earth
BiologyBIOL 38: Biodiversity and Extinction: Hotspots, Crisis and Conservation
BiologyBIOL 40/40L: Organismal Biology
BiologyBIOL 41/41L: Principles of Animals Biology
BiologyBIOL 42/42L: Principles of Plant Biology
BiologyBIOL 56: Ecology of the Sierra Nevada
BiologyBIOL 58: Field Ecology
BiologyBIOL 59: Climate Change
Fashion DesignFDAT 082: Sustainable Design
FrenchFRNC 001A: Beginning French
FrenchFRNC 001B: Beginning French
FrenchFRNC 002A: Intermediate French
FrenchFRNC 002B: Intermediate French
FrenchFRNC 003A: Advanced French, Oral and Written Composition
FrenchFRNC 003B: Advanced French, Oral and Written Composition
GeographyGEOG 001: Intro to Physical Geography
GeographyGEOG 002: Introduction to Cultural Geography
GeographyGEOG 006: World Regional Geography
GeologyGEO 001A/H: Physical Geology
GeologyGEOL 12: Earth Science with Lab
GeologyGEOL 15: Geology of California
Geospatial TechnologyGIST 16A: Introduction to Geospatial Technology
Geospatial TechnologyGIST 16B: Mobile GIS
Geospatial TechnologyGIST 16C: Spatial Analysis for GIS
Geospatial TechnologyGIST 16D: Cartographic Design for GIS
Geospatial TechnologyGIST 16E: Database Design and Management for GIS
Geospatial TechnologyGIST 16G: Introduction to Remote Sensing
Geospatial TechnologyGIST 16I: GIS Programming and the Web
GermanGERM 001A: Beginning German
GermanGERM 001B: Beginning German
GermanGERM 002A: Intermediate German
GermanGERM 002B: Intermediate German
History HIST 014: History of the Native North Americans
History HIST 020: History and Geography of California
Interior DesignINTD 029A: Introduction to Sustainable Design
Interior DesignINTD 029B: Sustainable Design Materials and Resources
Interior DesignINTD 029C: Sustainable Design for Residential Projects
Interior DesignINTD 029D: Sustainable Design for Commercial Projects
Interior DesignINTD 090D: Sustainable Design Internship
ItalianITAL 001A: Beginning Italian
ItalianITAL 001B: Beginning Italian
ItalianITAL 002A: Intermediate Italian
ItalianITAL 002B: Intermediate Italian
JapaneseJPNS 001A: Beginning Japanese
JapaneseJPNS 001B: Beginning Japanese
Nutrition StudiesNUTR 020: World Food Customs and Nutrition
OceanographyOCEA 010: Introduction to Oceanography
Park ManagementPMGT 10: Introduction to Park Management
Park ManagementPMGT 11: Park Communications
Park ManagementPMGT 12A: Basic Outdoor Skills
Park ManagementPMGT 12B: Backcountry Technical Rescue
Park ManagementPMGT 12C: Advanced Outdoor Skills and Survival
Park ManagementPMGT 13: Wildland Fire Suppression
Park ManagementPMGT 14: Conservation of Our Natural Resources
Park ManagementPMGT 15A: Duties of a Park Professional
Park ManagementPMGT 15B: Natural and Cultural Resources Interpretation
Park ManagementPMGT 15C: Park Maintenance
Park ManagementPMGT 17: Park Horticulture
Park ManagementPMGT 18: Park Planning and Design
Park ManagementPMGT 20A: Employment Prep
Park ManagementPMGT 20B: Internship
Park ManagementPMGT 21: Park Operations
Park ManagementPMGT 23: Powersaws
Park ManagementPMGT 26: Regenerative Agriculture in Parks
Political SciencePOLI 001: American Government
Political SciencePOLI 002: Comparative Politics
Political SciencePOLI 003: and 003H Introduction to Political Science
Political SciencePOLI 004: International Relations
Sign LanguageASLA 001A: Beginning American Sign Language
Sign LanguageASLA 001B: Beginning American Sign Language
SociologySOCI 001: Introduction to Sociology
SociologySOCI 002: and 002H Social Problems
SociologySOCI 003: Social Psychology
SociologySOCI 020: Sociology of Race and Ethnicity
SociologySOCI 028: Sociology of Gender
SociologySOCI 040: Marriage and Family Sociology
SociologySOCI 045: Sociology of Human Sexuality
SpanishSPAN 001B: Beginning Spanish
SpanishSPAN 002A: Intermediate Spanish
SpanishSPAN 002B: Intermediate Spanish
SpanishSPAN 003A: Advanced Spanish, Oral and Written Composition
SpanishSPAN 003B: Advanced Spanish, Oral and Written Composition
Mathematical Tools for Sustainability

"Meeting the Challenges of the 21st Century" presentation by Eugene Fiorini on Friday, February 23, 2018.


Sustainability Movies

Note: Some non-YouTube linked films require WVC login to view, as they are available through the WVC Library.

Climate Change, Part 1: Earth is Warming

Climate Change, Part 2: Earth is Warning, Harming

Bad Use, Bad Choice, Bad Thing

Oceans & Rivers

Communicating “Something Perverse”

Environmental Justice for All

Climate Change, Part 3: A New Vision

Endangered Species

Saving Near & Grand Treasures

Business and Consumers, Part 2: Change

Regenerative Agriculture: The Soil Will Save Us

Essentials, Empowerment & Earth for All

Last Updated 1/23/24