Sustainability Work Study Positions

Northland is a national leader in the opportunities it provides students to take an active role in changing the way the campus does business. The students with work-study positions in campus sustainability (totaling more than three percent of all students at Northland) graduate with skills that position them for careers in the growing field of sustainability.

• Bike Shop Coordinator
• Energy Awareness Educator
• Food Composter
• Food Systems Educator
• Humanure Coordinator
• Sustainable Landscaping Coordinator
• Transportation Educator
• Recycling Coordinator
• Mino Aki Gardens Coordinator
• Strawbale House Manager
• Web Communications Specialist

Bike Shop Coordinator

Bike shops on campuses across the county are hubs for community-building and alternative transportation initiatives. The coordinators of the Northland Bike Shop are responsible for:

• Setting a vision of proactive expansion and inclusion for the shop that will involve students, faculty, staff, and surrounding community. This includes researching stakeholder opinions and documenting successes.
• Attending Environmental Council and workstudy meetings.
• Organizing, advertising, and conducting 8 to 10 workshops a year on topics ranging from bike maintenance to road safety to bike construction and more.
• Maintaining regular and advertised hours when the shop will be open.
• Rebuilding and maintaining Northland’s free bike access, and establishing a system for responsible use.
• Organizing student volunteers to help accomplish Bike Shop goals.

Energy Awareness Educator

With the signing of the Presidents Climate Commitment and the campus assessment of our energy use, we are beginning to develop a clearer picture of the energy impacts of our campus. The Energy Awareness Educator is responsible for:

• Collecting data under the direction of the campus sustainability coordinator to fulfill our obligations under the President’s Climate Commitment and the annual greenhouse gas emissions report.
• Organizing an energy minimization competition between the residence halls for October Energy Awareness Month.
• Building energy minimization campaigns through E Council  such as the Dark Skies initiative.
• Helping to write new policies to improve campus energy conservation.
• Attending Environmental Council and workstudy meetings.

Food Composter

The campus composting program has been a mainstay of recycling resources for over ten years.  It requires a regular time commitment from 3-4 PM or 6-7:30 PM, 5 to 6 days a week.  The Food Composter is responsible for:

• Safely lifting heavy buckets up to 40 pounds.
• Working closely and communicating with other Food Composter work-study students to make sure all shifts are covered.
• Communicating regularly with Maintenance about problems and equipment needs.
• Troubleshooting to fix composting problems right away so that there is no interruption of service.
• Anticipating equipment needs to keep the system running smoothly.
• Attending Environmental Council and workstudy meetings.

Food Systems/Purchasing Educator

Our cafeteria provides organic food, fair trade items, sustainably-caught seafood, and cage-free eggs.  Our next step is to assess the demand for more organic produce, local produce, and the economic implications of our food choices. The Food Systems Educator is responsible for building programming about the ethics and environmental impacts of our food choices, whether we eat in the cafeteria or not. Key skills needed for this position are good communication, ability to listen to multiple points of view, and the ability to organize events. The Food Systems Educator will be responsible for 2 to 4 major events in the academic year, and needs to attend Environmental Council and work study meetings.

We are also developing a comprehensive purchasing policy and infrastructure. The Educator is also responsible for leadership on the Sustainable Vending Initiative and working with the Campus Master Planning Committee on new policy.

Humanure Coordinator

Composting toilets are one of our most cutting-edge features on campus. They are located in two of the MELLC apartments in the two theme houses. This position is responsible for:

• Monitoring the condition of the bins and educating residents of the houses that use them.
• Coordinate with Wendy Gorman to plan microbial testing of the finished material.
• Coordinate with Maintenance for the emptying of the bins. 
• Attending Environmental Council and workstudy meetings.

Sustainable Landscaping Coordinator

One of the first things potential students notice when first walking onto campus is the landscaping, and design of Northland College. Northland’s landscape emphasizes the Environmental Liberal Arts mission by showcasing northern natives in formal and informal settings, edible landscaping, integrated pest management, water conservation, and stormwater management. Most of the work will be in April and May. Summer positions are available. The coordinator is responsible for:

• Organizing volunteers for weekly work days, and advertising.
• Researching plant materials and supplies, ie. Where to obtain native seedlings.
• Proficient in Id and inventory of plants, or a willingness to learn.
• Can do seasonal work (propagating, weeding, planting etc…).
• Can help formulate a long term vision for our sustainable landscape initiatives on campus.
• Attending environmental counsel and work-study meetings.
• A positive attitude, and a dedication to the work we do.

Transportation Educator

Transportation and buildings are the two largest sources for greenhouse gas emissions for a campus. The Transportation Educator is responsible for:

• Collecting and reporting data on campus-related travel.
• Using that information to build educational campaigns.
• Identifying barriers to improving alternative transportation access and alternative fuels, particularly biodiesel.
• Working with appropriate stakeholders to remove those barriers.
• Attending Environmental Council and workstudy meetings.

Recycling Coordinator

The Recycling Coordinator is responsible for:

• Setting a vision for the Campus Reuse Center that will involve students, faculty, and staff.  This includes researching stakeholder opinions and documenting successes.
• Maintaining regular and advertised hours when the Center will be open.
• Keeping the reuse center clean and in good order.
• Maintaining records of the amount of materials processed by the Center.
• Attending Environmental Council and workstudy meetings.
• Researching attitudes and behaviors about paper use on campus and conducting a paper use reduction campaign.
• Coordinating Northland’s participation in the annual RecycleMania Campaign.
• Conducting monthly waste audits.
• Organizing two Move-Out campaigns to collect reusable items and divert them from the waste stream.
• Organize Mall Share events with items from the Reuse Center the first Thursday of every month.
• Organizing student volunteers to help accomplish recycling and waste minimization priorities.

Mino Aki Gardens Coordinator

The Coordinators of the Mino Aki Gardens are responsible for all aspects of garden and greenhouse maintenance. This includes planning, seed starting, planting, weeding, watering, harvesting, processing, and marketing, as well as organizing tools and other materials. They are also responsible for coordinating and managing volunteers to help with many garden projects throughout the year. In addition to taking care of the physical garden, they are also responsible for furthering the Mino Aki vision in many ways. In order to assess the needs of the garden and the community, the Coordinators will work closely with other sustainability work study students as well as many offices, groups, and organizations both on and off campus. This collaboration will help the growth of the garden network and ensure that the Mino Aki Gardens continue to serve our community in new and creative ways.

List of duties:

• Maintain the Mino Aki Production Garden and the Mino Aki Herb Spiral.
• Oversee the Mino Aki Community Garden and the Minoa Aki Apiary.
• Maintain ELLC greenhouse space and materials.
• Coordinate the production and preservation of food for Northland’s Outdoor Orientation Program, as well as excess foods.
• Develop project ideas that address the needs of the garden and community.
• Write and present formal proposals for future projects.
• Oversee implementation of current projects.
• Develop and offer workshops for the campus and greater community.
• Work closely with various groups and offices on campus and in the Bay Area to coordinate workshops, events, and projects.
• Hold regular discussions with the campus community.
• Attend weekly Environmental council meetings.
• Attend weekly work-study meetings.

Education and Outreach Educator

With the accomplishments that have been taking place at Northland on sustainability there is a need to share those accomplishments with the community. The Education and Outreach Educator is responsible for:

• Creating educational programs for visiting student groups aimed at a variety of ages. 
• Conduction educational tours, workshops and programs with visiting students. 
• Attending Environmental Council and workstudy meetings

Strawbale House Manager

The Strawbale House Manager is responsible for:

• Maintaining the Strawbale house is a neat and organized fashion.
• Encouraging the use of the Strawbale house through such means as events, programs, art shows, etc. 
• Communicating regularly with Maintenance about problems and equipment needs.
• Attending Environmental Council and workstudy meetings.

Web Communications Specialist

Telling the Northland story is a critical element of campus sustainability, both for internal and external audiences. Writing, interviewing, design, and editing skills are a must for this position. The Web Communications Specialist is responsible for:

• Attending Environmental Council meetings and posting the minutes on the Web site.
• Weekly updating the front page with Green Tips and Sustainability on Campus updates.
• Updating each subsection of the Environmental Commitment area of the campus Web site with events or actions that are occurring on campus, and ways students can get involved.
• Maintaining a MySpace and Facebook pages for Environmental Council.
• Writing articles to post on the MySpace page, as well as throughout the Web site.
• Coordinating with a second work-study student and the office of Communications to make sure all aspects of campus sustainability communications are covered and refreshed regularly.

For more information on any of these positions, email Environmental Council at environmentalcouncil@northland.edu or Michele Meyer at mmeyer@northland.edu.

Complete listing of on-campus jobs.