This award is implementing a geospatial tools-based "Green Campus" initiative at Worcester State College and evaluating its impact on the campus-wide community and surrounding neighborhoods. The concept of a "Green Campus" centers on a university or college which seeks to operate in an environmentally-friendly manner so as to minimize or mitigate the environmental consequences of its activities. In this project, a multi-disciplinary curriculum that incorporates the use of geospatial tools (GIS, GPS) as its framework is being developed. One part of this curriculum includes a new freshman seminar class which examines the role of WSC in the environment of the local community. Geospatial tools and methodologies are being integrated into the research being conducted by faculty and students, thereby providing students (mostly local) with marketable career skills. Administrative functions on campus are also being adapted to incorporate geospatial methods and tools. Geoscience students who have taken the advanced GIS course on campus and who are required as part of their coursework to assist with campus-wide implementation will assist in making these administrative changes. A GIS summer workshop for faculty will provide immersion in geospatial tools and techniques and develop new curricular materials which utilize geospatial methods. An extensive research initiative will examine impacts on the local environment and ecosystems resulting from campus and student activities such as transportation, water resource use, energy use, and waste management. GIS support groups and resource development networks are also being established to train and support participants in this initiative and ensure long-term sustainability of the effort.
