Sustainable Peralta

Dear Peralta Family and Friends:

I want to tell you about an exciting initiative we are beginning in the District and to ask for your help with it.

For years throughout the District various people have worked hard to promote environmental consciousness. From recycling programs and courses in environmental sciences to green-building apprenticeships and water conservation projects, many people have labored (often in the wilderness) to promote responsible environmental stewardship at Peralta. I believe it’s time that we pulled all of our past efforts together and then dramatically escalated our green profile. Will you help?

At the initiative of Trustee Nicky González Yuen, I began working with Robin Freeman, our long-time Merritt College environmental studies instructor, over the summer of 2005 to begin outlining a program for a “Sustainable Peralta” initiative.

I would like the Peralta Colleges to be known throughout the state as THE place to go for green job training, model sustainable building projects, thoroughly integrated environmental curriculum development, as well as traditional environmental studies education. With “Sustainable Peralta” we can learn and teach about the “Three E’s” of sustainable management (Ecology, Equity, Economy) and significantly reduce our own district-wide ecological footprint.

I believe the time is right for this initiative. The public is clamoring for solutions to our environmental challenges and the community colleges are perfectly positioned to take leadership in promoting these solutions. Imagine every one of our 25,000 students each year getting some critical exposure to environmental consciousness and education as they move through our classrooms. Imagine what we can build with the right partnerships with community groups, foundations, businesses, and non-profits.

But, we need your help:

First, there are many initiatives already underway at Peralta that are not well known or coordinated. We need to identify these.

Second, we need to dream big to develop a comprehensive, exciting, and attractive program of environmental education and resource use.

Third, we will be looking for project proposals to fund with an Innovation Grants program, resources for which are being developed. Finally, we need a realistic and systematic plan to make these dreams a reality.

Here’s what you can do:

Set the Baseline: Help us assemble an inventory of what “green” initiatives, courses, and projects we already have at Peralta. Take the Sustainable Peralta Survey.

Join the Committee: Won’t you be a part of making this dream a reality? We are at the hopeful beginning of a long-term project. It will take the creativity, input, and work of many people to make it happen. But won’t it be worth it? We can save the planet for ourselves and our children, create jobs for our students, and build a movement for a green future.

I look forward to working with you in this exciting venture.