When the new Bertolini Student Center opened, Students for Sustainable Communities (SSC) created the green squad to educate students and faculty about proper waste disposal. Last semester SSC conducted a trash audit to convince administrators to support the Talloires Declaration, which President Dr. Robert Agrella signed in April, 2011. The declaration is an internationally accredited plan that provides educational institutions with a framework for achieving a sustainable future.
SSC is a club dedicated to spreading environmental awareness, creating sustainable education and giving students the tools they need to be activists on campus and in the community. “The more students we can get to help us with our advocacy work, the more effective we will be,” said Jessica Jones, the co-founder of SSC and current Associated Students President.
Currently, SSC is working toward getting Fair Trade Organic coffee into the cafeterias and kiosks on campus. Fair Trade is a non-profit organization that certifies products come from farmers and workers who are well compensated. SSC will partner with Thanksgiving Coffee later this month to hold a tasting to see if the campus community likes the brew and would be willing to make the switch.
SSC is also working with a local non-profit to promote carpooling for the SRJC community. This program would allow students to use their smart phones to quickly find a ride with someone else in their proximity that is heading the same direction. The program will bring a sense of fun for carpoolers and inspire students to commute together more often. “This will make carpooling popular and a fun thing to do,” Jones said.
Students are encouraged to get involved by attending SSC meetings, which run branches on both the Santa Rosa and Petaluma campuses. Meetings are held every Friday from noon to 1 p.m. and all students are welcome. “My mission is to bring a greater collaboration of students faculty and administrators to work together in order to make SRJC more sustainable,” Jones said.
In addition to SSC, SRJC offers a slew of sustainable agriculture classes, many of which are held on Shone Farm. Twelve miles from campus, 365 acres of farmland serve as an outdoor learning laboratory for the Santa Rosa Junior College’s Agriculture and Natural Resources Department. Shone Farm, one of the largest agricultural sites in the California Community College system, has 120 acres of forest, 100 acres of pasture, 70 acres of vineyards, 12 acres of crop production and four acres of apple and olive orchards.
The farm offers programs in viticulture, wine studies, equine studies, animal science, sustainable agriculture and environmental conservation. These programs produce a variety of “Shone Grown” products, marketed specifically to SRJC’s Culinary Café and sold through farm stands both on and off campus, at local restaurants, markets and the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program.
“I greatly appreciate those who prioritize supporting local agriculture, even during challenging economic times,” said Robert Landry new Sustainable Agriculture Program Director at SRJC. After earning his bachelor’s degree in biology from Texas State he attended UC Davis, where he was offered a departmental fellowship to study plant sciences. Now he teaches seasonal community supported agriculture classes (CSA), Intro to Sustainable Agriculture, Crop Planning and Production, Organic Gardening and Food Production and various Specialty Crop Production classes. With the growing awareness about sustainability the career opportunities in the field are immense.
“Students at the JC are uniquely situated to actively take part in making a difference in sustainable agriculture through both school and community activities,” Landry said.
It is important the JC is an active member of the sustainability movement, Landry said. “In order to ensure that we continue to prosper as a society, we must learn to live within the constraints of our natural system,” he said. “Sustainability strives to achieve just that.  In order to meet the current and future demands of a growing global population without sacrificing the health of our entire ecosystem, we must invest in living sustainably in every aspect of our lives.”
Outside of SRJC, local businesses have joined together to promote localized living. Sonoma County GoLocal Cooperative (GoLocal) is a network of locally owned businesses, residences, non-profit organizations and government agencies with a goal to get businesses “working together to build a resilient thriving local economy,” said Terry Garret, a GoLocal Team member.
“When the money we spend here stays here, it helps boost our local economy by creating economic multipliers,” Garret said, adding that money goes back into local schools, public buildings and parks. “There is a heightened sense of awareness in the general population about the importance of buying local and being sustainable, really we’re just going back to the way we shopped in the ‘50s.”
Community Market, located near SRJC behind The Last Record Store, is a GoLocal business member. It is a non-profit worker-run market that promotes healthy food and sustainable agricultural practices. It is the “first and longest lasting health food store in Sonoma County,” said Melissa Mentin, Community Market employee. The goal of Community Market is to raise awareness about what people eat and to educate people on nutrients, she said.
Next door, Gaia’s Garden, the vegetarian buffet restaurant is also a GoLocal business member. They offer a 5 percent rebate on purchases and accepts GoLocal Bucks. Gaia’s Garden offers a free Chai Tea for the GoLocal Rewards Card’s first visit and a free meal for every $150 spent. Susan Church, owner of Gaia’s Garden says as a business person she is always looking for new ways to market that are beneficial to the community.
“You can drive down to In N Out in your Prius, but if you are still eating in the past we don’t have a future,” said Ari Camorota of Gaia’s Garden.