From helping stage Earth Fest in conjunction with Earth Day, to creating a bee hotel and a surrounding pollinator-friendly garden, the University of Wisconsin-River Falls Sustainability Office and partners have taken an increasingly active role on campus and in the surrounding community.
Those efforts are reflected in a newly released rating in which the UWRF sustainability program has received a STARS Gold rating in recognition of its sustainability achievements from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE).
STARS (Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System) measures and encourages sustainability in all aspects of higher education. Ratings are awarded in Reporter, Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum levels, with Platinum the highest.
With more than 900 participants in 40 countries, AASHE’s STARS program is the most widely recognized rating system in the world for publicly reporting comprehensive information about a college or university’s sustainability performance.
Participants report achievements in five overall areas: academics, engagement, operations, planning and administration, and innovation and leadership.
Photo:
A participant in Saturday’s Earth Fest 2024 hosted at UW-River Falls looks at one of the 100 exhibits spread throughout three floors in the University Center and outdoors on the campus mall. The annual community event was its largest yet, with an estimated 2,500 people in attendance. Paul Douglas, well-known Twin Cities meteorologist, broadcaster, entrepreneur and author, spoke about climate change to a standing-room-only audience in the Falcon’s Nest. UWRF/Pat Deninger photo.