Sustainability is no Secret: Get By with a Little Help from my friends!

written in part by ETSP student Cory C

Here again to spill the beans and raise awareness about Cascadia’s Sustainable Secrets! In preparation for Earth Month 2023, we’re looking back in this blog at some of the ways Cascadia/UW Bothell is building a community around environmental sustainability. From the wetland restoration to providing habitat for native bees to thrive in, the Cascadia Community are showing its commitment to sustainability through environmental action right here on campus.

So yeah, here at Cascadia we’re passionate about the environment. But keep in mind, Sustainability isn’t just about protecting Mother Earth. In addition to protecting our natural resources, we also need to ensure social and economic resources are available to people in need. After all, how can anyone who is struggling to meet their needs or battling for their basic rights have any fight left for the environment?

A core sustainability concept is a framework called the Triple Bottom Line (TBL). The Triple Bottom Line focuses on People (Social action/Equity) – fairness and opportunity for all humans, Planet (Environment) – pushing our actions to not further harm or damage animals or the natural spaces, and Profit (Economy) – making long term, sustainable actions to maintain our practices. Above all, the Triple Bottom Line focuses on the balance between the three areas. Or as former United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon put it, “Saving our planet, lifting people out of poverty, advancing economic growth… these are one and the same fight.”

“We All Need Somebody to Lean On.” – Bill Withers

Actively working at finding that balance and connecting all components of sustainability is part of what makes Cascadia special. All of us, from staff and faculty to students and our greater communities, care about elements within the Triple Bottom Line. Cascadia is committed to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion on campus, with a focus on supporting students and staff through difficult times. Much of what Cascadia commits to in social efforts is focused on supporting and finding ways to benefit all its stakeholders. Our actions and abilities to help students on their path is why education matters for environmental and social justice; diversity, equity, and inclusion; and building towards a more stable and stronger economy for workers and organizations. It is how we build a better society for everyone. 

In case you weren’t aware, some of these efforts in student and community support are highlighted in several programs throughout Cascadia and UW Bothell! For example, The Diversity and Equity Center, located in CC1-002, is a welcoming, equitable, and inclusive environment that promotes strong social connections and encourages students to be social change agents. They strive to serve students of color, immigrants/refugees, undocumented, underrepresented, and LGBTQI+ QTPOC, and help them towards success at Cascadia College.

Additionally, The Kodiak Cave is the food resource center located at LB2-006 on the Cascadia College campus that directly serves the student body of Cascadia College.  Starting in the Fall of 2018, the Kodiak Cave was created to assist Cascadia students experiencing the difficulties associated with food insecurity. Since then, the Kodiak Cave has continued to expand and grow by providing education and fun opportunities for students to learn how to cook and shop in ways that provide the best nutrition while also saving money! We love our students and hope to hear from you soon!

The Cave currently operates as a “choice pantry”, meaning guests will be able to pick the food that best meets their needs. This gives guests dignity and reduces food waste.  Head to the website to learn how it works and how you can get food, or donate to the Kodiak Cave!

Just across Campus Way from Kodiak Cave is the Activities and Recreation Center (ARC) where you can access support with the Health and Wellness Resource Center (HaWRC). The HaWRC is a one-stop hub connecting students with on-campus and community resources to help you thrive. The HaWRC is committed to advancing health and equity for the Cascadia College and UW Bothell community, so all students are supported in their holistic well-being to persist through college.

Just a few of the support programs available at the HaWRC are, Financial Coaching with FAFSA/WASFA & scholarship assistance; Public Benefits Access – Health insurance, reduced fare bus pass, and food assistance (EBT) enrollment; Free Tax Preparation; Homelessness Prevention & Housing Navigation; and more. To see a full list of ARC and HaWRC programs and offerings, visit the ARC website, or stop by. The HaWRC generally has staff in the office Monday – Thursday from 9 am – 4 pm.

Finally, there is another really important resource we want to your attention. We get it. Life has a way of piling up on you and it’s ok to not be ok.  If you find yourself in need of support, Cascadia/UW Bothell provides Counseling Services. Counseling services are available to any student who is struggling with issues including family conflict, divorce, substance abuse, depression, grief and loss, anxiety about academic achievement, and any other issue affecting a student’s mental health. Counseling is confidential, conducted by licensed professionals, and free.

Cascadia College offers counseling services to Cascadia students through a partnership with the UWB Counseling Center. Cascadia College students who are enrolled for the current quarter in session may receive up to 6 free counseling sessions of individual counseling per academic year. The Counseling Center is open Monday – Friday, 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM and 12:30 PM – 4:00 PM. To schedule an in-person or virtual appointment, please call 425.352.3183 or send them an email.

• For more information on services, please visit the UWB Counseling Center website.
• Follow this link for additional resources off campus.

So please remember, if you’re ever in need, there are people and programs here to lend support. We hope that now that you are aware of some of these resources you will utilize them. And keep in mind, these are just a few of the services available to you. We encourage you to get out and explore the resources that are available throughout our community. Like Cascadia’s Veterans Resource Center, Academic Support, International Programs Office, and more! These programs and the people who support them are here to foster a welcoming, educational, healthy, accessible, and sustainable environment for all visitors.

Stay tuned for more Sustainable Secrets that aren’t so secret in the next blog post! And spread the word, there are a bunch of Earth Month 2023 events we hope you’ll join us for!

To learn more about Sustainability at Cascadia Follow our sustainability department on social media!

Common Caws – Podcast | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Newsletter subscription

Be sure to check out the Common Caws Podcast!

Also, visit this page and our outdoor sustainability efforts page regularly to see what our students, faculty and staff are thinking about, talking about, planning, and putting into action.  We hope you’ll join us!

We’d love to hear from you! BASSP advisor: Stephan Classen

Friday Letter, 5-20-22

Last week, we discussed the budget and its implications. This week, another important topic: the conclusions the executive team reached about in-person presence on campus beginning in Fall Quarter. Thank you to the numerous employee surveys that helped guide this decision (many of which were provided by the Assemblies) and to the Navigators for their thoughtful discussions and input.

This is a decision with many nuances so please read through the various aspects.

To begin, we want to articulate 5 goals for campus as we make this transition:

• We lead with equity. Some employees can be on campus less; some are required to be on campus more. It is important that all employees share in the community and culture we are trying to create on campus.
• The community we desire is one with vibrancy, where students feel the “buzz” of co-learning, see the inclusion and equity we practice, and interact with each other. One of our core learning outcomes is that students will interact in diverse and complex environments. That includes face-to-face interaction and discussion.
• We need a learning institution that meets the needs of remote learners as well as those who, for various reasons, need to learn in person.
• We want an employee culture where problem-solving, connection, and communication is enhanced. While we can get by remotely, we know that these things are often facilitated when we can talk in person.
• Finally, and importantly, we feel that increasing our employee in-person presence is essential to helping students feel like they belong. This will ultimately help enrollment.

Based on a consensus of our shared governance system, we expect that every STAFF MEMBER will work on campus at least three (3) days a week. We want to ensure that we retain some best practices we learned during the pandemic, so here’s how we think this should play out:

• We will begin the expectation the week of September 12.
• This allows us time to 1) consult with the unions about the impact of the decision, and 2) allow each department to design a hybrid in-person and remote service environment that will best suit students and allow for a consistent schedule for employees.
• We are not requiring any specific days of the week for employees to be on campus.
• If you have an accommodation approved by HR that is contrary to this expectation, please make sure to work with HR so that employee and supervisor are on the same page.
• If guidelines per King County or the State change our remote status, we will follow that guidance.
• We will plan to have all-campus (such as Convocation, the All Employee Celebration, and DIAs) gatherings primarily in-person. Over the summer, we will work through technical details to develop a method by which we can stream these events to make them accessible to anyone who can’t make it to campus. It is highly encouraged however, for those who can, that you come to campus on those days.

For FACULTY, there is a tentative agreement about workload, modalities, and in-person teaching in progress. Please consult with union leadership about the in-person expectations per that agreement. For faculty, our new path forward will look very much like the path pre-pandemic.

We expect that there will be a lot of “What if…” questions that will arise. This new expectation is unlike pre-pandemic and “during”-pandemic so we know there will be things we haven’t thought of in this decision. We ask that questions and concerns be directed toward your Assembly Leader or to your executive team division leader. We will discuss the evolving nature of this expectation and provide clarification throughout the summer. We intend to start publishing an FAQ mid-summer to tackle these issues. We also ask that if a concern/problem/hurdle is brought forward, that options for solutions accompany that issue.

Finally…parking. We recognize that parking is expensive and that there are equity issues involved here. A person required to be on campus 5-days per week may have to pay more than someone who has the flexibility built into the 3-day model outlined above. In order to come up with solutions, we need to gather a bit more data on the employee parking costs, how we might afford to offset this, and how we might make this an equitable paradigm. I’ve asked the executive team to gather some data over the next few weeks, we’ll create some possible solutions, and we’ll present these ideas to the Trustees in June so we can problem-solve with them. The core of this issue is financial and will necessitate financial resources to resolve.

Thanks for your patience as we work through these various issues. As always, we will pivot if something doesn’t seem to be working. We’re good at that.

Have a great weekend.

Shoutouts can be sent to: FLShoutouts@cascadia.edu.

Friday Letter, 2-19-21

New Mission Statement

Wednesday was a monumental day for Cascadia. The Board of Trustees, at its monthly meeting, adopted a new Mission Statement for Cascadia, our third in 21 years. As is required by our accreditation agency, the campus and the governing board are to review the previous mission statement and determine its fit for the coming seven years. This final product is a result of extensive work from our all-campus gatherings last year, the Institutional Effectiveness Council, small writing groups, and the Trustee’s Sub-Committee on Strategic Planning.

Drum roll….

We are the community’s college. We deliver accessible, equitable, and superior educational experiences to inspire every person to achieve their educational and career goals.

The college has come a long way since its first statement. And while our new mission statement is worded differently, it does not mean that we have lost the core values that are the foundation of that mission. Diversity, equity and inclusion; collaboration; access; success; innovation; environmental sustainability; global awareness; responsiveness; and creativity…all of these still form the building blocks of accessible, equitable, and superior educational experiences. Our desires for a learning-centered community and integrated education also remain strong drivers of that educational experience.  Without those, we could not implement an accessible, equitable and superior experience.

The mission statement is a perfect reflection of our new Strategic Plan, expected to be approved by the Trustees this spring. The Strategic Plan is made up of three integrated components: Enrollment Management (accessible), Equity & Inclusion (equitable) and Academic Achievement/Guided Pathways (superior education experience).  We will view these through the lens of the student experience and the employee experience.

The Trustees studied and worked with inspiration from other great organizations with great mission statements.  They felt the first sentence, “We are the community’s college,” is inclusive of not only the community we serve, but every employee’s role at the college. Every employee, no matter which function they have on campus, is responsible for the delivery of the outcomes mentioned in the statement. And, we will assess those outcomes to help us get better each year.  Within this statement, every employee has the responsibility of helping or students reach their education and career goals.

It’s an exciting mission statement, a tad different from the other community colleges in the state, and hopefully provides us focus and inspiration. Thank you for everyone’s contribution. (P.S. The last time we changed the mission statement, I incentivized everyone to memorize it by offering coffee cards and walking around testing folks. In our new COVID-environment, I trust you’ll tuck this statement under your pillow every night, and know that we do damn good work.)

New COVID Disciplinary Protocol

In case you haven’t had a chance to read Wednesday’s Weekly Health & Safety Newsletter, I want to highlight a new set of protocols intended to keep us accountable when it comes to wearing masks, physical distancing, and filling out the online health attestation and entry form every time we come to campus. Starting this coming Monday, February 22, 2021 we will take the following actions when if/when an employee does not follow our COVID safety measures: 

• First time employee will receive a verbal reminder from supervisor (not disciplinary) 
• Second time employee will receive verbal reminder/coaching from supervisor (not disciplinary) 
• Third time employee will receive a verbal reprimand from supervisor 
• Fourth time employee will receive a written reprimand from supervisor 
• Fifth time employee will be referred to HR to determine further disciplinary action  

We take your health and that of our students seriously.  Please help us maintain the highest standards.

New Stimulus Funding

Although Cascadia enrollments have been down 15% this year, which has translated into a $1m operating deficit to date, the college is in a very solid financial position due to the various stimulus packages mentioned in previous Friday Letters. We’ve had two rounds of federal funding through the CARES Act and recently received assistance through state GEERS funding. Now we are told to expect a new round of CARES Act funding. Although we have yet to receive new guidelines from the Biden Administration about how we can spend the money, we are confident that we will be able to support more students, cover our deficit, and have remaining funds to support other COVID-related needs. We will be discussing our financial picture at greater length as we approach our next budget planning cycle this spring.

SHOUT OUTS

Thank you to the Institutional Effectiveness Council, Michael Horn, Roy Captain, Colleen Ponto, and Kerry Levett for guiding the process of our new mission statement.

Remember to support your colleagues.  Send an email to FLShoutout@cascadia.edu.

Have a great weekend.

Friday Letter, 6-7-19

On Tuesday of this week, I hope you had a chance to admire the colorful clothing, the excited children, and the practice of Eid Prayers which occurred in Mobius Hall.

One Cascadian wrote me this email about the event:

There are days my heart swells with workplace pride. Today was one of those days. To see our campus welcoming hundreds of individuals/families as they celebrated Eid was lovely. The beauty of the moment was beyond words. I don’t just mean the physical beauty of the dresses, suits, and smiles. I mean the beauty of the group coming together and declaring themselves. I mean the beauty of having created a campus culture where the group felt safe enough to gather. We know inclusion has to be more than words and good intentions. It has to be daily actions that lead to oppressed groups feeling welcomed, embraced, and safe. I am so grateful to have been witness to this celebration. I feel really proud of our campus today. I know we still have work to do, but today gave me hope. May this group, and all historically marginalized groups, always feel safe on our campus.

For more information and background, please check out: https://bothellmosque.org/

I’d like to also direct everyone’s attention to the Special Letter posted this week on Wednesday. It updates our budget progress and shares information about next steps.

On Monday of next week, now that budget considerations are finished, I will be posting the results of another large project that has been on-going for about 4 months. We have cataloged and updated all of our committees, their membership, and to whom they report. This updated and reorganized list of “Governance Structures &Work Groups” will help everyone follow along with regard to our shared governance and where things happen on campus. During the fall of next year, we will call all Work Group leaders together to discuss how each group represents themselves on go.cascadia and the responsibilities of the leadership of each work group.

A shoutout today to Kristen Jaoui.  “She helped make the Classified Design Contest a success and provided cost conscious options.  She communicated with the many different vendors until one was found that would work with us.”  Good work Kristen!  (Shout outs to fellow Kodiaks can be submitted to: FLShoutout@cascadia.edu)

Don’t forget to order your shirt, sweatshirt, bag, or mug!

Next week is busy for all of us. I look forward to seeing everyone at all of our celebrations.

Don’t forget:  Please regularly visit the ctcLink blog to find out the latest about our progress.  https://planetctclink.com/2019/06/06/sneak-peek/

Have a great weekend.

Friday Letter, 5-5-17

TOPIC 1 of 7:

Cinco de Mayo. From Wikipedia:

Cinco de Mayo is a celebration to commemorate the Mexican Army’s unlikely victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862, under the leadership of General Ignacio Zaragoza. In the United States, Cinco de Mayo has taken on a significance beyond that in Mexico as a date associated with the celebration of Mexican-American culture. In Mexico, the commemoration of the battle continues to be mostly ceremonial, such as through military parades. In the United States, Cinco de Mayo is sometimes mistaken to be Mexico’s Independence Day—the most important national holiday in Mexico—which is celebrated on September 16, commemorating the Cry of Dolores that initiated the war of Mexican independence from Spain.

Topic 2 of 7:

In addition to celebrating today’s cultural significance, let’s also take a moment to celebrate the newly wrapped Mobile Collabortory, which we call “Mo”.  Check out Mo here.

Students in Chris Gildow’s fall quarter art class developed this design for the trailer. The students took as their inspiration the garden in which the trailer resides when not on the road and the theme of mobility.

Thanks to Chris, his students, and the College Relations staff (Meagan, Sara, Susan, Elise, and Anne) for all their hard work. Mo is officially ready to be used as a lab, mini museum, gathering spot. Midori Sakura has it checked out for wetland day on May 25 when it will be used as a photo booth and check-in for wetland tours and mud pies. If you are interested in programming the trailer for a lesson, an exhibit or an event, please email apogson@cascadia.edu.

Topic 3 of 7:

I’d like to take a moment to highlight some other student work. As a class project, one of David Ortiz’s classes (HUM 107) built small pantries to be placed in the Center for Cultural Inclusion and the Veterans Resource Center.  David and Larissa have been instrumental in keeping the pantries stocked, and they have been well used by many of our students facing food insecurity.  They are hoping to make these permanent fixtures on campus and using them to engage the campus community on issues of Food Insecurity.  They would like to assure that all employees are aware of the pantries and enlist some help for a small group that will keep them running.  If interested, please email David (dortiz@cascadia.edu)  or Larissa (ltikhonova@cascadia.edu).

Topic 4 of 7:

Thank you to Jared, Dianne, Chris, and Samantha for leading our Cavoline series this year. I believe we have landed on a sustainable model for our growth in Cultural Competency.  As such, Jodie Galvan, Mohan Raj, Sarah Zale, and Tasha Walston have been selected to design and lead next year’s series.  They will meet with the current team this quarter to transition and then start developing our options for next year over the summer.  I look forward to working with them and inspiring your continued commitment to become more culturally competent.

Topic 5 of 7:

Please note that we are soliciting nominations for employee service awards. Email Mark Collins for details or to nominate someone by the end of next week.  Note that part-time staff are also now eligible for the awards!!  Thanks to the Foundation Board for widening the criteria.

Topic 6 of 7:

I appreciated everyone’s participation at the DIA. This was an important day for us as we keep everyone up to speed on our current priorities and use your feedback to shape future priorities.  It is expected by our accrediting body that we do this, so it was a nice way to meet the requirement and also gain valuable feedback. If you would, please take a few minutes to complete this short, anonymous follow-up survey to help us improve future DIA and Closing the Loop meetings. Please complete the survey even if you were not able to attend.

http://baseline.campuslabs.com/cc/ctl2017

The survey will remain open through next Wednesday (5/10/2017). Please direct any questions concerning the survey to Glenn (gcolby@cascadia.edu). Thank you in advance for providing feedback.

Topic 7 of 7:

Safety Check…do you have the number for Campus Safety pre-programmed into your phone? If not, I’d suggest you find out the number and do so that you can be prepared to call for help when needed.  (I could give you the number, but the teacher in me thinks you can find a way to figuring it out and that this would be better pedagogy.)  =)

Remember to always identify yourself, give your location, and clearly state the problem with calling Campus Safety.

Have a great weekend.

Friday Letter, 1-6-17

Welcome to a cold 2017. I hope the first week has gone well for you.  I also hope you enjoyed the holidays and took some time to rest.  For me, I took some time off; I’m not so sure I rested.  I took a 3000 mile road trip through 8 states, 70 degrees of temperature variation, with 4 drivers, 3 colds, 2 holidays and 1 truck.  The trip was fantastic and reminded me of how beautiful our country is.

I can’t say that my carbon footprint was excellent, but that leads me to share some of the good work Jodie has been doing with Meagan’s team. Take a look at this site:

http://www.cascadia.edu/discover/about/sustainability/default.aspx

It’s intended to pool information about careers, internships, and campus sustainability information in one spot. It’s comprehensive and well considered.  I appreciate now being able to easily share all of the great things we do to foster our value of sustainability.  Thanks to all those who helped.

Sustainability also means thinking about the long term. As you know, our master planning process is well under way in conjunction with UWB.  We are presenting opportunities for your feedback and the next one occurs on Tuesday, January 10, from 1:00-4:00 pm.  The president’s conference room has been reserved so that any employee or student can stop by to learn about the campus master plan and to give feedback on the three design approaches.  Thanks for your participation.

One of our other commitments this quarter is to hold space for Campus Conversations in the Center for Culture, Inclusion, and Community. These safe space opportunities for conversation happen on Mondays and Tuesdays from 12:00-1:00 pm.  If you are willing to host/facilitate one of the hours, please let me know. I am particularly interested in filling open slots later in the quarter.  These hours may or may not be well-attended, but they provide a time for students and employees to share concerns, suggestions, and encouragements about our changing world.

In that same vein, I am excited that over 80 employees have signed up for this year’s cultural competency learning opportunities. The Cavolines, skill builders, and TED talks have filled nicely.  If you are still interested in participating, please contact Samantha Brown.

Finally this week, I am happy to report that we are making progress on the campus Diversity and Equity Summary that I promised to deliver during Convocation. We hope to distribute this document in about two weeks.  It is a compilation of all the campus efforts currently underway and how they relate to the strategic plan.  We have approximately 15 (fifteen!!) initiatives being implemented through various parts of campus.  As I looked over the draft this week, I was happy to see all of these efforts reported in one place and happy to now fully believe that we are tackling issues of diversity, multi-culturalism, equity, and social justice on multiple fronts.  I look forward to sharing that with you after we fine-tune some of the details.

January is a busy month for my office. Legislative events in Olympia, a tour of JBLM, chamber events, and community events keep me off campus at least two days each week during January.  Let’s chat in the hall when you can and here’s to a great Winter Quarter.

Have a great weekend.