Coordinated by AASHE, the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education and held every October, Campus Sustainability Month is an international celebration of sustainability in higher education. Throughout the month, colleges and universities organize events on campus and elsewhere to engage and inspire incoming students and other campus stakeholders to become sustainability change agents. These events include teach-ins, sustainability pledge drives, zero-energy concerts, waste audits, green sporting events, letter-writing campaigns, service projects and much more!

The goal of CSM is to raise the visibility of campus sustainability and provide campus sustainability advocates with a platform through which to deepen campus engagement around sustainability. It provides an excellent opportunity to recruit new leaders and set goals for the rest of the year. It serves as a complement to Earth Day, which is held each year in April, and is often a time for celebration and recognition of the good work that took place over the course of the academic year.

How You Can Participate

Develop a schedule of events for your campus – Campus Sustainability Month activities can include announcements of new sustainability commitments, award ceremonies, tree plantings, teach-ins, conferences, nature walks, green product showcases, sustainability competitions, power plant tours or information fairs. There are several engagement opportunities in October that you may wish to incorporate in your plans, including:

• Project Green Challenge (Oct. 1 – 30)
• National Voter Education Week (Oct. 5 – 9)
• Global Bird Rescue (Oct. 5 – 11)
• Energy Efficiency Day (Oct. 7)
• People’s EcoChallenge (Oct. 7 – 28)
• World Food Day (Oct. 16)
• Global Climate Change Week (Oct. 19 – 25)
• Global Conference on Sustainability in Higher Education (GCSHE) (Oct. 20 – 22)