Institute for Sustainability at the Sierra College Tahoe-Truckee Campus

The Institute for Sustainability

The Institute for Sustainability at the Sierra College Tahoe-Truckee campus is associated with the Center for Sierra Nevada Studies. The "Center" is an official entity of Sierra College and has been established under the Vice President for Educational Services and Programs. The Center has a strong reputation for its dedication to conservation and environmental issues, including the Sierra Nevada Virtual Museum and "Saving the Sierra", an award-winning oral history project. The Center provides an organizational placeholder for the growth and development of our sustainability efforts, which may someday develop into a separate district-wide initiative.

Within the current activities of the Center is a new sustainability initiative called the "Institute for Sustainability at the Sierra College Tahoe-Truckee campus". This "Institute" will concern itself with the promotion and implementation of the five point plan known as the Seventh Generation Project. This addresses sustainability ethics and principles in five arenas of college activity: Policy, Educational Programs & Services, Educational Requirements, Operations, and Outreach.

The Seventh Generation Project is an on-going effort involving nearly 100 dedicated faculty members on the Rocklin, Grass Valley, and Truckee campuses. The "Institute for Sustainability at the Sierra College Tahoe-Truckee campus" is a pilot project spearheaded by Frank DeCourten, and was initiated to develop a model for community-based sustainability education and outreach that might become a template for other campuses and communities within the Sierra College District.