Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

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The Washington & Oregon Higher Education Sustainability Conference (WOHESC) is a platform for inspiring change, facilitating action, and promoting collaboration around sustainability within the Cascadia region’s higher education institutions. Conversation, workshops, and networking opportunities will empower participants to advance environmental and social justice performance. Solutions shared at the conference will be tailored for implementation in our unique political, social, economic and environmental climate.

View the 2021 Virtual Conference Program to learn more about priority topics to be covered and our featured expert speakers!

Register here and get 30% off by using the promo code: PCC30

Volunteer

Looking to join the team of students, staff, and faculty who are dedicated to creating sustainable solutions? Opportunities for volunteering on sustainability projects at PCC pop up regularly, so check here for regular updates!

Sylvania Learning Garden Work Parties

• PCC Sylvania, Learning Garden
• Date & Time TBA

Sylvania Learning Garden Work Parties

Take a break from classrooms and books and get your hands dirty! Join us in the Learning Garden (across from parking lots 13 and 14). Come for a few minutes or the whole time. Gloves and tools are provided. For more information, contact Jeanell at jeanell.innerarity@pcc.edu.

Cascade Learning Garden Work Parties

• PCC Cascade, Learning Garden
• Date & Time TBA
• Check the Sustainability Calendar for Virtual Lunch Bunches!

All gardening experience levels are welcome to join us for fun planting and harvesting projects. Please stop by for any amount of time and learn how you can become involved. Gardening tools, gloves, and guidance provided. Please wear clothes that can get dirty and be prepared for any weather. For more information please contact Jolie Donohue at jolie.donohue@pcc.edu.

Volunteer for Veggies at Rock Creek

• Rock Creek, Learning Garden
• Date & Time TBA

The Rock Creek Learning Garden has volunteer sessions on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 9:00am-1:00pm. Earn $5 credit per hour to spend at Portlandia FarmStandia. And October-April, earn $5 vouchers for the cafeteria for every hour of volunteering (while they last!). More information is available at the Learning Garden’s Get Involved page.

Volunteer for Veggies at Newberg Center

• Newberg Center, Learning Garden
• Date & Time TBA

The Newberg Center Learning Garden would love for you to come and volunteer! Come for a half hour or longer. Meet great people, learn about growing food, pollinators, and what makes the learning garden special. We’ll provide gloves, tools, and snacks. Volunteers get to take home a portion of the day’s harvest! Contact Lynn at lmontoya@pcc.edu for more info.

Classes

Sustainability Focus Award

The Sustainability Focus award recognizes students who have completed a broad range of sustainability-related courses. The award is designed to encourage students to learn to see environmental issues from multiple perspectives and to increase their experience in this multi-disciplinary topic. The earning of this focus award can demonstrate to potential employers and transfer colleges that the student has a deep and broad understanding of sustainability issues.

Upcoming credit classes

The following classes in the Winter 2020 term include sustainability as a component of their curricula:

• ARCH 124 Intro to Building Systems
• ARCH 200 Principles of Arch. Design
• ARCH 224 Active & Passive Bldg Systems
• ATH 103 Intro to Cultural Anthropology
• BA 280 A Cooperative Education: Business Experience
• BA 280 B Cooperative Education: Business Experience – Sem
• BA 285 Human Relations-Organizations
• BI 101 Biology I
• BI 213 Principles of Biology
• BI 141 Habitats: Life of the Forest
• BI 142 Habitats: Marine Biology
• BI 145 Intro Fish & Wild Conservation & Management
• Comm 140 Intro To Intercultural Communication
• EC 221 Globalization & International Relations
• ESR 140 Intro to Sustainability
• ESR 150 Environ Studies Orientation
• ESR 172 Environ Science: Chem Perspect
• ESR 173 Environ Science: Geolog Perspect
• ESR 200 Intro to Environmental Systems
• ESR 201 Applied Environmental Studies
• G 184 Global Climate Change
• GEO 105 Human Geography
• GEO 106 World Regional Geography
• GEO 209 Physical Geography: Weather & Climate
• GEO 215 Geog of Latin America
• GRN 270 Therapeutic Horticulture Programming
• GRN 271 Therapeutic Horticultural Skills II
• HE 251 Community and Public Health
• LAT 272 Sustainable Landscape
• MSD 200 Organizations & Social Resp
• PHL 206 Intro. to Environmental Ethics 
• PS 221 Globalization & International Relations
• PS 280A Cooperative Education: Political Science
• PS 297 Environmental Politics & Policy
• SOC 206 Social Problems
• SOC 221 Globalization & International Relations
• SOC 280A Cooperative Education: Sociology

Jobs

We frequently have work-study positions available at the campus and district-level. Please see the PCC Work Study page for available positions or email sustainability@pcc.edu.

District Sustainability Department

Sylvania Environmental Center

Rock Creek Sustainability Office

Rock Creek Learning Garden

All positions require Work-study eligibility and offer $12.50 per hour. To apply, please send resume and cover letter to the Learning Garden Coordinator at LearningGarden@pcc.edu.

Clubs

Cascade Environmental Justice Club

Our club members are advocates of environmental and social justice and champion equity and inclusiveness for all our fellow students, this is the way we see true sustainability happening on our campus and in this world. Supporting each other is a big step towards being able to support our place in the bigger systems of this BIG planet! A part of our new focus is finding the intersectionality between student clubs, organizations, and resource centers to cross promote sustainability awareness and collaborative efforts to build more resilient community on our campuses. The club has transformed from the Environmental Sustainability Club to the Environmental Justice Club to broaden it’s scope and to become even more of an action oriented club. We have volunteer opportunities, community outreach projects, and grant writing opportunities to fund green initiatives that will be implemented around Cascade Campus and/or district wide. Join the club on the Panther Hub and if you have any questions, comments, or just want to say hello, you can contact Allison Rose at allisonrose@pcc.edu

Sylvania Food Justice Club

The Sylvania Food Justice Club/Cohort is comprised of food justice champions from multiple Identity Based Equity Centers (IBEC) including the Queer Resource Center, Multicultural Center, Women’s Resource Center, and Veterans Resource Center. Collectively, the cohort organizes advocacy and education around food insecurity and how to help students in need. Our mission is to tackle the root cause that continues to perpetuate the same outcome. We stand by three fundamental strategies that can address systemic hunger by, teaching, connecting and advocating. This includes policies, practices, and norms here at PCC. At PCC Sylvania, we draw strength from all who support us on campus and in our community. We hope people across the city and state will see our efforts in taking the lead in addressing hunger here in Oregon. All are welcome. If you are interested in being a part of this cohort, email Ryan Ott at ryan.ott@pcc.edu and/or Jeanell Innerarity at jeanell.innerarity@pcc.edu

 Southeast Learning Garden Club – Food Justice

• Date & Time TBA

Inspired by students passionate about gardening and breaking down barriers to food security, we have created the Southeast campus’s first Food Justice Club. The club is open to all PCC students and is dedicated to building awareness and resources to empower fellow students. For more details, please contact Abigail Jeanseau at abi.jeanseau@pcc.edu or Hunter Wiseman at hunter.wiseman@pcc.edu.

Southeast Green Team

Are you a student at Southeast and interested in getting involved in sustainability initiatives on campus? Join students, faculty, and staff in the Southeast Green Team! We are in the process of developing a learning garden that will be a comprehensive outdoor learning space for our students to learn, our faculty to teach in, and our Southeast Campus to enjoy. This will provide opportunities for students to work outside of the standard classroom and to connect sustainability and gardening with learning and everyday life. We promote a number of other green initiatives, like the Bike Rental Program and annual Earth Week events. If you are interested in learning more about the club or attending a meeting, contact Davida Jordan at davida.jordan@pcc.edu.

Sylvania Garden Club

The purpose of the club is to learn more about organic gardening, share gardening knowledge, plan events for the Learning Garden, and attend field trips and guest speaker events. There is still time to join. If you’re interested, email Jeanell Innerarity at jeanell.innerarity@pcc.edu.

Sylvania Environmental Club

This club meets on Mondays at 11am in AM 101. Club will not meet over the summer. If you’re interested, email madisen.lattanzi@pcc.edu.

Habitat Restoration Team at Sylvania

• Date & Time TBA

Would you like leadership and environmental field experiences? Come join the team! We don’t usually meet for two hours but sometimes we write grants, show movies, do a walkabout, or have a mini-work party. The Habitat Restoration Team, working with the Sylvania Grounds crew, PCC students and staff, and community members, works to remove invasive species, plant NW native plants, and help stabilize creek beds. To get involved, contact April Ann Fong at afong@pcc.edu.

Food Recovery at Rock Creek

This club works to prevent campus food waste by recovering and donating unsold, unconsumed food while promoting sustainability and giving back to our community. If you are interested in learning more, contact Stephanie Saunders at stephanie.saunders1@pcc.edu.

Rock Creek Food Justice Club

This club focuses on bringing awareness to food insecurity in college students and campuses. Participate in outreach to educate others on what the Food Justice Movement means and how they can help. As students and as human beings we have the right to fight for our right to have quality, healthy food for every meal. Our goals of this club are as follows; collaborate with local non-profits, collaborate with resource centers stationed at Rock Creek, complete service projects on and off campus, create an event on campus to promote food justice. Interested? Contact Kathryn Lopez at kathryn.lopez@pcc.edu.

Get involved with the garden and learn more about organic gardening, composting, and greenhouse production. Help host work parties and events in the Learning Garden. Now’s the time to get growing! For more information email Miriam Latzer at miriam.latzer@pcc.edu.

Rock Creek Sustainability Club

This is an organization of students from Portland Community College who believe that a collect effort can make a difference for a better world. Our mission is to build awareness about the issues of environmental degradation and environmental social justice, and to help the community adopt a sustainable lifestyle in their own lives and on campus. We have community outreach projects, volunteer opportunities, and outdoors activities.

Our Goals for 2019-2020 are:

• To educate PCC community about the sustainable practices through presentations, exhibitions, events, and talks.
• To build awareness about the pollution caused by single-use plastics.

Please contact Kathryn Lopez at kathryn.lopez@pcc.edu or Grace Grace at grace1@pcc.edu with questions or concerns!

The Panther PAC (Progressive Action Club)

Bi-weekly meetings starting Wednesday, November 16th from 6:30pm-7:30 pm in HT 205. The PAC wants to affect political action around the environment and social justice. While the problems in our community and our world can be heavy, you can join us to find hope and energy! We are a group of intelligent, informed, and passionate PCC students looking to make a difference.

Thinking of starting a club?

First contact the district sustainability department, who can connect you with people and resources that you will need to know. Who knows – maybe there’s already a club that exists, waiting for someone like you to step into a leadership role!

Resources

Rock Creek Garden Community Plots

Calling all gardeners! Interested in caring for a plot in the community beds at the Rock Creek Campus Learning Garden? Sign-ups begin soon. For more information, contact Elaine Cole at elaine.cole16@pcc.edu.

Eco Social Justice Grant

Issues of environmental degradation, inequality, and economic disparity impact us all. Here at PCC we value our students, staff, and faculty and their commitment to sustainability as well as their advocacy and efforts towards creating more equitable, diverse and inclusive spaces across the district.

We are supporting and fostering a culture of collaborative, innovative problem solving using environmental sustainability and social justice initiatives to accomplish these goals. From our learning gardens, water bottle fill stations, our great bike programs and farm stand, to our annual #EcoSocialJusticeEvent, we have been working together to address our community’s most pressing ecological and social challenges with fresh ideas. We also feel that it is important to both celebrate and give thanks and acknowledgement to the amount of time, money, and effort that students have put towards making Portland Community College a nationally and globally recognized higher education institution and leader in the sustainability movement.

In 2008 the Associated Students of Portland Community College (ASPCC) District Student Council approved a ten cent addition to the student activity fee, creating The Green Initiative Fund. At the beginning of 2018, the ASPCC District Student Council unanimously agreed to change the name of this fund to the Eco Social Justice Grant (ESJG), this name change better reflects the broader scope of what these grants have been and will be dedicated to. This fund exists so that students, staff, and faculty can participate in our culture of innovation and contribute meaningful advances to sustainable practices. At PCC, our goal is to achieve sustainable excellence in all operations, to live our commitment to social justice, and to meet our targeted greenhouse gas reductions as detailed in the Climate Action Plan. If you have an idea for a project that moves PCC towards these outcomes, we want to hear from you!

Learn more and apply for the Eco Social Justice Grant!

Southeast Cycle Center

At PCC Southeast, the Student Life and Leadership Program provides alternative modes of transportation through the Southeast Cycle Center. Students and staff can rent a bike or bike locker on a term-by-term basis.

Bike Rentals cost $15 per-term. Students need to meet with an academic advisor to complete an academic plan. Once the application is completed and approved, students will meet with the Bike Coordinator and receive a bike, helmet, lights, and U-Lock. Participants must return the bike by the end of the term that they rented the bike. Students who do not return the bike and/or lose the bike will have a $400 hold placed on their student accounts.

Bike Lockers cost is free. Students and staff can turn in an application on a first come, first serve basis to utilize the lockers. 

Students can access our Cycle Center, by appointment only, to get free maintenance done on their personal bike!

Applications for Bike Rental and Bike lockers can be found on our Southeast Cycle Center page in PantherHub.

Student can also find this information here: https://hub.pcc.edu/organization/southeastcyclecenter

Want to learn how to be more sustainable on the day-to-day?

Take the Sustainable Choices Pledge.

GPSEN College Network of Environmentalists

Stay in the loop of networking events in Portland, discuss goals and ideas for the future, and more!

Panther Pantries

We know that keeping students fed is imperative to equitable student success, that diverting food waste lowers PCC’s carbon impact, and that projects like the Learning Garden and Food Forests build community resilience to the impacts of Climate Change.

Panther Pantries are on all four comprehensive campuses and provide food for students in need: Cascade (Second Floor, Student Union Building); Rock Creek (Room 113, Building 5); Southeast (Room 105, Mt. Tabor Hall); and Sylvania (Room 102, College Center).

FIERCe

This resource center was created by PCC students for PCC students to combat food insecurity and hunger. It is loaded with tools and resources within PCC and around Portland, Oregon to educate and destigmatize food insecurity. Check out the site here.

Find more resources for students on PCC’s Student Life page.