Get Involved | Austin Community College District

Want to be more sustainable? ACC makes it easy!

ACC offers a variety of ways for students, faculty, and staff to get involved in sustainable initiatives on and off campus. Check out the different ways you get reduce your impact on the environment below

Join your campus Green Team to volunteer at Zero Waste events, stay up-to-date on sustainability initiatives, and take part in sustainability projects and activities at your campus.

Choose any of ACC's Sustainable Transportation Options including free public transportation, carpool and carshare promotions, electric vehicle charging, and more.

Reduce, reuse, and recycle your waste on campus by utilizing Green Fountains, recycling, and composting.

Check out ACC's Sustainability Dashboards to see current energy and water consumption and solar energy production.

Appy for an Eco Conference Grant

ACC's Office of Energy and Sustainability funds a number of student, staff, and faculty registrations and associated travel to several sustainability conferences each year. Past conferences have included the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) and Texas Regional Alliance for Campus Sustainability (TRACS). Each grant awardee must go through an application process and be scored by an ACC panel. Applicants must be current students, staff, and faculty.

Future Eco Conference Grant Opportunities are included below:

2019 AASHE Conference & Expo - October 27-30, 2019

-Student Application

-Staff Application

-Faculty Application

2019 TRACS Summit - March 27-29, 2020

Check back for links to the applications.

Gardens

ACC appreciates urban agriculture and promotes environmental stewardship and campus community bonds by converting on-campus, underutilized and neglected parcels into productive learning gardens. ACC campus gardens are maintained by ACC faculty, staff, and students.

In August, 2018, ACC received a grant from the United States Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service to establish Monarch Butterfly Migration Corridor Gardens on four campuses - Eastview, Elgin, Hays, and Round Rock. Through these Monarch Butterfly Gardens, ACC will provide learning experiences in natural resource conservation and attract and maintain butterflies by strategically locating gardens within the butterfly's migration path. In addition, the Office of Energy and Sustainability will be funding Monarch Butterfly Garden refreshers at Cypress Creek, Highland, and Northridge campuses.

● Cypress Creek Campus Garden - Visit the Information Desk in the Building 2000 Lobby or call (512)223-2004 to get involved.

● Northridge Campus' Raised Container Gardens and Mockingbird Vegetable Garden - Volunteers can adopt a garden or volunteer to help out.

● Service Center Garden - Email green@austincc.edu to get involved

● Cypress Creek, Eastview, Elgin, Hays, Highland, Northridge, and Round Rock campus' Monarch Butterfly Gardens - Coming in the spring of 2019!

Garden Features:

Vegetables/Herbs

Plants with edible leaves or fruits. Growing your own food not only tastes better, it may also help improve overall health and nutrition by decreasing exposure to pesticides and pollution related to food production. Plus, growing your own food can cut costs on groceries!

Perennial/Bulbs

Plants that live two or more years and often regrow each season in their native habitats. They create extensive root systems that help stabilize soil, prevent erosion, and resist drought.

Native/Adapted

Well suited for the growing conditions, either because they exist in the region naturally (native) or because they can thrive in the natural conditions without threatening native species (adapted).

Cacti/Succulents

Drought-resistant plants that store water in their leaves and stems. Their tough skin or spines provide natural protection from most pests and predators and they are almost maintenance free!