Even with campus closures, Learning Gardens are continuing to flourish! The Rock Creek Learning Garden is the largest Learning Garden at PCC. It comprises 3.5 acres of fruit trees, vegetables, an observation bee hive, a worm nursery, cob oven and other sustainably designed structures in a garden dotted with sculptural works of art all initiated by students at PCC. This summer, the Rock Creek Learning Garden Coordinator – Miriam Latzer has created us a virtual tour of the garden! With 9 videos total, Miriam explains gardening techniques used at Rock Creek, highlighting features, such as the Three Sisters – Corn, Squash and Beans.

Below is the seventh video describing the arbor and orchard in the RC Learning Garden!

Even with campus closures, Learning Gardens are continuing to flourish! The Rock Creek Learning Garden is the largest Learning Garden at PCC. It comprises 3.5 acres of fruit trees, vegetables, an observation bee hive, a worm nursery, cob oven and other sustainably designed structures in a garden dotted with sculptural works of art all initiated by students at PCC. This summer, the Rock Creek Learning Garden Coordinator – Miriam Latzer has created us a virtual tour of the garden! With 9 videos total, Miriam explains gardening techniques used at Rock Creek, highlighting features, such as the Three Sisters – Corn, Squash and Beans.

Below  is the sixth video describing the cover crops in the RC Learning Garden!

The is a  21-day environmental and social engagement program. From October 7 – October 28, 2020, you select or create actions that align with your individual values and make a 21-day commitment to complete those actions, all the while practicing and reinforcing good habits. For every completed action, you earn points and create impact. Your points contribute to the PCC EcoPanther team’s total points, and your impact contributes to our collective impact.

The People’s Eco Challenge is a great way to make a difference in your community and together with your fellow Panthers! To sign up, please follow to join our team or visit peoples.ecochallenge.org/teams/pcc-ecopanthers and register by clicking the “Join This Team” blue button.

New to the People’s EcoChallenge? Check out .

We have three awesome prizes to raffle off! See the details below:

1. We will hold a raffle with anyone who engages in the EcoChallenge during the first week for some sweet sustainable swag. Engaging includes doing a daily or one-time action or posting to your dashboard. 
2. People who engage in the second week by doing an action or posting to the dashboard will be entered into the second raffle for swag. Engaging includes doing a daily or one-time action or posting to your dashboard. 
3. Finally, the grand prize PCC sustainable swag cooler bag (see example photo for reference) goes to the top point earner at the end of the challenge (don’t worry the PCC Sustainability team is not eligible).

In 2019, we ranked 8th out of 12,477 organizations globally! Here are a few highlights:

• We traveled 4,242 miles using a sustainable source of transportation (by bus, bike, foot, or other),
• We kept 4,206 pounds of CO2 out of the atmosphere,
• We kept a total of 1,054 plastic bottles, straws, containers, or disposable cups out of landfills,
• We saved 2,052 gallons of water.
• We  spent 7,035 minutes exercising,
• We spent 1,140  less minutes in front of screens,
• and we consumed 294 meatless or vegan meals and 194 whole food meals (both of which significantly reduce the environmental impact of your meal).

We did great last year, but can we do even better this year?! 

If you have any questions about the challenge, please reach out to the PCC EcoPanthers’ co-captains: Jade at jade.menchaca@pcc.edu or Raquel at raquel.salazar@pcc.edu

We look forward to a great EcoChallenge and can’t wait to have you participate!

Go EcoPanthers!!

Even with campus closures, Learning Gardens are continuing to flourish! The Rock Creek Learning Garden is the largest Learning Garden at PCC. It comprises 3.5 acres of fruit trees, vegetables, an observation bee hive, a worm nursery, cob oven and other sustainably designed structures in a garden dotted with sculptural works of art all initiated by students at PCC. This summer, the Rock Creek Learning Garden Coordinator – Miriam Latzer has created us a virtual tour of the garden! With 9 videos total, Miriam explains gardening techniques used at Rock Creek, highlighting features, such as the Three Sisters – Corn, Squash and Beans.

Below  is the fifth video describing the tools used in the RC Learning Garden!

Even with campus closures, Learning Gardens are continuing to flourish! The Rock Creek Learning Garden is the largest Learning Garden at PCC. It comprises 3.5 acres of fruit trees, vegetables, an observation bee hive, a worm nursery, cob oven and other sustainably designed structures in a garden dotted with sculptural works of art all initiated by students at PCC. This summer, the Rock Creek Learning Garden Coordinator – Miriam Latzer has created us a virtual tour of the garden! With 9 videos total, Miriam explains gardening techniques used at Rock Creek, highlighting the amazing features of the RC Learning Garden

Below  is the fourth  video  explaining  RC  ways  seed starting, seed stocks and irrigation!

Even with campus closures, Learning Gardens are continuing to flourish! The Rock Creek Learning Garden is the largest Learning Garden at PCC. It comprises 3.5 acres of fruit trees, vegetables, an observation bee hive, a worm nursery, a cob oven, and other sustainably designed structures in a garden dotted with sculptural works of art all initiated by students at PCC. This summer, the Rock Creek Learning Garden Coordinator – Miriam Latzer has created a virtual tour of the garden! With 9 videos total, Miriam explains gardening techniques used at Rock Creek, highlighting features, such as the Three Sisters – Corn, Squash, and Beans.

Below is the third video explaining RC’s ways of harvesting!

Below is the second video explaining the Three Sisters Gardening technique used in the garden.

Peter Ritson is in this week’s sustainability spotlight! Peter is a chemistry professor at Sylvania and teaches Everyday Chemistry with Lab (CH100). This course is taught be numerous professors across the district and has been revised by Peter and Stacey Fiddler along with the help of other professors to focus on environmental and sustainable topics within chemistry. All instructors use an environmental approach to link chemistry, lifestyle choices and social relevance in effort to implement sustainability in various areas. At Sylvania, Peter and his students use 2 different streams near the parking lot to measure water quality on campus throughout the quarter. Students have enjoyed learning in a more hands on manner and are able to connect chemistry to environmental and societal issues. Peter shares that he wanted to focus the course within an equity lens. Students can use their own connections and social relevance to advance their thinking not only as  chemistry students but as community members. It is important to understand chemistry within a societal framework for advancement towards sustainable lifestyle choices and social justice.

In addition to teaching, Peter also runs the Sylvania Environmental Center. This center serves as a community hub for Sylvania Campus and District sustainability initiatives including the beautiful Sylvania Learning Garden. The E-Center is an active meeting place for committees organized around sustainability issues and student-led organizations. It offers updated resources on climate change, alternative transportation, energy conservation, and campus sustainability. The center also offers counseling for students interested in environmental careers. Sign up for the  to learn more about what is happening on campus and in our community.

Thanks for all you do Peter!

Below is the first video with an introduction to the garden and a shout-out to the students who worked with Miriam this past winter to create the current crop plan. Look for weekly blog posts for the next reminder to keep watching!

With 9 videos total, Miriam shares all the working parts of the Learning Garden along with gardening techniques and her personal favorites in the garden.

This week’s spotlight focuses on Jan Underwood, a Spanish instructor at Cascade campus! Jan teaches first-year Spanish students the grammar and vocabulary needed to proceed to advanced classes. She asks her students to contemplate all aspects of learning a new language. She has students reflect on the true reason they are in her class. Jan wants her students to realize the power of learning a new language and how it can benefit numerous parts of life like sustainability and environmentalism.

Jan provides a strong emphasis on cultural values and importance. She incorporates environmental issues in local and national Latinx communities in assignments and class discussions. Jan has found that the more discussion around environmental topics, the more inspired students are. They are engaged in class and become more comfortable speaking Spanish.

Outside of teaching, Jan has practiced sustainability most of her life. She believes the integration of sustainability and environmental topics within her courses is crucial. Sustainable practices and education should be connected in all parts of life. It must be connected to all educational aspects.

Thanks for all you do Jan!