Growing the role of ecology with sustainability in higher education: 4DEE and AASHE

Opportunities for innovative ecology education outreach grow with increases in environmental and sustainability programs. Over 20% of US colleges and universities belong to the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), with ecological health in its vision, addressing ESA’s 4DEE Human-Environment Interactions dimension. Members monitor campus improvements using a tracking and rating system with many criteria indirectly or directly applying ecology. By engaging campus sustainability offices, ecologists can integrate Campus as a Living Laboratory projects, assess sustainability literacy, inform facilities managers about ecologically sustainable practices, and catalyze the needed integration of ecological concepts into campus sustainability initiatives.