Whereas, Since California community colleges are involved in bond-funded building projects and campus expansion, colleges may increasingly find they are stewards of native habitats, as well as sensitive, threatened and endangered species, resulting in a need for wildlife and habitat conservation plans;
Whereas, Accreditation Standard III.B, Physical Resources, outlines that effective practices for meeting the standard include faculty participation in the creation of facilities and physical resource short-term and long-term planning documents, such as facilities master plans,[1] and ensures that a high-quality education is maintained; and
Whereas, Faculty may utilize the college’s landscape as a living and learning lab and develop innovative teaching strategies to examine a wide-range of relevant and timely environmental issues;
Resolved, That the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges encourage local senates to take an active role in the development and implementation of educational and facility master plans, which includes collegial consultation;
Resolved, That the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges support responsible stewardship of the natural resources of California community colleges such as biodiversity, habitat conservation, and the college landscape as living and learning labs; and
Resolved, That the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges work with the Consultation Council, California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office, and policymakers to develop responsible practices for the conservation of natural resources, including wildlife, within educational and facility master plans.
MSC