Portal to Action

To find courses that interest you while also learning more about the environment, sustainability, or sustainable development, access the NAU course catalog and search by keyword to find courses. To find majors, minors, and certificates that interest you while also learning more about the environment and sustainability, access the NAU academic catalog and search by keyword to find courses. Suggested keywords: sustainability, sustainable, environment, environmental, water, etc.

Highlights of “Green” Bachelors Degrees:

• Environmental Engineering (BS)
• Environmental Sciences (BS)
• Environmental and Sustainability Studies (BA)
• Environmental and Sustainability Studies (BS)
• Forestry (BS)
• Geology (BS)
• Geography, Environment, and Society (BS)
• Parks and Recreation Management (BS)
• Secondary Education: Earth Science
• Secondary Education: General Science 

Highlights of “Green” Masters Degrees:

• Climate Science and Solutions (MS)
• Environmental Engineering (MS)
• Environmental Science and Policy (MS)
• Forestry (MS)
• Geographic Information Science with Remote Sensing (MS)
• Geography (MS)
• Geology (MS)
• Sustainability Communities (MA)

Highlights of “Green” Certificates:

• Community Planning (Graduate Certificate)
• Conservation Ecology (Graduate Certificate)
• Ecological and Environmental Informatics (Graduate Certificate)
• Environmental Economics (Undergraduate Certificate)
• Environmental Narrative (Graduate Certificate)
• Fire Ecology and Management (Undergraduate Certificate)
• Forest Health and Ecological Restoration (Undergraduate Certificate)
• Greenhouse Gas Accounting (Graduate Certificate)
• Human Dimensions of Forestry (Undergraduate Certificate)
• Natural Resource Management (Graduate Certificate)
• Wildlife Ecology and Management (Undergraduate Certificate)
• Wind Energy (Undergraduate Certificate)

In the environmental field, the 3 Pillars of Sustainability are Social, Environmental, and Economic. Various career opportunities fall under each of the pillars, some examples are listed below:

• Social:
  • Advocate for carbon neutrality and sustainability
  • Environmental education and communication
  • Outdoor education
  • Parks and recreation
  • Sustainability coordination
• Environmental:
  • Air, water, and soil quality monitoring
  • Community-supported agriculture
  • Conservation biology
  • Environmental engineering
  • Renewable energy design and construction
• Economic:
  • Consulting firm
  • Marketing and research firm
  • Resource management, assessment, and protection

To learn more about what you can do with your major, access resources from NAU’s Career Development team! Their goal is to empower students and alumni to confidently navigate their careers as citizens of an evolving and global world. With this resource, you can discover what common career paths, types of employers, and useful strategies can be used to maximize your major. Within this tool, 100 majors, including art, design, business, communication, science, health and wellness, education, and many more are analyzed to support what can be most useful for your future!

To learn more about NAU’s Career Development and the resources you can access, visit their webpage.

Ditch the Car!

First-year students, especially those living on campus are strongly encouraged not to bring a car to campus. Why?

• Students rarely use their cars as everyone on campus walks, bikes, or takes the shuttle to get around campus.
• More than 65% of students never bring a car to campus and travel easily without a car.
• Students cannot park outside of their permit zone during the day (so no driving to class).
• There are many transit options to get off campus, out of Flagstaff, and out of state.
• We get snow and digging out your car is no fun.
• A parking permit and gas are costly!

The ecoPASS is a Mountain Line city bus pass provided to all Northern Arizona University employees.

Faculty and Staff can now access the ecoPASS using the NAUgo app. Using the faculty staff persona, simply select ECO Pass and a QR code will be generated to scan as the bus is boarded. A card is available for affiliate employees or those without a smartphone and can be picked up at University Transit Services, Centennial building (#91), Monday through Friday 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. A NAU JacksCard is required for an ecoPASS.

EcoPASS benefits

The EcoPASS isn’t just about saving money. By riding the Mountain Line shuttle with an EcoPASS, you can:

• Save wear and tear on your vehicle
• Help promote the university’s goal of increased sustainability
• Cut gas consumption
• Reduce campus traffic congestion
• Reduce air pollution
• Expand the range of cyclists and walkers
• Relax on your way to work

Guaranteed ride home

In addition to unlimited public transit access, ecoPASS gives you access to the Guaranteed Ride Home program. This program allows employees who commute to work using their ecoPASS to use a taxi for emergencies at no charge. Emergencies include, but are not limited to:

• illness or injury experienced by you or a family member
• damage to your home or property by fire, burglary, or acts of nature
• university-wide emergencies where no other travel options are available
• unscheduled overtime (supervisor authorization is required)

When an employee has an emergency on a day he or she commutes to work via Mountain Line, a signed voucher will be issued by University Transit Services and the employee will call a taxi from the provider list. Northern Arizona Intergovernmental Public Transportation Authority (NAIPTA) will pay for the ride.

Energy Mentors are leaders who encourage other members of the campus community to reduce NAU’s environmental impact. Energy mentors are all over campus! They are any faculty or staff members who have a passion for sustainability and volunteer to support the culture of sustainability at NAU by pledging to adopt and encourage key energy-saving behaviors.

Responsibilities include:

• Encourage fellow faculty and staff members to adopt key energy-saving behaviors
• Facilitate the distribution of information involving energy conservation
• Attend and support Energy Mentor or other sustainability events
• Incorporate the 3 pillars of sustainability into daily operations

How do I become an Energy Mentor?

Email Danielle.Linthicum@nau.edu to schedule a training for you or your entire staff! We will teach you how to help conserve energy by adopting three key sustainability behaviors: Flip the Switch, Reduce the Juice, and Think Globally, Ride Locally! By practicing these strategies yourself and by helping to teach others, our goal of conserving energy consumption will be achieved!