Adaptive Reuse in Ennis Hall

Georgia College recently reopened Ennis Hall after a 2-year renovation.  Check out Connection Magazine for the whole story on how the university has repurposed this building.  Originally built as a residence hall in 1918, it is now the new home of our art department.  Rather than do a complete restoration project that would have restored Ennis to its original glory as a residence hall, the university chose adaptive reuse instead.  In adaptive reuse, you take a building that has good bones and use it in a way that makes sense for your organization, the environment, and your budget.  Most of our campus buildings are restored for adaptive reuse because their original use is no longer relevant for a modern campus.

Picture available at gcsu.edu website

A Blast from the Past.  The original Ennis also had a circular drive and green space.  In recent years, this drive was a parking lot. The regional, drought tolerant plants add to the sustainability of this LEED Silver building.

I just thought this was interesting.  It looked like a stage with lights in the center of the green space.  I am not sure of the purpose of this square stone with lights.  I'll just call it art since it's in front of the art building, but I wondered if it has some sustainable purpose.

As I walked around the building, I did not see any signage noting the sustainable aspects of the building like we saw summer during our tour of Athens Tech this summer.  I think that with a historic building, extra signage would clutter the space and take away from the beauty of the building.

Careers in Sustainability

When we were at UGA this summer, I was fascinated by the different landscape and building designs that supported a sustainable landscape.  I always feel wasteful if I water my lawn and I always forget
to water drought resistant plants.  It would be a dream come true to have a yard that was built in a way that collected rainwater in just the right way.

I went to look up this information online but instead, stumbled upon graduate programs that focus on sustainable landscapes.  The career services professional in me could not resist.  And the farm girl in me could not resist.  Of course, I must write a blog about sustainable careers!

In addition to some information on what a "green" career really is, I havee also included a link to graduate degrees in sustainability as well as links to green companies and jobs.  Share with your students!

Bureau of Labor Statistics
Definition of Green Jobs
Economic Outlook for Green Jobs

Sustainable Focused Master's Degrees Programs
460 programs listed on website for 
Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education

Sustainable Companies to Work For
Students can use these lists to identify companies that may share their values on sustainability as well as to find jobs specific to sustainability.
Forbes List of Most Sustainable Companies (from the Global 100 Index)

The College Sustainability Report Card

Various Green Job Websites
These sites can be helpful but always make sure you are also going straight to the source.  If you dream of working for a specific organization such as EPA or a non-profit, you want to go to their website to identify listings and possible networking contacts.  Searching LinkedIn for possible contacts who work at the company or do what you want to do is also a great strategy.
GreenBiz.com

Green Dream Jobs

Environmental Career Opportunities

Solar Today

I must also mention the positions with your state cooperative extension offices.  In Georgia, those jobs are located at http://extension.uga.edu/about/join/careers.cfm through UGA.  The Cooperative Extension Internship Program is also a great opportunity to get experience in the field before graduation.  In many states, these individuals are employees at a flagship university with an agriculture program. Use your favorite search engine to search for "state" and "cooperative extension office jobs" to find these opportunities.

Use your favorite search engine to identify other green job sites or green companies.  The more you explore, the more you will discover!

Infographic by Jobvine Jobs