HGCI Sample Materials
- 2003/04 GLP orientation materials
- 2003/04 fall orientation handout
- 2004 orientation schedule
- 2003 midyear orientation handout
Reps
Consult your human resources department to find out what paperwork the green living program (GLP) reps will have to fill out to become employees of the college or university. Ask about payroll regulations and requirements for students, and raise these with the reps. For example, is there special paperwork for work-study students? Are there special forms for international students? You will also need to orient the reps to the relevant time-reporting procedures.
Physical Orientation of Reps
Will your reps have work or storage space in your GLP office? If not, make sure they all have access to a personal or school computer, email and a phone because communication between the captains, coordinator and reps is crucial. Find a centrally located meeting place. Familiarize reps with the program office if you have one and if it is central to the reps' area of activity.
Have the first GLP campaign be a “self-orientation,” where reps meet all the key players in their dormitory, including the superintendent, resident faculty, dorm administrator and student leaders as well as other key players on the campus.
Introducing the Reps to the GLP
You will want to make sure you have some sort of training for your reps at the beginning of the year. Do not be afraid to acknowledge during the orientation that this is the first year for you and the GLP captains so you, too, are learning with them as the year goes along. Stress that because it is the first year, they have the opportunity to set milestones, be creative and take leadership in developing the program together.
Although it is your program's first year of existence, you will have a wealth of resources within yourself and around on campus to provide a proper orientation for reps. Orientation is a crucial part of the GLP cycle because it:
- allows the reps to feel empowered;
- sets the tone for the year;
- brings the group together to build team solidarity;
- allows you to be efficient in answering questions to the whole group at the same time;
- allows time to develop a team plan for the whole year;
- allows steering group members to meet the reps as a group.
It is very important to bring members of the steering group to the orientation. You can even use steering group members as “trainers” for portions of the orientation, having them talk about their area of expertise, goals for the year and strategic background information. Consider seeking out other trainers on campus, such as career services.
Seek out other student leaders like your own GLP captains or other student environmental leaders to help in the process of crafting the orientation schedule, catching reps up with recent student environmental efforts, and leading the actual orientation. Be creative in who can be an “expert witness” for your orientation. Finally, remember that you—whether coordinator, captain, steering group member or another interested supporter of the program—have the information, materials, background, confidence and enthusiasm to greatly benefit the reps’ orientation.
Midyear Training and Development
Consider running a second orientation and training session at the beginning of second semester to help re-orient reps to the year's goals. Bring in steering group members to help recharge everyone's energy and enthusiasm for the program.
You may also want to bring your captains and reps to off-campus conferences for additional training. Meeting other students or professionals working on sustainability issues is a great source of inspiration!