Supporting community colleges in educating for and building a green economy
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Resource Center

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Educational resources from SEED Center partners and corporate sponsors
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Resource Center

Instructions

The Resource Center is a curated collection of information organized around 7 green economy “Sectors” and 7 “Topics.” In time, more Sectors will be added. Topics represent those areas in which educators and workforce development professionals continue to seek direction.

You can search by sector or by topic. Or across all sectors and/or all topics.

You can also perform a keyword search of all resources on the top right of this page.

Overview

Solar

The solar industry is expected to show steady growth over the coming decade largely due to rising energy prices, advances in technology through public/private partnerships and investments, and continued enactment of federal and state policies and financial incentives. more >>

Wind

Wind power is considered a leading source of new electricity generation in the United States, with the potential of providing 20% of the nation’s energy needs by 2030. more >>

Green Building

The green building market has expanded five fold over the last three years to a $48 billion national market—and is projected to triple in the next five years. more >>

Energy Efficiency

Energy efficiency is considered the foundation of a vibrant and sustainable green economy, and one of the most cost effective ways to lower energy consumption, reduce operating costs, and mitigate carbon emissions. more >>

Sustainability Education

Sustainability education refers generally to learning experiences that enable students to develop the knowledge, behaviors and skills to help create healthier ecosystems, social systems, and economies. For the purposes of the SEED Center, this includes resources to help build non-credit continuing education for the incumbent workforce and integrating sustainability curriculum into existing credit programs. more >>

Sustainable Ag., Food & Land

The Sustainable Ag., Food & Land sector covers the areas of organic farming, horticulture, culinary art, and landscaping. This sector includes organizations and resources that integrate environmental, social and economic factors into land use, food preparation, and land specific practices in an attempt to create a more sustainable future. more >>

General Clean Tech

The General Clean Tech sector is a space for resources that encompass multiple ‘green’ sectors. Many are applicable to the broader clean economy and sustainability-related technology and will serve the general clean tech community. Resources also provide valuable information on sectors that are experiencing substantive development in the sustainability realm, like manufacturing and smart grid. more >>

Transportation and Fuels

The Transportation & Fuels sector covers the area of electric and hybrid vehicle development and maintenance, other forms of alternative and sustainable transportation, natural gas, fuel cells, battery storage, and renewable fuels sources including ethanol, biodiesel, algae, and methane. more >>

Certifications and Industry Credentials

Certainly, one of the biggest challenges facing green educators is the rapid and mostly uncoordinated emergence of green certifications and credentials. more >>
 

Curricular Materials

These resources and materials have been vetted by industry and education experts, and while not in the form of specific educator tools, will assist in creating quality curricula for your classroom. more >>

You will find more specific educator tools (e.g. syllabi, lab manuals, lesson plans, special classroom projects, equipment lists, etc.) submitted by SEED member colleges in our Curricular Materials Sharing Portal.

Employment Industry Projections

While job training providers have been quite active in past years working with local industry to define the emerging green jobs market and potential job growth areas, most still struggle to forecast accurately regional occupational demand. The U.S. Department of Labor has made recent strides toward classifying green occupations and competencies which will help communities define and track green jobs (and colleges to design appropriate education and training programs). Given the uncertain renewable energy and efficiency industry outlook, and rapidly changing technologies, access to the most up-to-date industry studies and employment projections will be critical. more >>

Innovative Practices & Partnerships

The job creation potential of the green economy has led to some unique job training and economic development partnerships and collaborations. more >>

Professional Development Resources

This section includes promising facilitated learning opportunities, including “train the trainer” programs, standing conferences, and informal learning opportunities situated in practice for faculty and staff seeking to further their knowledge of industry trends and requirements. more >>

Policy & Funding Sources

Included you will find links and descriptions of agencies and organizations that typically fund sustainability and green job training initiatives as well as those that provide important information on national legislation and policies relevant to the clean energy sector. CHECK BACK AS MORE ARE ADDED. This section also highlights resources that provide guidance on how to supply input into program and grant design for certain agency solicitations. more >>

Skill sets, Competencies & Career Pathways

This section includes lists and assessments of skill sets and competencies tied to the green economy – across the broad industry as well as within specific sectors. It also includes some critical resources that colleges can use to align programs and facilitate student transitions. Included are green energy competency models and newly-developed career pathways that allow movement across educational and training programs. more >>

Sector: Topic:

Featured Resources

Farm Bill 101: For Educators
The U.S. Farm Bill has impacts on agriculture, on people,  and on the health of essential ecosystems in the U.S. and around the world.  This citizen's oriented site can be used to broach this subject in classes from the perspective of teaching civic engagement around agricultural policy.
NCAT Sustainable Agriculture Project
The Sustainable Agriculture Project provides high value information and technical assistance to farmers, ranchers, Extension agents, educators, and others involved in sustainable agriculture in the United States. Originally funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, this is a project developed and managed by the National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT). Review their Publications, Webinars, Reports, and What is Sustainable Agriculture? site for helpful documents and downloads.
Report - U.S. Agriculture & Climate Change Legislation: Markets, Myths & Opportunities: (Pew Center on Global Climate Change)
This brief tries to objectively assess the impacts of climate legislation and identify ways that such legislation could be shaped to provide greater opportunities for the sector of sustainable agriculture. U.S. farmers will be presented with a host of new markets and opportunities with the advent of climate and energy legislation.
U.S. Department of Agriculture's Homepage for Sustainable Agriculture
This site contains a wide variety of information from the USDA on sustainable agriculture and biofuels, from technical information to materials for educators and consumers to economic development for farming communities to grant information.
USDA Energy Website
USDA Energy Web includes interactive map, graphing analysis tools, and the USDA Energy Matrix. These instruments allow you to view past USDA investments, navigate in a friendly environment USDA energy programs and compare and analyze bio-fuels and bio-energy data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
USDA: National Agricultural Library - Sustainability in Agriculture
Sustainable food systems integrate many disciplines, goals and agricultural practices. On this webpage, find guides and links to sustainable agriculture information related to: Definitions and History, Environmental Laws and Policy, Economic and Social Issues, and Food Choices and Security.
USDA: Sustainability in Agriculture - Education and Research
This section of the USDA National Agricultural Library provides subject guides and links related to the classroom and curricula, education, training, and employment opportunities, whole system and on-farm research techniques, research databases and collections, and information on support and funding sources.
USDA: Sustainability in Agriculture - Environmental Laws and Policies
This section of the USDA National Agricultural Library provides information on regulations, incentives and policies affecting sustainable agriculture as well as information on environmental legislation and laws on the international, Federal, state and local level.

More Resources

Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE)
The Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) provides Fact Sheets, Curricula and Courses, Educator Curriculum Guides, and a National Continuing Education Program online course in Sustainable Agriculture. This program offers competitive grants for ideas in farming that improve profits, stewardship and the vibrancy of farm communities. Grants range from smaller short-term projects of $15,000 or less to larger, multi-year projects ranging from $30,000 to $250,000. View their Learning Center: (http://www.sare.org/Learning-Center). Also View: )http://www.sare.org/Professional-Development/Educator-Curriculum-Guides) And: ( http://www.sare.org/Learning-Center/Courses-and-Curricula/National-Continuing-Education-Program)
The Northeast’s Food and Farm Network
NESAWG is the Northeast's food and farm network. Activities are based on a systems approach, recognizing the interdependence of government, market, and civic arenas for social change. They maintain an overview of the region’s movement toward a more sustainable food system and guide the network to maximize collective impact. Working at local, state, regional, and national levels, their efforts help organizations redirect public policy, foster market-based innovation, and generate an informed and active citizenry.
U.S. Department of Agriculture's Homepage for Sustainable Agriculture
This site contains a wide variety of information from the USDA on sustainable agriculture and biofuels, from technical information to materials for educators and consumers to economic development for farming communities to grant information.
USDA Energy Website
USDA Energy Web includes interactive map, graphing analysis tools, and the USDA Energy Matrix. These instruments allow you to view past USDA investments, navigate in a friendly environment USDA energy programs and compare and analyze bio-fuels and bio-energy data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
USDA: National Agricultural Library - Sustainability in Agriculture
Sustainable food systems integrate many disciplines, goals and agricultural practices. On this webpage, find guides and links to sustainable agriculture information related to: Definitions and History, Environmental Laws and Policy, Economic and Social Issues, and Food Choices and Security.
USDA: Sustainability in Agriculture - Education and Research
This section of the USDA National Agricultural Library provides subject guides and links related to the classroom and curricula, education, training, and employment opportunities, whole system and on-farm research techniques, research databases and collections, and information on support and funding sources.
USDA: Sustainability in Agriculture - Environmental Laws and Policies
This section of the USDA National Agricultural Library provides information on regulations, incentives and policies affecting sustainable agriculture as well as information on environmental legislation and laws on the international, Federal, state and local level.
WhyHunger: Food Security Learning Center
WhyHunger's Food Security Learning Center brings you into the food security movement, a movement that shows how our food system is connected, how our food grows, how it's processed, who grows it, what we eat, where it comes from, who goes hungry and why. WhyHunger is helping to build the movement to end hunger and poverty by connecting people to nutritious, affordable food and by supporting grassroots solutions that inspire self-reliance and community empowerment.
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This resource made possible with the generous support from the Kresge Foundation