Skip to Main Content

Padrón Campus Environmental Sustainability & Innovation: About Us

Enhancing Learning and Changemaking Related to Environmental Sustainability, Resilience and Earth Literacy

Fairchild Garden Connect to Protect Logo    Padrón Campus is part of Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden's Connect to Protect Network

Earth Ethics Institute Events

Earth Ethics Institute Events
Follow Earth Ethics Institute

Earth Ethics Institute Online Resources

Earth Ethics Institute Online Resources
 Additional online resources
Earth Ethics Institute Online Resources

Wellness Resources

MDC Wellness Resources
Earth Ethics Institute supports wellness and a culture of care at MDC

Food Pantry

Student Food Pantry
Visit MDC's Student Food Panty: 
ACCESS Department, Room 1112 (Student Services area) 

Help Stock the Pantry

Items needed: feminine hygiene items, toiletries, proteins (canned tuna, sausage, peanut butter, etc.), tomato sauce, pasta, rice, beans, and breakfast items.

Campus Learning Community

Campus Learning Community
The Campus Learning Community is an Earth Ethics Institute initiative that encourages learning about environmental topics of choice -- across classes and MDC campuses, each academic year.

AASHE

Miami Dade College is a proud member of The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE).

Please see the AASHE calendar for other events.

The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE)

Aspen Institute Logo

 

About Us 

Padrón Campus promotes Earth Literacy and environmental sustainability as an opportunity for innovation and collaboration. It involves students, faculty (including GSELS Faculty), staff, and administrators who are dedicated to enhancing learning and taking positive action. Efforts are supported by Student Life, different student Clubs, STEM and WeLearn 366 grant programming, Institute for Civic Engagement & Democracy (iCED), Learning ResourcesMedia ServicesSingle StopHonors College and other partners.

Earth Ethics Institute convenes and leads efforts to advance campus sustainability, and it has been making a difference at Miami Dade College for over 35 years.

News & Resources

-- Every Tuesday --

Garden Volunteering @ 3pm
& Wellness Walks @ 4pm
 

Volunteers should dress for outside work and bring drinking water. Tasks include watering, weeding, cleaning & harvesting (you can volunteer on other days and times, too!)

*********************************************************************

Composting Coffee Grounds on Campus

SGA and YES Club are helping to compost used coffee grounds on campus with the help of our two cafes and different kitchenettes. Hundreds of pounds have been diverted from landfill!

*********************************************************************

Freecycling: Your Unwanted Stuff is Needed!

Connecting with the UN SDGs and Earth Literacy, we are increasing our freecycling efforts!  Freecycling keeps useful items in rotation and out of landfill, moving us towards a more circular economy.Please feel free to take anything that you can use and to donate items that might be useful for others. You can donate items to Earth Ethics Institute.

*********************************************************************

Miami Dade County is Taking Climate Action

*********************************************************************

The City of Miami:
We ALL Need to Take Climate Action

*********************************************************************

Image describing linear, recycling, and circular economies

Check out our YouTube Channel!

Bike Parking

Covered bicycle parking is available at street level in both garages -- accessible from 7th Street.

(Bicycle Parking -- South Garage)

(Bicycle Parking -- North Garage)

GSELS Classes & Student Scholars

Global Sustainability and Earth Literacy Studies (GSELS) classes at MDC -- which are part of different academic programs -- acknowledge the interconnections and interdependencies that define our world. Students can earn GSELS Scholar recognition, in part by doing well in GSELS classes (see the requirements).

YES! Club
Padrón Campus YES for Environmental Sustainability (YES!) Club is a student organization (sponsored by Earth Ethics Institute) whose mission is to highlight the importance of sustainability and biological diversity while educating others about the function of natural ecosystems and their intrinsic value.

Advisor: Albert Lenel

Trees

Engineers for a Sustainable World
Padrón Campus Engineers for a Sustainable World mobilizes students and professionals through education, technical projects and collaborative action to impact local and global sustainability challenges. We envision a world in which engineering fosters environmental, social and economic sustainability to improve both the quality of life and the condition of our planet.

Advisors: Jykro Correo & Adolfo Mendez

Joyce DiBenedetto-Colton Earth Literacy Award

Named for our friend, longtime supporter, past director, and current Earth Ethics Institute board member, this annual Award celebrates a student's superior achievement and action in support of Earth and Earth Literacy.

UrbanaSpace (Pine Rocklands Habitat)
Located at the corner of SW 6th Street and SW 25th Avenue.

Pine rocklands are globally imperiled ecosystems native to Southeast Florida, with plant and animal species found nowhere else. After winning a Public Space Challenge offered by The Miami Foundation, Padrón Campus transformed part of its landscaping into pine rockland habitat.  

David McGuirk Memorial Zen Garden
Located across from the employee parking lot.

Associate Professor David McGuirk (English, Literature and Sociology), who passed away in 2014, had a particular concern for environmental sustainability. Along with leading Earth Day and Sustainability Committee activities at Padrón Campus, he assisted faculty and staff in developing co-curricular learning opportunities for students in sustainability and earth literacy, as well as with efforts to create and maintain a ‘green’ campus environment.

MLK Butterfly Garden
Located at the corner of SW 6th Street and SW 25th Avenue (inside the employee parking lot)

Student, faculty and staff created this garden in January 2022 as a way to remember Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and help to improve the campus environment.

 

Earth Ethics Institute (EEI) at Miami Dade College (MDC): Fostering earth literacy at Miami Dade College and beyond