During the 2009/2010 academic year, undergraduates Kimberly Pearson, of the School of Sustainability (SOS), Matthew Petrucci of Civil Engineering, Derek Cardinale of Geography and Urban Planning and Canon Leadership Program facilitator Betty Lombardo of University Sustainability Practices (USP) developed a project to increase the capacity, visibility and sense of community space of the Undergraduate Student Government (USG) Bike Co-op. The Bike Co-op was operating at maximum capacity due to its interior Student Recreation Complex (SRC) workspace footprint. The expansion increased the USG Bike Co-op’s capacity for business, created a space for cyclists to meet for rides and provided shade during the check-in and check-out process for Sun Devil Kids’ Camp participants.

The Canon Leadership Program provides students with hands on leadership opportunities to enhance the campus and community. Kim, Matt and Derek decided to focus their project on sustainability to fulfill the group project requirement of the Canon Leadership Program. They prepared a proposal to USG seeking $10,000 in funding to have ASU Facilities Management install a 10’ overhand by 28’ length metal awning to cover the entrance of the Bike Co-op. By developing the proposal, students had to act as adaptive learners and account for changes of plans in light of new information. The funding was approved and the awning has been installed.

This project offered great opportunities. The students learned how to navigate through the structures of a major university while pursuing change and creating buy-in for new ideas and managed to integrate various, different, perspectives, which was a key success factor. To illustrate the coordination effort, the following were participating partners: The ASU Architect helped to guide the placement of awning; Facilities Management provided an awning estimate and coordinated the installation; Associated Students of Arizona State University (ASASU) managed the funding of the project; the USG Bike Co-op provided input on their needs and oversaw the project; USP, within the Global Institute of Sustainability, organized the overall plan; the SRC Building Manager provided approval of awning placement outside the SRC; and the Arizona State Cycling Community gave input on potential uses of the shaded community space.

Possible future projects include working with the USG Bike Co-op to expand their range of services or to develop more programming that can occur within the expanded outdoor space.