About the ISNW

Overview

cover of environmental stewardship action plan
JMU's Environmental Stewardship Action Plan is a strategic plan for campus environmental stewardship actions from 2011-2015.

A commitment to being model environmental stewards is one of a handful of characteristics that defines JMU, “The University will be an environmentally literate community whose members think critically and act, individually and collectively, as model stewards of the natural world.” The role of the Institute for Stewardship of the Natural World (ISNW) is to facilitate sustainability by coordinating environmental stewardship efforts across campus, advocating for priorities, and challenging all members of the James Madison community to think critically about their role in achieving the long-term stewardship of Earth. The ISNW serves as an internal and external point of contact for university-wide environmental stewardship activities.

Vision

Human health and well being are dependent upon our ecosystems, which support, provision, regulate, and contribute to culture. We, as a higher education community, will advance environmental literacy via our actions, educational programs, research, scholarship, and service. We, as students, graduates, faculty, and staff, will make personal and professional choices that ensure ecological health for future generations. JMU will be nationally recognized as a leading public university in the south for individual and institutional efforts to sustain our planet for future generations.

Goal

To offer a rich array of experiences which enhance our citizens' understanding of the social, scientific, and economic issues relevant to ecological health and inspire our members and observers to think critically about environmental stewardship and act as model stewards of the natural world.

Milestones