AWESC Environmental Tip of the Month!

CSU Presents: Animal Health Advocates in a Changing Climate

Colorado State University's One Health Club is excited to present Animal Health Advocates in a Changing Climate - a virtual symposium on climate change and health for the veterinary profession! This symposium is designed to begin equipping clinicians, technicians and students with knowledge and tools to be effective contributors in protecting animal health in a changing climate. From an interdisciplinary One Health perspective, climate change as it relates to animal health will be explored through the lens of emerging disease, conservation implications, emergency management, veterinary care, and sustainable business initiatives. Attendees can engage with top scientists, advocates, and veterinarians leading the charge towards a healthier future for our planet and learn about actions needed to join the force. We are currently accepting registrations, which is FREE for students! Please check out our website for program details, speaker information, registration and more! Make sure to check out the Student Showcase and consider submitting an abstract if you (or your student club/group) have created movement towards a healthy and sustainable future. 

OSU CVM Responds to 2020 Wildfire Emergency

Please join us in recognizing the amazing efforts of the Oregon State University Carlson College of Veterinary Medicine during this difficult time.  They have gone above and beyond to aid wildlife that have been injured as a result of the major wildfires ravaging the western United States.

Top left: Shannah Duffy (2023) and Christie Greiner-Shelton (2022) dropping food from the pet food drive to a shelter in Eugene, OR. Top middle: Catherine Skinner (2022). Top right: Christie Greiner Shelton & Lindsey Zachary (2022). Bottom left: Shannah Duffy (2021) & Christie Greiner Shelton (2022). Bottom right: Tiffany Yee, Eilea Delgadillo, & Whitney Sia (2021).

An incredible team of people at the Oregon State University Carlson College of Veterinary Medicine have been working extremely hard to launch a veterinary wildfire response team to serve local emergency response locations at Benton County Events Center and Fairgrounds, Linn County Expo Center and Oregon State Fair and Exposition Center. Additionally, CCVM is also providing hospitalized care to large or small animals injured or ill as a result of the wildfires and evacuation endeavors. Faculty continues to be available to provide consultation related to emergency and critical care for these animals as well. More than 110 CCVM veterinarians, technicians, staff and students have volunteered in these efforts.

Click to read more ...

AWESC Environmental Tip of the Month

The SAVMA Animal Welfare and Environmental Stewarship Committee would like to share some helpful hints regarding how to develop green habits while spending more time at home!  If you happen to live near the coast (or even if you don't!), take a study break to participate in International Coastal Cleanup Month!  Every small step brings us closer to a healthier environment, so join the ~wave~ of clean and green!

Vet Students Impacting Environmental Health - March Winner

Stephanie Schiavone from Colorado State explains what she does to help with environmental sustainability at her school and within the teaching hospital at CSU!

I am the lead student on a research project that focuses on environmental sustainability in a veterinary teaching hospital. We designed and sent out a survey to every AVMA accredited veterinary school with an associated teaching hospital on environmental sustainability in the workplace. The survey is designed to target all employees and students who are undergoing clinical rotations. Our purpose for designing this survey was in response to a different survey that was sent out to veterinary students on sustainability in their curriculum, which found that students wanted to learn more about the health of the planet. We wanted to target the employees and 4th year DVM students in clinical rotations to further understand how sustainability was being handled from the perspective of the people who spent the most time at the workplace. Our goals for this project are to discover where within the hospital there was a lot of non-sustainable waste being produced and how to better address it to see where changes can be made. Examples of some of the questions we asked include “How high of a priority should environmental sustainability be?” and “Select the top three areas you would be interested in helping to reduce the environmental footprint at your veterinary hospital”. Our hope with this study is to publish it to JVME so that we can start to make more sustainable changes in our hospitals and design a better future for ourselves and all other living beings on earth.