Clarkson U Students Initiate Energy-Efficient Campus Solutions
Student research, funded by the university's sustainability fund, has concluded that the university could save up to $600,000 annually on energy bills by installing motion sensor-controlled lighting in its residence halls. The student group installed motion sensor lighting on one of the school’s older residence halls and recorded the difference in the amount of energy used. Their research was recently singled out by the New York State Pollution Prevention Initiative in a contest among teams from partner universities throughout New York.
Mills College Students Launch Bike Co-Op
A group of students have created the Spokes Folks Bike Co-Op, providing a community support system, bike-repair seminars and maintenance tools. The co-op aims to provide access to bicycles to those who do not own bikes.
Thomas More College Turns Green Spaces into Art
The college's new Sculpting Spaces project encourages the campus community to transform the campus’ green spaces into outdoor studios, laboratory classrooms and student galleries. Students and faculty are working to create artistic spaces while learning about landscape design and sustainability practices.
U Louisville Students Install Recycled Solar Panels
Members of the university’s Renewable Energy and Efficiency Club are installing a small-scale solar energy project using recycled materials. Students purchased the solar cells from eBay and re-engineered the cell architecture to use a low-cost method. The panels will be used to power two fans that will ventilate a greenhouse.
Cornell U Students Create Low-Cost Light for Developing Countries
An idea that uses soda bottles to provide light to people in developing countries without electricity has won the $3,000 first-place prize at the university's Big Idea competition, open to all undergraduates. CapLight, created by Chris Dobyns '13 and Folajimi Fowose '13, replaces the cap of a standard soda bottle with an LED light assembly designed to provide low-cost, energy-efficient lighting. The prize money will be used to build more prototypes, which the students plan to distribute this summer.
U Calif Riverside Students Win Int'l Enviro Design Competition
A team of students from the university’s Bourns College of Engineering recently won the 2012 Intel Environmental Innovation Award for their reusable storm drain oil filter design. Constructed out of 100 percent recycled materials, "Sustain-a-Drain" is placed into storm drains to filter the oil carried in stormwater run-off. The students plan to patent their design and permanently install filters on campus.
U Michigan Students Establish Campus Farm Pilot
Four School of Natural Resources and Environment graduate students have established a 250-square-foot pilot farm for testing crops that will then be donated. Future plans include a larger farm and a centralized sustainable food program at the university. The students are currently seeking additional funding to hire a farm manager.
Fordham U Students Launch Campus Garden
Student group Fordham Urban Sustainability and Ecosystems and the United Student Government have created an agricultural garden and living classroom on campus. The purpose of the project is to raise awareness of healthy eating habits and to educate the campus community about the production of sustainable food. In alliance with a local farm, the two groups have also initiated a Community Supported Agriculture program.
Harvard U Students Launch Climate Awareness Blog
Titled "There's a Hole in my Ozone and Other Awkward Problems," the blog is a source of "factual but unintimidating environmental information" designed to show students that little things can make a difference toward a greener life. The blog was created by two Harvard Resource Efficiency Program Representatives.
Tiffin U Students Initiate Expanded Recycling Efforts
Students have assembled corrugated plastic recycling bins to be placed around campus that will enable the campus community to deposit bottles, cans and cell phones. Funding for the bins, along with a student worker that will work on the recycling program with the maintenance department, was provided by the Sandusky Seneca Solid Waste Management District.
HKUST Students Host Green Events Month
(China): Members of the university's Green Ambassador Program organized a reusable mug campaign, an item swap, and a donation drive for a local kindergarten in need of computers and projectors in March. The month was designated for events to raise awareness in support of a "green" lifestyle.
UK Institutions Launch Student Food Co-ops
(U.K.): Oxford Brookes University is the latest of eight institutions in the U.K. to launch a student-run food co-op. Organized by People & Planet student chapters at Kent, Strathclyde, Durham, Manchester, Birmingham, East Anglia and Newcastle universities, these co-ops are designed to provide students and staff access to ethical food at low prices.
York U Students Rally for Full-time Sustainability Officer
(U.K.): The York University student chapter of People & Planet, a student network in Britain that organizes campaigns to end world poverty, defend human rights and protect the environment, recently protested outside of a university Sustainability Strategy meeting for a full-time sustainability officer.
Local Food Co-op Comes to U Mass Med School
(U.S.): The Massachusetts Local Food Cooperative has begun offering monthly distribution at the Worcester campus due to the efforts of a group of volunteers at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. On the first Friday of every month, student and faculty volunteers travel to the distribution center in Westminster to pick up orders from the university. The goods are then brought back and unloaded to a waiting pick-up area set up in the old Medical School lobby.
Texas A&M Green Roof to Engage Wide Variety of Students
Next fall, students from a variety of academic programs at the university will begin collaborating on an interdisciplinary, three-year project to install and monitor a green roof and living wall atop a campus building. The project is funded by a $100,000 university reallocation grant for enhancing students’ preparation for the workplace and society through high-impact learning experiences. The project will also raise awareness of "green" technologies and provide opportunities for additional student research.
Florida Gulf Coast U Students Initiate 'Food Forest'
Funded by student fees, the half-acre permaculture garden mimics the seven layers of a natural forest and is divided into irrigation zones. In addition to producing edible plants, students cite the initiative's ability to create community.
U Florida Fraternity House Installs Solar Array
Beta Theta Pi has initiated a 10-kilowatt solar array on the roof of its campus house that is expected to provide as much as 20 percent of the house's energy use per year. The fraternity received a $20,000 rebate from the campus' energy provider for the $44,000 system, and a $10,000 loan from the university that fraternity members are paying off with 1,000 service hours on campus energy-efficiency projects over five years.
U New Hampshire Students Launch 'Friday Night Lights Out'
This grassroots effort, started by undergraduate students, mobilizes students at the start of the weekend to turn off lights and other appliances left on in academic buildings. The students have calculated that their efforts save the university about $200 per week.
Butler U Students "Green" Pharmacy Building Roof
Funded through the Student Government Association, the 1,300-square-foot vegetated roof is made up of 640 trays of sedum, a hardy ground cover that will deter stormwater runoff. The roof will be a topic of future student research and serve as a pilot study to assess the possibility of green roof installations on other campus buildings.
Earthzine Names Winners of Global Student Writing Contest
Online news source Earthzine has announced the winners of its third annual College and University Student Essay and Blogging Contest, which asked students to consider ways that Earth observation can help build a more sustainable world. Michelle Wai-Hon Lam from the University of Michigan took home the top honor with her essay, "Seeing like a Planet: From Global Consciousness to Global Conscience."
Ohio State U Students Submit City Sustainability Plan
Offering short-term, medium-term and long-term goals, the student's proposed sustainability plan for the Hilliard City Council focuses on energy and waste reduction, land use and urban ecology, and economic development and social equity. Students created the document as part of the university’s "City and Regional Planning" class.
U Missouri Student Initiates Community Garden
A doctoral student is spearheading a new community garden that will largely be used by children in the university's Child Development Lab as a way to nurture the value of natural foods and where food originates in children ages two to five. A larger garden is also planned when the fundraising is finalized to pay for the cost of materials.
U Pennsylvania Eco-Reps Promote Community Service
The student sustainability educators recently partnered with UC Green, a local organization that works with the community to empower volunteers in sustainability, to assist in the cleanup of an urban cemetery.
U South Carolina Students Initiate Carbon Neutral Athletics
Student athletes have been hard at work planting trees and exchanging energy-efficient light bulbs around campus to offset the carbon emissions of a recent men's basketball game. The first carbon neutral athletic event at the university was intended to create awareness of the carbon emissions produced by sporting events and to pave the way for larger scale carbon neutral events around campus.
Georgetown U Students Work to Institutionalize Sustainability
(U.S.): In an effort to effectively collaborate with administrators, Georgetown University’s (D.C.) student-led Visions for a Sustainable Georgetown Initiative has completed a campus-wide study to help advance sustainability initiatives. Core suggestions include the development a Climate Action Plan and creation of an official Office of Sustainability.
Michigan State U Students Lead Energy-Efficient Building Design
(U.S.): A group of Michigan State University students have received a $43,626 grant from the Office of Campus Sustainability to design a template to be used to transition all campus buildings to 100 percent renewable energy. Working with the university's "Design of Alternative Energy Systems" class and a local green economy leadership training organization, the students aim to take three buildings off of the main current power source.
U Wyoming Students Aid Efficient Lighting Retrofit
(U.S.): As part of a "Campus Sustainability" class learning project, a pair of University of Wyoming students are conducting a detailed inventory of campus building lights to help the university receive rebates for converting to more efficient lighting.
Plymouth State U Opens Student Ecohouse
Plymouth State University (New Hampshire) has unveiled its Ecohouse, a home for students dedicated to sustainable living and green renovation. Residents will gain hands-on experience with alternative ways of living in a house featuring solar panels for water heating and thermal window inserts that absorb heat.
5 Campus Projects Recognized as 'Champions of Change'
The White House has announced the five winners of its Campus Champions of Change Challenge. Selected through an online popular vote, the winners include a permaculture initiative at the University of Massachusetts Amherst; a food pantry at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville; a microfinance program that combats rural poverty at Grinnell College (IA); a donation program for the homeless at the University of California, Los Angeles; and an initiative to help local urban teenagers learn better financial skills at the University of Chicago (IL).
Rutgers U Greek Students Embark on Weatherization Initiative
Rutgers University (NJ) has partnered with the New Jersey Public Interest Research Group’s Energy Service Corps for a “Green the Greek” initiative. The program targets on-campus sorority and fraternity houses for weatherization projects, and teaches residents the basics. Once completed, sorority and fraternity members help with additional energy audits around campus.
Texas Christian U Encourages Student Indoor Gardening
Organized by its Wesley Foundation and Community Renewal, Texas Christian University is providing students with resources to learn about indoor gardening. Students pick their own seeds and plant them in containers for their rooms as part of a "Garden in a Tight Spot" workshop.
Western Washington U Students Design Green Dorm
Western Washington University students have designed and proposed a sustainable dorm pilot program. The project would work to get energy-efficient lights, low-flow faucets, power meters and new appliances installed in a test room. If approved, the room would serve as an educational space for students.
Clarkson U Students Win Int'l Renewable Energy Technology Contest
A graduate student Environmental Design Team at Clarkson University (NY) recently earned the first place platinum award at the 2012 International Capstone Design Contest on Renewable Energy Technology in South Korea for its integrated food and waste management system. Housed in a passive solar building with an aeroponic growing system, LED lights and extensive sensors and controls for energy efficiency, the cold climate greenhouse converts campus food waste into heat, electricity and fertilizer. The international competition is sponsored by Mokpo National University and Offshore Wind Energy Center.
Iowa State U Students Petition for Renewable Energy
Members of Iowa State University’s ActivUs student organization recently held a press conference urging administrators to eliminate the burning of coal on campus. The organization has collected 2,500 signatures calling for the use of renewable energy resources instead.
Northeastern U Students Protest Chick-Fil-A on Campus
Based on student concerns, Northeastern University (MA) has announced that it won't consider restaurant chain Chick-Fil-A for a spot in the student union. Based on reports that the company has donated to groups that lobby against measures that promote equity for gay people, the Student Government recommended the ban.
Obama Selects 'Campus Champions of Change' Finalists
The University of Massachusetts Amherst's Permaculture Committee, recently featured in AASHE's Sustainability Student Diary series, is one of 15 finalists in President Barack Obama's Campus Champions of Change Challenge. Online voters will choose five projects that "best embody the president's goal to win the future." Other finalists include a program that provides local produce, breads and dairy to faculty and students at Brown University (RI); a food pantry for students in crisis at the University of Arkansas; an educational reform coalition at Princeton University (NJ); and a mentoring program for youth at the University of Missouri.
U Virginia Students Lead Hunger Strike in Support of Living Wages
Twelve students at the University of Virginia have begun a hunger strike in support of a Living Wage policy for university employees. The Living Wage Campaign at the university has seen 14 years of teach-ins, concerts, film showings, marches, seminars, reports and community outreach with no success. The campaign is demanding a fair minimum wage for direct, contracted and subcontracted employees.
Temple U Students Use Art to Promote Safe Bird Migration
To raise awareness about bird collisions on campus buildings and offer potential solutions to the problem, graphic and interactive design students at Temple University (PA) have created decorative window film panels that enable birds to recognize windows as an obstruction. Nearly 1,000 birds die from building collisions each year on the campus, which sits in the middle of a migratory path.
U Michigan Establishes Student Clean Energy Venture Challenge
The University of Michigan has partnered with DTE Energy to establish the Michigan Clean Energy Venture Challenge. The program provides student teams interested in clean energy entrepreneurship the education, mentorship and resources to accelerate their ideas forward. Sixteen student teams from six universities statewide have been selected to present their business ideas and will compete for more than $100,000 in prizes. The competition is part of a national effort to encourage young entrepreneurs to develop renewable energy solutions through President Obama’s Startup America campaign.
Washington U St. Louis Students Push for Renewable Energy
Students at Washington University in St. Louis (MO) have launched Renew WashU, a new initiative to push the university to invest in renewable energy. With wind and solar energy, the students say that the university has the potential to use 100 percent renewable energy.
Boise State U Students Aim to Break Veggie-Power Speed Record
A Boise State University (ID) student team has announced plans to break the land speed record of 215 miles per hour for a vegetable oil-powered truck. The Greenspeed team broke the record for a truck in its class last year, and now has its sights on a modified 1998 Chevrolet S-10 pick-up truck. The team will compete during Speedweek at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah this August.
Purdue U Student Art Exhibit Supports Campus Renewable Energy
Students at Purdue University (IN) have created a windmill art installation to represent student support for renewable energy on campus. The exhibit is designed to encourage students to comment on the university’s Comprehensive Energy Master Plan. Officials are asking for public comment on the plan, which proposes cutting coal use and increasing reliance on natural gas for heating and cooling.
Southern Polytechnic State U Launches USGBC Student Organization
Southern Polytechnic State University (GA) has formed its first U.S. Green Building Council student organization. Membership is open to all students interested in new technologies, systems and materials that aid in sustainable design and construction. The organization provides members with opportunities to build and foster relationships both on campus and in local communities.
U North Carolina Chapel Hill Launches Social Innovation Incubator
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has launched a pilot Social Innovation Incubator program. Supporting the Innovate@Carolina Roadmap, the university’s plan to help North Carolina become a leader in launching university-born ideas for the good of society, the program will provide student teams with organizational resources to build their social ventures.
San Diego State U Opens Student Sustainability Center
With the goal of enabling students to take action, San Diego State University's (CA) Center for Regional Studies has opened a Student Sustainability Center. Students will work with faculty at the center to create action plans to ensure the school reduces its carbon footprint. The action plans will be informed by research conducted by student interns on the successes of energy efficiency programs at other institutions.
College of the Atlantic Students Install Campus Solar Panels
As part of a “Practicum on Solar Energy” course, students at the College of the Atlantic (ME) helped install a solar energy array on campus. The class developed a budget, chose the panels, learned how to assemble them and completed the installation within eight weeks. The students also worked with a local organization to educate the public about solar energy and increase private funding for the systems. The connection maximized the college’s original grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, allowing the campus to double the size of the array.
U Michigan Students Turn Recycled Car Parts into Sandals
University of Michigan students have begun creating sandals out of junkyard car seat belts and abandoned tires. The launch of the students' Treads Motor City Sandals is part of a class that requires aspiring designers, engineers and business students to collaborate to create a marketable product out of recycled materials that could be manufactured by someone with entry-level skills. A local nonprofit is working to turn Treads Motor City Sandals into a small business.
Unity College Students Help Build Campus Root Cellar
With the help of student volunteer labor, Unity College (ME) has constructed a root cellar on campus to store vegetables for campus dining services. The traditional underground structure regulates temperature and humidity without the inputs needed for refrigeration. The cellar will also be used by local hunger relief organizations.
Appalachian State U Students Promote Water Conservation with Art
Discovering a lack of public awareness or concern of water conservation issues in their university's town, graphic design students at Appalachian State University (NC) responded with a water conservation poster campaign. Banners that appear on local buses urge town residents to save five gallons of water by cutting their shower time by two minutes. The campaign was funded by a Sustainability Arts Grant from the university's Sustainability Council.
