Month: October 2025

Don’t Mess With Mansfield – Community Cleanup Day November 8, 2025

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Dont Mess with Mansfield community litter clean up on saturday november 8

The Town of Mansfield and UConn are pleased to team up against litter in our town. Join in to meet others in the Mansfield community and do good for our people and planet.

UConn & Vicinity Town Wide
Date & Time: Saturday, November 8

Cleanup Check In Stations will be open Noon to 4pm

 Saturday, November 8

At your leisure throughout the day or 10am-Noon for Pleasant Valley.
Where: Volunteer to clean up in the core of campus, Hunting Lodge Rd, Separatist Rd, North Eagleville Rd, or Eastwood/Westwood Rds.

Check In Station Map

Litter pickup supplies will be provided at check in stations.

 Oak Grove Montessori: Park at the school between 10am-noon to clean up Pleasant Valley Road. Bags, gloves and grabbers will be provided.

Otherwise you’re welcome to go anywhere you feel safe collecting roadside litter. Roads that are especially littered include Browns Rd, Chaffeeville Rd, Maple Rd, Pleasant Valley Rd, Mansfield City Rd, Stearns Rd, White Oak Rd and Gurleyville Rd. Consider making a commitment to pick up litter on a section of road throughout the year by joining Adopt A Road.
What To Do With Full Trash/Recycling Bags: Bring your litter bag to your Check In station once you are finished. UConn Facilities trucks will be making rounds to pick up bags from the stations. If you’re participating in the Oak Grove Montessori clean up on Pleasant Valley, bring your full bags back to the school by noon.

Bags of litter from clean ups elsewhere may be placed out with household trash for those with collection service or taken to the Mansfield Transfer Station for no charge. The Transfer Station is located on Rte 89, one mile from the intersection of Routes 195 and 89 in Mansfield Center at 221 Warrenville Rd. The Transfer Station is open Tuesdays, 8:30 am to 4:00 pm, Thursdays, 12:00 pm to 4:00 pm and Saturdays, 8:30 am to 4:00 pm.

Litter is an unsightly blight on our roadways, and hurts the environment. It can be especially dangerous for wildlife. Small animals may crawl into bottles and get stuck, and litter can blow into storm drains and streams and may eventually make its way to the ocean. When litter gets eaten by animals and sea life, they can starve to death or suffocate. Litter also attracts pests. Be part of the solution, not the pollution!

Since starting this program in 2024, we have collected over 300 bags of litter!

Read last spring’s story about Don’t Mess with Mansfield in UConn Today.

UConn Office of Sustainability            mansfield CT logo

UConn@COP Fellows Announced for COP30 in Brazil

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UConn@COP is a competitive fellowship program that sends students to the international climate-focused United Nations Conference of the Parties (COP). The event brings together students, diplomats, government officials, activists, leaders, and delegates to discuss climate change. Students have the opportunity to engage and attend sessions that discuss ongoing negotiations in the global environmental sphere.

Twelve UConn students were selected to attend COP30 this November in Belém, Brazil. The Office of Sustainability received approximately 90 applications for the fellowship, all of which were exceptional. The UConn@COP Selection Committee, consisting of faculty, staff, and past UConn COP fellows reviewed each application, and collaboratively decided who would be accepted into this year’s cohort. Betsy Mortensen, Communication, Outreach, and Education Coordinator for the Office of Sustainability, and member of the COP Selection Committee shared her thoughts on this year’s applicants, “As always, the selection committee was super impressed by the students who applied, and by the diversity of the majors that were represented. Climate change affects all sectors so we’re glad that we can bring students from diverse fields to COP30.” The COP Fellowship is grateful to have engaged with so many driven students.  

Students will attend COP 30 from November 14th to November 22nd, 2025. They will bring back the experience of a lifetime and educate their peers about their learnings both while they are at the conference as well as back on campus. One of the fellows, Kanika Chaturvedi ‘25 (CLAS) noted “I am looking forward to engaging with different diplomats from around the world to understand their perspectives as well as learn more about the international negotiation processes and discussions that take place.”   

The following students will be attending this year’s conference: 

  1. Aminieli James Hopson, ‘26 (BUS) 
  2. Anagha Payyambally, Ph.D. Candidate in Marine Sciences  
  3. Andy Ma Zhang ‘26 (CLAS, CAHNR) 
  4. Brett Hurley ‘27 (JD) 
  5. Caroline Maeve Keary ‘26 (MS) 
  6. Claire Elise Lawrence ‘26 (CLAS) 
  7. Kanika Chaturvedi ‘25 (CLAS)  
  8. Madelyn Kelly ‘26 (COE) 
  9. Malak Nechnach ‘26 (CLAS) 
  10. Pranavi Rebala ‘26 (CLAS) 
  11. Saanya Sharma ‘26 (COE) 
  12. Toriana Grooms ‘27 (CLAS) 

Meet the fellows and learn about their experience at the conference at the Climate Change Cafe on December 3rd, 2025 at the Student Union, Room 304 from 4-6 PM. Refreshments will be provided.