Casella Donates $10k Toward Zero Waste Graduate Fellowship at UConn Office of Sustainability

May 22, 2025

At the May 19, 2025 unveiling of Casella’s upgraded recycling processing facility in Willimantic, CT, a generous donation of $10,000 was made to UConn’s Office of Sustainability in order to support a graduate fellowship focused on zero waste efforts. The Zero Waste Program Coordinator will play a key role in advancing UConn’s Zero Waste efforts. The coordinator will work closely with students, faculty, staff, and sustainability partners to implement strategies that reduce waste and promote circular economy principles across campus. They will also provide first-level leadership over the Thrift Den (UConn’s free store) and the Thrift Den Interns.

Casella processes UConn Storrs’ recyclables, and their updated facility will now be able to double the amount of cans, paper, and glass recycled in a year! In addition to the upgraded sorting machinery, Casella also partnered with Eversource to enhance the facility’s electrical efficiency and minimize its energy usage.

Thank you Casella for supporting zero waste efforts at UConn!

UConn to Co-Host 2025 Northeast Campus Sustainability Consortium Summit

May 14, 2025

June 9-11: NECSC Summit

The Northeast Campus Sustainability Consortium (NECSC) Summit will be held the evening of Monday, June 9, 2025 through the afternoon of Wednesday, June 11, 2025 at the UConn Avery Point Campus. The co-hosts are Connecticut College and the University of Connecticut.

The NECSC Summit is known for being an inclusive, fun, and informative gathering of sustainability professionals representing higher education institutions across the Northeast, Southeast Canada and the upper mid-Atlantic.

Topics of discussion include the current political sustainability landscape, student engagement and career development, decarbonization, and more. To see the most up-to-date information and registration information, click here.

About NECSC

The Northeast Campus Sustainability Consortium (NECSC) was established in October 2004 to support sustainability officers in advancing education about and demonstration of sustainable systems on university campuses in the northeast and maritime region. Organized around the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development, the NECSC members have committed to an annual meeting that advances campus sustainability by providing close networking opportunities, professional development, and access to the area’s vibrant and growing college and university sustainability practitioner community. With no formalized structure, the NECSC is a collaborative, participatory network serving sustainability professionals in higher education in the northeast region.

Now Accepting UConn@COP30 Expressions of Interest

April 25, 2025

Attention UConn Faculty and Staff Members:

The steering committee for the UConn@COP Fellowship Program is pleased to extend a call for expressions of interest by UConn faculty and staff members who are interested in joining the UConn@COP30 contingent as it travels to Belém, Brazil from November 15-22, 2025 to attend the United Nations Conference of the Parties (UN COP30) climate change conference.

Critically, participation in the formal Fellowship Program and travel with the group require all travel expenses, including flight and hotel fees be self-funded.

Due to space limitations, only two faculty and staff members will be able to stay with the group as part of the official delegation. Nonetheless, anyone already planning to attend the conference is more than welcome to meet with the UConn delegation in Brazil.

Please note, conference passes are scarce and not guaranteed. Priority for passes will be given to students before faculty or staff members. We encourage applicants to seek alternative sources for obtaining an official UN conference badge.

Opportunities to contribute to the program include:

Leading topic-specific “breakfast club” conversations in the mornings at the conference with the UConn@COP fellows
Participating in group cultural immersion excursions
Leading or participating in pre-travel educational meetings
Participating in the Climate Change Café and Symposium on December 3, 2025 from 4-6pm in the Student Union.

To submit your expression of interest, please email the UConn@COP steering committee at sustainability@uconn.edu by June 13^th. Please be sure to address the following questions in your email:

What contributions to the UConn@COP Fellowship Program might you offer the students?
What will you gain professionally by joining the UConn delegation attending COP30?

Please feel free to email the UConn@COP Fellowship Program steering committee with any questions, at: sustainability@uconn.edu

UConn Gives 2025

April 15, 2025

UConn Gives, the annual 36-hour fundraising event at UConn, will be taking place on April 21 and 22. Every year, the UConn community rallies to support many different causes on campus, including our own Campus Sustainability Fund and the UConn@COP Fund!

The Campus Sustainability Fund (CSF) finances programs and initiatives that support students and advance UConn’s position as a global leader in university sustainability. Contributions to the CSF provide critical funding of transformative learning experiences for students including hands-on professional development through internships and research projects that nurture our natural environments, improve health and wellbeing, and enhance environmental justice in the communities which we serve. The CSF also funds our experiential learning events such as the Haunted HEEP, the UConn-famous annual haunted trail walk at the Hillside Environmental Education Park.

The UConn@COP Fund supports the UConn@COP Fellowship program, helping the OS send a cohort of students each year to the annual United Nations Conference of the Parties. Through UConn@COP, students have participated in panels at international press conferences, networked with global environmental leaders, and heard from and interacted with international delegates and core members of international environmental justice movements. UConn@COP is an incredible, transformative experience for fellows, and it would not be possible without the support of generous donors!

Every donation, big or small, means so much! Thank you to everyone for supporting sustainability achievements and the environmental leaders of tomorrow!

Earth Day Spring Fling 2025

March 24, 2025

Earth Day Spring Fling – 2025

Wednesday, April 16

11:00 AM-2:00 PM on Fairfield Way

Rain date: April 21

Earth Day Spring Fling is an annual celebration of sustainability co-sponsored by UConn’s Office of Sustainability and the Department of Dining Services. Established in 2008, the festival features vendors of sustainable and hand-crafted goods, organic and local foods, environmental organizations, and student groups that join together to produce the greatest day of environmental awareness all year! Coinciding with the event is UConn’s annual Arbor Day celebration and ceremonial “class tree” planting.

Event Highlights:

Zero Waste BBQ: Dining Services is catering an outdoor, zero-waste BBQ featuring vegan, vegetarian and sustainable food options sourced locally. Note – the BBQ requires a flex pass, community meal plan swipe or $12 credit/debit card.
Eco Theme Cupcakes
Dairy Bar Truck
12-1p Goat Yoga: Outdoor yoga with the goats of Bradley Mountain Farm. Bring your own mat. Sign Ups will be announced on the OS instagram.
Party Peddler Bike: Hop on the 10 person bike for a tour of sustainability along Fairfield Way.
2028 Class Tree Planting: As a certified Tree Campus, we celebrate each class with their own tree. This year’s tree, selected by the Freshman class, is the Green Gable Tupelo. The ceremony will be held at 1pm outside of the Budds Building on Fairfield Way.
UConn Thrift Den: The Thrift Den will highlight some of their free clothes!
Eco-Vendors: Meet with student and community organizations dedicated to sustainability, as well as eco-minded businesses along Fairfield Way.

For more information, please email sustainability@uconn.edu.

Thank you to Casella and UConn Student Government for support!

Don’t Mess With Mansfield – Community Cleanup Day April 27, 2025

February 28, 2025

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:	Sunday, April 27 Cleanup Check In Stations will be open Noon to 4pm	Saturday, April 26 Supplies can be picked up from 9am to noon at the Mansfield Community Center during the Earth Day Celebration.
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.	Anywhere you feel safe collecting roadside litter in your neighborhood. Roads that are especially littered include Pleasant Valley, Mansfield City, White Oak and Gurleyville. 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.	Bags of litter 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!

Read the story about Don’t Mess with Mansfield in UConn Today.

Office of Sustainability Internship – Apply Now for Fall ’25

February 27, 2025

Undergraduate students work as interns at the Office of Sustainability to provide leadership, collaboration and advocacy for sustainability at UConn. The 10 hour per week positions help enact the Office’s critical university programs. Interns host campus sustainability engagement events, carry out UConn’s strategic sustainability plans, and research best environmental practices to improve sustainability at UConn.

If you have an interest in sustainability, want great career experience and excellent mentoring, apply to join our team of ~12 interns this fall.

Submit a letter expressing your interest in the position, your resume and an application via JobX.

Applications are due by 11:59pm on April 23. No late applications will be accepted.

For more details visit: https://sustainability.uconn.edu/experiential-learning/os-internship-opportunities/sustainability-interns/

Apply to UConn@COP – Applications for 2025 are OPEN!

February 26, 2025

Applications for the UConn@COP Fellowship Program are now OPEN! Attend the United Nations’ global climate negotiations – the Conference of the Parties (COP) in Belém, Brazil from November 15-22, 2025.

COP brings together diplomats, business executives, heads of government, university leaders, environmental activists, NGO’s and other delegates to discuss progress in dealing with climate change. Through this program, UConn students have participated on panels at international press conferences, networked with global NGO’s, environmentally-minded businesses & renewable energy companies, engaged in immersive art exhibitions, attended film screenings put on by the directors themselves, interacted with international delegates & core members of environmental justice movements, and connected with like-minded, passionate students at other colleges & universities in the U.S. and around the world.

The UConn@COP program funds nearly all travel and registration costs thanks to generous donors. Fellows are responsible for $250, but can request a waiver in the event of hardship.

Apply by April 23, 2025 at 11:59pm. No late applications are accepted.

You Complete: COP Application Form

The application asks for student leadership experience, academic information and a short answer to:

In what way(s) do you see yourself contributing to UConn@COP’s efforts to enhance diversity, equity, and inclusion in the program and more generally addressing Environmental Justice. (250 words or less)

You’ll also attach:

A one-page PDF of your current resume
A photocopy of your passport (or copy of your passport application confirmation receipt)
One approximately 700-word essay responding to the following prompts:

- Describe what relevant academic, leadership, and personal experiences make you an ideal candidate for the UConn@COP30 Fellowship Program.
- If selected, how will you share your experiences from UConn@COP30 with the UConn community? (your plans for outreach should be both aspirational and achievable)
- How will the components of the conference and Fellowship program overall benefit your future career?

Your References Complete: In order to be considered for the UConn@COP program, you need two references (one must be from a UConn Faculty Member) to fill out the recommendation form linked below. Please share this link with your references and have them complete it by the application deadline, Wednesday April 23 at 11:59 PM. UConn@COP Reference Form

Selected Fellows are notified by August 1st.

If you have an interest in climate action, apply! Details on the program and application information can be found HERE.

Green Careers: Engage & Explore – Upcoming Event

February 11, 2025

On Tuesday, February 25th, from 3 to 7 pm in the McHugh lobby/room 102, join the Office of Sustainability and the Center for Career Readiness and Life Skills for the Green Careers: Engage & Explore (GCEE) event!

As an international leader in sustainability, UConn takes pride in pursuing excellence in environmental performance and consistently strives to be a center of learning for the next generation of environmental leaders. The GCEE event is an opportunity for students to see how their interests align with sustainability and environmental career paths. The event will kick off with an engagement fair featuring both employers with green career opportunities and student organizations – it is a chance for you as a student to speak with fellow passionate students and learn more about how you can get involved on campus, as well as learn about career opportunities in general, from various incredible companies in different career fields! (Note: resumes are not expected, nor will they be accepted.)

Following the engagement fair, an insightful discussion on the many green careers will be held during two, 45-minute panel events, along with an opportunity to network with our panelists. Past panelists have ranged from Pratt & Whitney engineers to leaders on the environmental justice front. Stay tuned for more information about the panelists!

Get ready for some career exploration and information through the Green Careers: Engage and Explore event on the 25th! Pre-registration is appreciated but not required: RSVP here!

Schedule:

Engagement Fair: 3-5pm, McHugh Lobby

Industry Panel: 5-5:45pm, McHugh 102

Networking Break (with pizza!): 5:45-6:15pm, McHugh Lobby

Alumni Panel: 6:15-7pm

Students of all majors are encouraged to attend. Green careers are not limited to environmental majors! We want to show you how so many majors can be related to a green career.

Why? The Earth is facing an imminent crisis: climate change. We will need all hands on deck to make progress in our goals as a global community to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and save our planet. We at the OS want to show YOU, all the students here at UConn, that ‘green’ does not have to mean strictly environmental science. Our panelists include engineers, businesspeople, and more – sustainability initiatives can be incorporated into any job! There is a place for all of you in the fight for sustainability and environmental justice; you all have a role to play, big or small.