September 7, 2022
The UConn Swap Shop, one of the grantees of the inaugural Environmental and Social Sustainability Grants program, was featured in an NBC Connecticut news story. Read the full article here:
“Anyone with a UConn ID, students or faculty can shop at the swap shop by bringing in an item they no longer wear. Each item gets a credit based on its quality and brand name and then shoppers can walk away with a new item.”
August 31, 2022
UConn Today published a story about one of our Environmental and Social Sustainability Small Grants awardees on August 31, 2022.
Grantee Madeline Kizer is part of the team of UConn students bringing the Swap Shop to life on campus. From the article:
“Cheap clothing has created a culture of “disposable fashion” also known as fast fashion.”
“If something is so cheap, that’s how you know it’s not sustainable,” says Madeline Kizer ’24 (BUS) who is determined to educate as many people as possible about fast fashion and sustainable alternatives. She and other UConn students have established the UConn Swap Shop, a second-hand clothing store aimed at promoting sustainable shopping habits which will open its doors on Thursday, September 8th in the Family Studies Building.”
“We want to raise awareness about sustainability and get people to talk about it,” she says. “If we can get more people to shop sustainably and raise awareness of the issues, hopefully, we can create change.”
The Swap Shop is a place where students can donate clothes or swap for different items. Besides swapping clothes, Kizer says the shop will host events.
“We’re also planning to host sewing and upcycling workshops where we will teach people how to upcycle and the reasons for why we’re doing this,” Kizer says. “We also want to create other educational workshops or a talk series about fast fashion in general.”
Read the full story on UConn Today.
August 29, 2022
Volunteers needed for the 13th annual Football Green Game Day (GGD)! GGD is an event organized by UConn’s Office of Sustainability and UConn Athletics. GGD volunteers are responsible for collecting recyclables from tailgaters prior to the start of the game and promoting environmental awareness to the thousands of UConn Husky fans in attendance! Without volunteers like you, this event would not be possible. This year Football Green Game Day will be held on September 10th, as the Huskies take on the University of Syracuse at Rentschler Field at 7:00pm. Free transportation, dinner, and a ticket to the game will be provided to all volunteers. Please bring your own water bottle and sunscreen! The buses to the stadium will be departing from Hillside Road in front of the Student Union at 2:45 PM. Volunteers can either choose to take one of our buses back to campus around half-time (approx. 9:00 PM) or stay later and take one of the free Husky Roadshow buses back to campus.
Sign up: https://uconn.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_1LKdQmAu4jG3SWG
July 14, 2022
Parking and Transportation has added six free designated parking spots for the Hillside Environmental Education Park (HEEP) trail system. These 6 parallel spots are located to the south of the Innovation Building, next to the water line dirt road trail. Now go out and hike!
July 12, 2022
Find out how UConn moved forward on sustainability this past year in our latest Newsletter.
Did you know that emissions have decreased 20.8% since UConn’s 2007 baseline measure?
July 7, 2022
CT Health I-Team published a story about one of our Environmental and Social Sustainability Small Grants awardees on July 5, 2022.
Grantee Madeline Kizer is part of the team of UConn students bringing the Swap Shop to life on campus. From the article:
“According to a study by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, “The [Fast Fashion] textiles system operates in an almost completely linear way: large amounts of non-renewable
resources are extracted to produce clothes that are often used for only a short time, after which the materials are mostly sent to landfill or incinerated,” under-utilizing recycling. And, many of the industry workers are women, age 18-24, who are exploited working long hours, making low wages, reports re/make.”
“Madeline Kizer of Wallingford hosts clothing swaps to promote second-hand shopping, aiming to raise awareness of fast fashion’s impact on the environment.”
“For the rest of the summer, Kizer and two classmates are finalizing UConn Swap Shop, an on-campus thrift store. Students will have the opportunity to swap clothing, each item having a designated point value. Kizer recalled being a freshman without a car on-campus and wanting to thrift in her free time. She hopes that the thrift store will teach students the importance of shopping second-hand.”
Read the full story on CT Health I-Team.
June 6, 2022
Applications for EcoCaptains for the Fall ’22/Spring ’23 semesters are now open.
EcoCaptains serve as paid sustainability champions and ambassadors for the Office of Sustainability. In collaboration with ResLife, this program allows for EcoCaptains to lead sustainability related programming and educational activities in their residence halls. Below are some of responsibilities of an EcoCaptain:
Apply and learn more HERE.
May 18, 2022
The Institute of the Environment seeks a strategic administrator and effective Director of the Office of Sustainability at the University of Connecticut, who will leverage our institutional reputation in sustainability to further advance our national and international leadership in sustainability and the environment.
The Office of Sustainability reports to the Institute of the Environment and works with senior administrators, students, faculty, and staff to set and achieve sustainability goals for the University in the areas of climate action and resilience, energy and buildings, waste reduction and diversion, water resources, food and dining, grounds, purchasing, transportation, open space and natural resource stewardship, and the intersection of these issues with environmental and social justice. The Office develops outreach and engagement programs that feature experiential learning to raise awareness and improve performance around sustainable practices and behaviors related to campus life.
UConn is internationally recognized as a leader in campus sustainability, consistently placing in the top 10 of the Sierra Club’s Cool Schools ranking and possessing a Platinum Rating with the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education’s Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS). By convening and leading the Environmental Policy Advisory Council (EPAC), and more recently through its participation on President’s Working Group on Sustainability & the Environment, the Office of Sustainability provides the University community with a focal point for campus dialogue on energy and environmental issues, and has been integral to the successful planning and implementation of environmental sustainability initiatives at UConn.
Reporting to the Executive Director of the Institute of the Environment, the Director advocates for sustainable decision-making across diverse units at the University. From an administrative position, the Director manages a modest staff of professionals and students, and oversees fiscal operations of the Office.
To see the duties, responsibilities and desired qualifications, and application instructions please visit the job posting: https://jobs.hr.uconn.edu/en-us/job/496226/director-of-the-office-of-sustainability-university-staff-professional-2
May 4, 2022
To allow students more time to focus on finals and end-of-semester projects, we have extended the UConn@COP application deadline to Saturday, May 14th.
Application links:
***To review the application before applying, visit: Undergraduate Student Application Preview if you are an undergraduate student, or Graduate Student Application Preview if you are a graduate student.
April 28, 2022
UConn Today published a story about one of our Environmental and Social Sustainability Small Grants awardees on April 28, 2022.
Grantees Matthew Chen and Hannah Colonies-Kelley are investigating student awareness of UConn’s local food purchasing. From the article:
[The students] “soon discovered UConn Dining Services was already purchasing 36% of its food locally. Other large public universities such as UMass Amherst purchase only 20% of their food locally, on average.”
“I think that especially as such a large university, the example UConn can lead for sustainability is important,” Chen says.
Read the full story on UConn Today.