sustainability

Environmental and Social Sustainability Grant Applications OPEN

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Are you a UConn student with an idea that can push environmental and social sustainability forward at UConn and in Connecticut? Then apply for our Environmental and Social Sustainability Small Grants!

Projects must advance strategic sustainability goal areas AND related social challenges.

Deadline is April 7, 2025 at 11:59pm.

Winners will be selected by May 1, 2025.

Grant amounts may be up to $10k.

All projects must have a faculty or staff member acting as a mentor, and must have the ability to accept funds on behalf of your project.

Projects must be completed by the end of December 2025.

For all the details, deadlines and materials visit the grant info page.

Environmental and social sustainability grants logo

Green Careers: Engage & Explore – Upcoming Event

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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.

Earth Day Spring Fling 2024 – April 17th

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What: Earth Day Spring Fling is an annual celebration of sustainability hosted by the UConn Office of Sustainability and UConn Dining Services. Established in 2008, the festival features 30+ environmental vendors and organizations to produce the greatest day of environmental awareness all year! Hop on our party peddler bike for a tour of UConn's most sustainable campus features or check out our environmental art show! Coinciding with the event is UConn's annual Arbor Day celebration and ceremonial Class Tree planting. Write intentions for your future at UConn and plant them with the Class of 2027 tree! 

Graphic showing the schedule for Earth Day Spring Fling 2024. From 11am to 2pm dining services and the office of sustainability will be hosting an zero waste barbeque on fairfield way. During the same time frame, the party peddler sustainability bike tour will be running and environmental vendors will be tabling along fairfield way. There will also be an environmental art show on fairfield way. From 12 to 1 pm on the Founders green, there will be goat yoga. Finally, from 1 to 2 pm on the Student Union Lawn, the annual class tree planting will be taking place.

When: Wednesday, April 17th, 2024 from 11am to 2pm (The rain date is set for April 22nd)

Where: Fairfield Way!  The BBQ, vendors, bike tour, and art show will all be located along Fairfield Way. Outdoor yoga will take place on the Founders Green and the class tree planting will be on the Student Union Lawn.  

Who: There will be many unique, sustainability-minded vendors attending EDSF! The event is open to everyone – we encourage you to come out and celebrate the Earth with the OS and Dining Services!  

Some of the highlights include: 

  • Environmental education opportunities
  • Local conservation non-profits 
  • Hydrogen technologies 
  • Sustainable vendors 
  • Giveaways  
  • And more! 

Green Careers Panel – February 29, 2024

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What: An interdisciplinary panel of experts, designed to inform students on the ways in which their desired career path can intersect with sustainability and the environment. A green career does not have to be one solely in the environmental field! Green careers are found in business, art, science, education, government, and more. The GCP will help you as a student find a career that connects your unique talents and interests with sustainability. This is also an Honors event! (Categories:  Social Change, Service, & Sustainability; Career, Professional, & Personal Development- #UHLevent10700)

When: Thursday, February 29th, 5:30 to 7:30 pm (Check out the Eco-Involvement Fair from 4:30 to 5:30 in the Atrium before the panel!)

Where: BPB (Bio Physics Building), room 130

91 N. Eagleville Road, Storrs CT 06269

Who: Students of any and all majors are encouraged to attend. Green careers are not limited to environmental majors! We want to show you all how your 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.

Eco-Involvement Fair (4:30-5:30 pm in the BPB Atrium): Join us before the GCP for a meet and greet among environmental clubs on campus. Learn more about what students like you are working towards on campus and find out how you can get involved with the many environmentally-minded student orgs!

RSVP HERE 

Environmental and Social Sustainability Grant Applications OPEN

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Are you a UConn student with an idea that can push environmental and social sustainability forward at UConn and in Connecticut? Then apply for our Environmental and Social Sustainability Small Grants!

Projects must advance strategic sustainability goal areas AND related social challenges.

Deadline is March 1, 2024 at 4pm.

Winners will be selected by April 1, 2024.

Grant amounts may be up to $10k.

All projects must have a faculty or staff member acting as a mentor, and must have the ability to accept funds on behalf of your project.

Projects must be completed by the end of December 2024.

For all the details, deadlines and materials visit the grant info page.

Environmental and social sustainability grants logo

Sustainability Action Student Org Meet and Greet on Nov 16

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Is your club involved with suSustainability student org meet and green on Nov. 16 2023 from 5:30-7pm in McHugh 102.stainability issues like environmental justice, agriculture, energy or more? Does your club want to be more involved? Let’s connect!

Meet with other clubs and the UConn Office of Sustainability between 5:30p and 7pm on Thursday November 16 in McHugh Hall, room 102. Pizza and beverages provided.

RSVP Here

Not part of a club yet? You’re invited too – see how you can get involved with the many UConn student organizations working on saving the environment.

Environmental and Social Sustainability Grantee in the News!

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Swap Don’t Shop: Sustainable Fashion is Coming to UConn

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.

Environmental and Social Sustainability Grantee in the News!

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Saving the Planet, One Clothing Swap at a Time

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.

Environmental & Social Sustainability Grantees in UConn Today

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Eat Local: Raising Awareness of Local Food Sourcing in UConn Dining Halls

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.