Experiential Learning | Office of Sustainability

Reduce your environmental pawprint

There are many avenues for student involvement in sustainability at UConn with the Office of Sustainability. Our educational engagement events include: competitions like EcoMadness, where residence halls compete to reduce their water and electricity usage; campus cleanups like our Green Game Days, where volunteers collect recyclables left behind at a football or basketball game; professional development events such as the Green Careers Panel; and Earth Day Spring Fling, a signature OS event that celebrates Earth Day with a zero-waste barbeque and local sustainable vendors. The Office of Sustainability also has two internship programs available for undergraduate students looking to help the OS make strides in securing a sustainable future for our campus. Learn more about engagement opportunities below, including those not directly affiliated with the Office of Sustainability.

OS Interns and Interim Director Patrick McKee at Earth Day Spring Fling in 2022
OS Interns and EcoCaptains at Haunted HEEP, 2022
Natural Resources Conservation Academy workshop for Conservation Training Partnership program, 2021 (Jason Sheldon/UConn Photo)
Earth Day Spring Fling features a sustainable barbeque hosted by the OS and Dining Services (Sydney Herdle/UConn Photo)
Bee boxes at Spring Valley Student Farm in 2018 (Peter Morenus/UConn Photo)

Sustainability reporting for campus engagement

The STARS Report recognizes institutions that are working to "provide their students with sustainability learning experiences outside the formal curriculum" to deepen students' understandings of sustainability principles and issues. Additionally, institutions earn credit for public engagement and service. The University of Connecticut has earned nearly all the available points for this category, with a score of 40 out of 41 points (96 percent). The applicable UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are:

Goal 1: No poverty
Goal 4: Quality education
Goal 8: Decent work and economic growth
Goal 11: Sustainable cities and communities
Goal 12: Responsible consumption and production
Goal 13: Climate action
Goal 16: Peace, justice and strong institutions
Goal 17: Partnerships for the goals

The Clean Energy and Sustainability Innovation Program is a joint opportunity from UConn and Eversource Energy that encourages students to propose their own new ideas for a clean energy transition through innovation. Selected student teams receive the chance to develop their ideas over the summer with funding and mentors from UConn and Eversource. Student teams must submit applications to cleanearth@engr.uconn.edu by MAY 17, 2024. Additionally, student teams must be two or three students from at least two different disciplines.

Learn more about the program here

The Environmental Corps (E-Corps) is "an approach to Life Transformative Education," combining students' learning about environmental topics in the classroom with practical, hands-on experience with various projects in different communities. Each E-Corps course spans two semesters; the first is spent in the classroom, and the second is spent completing the community-based projects. Currently, there are three focus areas: brownfields development, climate resilience, and stormwater management. Projects include Climate Vulnerability Assessments, Climate Communication Strategies, Stormwater Retrofit Plans, and more. Visit the E-Corps website to see how you can get involved!

NatureRx launched at UConn in the Fall of 2021. It is a grass-roots initiative designed to promote spending time in nature and raise awareness for "the scientific evidence for nature's many benefits." The initiative is part of the network of college campuses across the country engaging in similar campaigns, known as Campus Nature Rx. NatureRx hosts the "I Thrive

Naturally" event series, aimed at informing students about various opportunities for spending time outdoors. Check out NatureRx here!

PRISMATIC stands for The President's Research Investment in Sustainability Measures, Actions, Technologies, Initiatives, and Communities. The program commits $50,000 to support student engagement via the following Office of Undergraduate Research programs:

PRISMATIC is "intended to support a broad spectrum of experiential learning opportunities for undergraduate students." Learn more about PRISMATIC grant opportunities here.

The Natural Resources Conservation Academy (NRCA) at UConn provides "engaging and educational hands-on outdoor experiences" as well as "support and resources" for participants as they "contribute to environment efforts in their community." There are three programs offered by the NRCA: the Conservation Ambassador Program (CAP), a 9-month program for high school students (grades 9-11) to engage with the environment; the Difference Maker Mentors, a 10-month leadership program for UConn students that works with CAP, and a new program called Eco-Digital Storytellers, where UConn students and high school teams work together on environmental storytelling initiatives. Read more about each of these programs at the NRCA website.