Sustainability Internship Program 2025-2026 Applications Open Through March 30, 2025

Department: Transportation Services
Location: Parking Structure 7 (721 Sports Center Drive) – 100% in person at location

Position Overview:

The Alternative Transportation Intern will work directly with the University’s Alternative Transportation Manager to promote multi-modal transportation options such as walking, scooting, cycling, riding the bus, and the incentive programs associated with them. The intern will assist with data collection and analysis and will help plan and staff outreach events aimed at raising awareness of transportation resources available on campus. The ideal candidate is passionate about developing and promoting multimodal transportation systems on campus and in Lexington. With the help of the department mentor, the chosen candidate is encouraged to sign up for course credit through their department’s 399 course or the experiential education program (EXP 396).

Key Responsibilities: 

• Provide programmatic support for alternative-transportation programs (including but not limited to biking, walking, e-scooters, ridesharing, bus, etc.).
• Assist with developing partnerships, outreach materials, and educational tools around multi-modal transportation initiatives.
• Assist Transportation Services with the yearly bike count.
• Collaborate with the Alternative Transportation manager in developing a ranked system to evaluate the condition of bike-racks.

Click here to apply by March 30, 2025.

Department: The Campus Kitchen at the University of Kentucky (CKUK)
Location and Hours: W.D. Funkhouser Building (160 Graham Ave) – 100% in person at location; must have at least 8 hours of availability between 9am-2pm Tuesday-Friday

Position Overview:

The Campus Kitchen at the University of Kentucky (CKUK) is recruiting a motivated, energetic, and responsible student to support their operations. The Campus Kitchen Sustainable Operations Intern will assist with meal prep, food recovery from local partners, and delivery of meals, and will have the opportunity to develop an independent project proposal to enhance CKUK’s sustainable operations. The selected student will also obtain a Food Handler Certification as part of onboarding.

Key Responsibilities:

• Work with CKUK team members on menu planning and preparation of meals for older adults, prioritizing recovered/rescued foods that are perishable and using any supplemental foods.
• Keep consistent detailed records of every operation process under food safety guidelines and for reports, including but not limited to: food weight, food temperature, types of food and meals in and out of the kitchen, food compost amount and type, volunteer demographics and shift attendance, delivery details.
• Maintain cleanliness, hygiene, and safety of the kitchen, food, equipment, and those working with food.
• If intern has a personal vehicle and is willing to use it, support food recovery efforts from UK Chandler’s Hospital, grocery stores, and other partners.

Click here to apply by March 30, 2025.

Department: College of Design
Location: Vaughan Warehouse #5 (1307 Versailles Rd) – 80% in person at location, Remote – 20%

Position Overview: 

The Campus Woods Program repurposes trees removed from campus due to age, construction, or other factors, giving them new life through student-created projects in the classroom. The Campus Woods Intern will collaborate with faculty, staff, and students to create and operate a streamlined and effective wood processing system.

Key Responsibilities:

• Support the creation of a clear, step-by-step Standard Operating Procedure for collecting, processing, and distributing campus-harvested wood.
• Assess current processes, identify inefficiencies, and propose improvements.
• Support kiln loading/unloading, lumber labeling, and kiln monitoring.

Physical Requirements: 

The person in this position needs to be comfortable working outdoors, able to traverse uneven terrain, and lift up to 50 pounds. Closed-toe shoes are also required. 

Click here to apply by March 30, 2025.

Department: Environmental Quality Management 
Location: Environmental Quality Management (355 Cooper Drive) – 100% in person at location

Position Overview: 

The Chemical Upcycling Program at the University of Kentucky is an initiative that focuses on the responsible recovery, redistribution, and reuse of surplus laboratory chemicals. The program aims to reduce chemical waste, enhance sustainability efforts on campus, and support research and teaching laboratories by providing high-quality, upcycled materials.

The Chemical Upcycling Intern will assist in identifying, cataloging, and redistributing surplus laboratory chemicals. This role involves working closely with the Environmental Quality Management team to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements while promoting sustainable laboratory practices.

Key Responsibilities: 

• Assist with the inventory of surplus chemicals from university laboratories.
• Assist with data entry, tracking, and reporting on the program’s impact, including cost savings and waste reduction metrics.
• Collaborate with researchers and lab personnel to facilitate the redistribution of usable chemicals.
• Support outreach efforts such as promoting the program to campus researchers.

Click here to apply by March 30, 2025.

Department: UK Dining 
Location: The 90 (440 Hilltop Ave) – 100% in person at location

Position Overview: 

UK Dining is responsible for running all residential dining and retail locations on campus, in addition to catering operations and sporting events at Kroger Field and Memorial Coliseum. The Dining Sustainability Intern will be responsible for assisting the UK Dining Sustainability Director on a variety of projects and initiatives throughout dining operations. This position has the opportunity for remote work as needed.

Key Responsibilities: 

• Audit dining locations to assess existing sustainability initiatives and best practices.
• Assist with the creation of social media/other outreach around sustainability projects.
• Create, plan, and execute sustainability-related events in dining.
• Assist with planning and implementing new initiatives.

Click here to apply by March 30, 2025.

Department: Utilities and Energy Management
Location: Peterson Service Bldg. (411 S Limestone St) – 100% in person at location

Position Overview: 

The Energy (Lab Environments) intern will work with Utilities and Energy Management on improving energy efficiency in lab environments. This role supports the UK User-Led Environmental Lab Excellence (UKULELE) Program by working with operational and lab stakeholders to develop new or enhance existing initiatives. No prior lab experience required, but familiarity with lab environments (such as coursework or research) is a plus. This intern will also have the opportunity to explore renewable energy concepts, emissions reduction strategies, or other energy efficiency improvements as part of a sustainability project proposal.

Key Responsibilities:

• Support initiatives that minimize the environmental footprint of lab operations through energy efficiency, waste reduction, and other sustainable practices.
• Assist in maintaining lab environments that are safe, healthful, clean, and accessible for all users.
• Contribute to optimizing lab environments to support excellence in teaching and research.

Click here to apply by March 30, 2025.

Department: The Food Connection 
Location: E. S. Good Barn (1451 University Dr) – 50% in person at location, Remote – 50%

Position Overview: 

The Food Connection Scholarly Engagement intern will support the development and growth of the Affiliates of The Food Connection program. The ideal candidate will be passionate about sustainable food systems and eager to engage with faculty, staff, and external stakeholders.

Key Responsibilities: 

• Assist in developing the Affiliates of The Food Connection program by engaging with faculty, staff, and external stakeholders to gather information and build an online profile directory.
• Conduct outreach with affiliates, including informational interviews, to document their work and its relevance to food systems sustainability.
• Develop outreach materials, such as newsletter articles, to support engagement efforts.
• Participate in Food Connection programming (as schedule allows).

Click here to apply by March 30, 2025.

Department: UK Recycling 
Location: Peterson Service Bldg. (411 S Limestone St) – 100% in person at location

Position Overview: 

UK Recycling is seeking a motivated student to assist with zero-waste initiatives that will help to achieve UK’s goal of becoming a zero-waste campus by 2030. The Recycling Intern will choose to focus on one of three diversion methods for their internship project (Reduction & Reuse, Composting, or Recycling) as well as which functional area their project focuses on (Operations, Administration, or Education & Outreach).

Key Responsibilities: 

• Work with campus-wide stakeholders to improve and expand recycling, reuse, and composting operations.
• Assist with campus outreach and education efforts such as tabling, the Pop-Up Thrift Shop, and America Recycles Day.
• Evaluate data to understand the University’s zero-waste progress and opportunities for growth.
• Research diversion opportunities, such as new recycling partners and reusable product alternatives.

Click here to apply by March 30, 2025.

Department: Environmental Quality Management 
Location: Environmental Quality Management (355 Cooper Drive) – 100% in person at location

Position Overview: 

The Stormwater Outreach Internship offers a unique opportunity to lead outreach, education, and engagement efforts focused on improving water quality and stormwater compliance on campus. The intern will work with the Environmental Quality Management (EQM) team to organize educational events, recruit and train volunteers, and develop creative strategies to increase awareness of sustainable water management practices.

This internship will provide networking opportunities with UK staff, faculty, student organizations as well as other environmental professionals. While the primary focus is on outreach, the role also includes hands-on work, such as conducting stormwater drain assessments. This internship is ideal for students passionate about sustainability and environmental education who are eager to engage with diverse audiences and make a tangible impact on campus water quality.

Key Responsibilities: 

• Assist in developing a long-term communication strategy to best craft messaging to specific audiences and improve outreach efforts on UK campus.
• Recruit volunteers and coordinate water quality outreach opportunities on campus. Events may include marking storm drains with decals, rain garden and stream clean-ups, social media campaigns, presentations, & related opportunities.
• Engage campus stakeholders (staff, faculty, students, & visitors) to educate about pollutant concerns and prevent pollution to local streams.
• Survey stormwater drains throughout campus documenting conditions & reporting potential illicit discharges.
• Learn about state and federal regulatory compliance requirements in the implementation of the University’s MS4 Phase II permit.
• Additional activities may include but are not limited to inspecting stormwater best management practice structures, drinking water investigations, groundwater protection inspections, and program applicable map development.

Click here to apply by March 30, 2025.

Department: Office of Sustainability 
Location: Peterson Service Bldg. (411 S Limestone St) – 75% in person at location, Remote – 25%

Position Overview: 

We are looking for a creative and motivated intern to join our team for the 2025-2026 academic year as part of the Sustainability Internship Program. The Digital Media and Communications intern will play an essential role in developing engaging content and initiatives for UK Sustainability’s social media platforms and blog, WholeSum. The ideal candidate will be passionate about sustainability, a strong writer, have experience with graphic design, and be able to tell compelling stories that inspire action.

Key Responsibilities: 

• Collaborate with the Office of Sustainability team to develop communication strategies that align with current initiatives.
• Research and write blog posts for the WholeSum platform on a variety of sustainability topics.
• Create and schedule engaging social media content to increase visibility of sustainability-related programs at UK.
• Recruit guest contributors and amplify diverse voices within the University community.
• Attend and participate in sustainability events on campus to inform your content. 

Click here to apply by March 30, 2025.

Department: UK HealthCare Hospital Administration
Location: Chandler Hospital Pavilion H (800 Rose St) – 100% in person at location

Position Overview: 

The UK HealthCare Sustainability Intern will play a key role in advancing UK HealthCare’s sustainability efforts. This position offers hands-on experience in sustainability initiatives within a healthcare setting, including waste reduction, communications, and greenspace maintenance. The intern will collaborate with various teams to promote sustainable practices and support ongoing projects. This position has the opportunity for remote work as needed.

Key Responsibilities:

• Attend Sustainability Committee meetings, including Clinical Sustainability, Greenspaces Committee, and the UK HealthCare Sustainability Steering Committee (as schedule allows).
• Create content for the UK HealthCare Sustainability newsletter and assist with website updates.
• Collaborate with the perioperative service team and other healthcare departments to enhance sustainability efforts, such as waste reduction initiatives, in operating rooms, procedural areas, and other patient care areas.
• Support greenspace maintenance on the Chandler campus courtyards.

Click here to apply by March 30, 2025.

Department: Landscape Architecture 
Location: Peterson Service Bldg. (411 S Limestone St) – 50% in person at location, Remote – 50%

Position Overview: 

The Urban Environment and Sustainable Design Internship is a hands-on opportunity to explore research and design focused on urban environmental conditions that support physical health, mental health, and quality of life. The approach uses environmental metrics to understand heat, noise, safety, and more to document landscape performance. Using campus as a living lab, this position integrates research, data collection, and design to propose actionable solutions for a healthier and more sustainable environment.  The intern will work closely with Carolina Segura Bell, whose expertise in architecture, landscape design, and urban planning will guide their professional and creative development. 

This internship is ideal for students with a background in design and familiarity with tools like Adobe Creative Suite, AutoCAD, 3D modeling, and GIS. 

Key Responsibilities: 

• Collect and analyze data related to urban environment factors.
• Explore design opportunities to improve landscape performance based on research findings, such as increasing tree canopy coverage, introducing alternative paving materials, and other interventions.
• Create visual materials to communicate research findings and proposed solutions.

Click here to apply by March 30, 2025.

Department: Urban Forest Initiative
Location: Dimock Animal Pathology Bldg. (1081 Veterans Drive) – 80% in person at location, Remote – 20%

Position Overview: 

The Urban Forest Initiative's mission is to promote awareness of the ecological, social, and economic benefits of trees through various urban and community forestry projects on UK’s campus, in Lexington, and across Kentucky. The Urban Forest Initiative Intern will have the opportunity to spread their passions for trees and nature through a variety of education and outreach events.

Key Responsibilities: 

• Attend weekly meetings to stay informed of UFI team activities.
• Collaborate in the development and/or expansion of UFI resources in support of urban and community forestry projects, aimed at elevating the visibility and engagement with trees within our communities.
• Contribute to one or more facets of UFI core team efforts throughout 2024-2025. This may include assisting with tree inventories, using GIS to map existing tree inventories, editing written reports, aiding in the execution and planning processes of events like Tree Week and our seminar series, development of and distribution of outreach educational materials, and assisting with promotion of UFI activities through social media.
• Provide support for outreach events, including tabling requests, and assembling materials for external tabling events.

Click here to apply by March 30, 2025.