Design Week: Retrofitting the Retro
Approved: 8/22/2016
Funding Amount: $3,866.00
The SSC funded a charter bus to take Landscape Architecture, Historic Preservation, and School of Interiors students to Nashville, TN to meet with city planners, developers, and commercial architect and design firms engaged in various renovation projects around the Nashville area. This experience provided the framework for developing their own assessments and critiques for their own project in Lexington--creating "What IF?" designs for the Southland retail corridor.
Urban Forest Initiative Seminar Speaker Series 2016-2017
Approved: 9/7/2016
Funding Amount: $5,000.00
The Urban Forest Initiative (UFI) hosted two urban forest specialists and a film to address ecological, economic and social benefits of the urban tree canopy. The speaker series was designed to demonstrate the inter-connectedness of urban trees with the health and well-being of our communities. The speakers were Charles Nilon and Nina Bassuk, and the film was "City of Trees". These series described the societal benefits of healthy urban canopies, the composition of urban vegetation, and the ecosystem services this vegetation provides to humans. Each event was free and open to the public.
Dimensions of Political Ecology (DOPE) Conference 2017
Approved: 10/5/2016
Funding Amount: $10,871.00
The Dimensions of Political Ecology Conference (DOPE) has become a key international forum for graduate students and faculty at all stages in their careers, fostering critical interdisciplinary discussion of urgent topics including: rural social movements; food systems; complexity in ecological and social systems; decolonization, knowledge, and difference; science and technology studies; neoliberal natures and climate justice; and feminist political ecologies, among many more. Over 300 scholars, activists, and environmental professionals attended DOPE 2017, representing dozens of disciplines and more than 100 institutions over four continents.
University of Kentucky Solar Car
Approved: 10/5/2016
Funding Amount: $10,000.00
The University of Kentucky Solar Car Team designs, manufactures, and races competitive solar vehicles while providing their members much needed hands-on experience outside of their course loads. UK Solar Car also strives to contribute to STEM outreach in the Bluegrass region. The SSC helped fund a new engine for the car to help the team compete in races throughout 2017.
Formula One Kentucky
Approved: 10/5/2016
Funding Amount: $5,924.00
Formula Kentucky is a student organization which operates under the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE). They design, engineer, and build an open-wheeled racecar every year, then compete against approximately 120 other student teams from around the world. The SSC helped Formula Kentucky transition to a vehicle that uses E85, a renewable biofuel.
1,000 Lightbulbs -- One Big Change
Approved: 10/5/2016
Funding Amount: $2,004.50
The goal of 1,000 Bulbs – One Big Change was to jump start UK’s transition to LED lighting. 1,000 LED bulbs were given to professors in Patterson Office Tower and the benefits of LED lighting were explained as they were distributed. Over the lifetime of the bulbs, they will save the university $90,600 in energy costs and professors $32,500 in avoided bulb replacements. The lifetime energy savings of 1,510,000kWh will save 3,261,600 lbs of CO2 emissions. Additionally, it was hoped that the professors would continue using LED lighting and pass on this information to their students, creating a much greater impact than the direct scope of the project.
SSC Outstanding Faculty Award
Approved: 10/19/2016
Funding Amount: $1,535.00
Given the relatively short-lived campus-life of many students, faculty/staff involvement in student-oriented sustainability projects plays a crucial role. This award was created to honor those who have demonstrated exemplary service to mentor and inspire students on sustainability education in and outside the classroom, as well as demonstrate efforts to foster interdisciplinary collaboration among students. The award provided a plaque and a $750.00 stipend to spend on student sustainability efforts to two different faculty members: Dr. Betsy Beymer-Farris and Dr. Nikiforos Stamatiadis.
Innovative Campus Survey on Student Gift Giving to Support Sustainability
Approved: 11/4/2016
Funding Amount: $3,500.00
This project conducted a campus-wide student survey to uncover students' familiarity with UK sustainability programs and organizations, perceptions on sustainability, and actions towards supporting sustainability efforts on campus. Survey respondents were offered a participation reward of $5 and were then allowed the opportunity to donate in the survey. Respondents had the opportunity to donate to the following UK focus areas: alternative transportation (Wildcat Wheels), renewable energy (solar panels), recycling, and reducing food waste/composting, or keep it themselves. 800+ students participated in the survey.
Campus Kitchens: From Seed to Stem
Approved: 11/4/2016
Funding Amount: $3,000.00
The Campus Kitchen at the University of Kentucky (CKUK), an affiliate of the national The Campus Kitchens Project (CKP), is an on-campus student service organization that provides a sustainable approach to reducing food waste and providing healthy meals to those struggling with hunger. The grant was used to purchase indoor planters and other gardening tools to grow produce inside our kitchen to supplement produce during the winter months, as well as pay for an intern to tend to the garden.
SSTOP Hunger: Feeding Kentucky
Approved: 11/4/2016
Funding Amount: $2,250.00
Sustainable Solutions to Overcome Poverty (SSTOP) Hunger supports on-campus initiatives and organizations with a focus on solving hunger and malnutrition. This grant allowed them to put on Look and See: A Portrait of Wendell Berry, a documentary that chronicles the perspectives and relationships with the land of farmer, novelist and environmental activist Wendell Berry and residents of his hometown in Henry County, Kentucky. The film screening provided education to UK students on the importance of sustainable agriculture in eradicating hunger in Kentucky.
Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships 2017
Approved: 11/16/2016
Funding Amount: $12,500.00
This funding provided five summer internships in undergraduate research related to sustainability at the University of Kentucky for $2,500 each. Students applied for funding through the Office of Undergraduate Research and completed their projects with faculty advisors.
SSC Undergraduate Scholarships
Approved: 11/16/2016
Funding Amount: $6,000
This funding provided six undergraduate students the opportunity to attain $1,000 each for their service and efforts towards sustainability as a means to incentivize students to continue promoting sustainability within their community. These scholarships were meant to provide financial relief for those who spend significant amounts of their time volunteering towards sustainability initiatives.
EcoCareer Conference
Approved: 11/16/2016
Funding Amount: $350.00
The National Wildlife Federation has a student development/certification program; as part of this program, they are hosted a virtual EcoCareers conference aimed at undergraduate students. This funding paid for the registration for 10 UK students to participate in this event. This conference aimed to equip students with tools necessary to get jobs in the environmental sector.
Sustainability and Garden Science
Approved: 12/7/2016
Funding Amount: $4,220.00
The Sustainability and Garden Science (SGS) program was implemented in Russell Cave Elementary and Wellington Elementary. Each school had a teaching team composed of a teacher, 2-3 undergraduate students, and one graduate working with the science teacher’s class to present ideas in an interactive way and conduct activities both in the classroom and outside. Each school received two 4’x8’x12’ raised plant beds with hoop frames to accelerate plant growth enough to allow harvesting before their summer vacation. Students learned about what plants need to survive and grow, the life cycle of plants, and the structures responsible for plant survival and growth – all ideas emphasized in the Next Generation Science Standards now being implemented in Kentucky public schools.
Outreach Materials
Approved: 12/7/2016
Funding Amount: $1,652.00
This funding provided outreach materials to increase awareness of the SSC’s presence on campus, make for a more cohesive image and put us on a level closer to other similar campus bodies, like the Student Government Organization or the Student Activities Board. Funding went towards promotional water bottles, solar chargers, a table cloth, a banner stand, and a retractable poster.
Sustainability Challenge Grant Program (2017)
Approved: 1/14/2017
Funding Amount: $33,333.00
The Sustainability Challenge Grant program is a partnership between the SSC, the Executive Vice President for Finance and Administration, the Provost, and the Vice President for Research. This program is designed to engage multidisciplinary teams from the University community in the creation and implementation of ideas that will promote sustainability by simultaneously advancing economic vitality, ecological integrity, and social equity. More information about the sustainability challenge grants can be found here.
2017-2018 Sustainability Internship Program
Approved: 1/14/2017
Funding Amount: $9,000.00
The sustainability internship program is funded by both the SSC and the Tracy Farmer Institute for Sustainability and the Environment. This funding provided pay for three of the 2017-2018 sustainability interns. More information about the sustainability internship program can be found here.
Sustainable Design-Build Studio
Approved: 1/14/2017
Funding Amount: $7,250.00
The objective of the Sustainable Design-Build Studio was to fully integrate sustainable principles into the design and construction of several very small living units to support the work of researchers at Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest in Claremont, Kentucky. The research pods were built by design students and placed in remote areas of the forest to enable research on site and information gathering. Additionally, the pods were designed to aggregate into larger facilities for collaboration and sharing of information and research by larger groups of researchers.
Precision Drone
Approved: 1/14/2017
Funding Amount: $6,000.00
This project helped fund master thesis research on evaluating the use of drones for precision agriculture. The project used a field experiment to test how drones can be adapted to farmers in developing countries and developed countries needs for herbicide, insecticide, and fungicide applications in order to compare the performance of drone application versus the control of manual applications. The SSC funding helped purchase a manual applicator, a drone with spraying capabilities, and student labor needed to conduct the experiment.
Beaux Arts Installations 2017
Approved: 2/22/2017
Funding Amount: $3,000.00
The Beaux Arts Foundation hosts an annual student competition that is open to all UK students. Installations are publicly voted and are then selected for fabrication at full scale. These installations are costly and prove to be out of monetary reach for the average college student, so this funding provided the opportunity for approximately 15 students to design and build an original design out of at least 50% recycled materials for the community to experience. It also permitted funding for the design and creation of a full-scale exhibition by a UK professor and students that would be presented not only at Beaux Arts Ball but also at ReSurfaced, an event that transforms a three-quarter acre lot in Louisville’s Phoenix Hill Neighborhood into a community activation space that fosters civic engagement and entrepreneurialism.
Beaux Arts Fashion Show 2017
Approved: 2/22/2017
Funding Amount: $1,000.00
This funding supported the fashion portion of the 2017 Beaux Arts Ball, providing materials and production costs for twelve UK students. The event focused around bringing together different groups of community to create an event that celebrates creativity and
diversity. By bringing together students and local professionals to create thought provoking pieces that were later exhibited in a gallery setting in Lexington, this portion of the event had a continued impact on the community.
Bee School
Approved: 2/22/2017
Funding Amount: $390.37
This funding provided twelve students the opportunity to attend a conference on bees. Students who attended gained knowledge about beekeeping and apiculture, including the environmental issues that face bee populations and what beekeepers can do to protect their own bee populations and promote pollinator health in their communities. This conference featured several leaders in the beekeeping community, along with experts in apiculture and environmental issues. Students had the chance to network with these individuals and others and to learn how to start their own beekeeping operation.
Sustainability Seminar Student-Choice Speakers
Approved: 3/8/2017
Funding Amount: $7,500.00
This project provided $750 to 10 graduate student organizations to host a seminar speaker that would present on a sustainability-related topic.
Bench Proposal
Approved: 3/8/2017
Funding Amount: $2,700.00
This project's goal was to incentivize students across the Lexington-Fayette Urban County to develop proper recycling habits. The goal was to encourage local high schools and middle schools to collect enough plastic caps or lids to receive a bench made entirely from recycled plastic manufactured by Green Tree Plastics, LLC. of Evansville, IN. In order to receive one 6 ft. bench with a back, each school had to collect 400 lbs. of bottle caps (approximately 10, 55 gal. trash bags). Schools were paired with the largest residence halls at UK, and with the help of the Department of Residence Life and Lexington Environmental Youth Outreach, partners worked together to collect the caps.
Plant Purification Workshop
Approved: 3/8/2017
Funding Amount: $1,695.00
This project's goal was to provide two workshops for undergraduate and graduate students, providing the students with plants and the skills to properly maintain them. The goals of the workshop were to help purify students' living spaces, create green, pleasant environments for them, and to spark a passion in students for gardening.
Optimizing Student Learning in a Senior-Level Capstone Class Through an Immersive Spring Break Study Tour 2017
Approved: 3/8/2017
Funding Amount: $960.00
The Sustainable Agriculture undergraduate program's capstone class challenges students to develop a semester-long project that is a culmination of their learning experiences in the program. A unique aspect of this class is that students are required to take a week-long study tour that allows them to gain a deeper understanding of the projects they are working on by visiting exemplary agriculture systems in a specific region of our country. Through the study tours, students gain a transformative level of knowledge not obtainable in traditional classroom experiences, which have facilitated exemplary final projects and refined their career path choices. This project provided partial funding to help cover the expenses for 9 students that participated in the 2017 study tour.
Solar Outreach Kiosk
Approved: 3/22/2017
Funding: $2,750.00
This project was to create a solar powered kiosk that can be used by various on-campus student organizations for tabling events. The kiosk draws attention to anyone tabling, and with its on board power, can be used for a wide variety of tasks. It was designed to have lights, speakers, and phone chargers, and have standard plugs for any AC device to plug into it, provided it can successfully draw the power. It will also highlight sustainability by using entirely solar power for all of this. The solar panels for the project were from the UK Solar Car Team, from Gato Del Sol 4, and would not be used on a new car. Thus, the panels are being reused for another purpose, a key aspect of sustainability.
The Science and Economics of Anaerobic Digesters on Dairy Farms, Experiences from an Industry Leader
Approved: 3/22/2017
Funding Amount: $317.00
This project was a one-time interdisciplinary seminar, designed to begin effective conversations and bring awareness about anaerobic digesters. Bringing an industry leader to UK provides connections necessary to maximize the feasibility of implementing an infrastructure project of this kind. This seminar discussed the management of these systems and hurdles to adopting them.
Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) Conference 2017 (Part I)
Approved: 4/12/2017
Funding Amount: $6,675.00
This money granted funding for five students to travel to the largest conference related to campus sustainability in the country, providing a forum for connecting to the ideas and resources of other campus communities around the nation. The students who attended the conference collected ideas and learned from the victories and failures of other student led sustainability initiatives, connect with other students, faculty and staff working on similar issues, and learned from experts on how to build a campus community focused on sustainability. The connections and ideas gathered at the conference have huge potential aid in the mission to create a culture of campus sustainability.
Utilizing Pedal Power Instead of Fuel Power for Increased Sustainability of On-Farm Operations
Approved: 4/12/2017
Funding Amount: $2,793.45
South Farm's Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program used these funds to purchase an all-purpose, rough terrain bicycle (Giant ATX Lite) and a cargo bicycle (Xtracycle Edgerunner 27D) as permanent additions to their farm’s fleet. Both bikes were outfitted with hitches which would be capable of pulling a trailer for additional cargo carrying capacity. These bikes allowed South Farm's operations to cut back on fossil fuel use.
SSC Intern 2017
Approved: 4/12/2017
Funding Amount: $1,832.00
The purpose of this project was to continue the development and improvement of the SSC during the summer while the organization is inactive. The intern helped organize SSC documents, completed summer orientation tabling, and generally prepared for the new fall council. Primarily, the intern created a welcome report for the fall council, documenting the work of the SSC during the 2016-17 school year and comparing that analysis with previous SSC years. This is to help collect information for the benefit of the Council and transparency to the student body.
Catalyst Summer Training Program 2017
Approved: 4/12/2017
Funding Amount: $1,750.00
Catalyst is a week-long activism training program created and developed by the Kentucky Student Environmental Coalition (KSEC). KSEC is a network of student environmental organizations across Kentucky; UK’s chapter of the organization is Greenthumb. Catalyst seeks to give students and young people the knowledge and skills necessary to bring about environmentally positive change on their campuses and in their communities. These skills include developing activist campaign strategies, recruiting new members to an organization, communicating effectively with media, encouraging the growth of new leaders, and much more. Catalyst also seeks to connect students from across the state, creating lasting bonds and fostering cooperation on issues affecting all of Kentucky. This funding provided five students the opportunity to attend Catalyst.
SSC Fall Retreat 2017
Approved: 4/12/2017
Funding Amount: $1,543.20
This funding provides money for the Fall 2017 SSC retreat. New council members had an opportunity to sit in on the spring semester meetings and become familiar with the other council members, but these meetings are typically strictly business. This retreat provided an opportunity for council members to get to know each other in a relaxed setting, leading to a more effective and cohesive council. The requested funds allowed members transportation, meals, and cabin rentals for one night in Robinson Forest.
Campus as a Living Lab Partnership -- Stream Restoration, Student Engagement, and Campus Grounds
Approved: 4/26/2017
Funding Amount: $50,000.00
This project is a partnership between UK Facilities, Environmental Management, Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering, and the SSC to restore ecological functionality to an unnamed tributary of the West Hickman Creek Watershed along Alumni Drive. The goals were to restore the stream and valley with natural channel meander geometry, constructing it with water quality improvements such as a hyporheic aquifer for nitrate removal and floodplain wetlands and in-stream habitat. Additionally, a riparian buffer will be planted. The project pursued strong integration of the project’s design, construction and monitoring/maintenance with related courses to maximize student engagement and the use of the campus as a living laboratory.
Bat Conservation in McConnell Springs
Approved: 4/26/2017
Funding Amount: $3,960.00
Following recent acoustic monitoring data suggesting the presence of the Indiana Bat in McConnell Springs, this project sought to install an array of bat habitat structures in a known flyway at the park with students from UK's Greenhouse Environmental Sustainability Club. With support of the McConnell Springs park staff and management, participating students learned about this contribution to habitat corridor restoration and how it enhances the environmental sustainability of Lexington.
Beginner Beekeeping Workshop
Approved: 4/26/2017
Funding Amount: $750.00
This project was a four-session on-campus introductory beekeeping workshop, managed in part by a graduate student, and targeted at ten undergraduates or local residents. Its goals were to introduce students to the basics of beekeeping, including bee natural history, basic tools and equipment, and disease management practices and to provide an instructional opportunity for a graduate student interested in pursuing an extension career.
