Bleed Blue, Live Green
Approved: 8/29/2017
Funding Amount: $2,800.00
Bleed Blue, Live Green is a program designed to encourage students to reduce the use of plastic bags in their everyday lives. During the fall semester at the two largest Wildcat Pantry locations, located at The 90 and at Holmes Hall, the program was implemented. At the 90, students who chose not to use a bag received a token that could be used to make a donation to one of three non-profit charities. Holmes Hall served as a control location. Transactions were observed approximately 5 times a week for one hour per session to collect further data. During these sessions, an observer and surveyor collected data on students that were shopping to determine whether there are any common factors that may impact whether students choose to use a bag. The goal of this research was to determine the long-term viability of the Bleed Blue, Live Green.
Forgotten Coast Film Screening Partnership
Approved: 9/5/2017
Funding Amount: $1,950.00
This funding provided two members of The Forgotten Coast: Return to Wild Florida expedition team, including Joe Guthrie, a UK alumnus, to travel to UK for both a campus seminar and a public screening of the film. The Florida Wildlife Corridor expedition team has made two expeditions across Florida to draw attention to the multifaceted importance of wildlife corridors, including their social and economic benefits, with the most recent expedition resulting in the creation of the film.
Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) Conference (Part II)
Approved: 9/19/2017
Funding Amount: $5,800.00
This money granted additional funding (enough funds were not initially requested) 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.
Urban Forest Initiative Seminar Speaker Series 2017-2018
Approved: 10/3/2017
Funding Amount: $7,000.00
The Urban Forest Initiative (UFI) hosted three urban forest specialists 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 Susan Day, Daniel Potter, and Jill Jonnes, who discussed urban tree health and urban soils, pollinator conservation in urban habitats, and history through our urban tree canopy, respectively. The lectures were free and openly accessible to the public.
Dimensions of Political Ecology (DOPE) Conference 2018
Approved: 10/3/2017
Funding Amount: $6,000.00
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.
University of Kentucky Gato del Sol Solar Car Project
Approved: 10/3/2017
Funding Amount: $13,000.00
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 inverter for the car to help the team compete in races throughout 2018.
800 Acorns
Approved: 10/3/2017
Funding Amount: $2,375.00
This funding went towards the design and construction of an entry piece "marquee" to a mountain top removal site at Robinson Forest that was replanted with native trees. The design included signage about the project and a meditation space with stories and poetry about the value of trees. They also placed markers along the path through the site with inspirational messages. The structure was preassembled by architecture professors and students before it was moved to Eastern Kentucky.
Pictured: UK students constructing the entry piece "marquee" as part of the 800 Acorns project.
From Garden to Table: Sustainable Solutions through Micro-processing
Approved: 10/17/2017
Funding Amount: $3,125.00
The Campus Kitchen at the University of Kentucky (CKUK), an affiliate of the Campus Kitchen Project (CKP), is an on‐campus student service organization that provides a sustainable approach to reducing food waste on college campuses while also providing healthy meals to those struggling with hunger. This project addresses sustainable gardening practices, food waste reduction, and food insecurity in the community by introducing micro-processing into the daily operations of CKUK. Micro-processing is the storage of higher‐risk, shelf‐stable high acid or low acid food items. Micro-processed foods include pressure‐canned vegetables, pickled fruits and vegetables, tomato products, sauces, salsa, herbal vinegars, no‐sugar jelly, and pepper or herb jelly. The SSC funded the materials to begin micro-processing, as well as $500 stipends for students to help tend to CKUK's garden for three semesters.
Students for Zero Waste Conference
Approved: 10/17/2017
Funding Amount: $1,082.00
The Post-Landfill Action Network (PLAN) is a nonprofit organization based in Philadelphia that works to empower college students to work for Zero Waste initiatives on their campuses. This includes advising campuses on how to achieve Zero Waste through move-out programs, thrift stores, becoming a plastic- free campus, and more. They hold an annual conference called Students for Zero Waste, and the SSC funded two students' trips to the conference in November.
Maasai Mara Martial Eagle Project
Approved: 12/5/2017
Funding Amount: $8,525.00
The Martial Eagle (Polemaetus bellicosus) is the largest eagle species in Africa and is listed as vulnerable by the IUCN. It is in rapid population decline throughout its range due to habitat loss, collisions with energy infrastructure and direct persecution. UK students have been conducting conservation research since 2016. The SSC provided funding to help support this research's continuation in 2018. With the additional funding, UK students were able to continue monitoring our 19 known pairs, place additional camera traps at active nests, begin studying the non-breeding diet of Martial Eagles, band adult Martial Eagles with aluminum color coded leg bands, and expand their study area to incorporate 3 additional community owned conservancies. This project has the potential to significantly affect the conservation of this species and other raptors throughout Africa.
Summer Sustainability Research Fellowships 2018
Approved: 12/5/2017
Funding Amount: $16,500.00
This funding provided three summer internships in undergraduate research related to sustainability at the University of Kentucky for $2,500 each. It also provided funding for three students to complete sustainability-related research at other institutions within the US as well with stipends of $3,000--providing an additional $500 for travel.
Water, Electricity, and Gas Conservation Through Behavioral Change
Approved: 12/5/17
Funding Amount: $1,500.00
This project funded student compensation for research that compared the impact of different types of information strategies on water, electricity, and gas use to strengthen the understanding of sustainability and conservation strategies that are based on providing information. Information strategies include savings tips, audits, different forms of use feedback, and pecuniary strategies. This research conducted a meta-analysis of existing field experiments to quantify the effect of information strategies on water, electricity, and gas conservation. In this project, in addition to the average effect of information on consumption, this effect was identified by sector, country, state, baseline consumption level. Furthermore, besides short run effects of information, the long-run effects of these strategies and conservation benefits to society were identified as well.
SSC 2018 Spring Retreat
Approved: 12/5/2017
Funding Amount: $1,543.20
The spring retreat serves as an opportunity for new and existing council-members alike to develop their relationships with each other and to learn more about how to be an effective member of the SSC in a less formal setting than meetings that are held during the year. New members in particular (of which there are five for the upcoming semester) will benefit from the discussions and collaboration that are central to the retreat. This retreat is critical because it promotes cohesiveness and communication among council-members that will translate to synergy in meetings, committees, and in general council operation. The requested funds allowed members transportation, meals, and cabin rentals for one night in Robinson Forest.
Outreach Materials Scope Change (I)
Approved: 12/5/2017
Funding Amount: scope change from previous request
A previous proposal requested $1,736 to fund outreach materials. Of these funds, only $85 were spent, with the rest encumbered. This request approved the use the remaining $1,652 remaining funds for new water bottles, stickers, reusable grocery bags, a new table, and tabling items such as printed brochures and warm drinks.
Sustainability Internship Program 2018-2019
Approved: 1/17/2018
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 2018-2019 sustainability interns. More information about the sustainability internship program can be found here.
Humanitarian Architecture Design Studio / Chez Moi Orphanage Multi-Purpose Structure and Kitchen
Approved: 1/17/2018
Funding Amount: $11,250.00
The project will build on schematic design work performed in the Spring 2017 Semester in which students developed a proposal to house 60 Haitian girls and create an empowerment zone in the expansion of an existing small orphanage. There is a great need, due in no small part to the fact that Haiti was devastated by an earthquake in 2010 and subsequently impacted by hurricanes. Many children are homeless. This project aimed to address the need in some small way through design and construction of an orphanage and vocational education center.
SSC Online Proposal Application
Approved: 1/17/2018
Funding Amount: $1,800.00
This webform will facilitate the ability of people to access, complete, and store SSC funding applications for future reference. This funding provided a new system that automates both the liaison and proposal process, significantly decreasing the amount of work that was previously left to SSC members.
UK Campus Troubadours
Approved: 1/17/2018
Funding Amount: $9,720.00
The Campus Troubadours project brings live music to campus in an effort to create a more positive and welcoming campus environment, thereby facilitating a higher amount of campus activity as well as a more culturally enriched learning and living atmosphere. This project aims to provide aesthetically pleasing, tranquil, and culturally enriching experiences in an aim to counteract stress inducing noise pollution. The Classical Guitar is particularly useful because of its diverse repertoire, and its suitability in the performance of not only classical music, but also music from many different folk traditions.
Sustainability Challenge Grants 2018
Approved: 2/7/2018
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.
Outreach Materials Scope Change (II)
Approved: 2/7/2018
Funding Amount: $435.00
This funding was required to complete the purchase of outreach materials (previously requested here and here) due to unforeseen charges on products. The funds from the scope change were used to purchase the water bottles and bags, and these new funds were be used to purchase SSC stickers and updated prints for the tabling display board. With these items, the goal is to increase awareness of both the SSC and UK’s sustainability initiatives on campus.
Peru Sustainable Agriculture Program 2019
Approved: 2/7/2018
Funding Amount: $12,675.00
The main goal of this project is provide UK graduate students, with interests in sustainable agriculture and ecology, exposure to diverse and developing agricultural production systems in various climates across Peru. With the help of this funding, students have the opportunity to tour three different agricultural universities/institutions and two different types of agricultural systems (industrial and self-subsistence) across different geographies in Peru (coastal lowlands, Andes plateau, and Amazonian rainforest). While different in methodology, both subsistence and industrial agriculture practices pose unique challenges to farmers dealing with pest management and changing environmental conditions. Students can gain practical understanding of these specific challenges facing Peruvian agriculture and the methods growers use to tackle these challenges.
Bur Oak Tree Crutch at McConnell Springs
Approved: 2/7/2018
Funding Amount: $12,760.00
On the McConnell Springs site, there exists an historically significant tree - one of only a few old Bur Oaks that remain since the early days of Lexington settlement. One side of its canopy is growing out and over a pedestrian path, but the tree’s ability to support the weight of these large branches will diminish with time and as the branches continue to grow. Professionals from the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government (LFUCG) have climbed the tree to determine if installation of a cable system could mitigate the issue, however, they instead noticed that the core of the tree is hollow, compounding the problem. To create the necessary support of two (possibly three) limbs and keep the tree from falling apart, the tree requires a more structural, man-made intervention, a tree crutch. With help from students in the College of Design, a tree crutch has been designed. This money helps fund the creation of the structure.
Optimizing Student Learning in a Senior-Level Capstone Class Through an Immersive Spring Break Study Tour 2018
Approved: 2/21/2018
Funding Amount: $3,000.00
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 2018 study tour.
Fair Trade at UKY
Approved: 2/21/2018
Funding Amount: $2,100.00
The Fair Trade Campaign at the University of Kentucky was started in the fall of 2017 as a part of a national effort to certify universities across the United States as Fair Trade Universities, meaning that these campuses support the practices and principles of sustainable, ethical trading and sourcing. Through Fair Trade, consumer purchases help farmers and families in 70 countries across the globe earn fair wages, work in safe environments, protect the environment, and increase accessibility to education. Fair Trade Certified products support the hard working people who produce many of the products that we love, including coffee, tea, sugar, cocoa, bananas, apparel, and more. The Fair Trade Campaigns organization provides tools and support events to launch and grow local Fair Trade Campaigns. This funding allowed four students to attend the Fair-Trade Campaigns Conference to gain knowledge that aided them in launching a campaign to make UK a Fair-Trade Certified University.
On-Campus Outdoor Recycling
Approved: 3/7/2018
Funding Amount: $9,997.05
This funding allowed UK Physical Plant Division (PPD) to purchase 7 Scarborough recycling receptacles to be installed around the College of Agriculture buildings. In addition, these funds were leveraged with PPD purchase an additional 7 containers to be placed around the Seaton Center. Furthermore, for every recycling container purchased, UK Grounds purchased a landfill container to complete the pairs.
2018 Sustainability Pitch Competition
Approved: 3/21/2018
Funding Amount: $2,000.00
The 2018 Sustainability Pitch Competition will be a one-day event that invites students from all majors at the University of Kentucky to submit pitches for their ideas for a business related to sustainability. This event will be open to all students at UK and is intended to encourage students to consider sustainability as a viable component of entrepreneurship and to engage the business and sustainability communities so that they may have an opportunity for increased interaction. This project contributes to UK student knowledge by offering a space for students who may not ordinarily interact with sustainability initiatives at UK to do so, in hopes that these students will realize that their interest in problem-solving and entrepreneurship can be applied to making the world a better place through conservation and environmental protection. Students will be judged on their “pitches”; solutions to environmental problems that take the form of a sustainable business idea. They will be judged on several criteria related to innovation, feasibility, commitment to sustainability, and more, by a panel of judges composed of faculty and community members. The SSC helped fund catering and promotional materials for this event.
SSC Intern 2018
Approved: 3/21/2018
Funding Amount: $2,748.00
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 2017-18 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.
Catalyzing Undergraduate Research: Improving the Efficiency of Algae-Based Carbon Dioxide Utilization
Approved: 4/4/2018
Funding Amount: $6,835.50
The purpose of this project is to continue working on and developing a low cost control system for an algae photobioreactor, invented and operated at the UK CAER. One major aim of the control system improvements is to use system inputs more efficiently, thereby improving the environmental impact of algae cultivation for the production of bioproducts from carbon dioxide waste streams. This funding went to pay undergraduate researchers working on this project.
SSC/Office of Sustainability Graduate Assistantship
Approved: 4/4/2018
Funding Amount: $23,978.68
The SSC’s main directive is to cultivate and promote a culture of sustainability here at UK. Thus, the purpose of a graduate assistantship is to increase the overall efficacy and capacity of the SSC and Office of Sustainability in order to better cultivate the culture of sustainability. Additionally, as the SSC has grown in members and in funding capacity, there is a renewed need for a focused professional that is dedicated to supporting SSC operations. The graduate assistantship will be a ten-month appointment, wherein 50% of the time will be dedicated to the SSC and 50% of the time will be dedicated to the Office of Sustainability.
Stream Restoration and Student Engagement at the EREC Field Station Near the Campus
Approved: 4/18/2018
Funding Amount: $8,800.00
This funding is to help restore a stream at UK’s in-town field station, the Ecological Research and Education Center (EREC; on Russell Cave Road near the city’s Northside Branch Library), to enhance student learning opportunities during and after the restoration. The SSC's funding for this project is to remove honeysuckle along the stream, to return the area to native plants in an effort to protect native vegetation in the region.
Diet of a Recently Reintroduced River Otter (Lontra canadensis) Population in the Upper Rio Grande River, New Mexico
Approved: 4/18/2018
Funding Amount: $5,000
From early colonization until the mid-20th century, many animals were overexploited. River otters were eliminated from much of their native range, and extirpated from 13 states. As the environmental movement emerged in the late-20th century several states began otter restoration projects, including New Mexico 2008. This project was discontinued in 2012 because of concerns of fish depredation. There is very little information regarding river otters in the southwestern United States, and none for river otters in New Mexico. Understanding otter diet is key to informing local fisheries managers, local anglers, and other recreationists about the ecological role of this aquatic carnivore. River otters are also native to Kentucky, where they were reintroduced in the 1980s. Because river otters are not dietary specialists, we can compare food habits of those in New Mexico with Kentucky. This funding provided pay for two undergraduate intern positions and travel to New Mexico.
Student Engagement in the Global Conference on Sustainable Manufacturing
Approved: 4/18/2018
Funding Amount: $4,000.00
The 16th Global Conference on Sustainable Manufacturing (GCSM) will be held in Lexington KY, on October 2–4, 2018, and is organized by the Institute for Sustainable Manufacturing (ISM) at the University of Kentucky together with the Technical University of Berlin (TUB) Germany. The GCSM is one of the largest international conferences on sustainability/sustainable manufacturing and has not been held in the US since 2007. Over 200 international researchers and practitioners from academia, agencies and industry are expected to present their work on various aspects of sustainability/sustainable manufacturing. This year’s theme will be “Sustainable Manufacturing for Global Circular Economy”. Multiple sessions will be conducted under the main topics: Sustainable Products; Sustainable Processes; Sustainable Systems; and Cross-cutting topics in Sustainable Manufacturing. These sessions will discuss the economic, environmental, and societal (Triple Bottom Line) concerns in those respective areas. This funding will cover the registration fees for 10 UK students.
Connecting Food to the First-Year Experience
Approved: 4/18/2018
Funding Amount: $3,000.00
This funding was granted to support hands-on culinary instruction in local, sustainably sourced food for first year students in the College of Agriculture Food and the Environment (CAFÉ). As future leaders in Agro-food systems, it is important that UK's CAFÉ students to have the opportunity to not only know where their food comes from, but have firsthand farm-to-table experience. This program will provide funding for all GEN 100 courses (a required course for all CAFÉ first-year students) to participate in a cooking demonstration or class focused on local and sustainably sourced foods.
Catalyst Summer Training Program 2018
Approved: 4/18/2018
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.
Berlin: Case Study of a Green City, 8-Week Immersive Study Abroad Program
Approved: 4/18/2018
Funding Amount: $9,025.00
The University of Kentucky College of Design Architecture Studio in Berlin is an eight-week study abroad program led by faculty member Jason Scroggin. The design investigation will focus on an exploration and analysis of Berlin as a contemporary green city and the forces that currently define and shape this phenomena. Each participant will take part in two courses: a six-credit design studio and three-credit seminar. These funds will help with travel and funding many of the activities planned for the trip.
