Sustainability Challenge Grant 2024 Funded Projects

The walkway between the Gray Design Building (GDB) and the School of Art and Visual Studies (SAVS) is currently characterized by a mown lawn with small, spotty perennial patches on the eastern side of the walk and a mown lawn and a wooded ravine on the west side. The project partners propose using in-kind services and a Sustainability Challenge Grant to redesign the current walk experience into a native prairie grassland landscape with artwork, picnic areas, shade trees, and signage. The process for the design and construction of the landscape will involve the work of multiple participants:

1. Design and construction detailing by students in the Landscape Architecture department’s second-year studio and planting design courses
2. Technical leadership for design and plant selection and establishment methods by faculty and staff in Landscape Architecture Department
3. Construction implementation and planting by the UK Student Chapter, American Society of Landscape Architects and UK Horticulture club, with the guidance of faculty and staff and in cooperation with UK Physical Plant Division
4. Artwork by the SAVS students and faculty in collaboration with a Product Design faculty in the UKY College of Design
5. Site elements by Landscape Forms as outlined in the Sasaki Site Elements Guidelines of the UKY Masterplan could be added with additional funds in 2026 and 2027. 

The primary purpose of the grassland intervention for this project is to provide an educational opportunity to broaden the public’s understanding of the importance of grassland habits to wildlife and humans. Plants for the walkway grassland will be selected to evoke the prairies, barrens (primarily grasses), and glades (with exposed bedrock) of the Northern Interior Low Plateau physiographic regions of Central Kentucky (including the Bluegrass and Knobs regions).

Team: Tracey Miller, Assistant Professor, Department of Landscape Architecture; Jordan Phemister, Senior Lecturer, Department of Landscape Architecture; S.K. O’Brien, Assistant Professor, Department of Product Design; Garry Bibbs, Professor, School of Art and Visual Studies; Chad Eby, Assistant Professor, School of Art and Visual Studies; Jerry Hart, Grounds Superintendent, Facilities Management

This project seeks to establish operational processes and capacity to produce material for students and research use through the campus woods program. This requires two goals supporting each other: 

1. Improving physical workflow on the milling site will be executed through the installation of a gravel path connecting the warehouse in which the kiln is located to the outdoor milling area.
2. The development of an operational workflow and supporting infrastructure will allow the campus wood project to process and dry material for students and researchers engaging with the use of hardwoods in a variety of forms. From the scale for home furnishings to the scale of built structure. Outcomes from this goal would result in a 360 examination of the mill operation process from staffing to signage and advertising to connecting mill outputs with end users. 

Team: Sophia Thomas, Fabrication Lab Manager, College of Design; Bruce Swetnam, Associate Professor, School of Architecture; Chad Niman, Agriculture Research Specialist, Department of Forestry and Natural Resources; Jill Leckner, Senior Lecturer, School of Architecture; Paul Masterson, Facilities Supervisor, School of Art and Visual Studies; Pooya Mohaghegh, Lecturer, Department of Product Design

While reforestation is increasingly of interest in urban settings as part of broader urban greening programs and also has potential as a nature-based climate solution, the ecological services provided by planted urban forests are largely unknown. The literature on carbon cycling in urban forests in general is inconclusive—different types of urban forest (e.g., street trees, landscape trees, and remnant forest patches) vary in their growth and mortality rates, which makes carbon accounting complicated. The literature is further complicated by a paucity of studies engaging soil carbon specifically in these sites. Thus, the potential for urban reforestation to contribute to nature-based climate mitigation is unknown and presents a critical research need.

The proposed project seeks to characterize soil carbon sequestration and associated soil microbiome functions in planted urban forests, contrasted with adjacent mowed grassland ecosystems. Urban reforestation efforts such as Reforest the Bluegrass are promising avenues of promoting soil carbon sequestration since forests generally contain larger soil carbon stocks than highly disturbed ecosystems such as mowed urban lands. Further, the climate benefits of reforestation could be long-lasting since developing forests continually accumulate soil carbon over long time scales (decades to centuries). The increase in soil carbon with forest establishment is due partly to increased inputs of chemically complex plant matter to the soil (e.g., leaf litter, woody debris). 

Changes to the soil microbiota also plays a role in the increased carbon sequestration – alterations to the soil environment due to forest development (e.g., reductions in soil pH) increases the abundances of slow-growing microorganisms with high metabolic efficiency e.g., fungi and some groups of bacteria (e.g., Acidobacteria). As these more efficient organisms grow, they lose less carbon to the atmosphere as respiration (CO2) and retain more carbon into their biomass. Upon the deaths of these microbes, carbon compounds from their biomass chemically associate with soil minerals, forming mineral-associated organic matter (MAOM), which is protected from further decomposition. Thus, the changes in soil microbiota with forest development are linked to increased quantity and stability of belowground carbon stocks. In all, the general expectation is that reforestation will alter microbe-driven soil carbon cycling, ultimately resulting in increased potential for long-term climate change remediation.

Team: Kenton Sena, Senior Lecturer, Lewis Honors College; Ernie Osburn, Assistant Professor, Department of Plant and Soil Sciences; Zachary Hackworth, Research Forester, Department of Forestry and Natural Resources; Jan Frouz, Director, Czech Academy of Sciences, Charles University; Lucie Hublova, Ph.D. Student, Charles University; Heather Wilson, Urban and Community Forestry Program Manager Sr., LFUCG

Polymer modeling clay is a versatile and popular art material used by creatives and makers across age groups. Generally, polymer modeling clay is made from poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC), colorants, and plasticizers. The plasticizer in PVC is commonly phthalate based, and numerous studies have found that at even low concentrations, there may negative health outcomes tied to exposure. These include neurodevelopment risk of childhood asthma and potential ties to diabetes and breast/uterine cancer. Considering many artists may use the medium for years their lifetime exposure may be high. Due to all these factors, the long-term goal of our proposed research is to address the sustainability and health issues related to polymer modeling clay.

The overarching goal of this project is to redesign polymer clay to match the needs of the artistic community and sustainability. This goal aligns with the responsible production and consumption in SDG as well as supporting curricula. 

1. Characterize current polymer modeling clay (Chwatko). Success in this aim will lead to us understanding current plasticizer loading and polymer properties, which we can match in objective 2. This objective is critical to ensure we understand the material we wish to innovate on. This objective will tie for “taking care of our people” strategic plan, as polymer clay is used in educational setting, we need to know the composition and any potential health risks associated with its use on our campus.
2. Fabricate drop-in polymer-plasticizer replacements for polymer modeling clay and validate performance to meet or exceed current properties. (Chwatko: Synthesis, Wells: Testing) Success in this aim will allow us to demonstrate that similar glass transition polymers can replace PVC and allow for a simpler path toward recyclability and safety. This objective is tied to “Inspiring Ingenuity” from UKs strategic plan and responsible production and consumption SDG.
3. Build a robust data collection instrument with pilot testing at UK to study artists’ perceptions of sustainable polymer art production (Wells). Success in this aim will allow us to better study the opportunities and challenges facing artists and their perception of sustainability. This objective is tied to “bringing together many people, one community” from UKs strategic plan and “partnership from the goals” from SDG. This allows us to bring many perspectives regarding artistic materials and what a sustainable future would look like.

Team: Malgorzata Chwatko, Assistant Professor, Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering; Jaleesa Wells, Assistant Professor, Department of Arts Administration

Historically, natural dyes played a vital role in textile production, offering a vibrant and diverse color palette. However, synthetic dyes have largely replaced these traditional methods. While synthetic dyes offer a wider range of colors and greater consistency, their production and use often come at a significant environmental cost. Some 20% of global industrial water pollution is attributed to the dye industry. As the damage attributable to synthetic dyes gains appreciation, there is renewed interest in natural dyes. However, there is a large gap between demand and resources, and knowledge and training as needed for these sustainable practices' deployment. To position Kentuckians to engage and profit from growing demand for sustainable textiles and pigments, we propose:

1. A course to introduce students to sustainable dyes and practices.
2. Hands-on training via internships for students in the summer.
3. An outreach component to introduce the public to natural dye sources that can be grown in Kentucky, via a dye garden in the University of Kentucky Arboretum and a commercial production plot at the Horticulture Research Farm.

The project directly benefits sustainability of a modern essential: clothing. The course teaches students how sustainable practices can be implemented to replace toxic synthetic dyes pollutants. The demonstration dye garden as well as a commercial production at the Horticulture Research farm will not only provide the needed raw materials but will be a demonstration to the public of the attractive plants that can replace synthetic dyes and are naturally compatible with Kentucky's climate. The internships will provide hands-on training for students, preparing them to maintain their own dye gardens. This program not only teaches about sustainable replacement for textile dyes but lays a foundation for a sustainable source of income and employment for Kentuckians, based on crops that can be grown sustainably in Kentucky. By fostering long-lasting benefits for the commonwealth, we intend to boost economic sustainability, while also addressing an environmental woe.

Team: Crystal Gregory, Associate Professor, School of Art and Visual Studies; Shari Dutton, Horticulturalist, Department of Horticulture; A-F. Miller, Professor, Department of Chemistry