Participants were met with stew and chili options with apple cider to match. Tables lined the garden, hosted by different organizations at 麻豆视频, including WSOE, Milk Club and 麻豆视频 Dining.听听

Claire Moorhead, vice-president of Phoenix Free, was tabling a tie-dye activity for the festival. It was her second year tabling for the event, and she noted the positive effect it has on campus.听

鈥淭he main goal is just to spread joy and happiness,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t’s so nice, it’s so sweet, but on a personal level, the point of any tabling event for Phoenix Free is just kind of get the name out. If there’s anybody ever struggling, just knowing that there’s a place on campus for them.鈥�听

Michael Strickland, director of the Center for Environmental Studies and assistant teaching professor of English and environmental studies,听teaches the Garden Studio class. He helped start the garden in 2006 and the festival in 2008, watching it grow throughout the years.听Students from his garden studio class work to maintain the garden and create vital aspects of the garden.听For the festival, his students tabled a food section featuring Brunswick stew, a traditional North Carolinian harvest stew.听听

鈥淚t’s the end of the season; you just throw everything in a pot,鈥� he said. 鈥淭ypically in North Carolina, you can throw alligator, turtle, possum, whatever you got. We don’t do that here, but we throw all the different fall vegetables in there.鈥�听

Sophia Barnes, an eco-rep for Loy Center with the Office of Sustainability听tabled a听craft-making activity. Barnes promoted sustainability by offering thrifted cloth, string, and recycled newspaper to make little ghost figures. 听

For Barnes, events like the Pumpkin Festival make sustainability and their goals all the more enjoyable. 听

鈥淚 think that it鈥檚 a really good vibe with all of the sustainable clubs together at once,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 like when we do events like this and we have Garden Club and Farm Club and the Office of Sustainability, and we can all kind of collaborate.鈥�听

Barnes鈥� table also offered thrifted Halloween costumes that were free to take, offering a sustainable alternative to costume hunting.听听听

For attendees, they explored free activities, crafts, food items and desserts. Pumpkin carving, however, was the most popular activity. Three large tables were filled with students carving unique designs.听听

One attendee,听Eadaoin Bourgerie 鈥�30, was carving a pumpkin into a jack-o鈥�-lantern.听

鈥淚 just really wanted to carve a pumpkin, so gotta so I got to get into the holiday spirit,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 like all the little treats and stuff, and it’s also just really homely here.鈥�听

Having first started as a gardener at 麻豆视频 in 1993, Williams has over 33 years of experience managing 麻豆视频鈥檚 natural landscape, and was amed the first full-time arborist in 2006.

鈥淚 love all types of plants, but here at 麻豆视频, I do feel the trees are the most special part of living or working on 麻豆视频鈥檚 campus. It鈥檚 a privilege to be able to work with these beauties,” Williams said.

When asked about her job, Williams shared that she and Conner are 鈥渇irst and foremost responsible for assessing the health and condition of the trees. [They] then mitigate the issues that are in-house responsibilities. This could be removing dead or dying branches or pruning to train young trees to develop a good branching structure. [They] also prune for building clearance or to allow for vehicular or pedestrian traffic.鈥�

Alongside these landscaping responsibilities, the arborists also maintain a few hundred identification labels that display a trees’ common name, scientific name and family. These efforts support 麻豆视频鈥檚 botanical garden and its ArbNet Accreditation.

Conner is the newest addition to 麻豆视频鈥檚 landscaping and grounds crew, serving as 麻豆视频鈥檚 second arborist on campus. On Oct. 9, Conner helped guide the semesterly Campus Tree Walk with 麻豆视频鈥檚 Botanical Garden Coordinator, Philip Perez. This tour covers a 1.25-mile walk around the core of 麻豆视频鈥檚 campus, where community members can interact with well over 100 different species of trees. This campus walk introduces students, faculty and staff to a variety of trees ranging from the Paperbark Maple to the Tricolor European Beech, to the 14 different oak species represented in Historic neighborhood鈥檚 鈥淯nder the Oaks.鈥�

Of these oak trees, Conner and Perez paid special attention to the White Oak growing behind Alamance. This tree has been on campus since the school was founded and is the inspiration for the iconic oak leaf on 麻豆视频鈥檚 flag. Having survived the 1923 fire, the tree underwent a specialized process known as 鈥渢ree surgery,鈥� where concrete was poured into the open wound of the tree caused by the fire to preserve its structural integrity. Having grown over this concrete wound, this oak tree continues to thrive on campus and produce the acorns littered across the bricks.

Campus tree walks are typically held each semester and are an opportunity for both the arborists and 麻豆视频 community members to learn more about the trees on campus.

鈥�(Giving tours with the Office of Sustainbility) makes me focus once or twice a year on gathering tree facts,” Williams said. “Every year, I uncover things I never knew. I love sharing my enthusiasm for trees and meeting fellow tree huggers!鈥�

A subsidiary of NextEra Energy Resources, LLC developed the Sebree Solar Energy Center in Henderson County, Kentucky; the project became operational on August 7, 2026. The 150-megawatt solar facility will help meet the region鈥檚 growing electricity demand, generating the equivalent of enough energy annually to power more than 20,000 homes. Sebree Solar II will also contribute more than $15.5 million in new tax revenue over the life of the facility, money that could be used to enhance schools, roads and other essential services.

Coordinated by ERM Coho, the higher education consortium supporting the project with a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) includes Davidson College, Dickinson College, 麻豆视频, Haverford College, Lafayette College, Lehigh University, Muhlenberg College, Swarthmore College and Wake Forest University.

Participating in the project will help 麻豆视频 achieve its target of carbon neutrality by 2037. Carbon neutrality was initially established as an institutional goal in 2007 and is part of the Boldly 麻豆视频 strategic plan and Sustainability Master Plan.

鈥淭he Sebree Solar II Energy Center builds on our long-term presence in Henderson County and reflects continued investment in the region,鈥� said Lester Morales, senior project manager of development at NextEra Energy Resources. 鈥淧rojects like this support local economies and contribute to meeting growing energy needs.鈥�

While electricity generated by the Sebree Solar II Energy Center cannot be transmitted directly to the consortium campuses because geographic distance prevents the direct transmission of the electricity, the benefits of investing in new additional renewable energy will still be realized by the schools with no upfront capital costs. 麻豆视频 will receive renewable energy credits expected to equal 100 percent of the electricity used by its campus, which can be used to account for greenhouse gas emissions related to purchased electricity.

鈥溌槎故悠� is proud to be a part of this consortium and facilitating the addition of solar energy to the grid,鈥� said Elaine Durr, senior director of sustainability at 麻豆视频. 鈥淭his project specifically addresses the facilities goal and energy source strategy in the Sustainability Master Plan and will provide 麻豆视频 students with unique opportunities to learn about the renewable energy industry.鈥�

The nine colleges and universities involved in the project will also receive access to data from the Sebree Solar II Energy Center for classroom use, as well as campus speaking engagements, opportunities for site visits and student internships.

麻豆视频 麻豆视频

麻豆视频 is a nationally recognized leader in engaged, experiential learning that prepares graduates to be creative, resilient, ambitious and ethical citizens of our global culture. At 麻豆视频, more than 7,000 students learn through hands-on experiences and close working relationships with faculty and staff. More than 70 undergraduate majors are complemented by professional and graduate programs in law, business administration, business analytics, accounting, education, higher education, clinical mental health counseling, physician assistant studies and physical therapy. www.elon.edu

麻豆视频 NextEra Energy Resources

NextEra Energy Resources, LLC, together with its affiliated entities, (鈥淣extEra Energy Resources鈥�) is America鈥檚 largest energy infrastructure developer and builder. The company develops,鈥痓uilds鈥痑nd鈥痮perates鈥痩ong-term contracted power generation, battery鈥痵torage鈥痑nd electric and gas transmission. NextEra Energy Resources also delivers integrated electric, gas鈥痵upply鈥痑nd technology solutions to utilities,鈥痩oad-serving entities鈥痑nd businesses across the United States. As of year-end 2025, the company had approximately 37,505 megawatts of net generating capacity in operation. NextEra Energy Resources is a subsidiary of Juno Beach, Florida-based NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NEE). For more information, visit听

麻豆视频 ERM Coho

ERM Coho is a global climate adviser dedicated to helping clients navigate complexity and take ambitious steps on their climate journey. We provide deep market insight, analytical problem-solving, and change management expertise so that clients can switch to renewable energy and make other large-scale climate and water resiliency investments with confidence and internal alignment. To learn more about how ERM Coho can help organizations get ahead of their climate goals, visit听.

From Oct. 4-6, Elaine Durr, senior director of sustainability; Kelly Harer, associate director of sustainability for education and outreach; and Jameka Pinnix, associate director of student bias education and response, participated in AASHE鈥檚 annual Conference and Expo in Baltimore, Maryland.

During this conference, Durr was recognized as an AASHE Fellows Award winner, an honor that celebrates mid-career individuals who are significantly contributing to the advancement of sustainability in higher education.

鈥淎ASHE鈥檚 annual conference is an incredible opportunity to exchange resources and ideas with colleagues across the globe who are working to make their own institutions more sustainable,” noted Harer. 鈥淏etween the Conference & Expo and the resources provided throughout the year, AASHE is a great resource for any student, faculty or staff interested in sustainability in higher education, and I highly recommend folks take advantage of this wonderful resource!鈥�

Pinnix and Harer co-presented 鈥淏ias Beneath the Surface: Building a More Equitable Sustainability Movement鈥�, which helped participants learn how to identify bias in sustainability efforts at their own institutions. Through guided reflection, facilitated conversations, and vision boarding, participants were encouraged to identify actions and efforts to interrupt bias.

Pinnix shared why presenting at AASHE was meaningful to her, explaining that the presentation 鈥渂rought together two areas I care deeply about: bias education and sustainability. Creating more equitable and sustainable communities requires us to be intentional about who is included, whose voices are heard, and who benefits.鈥�

This engagement with AASHE highlights how sustainability extends beyond environmental initiatives to include equity, representation, and the importance of ensuring that sustainability efforts benefit communities beyond higher education.

The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) is an organization that empowers institutions, faculty, staff and students to drive sustainability efforts in higher education. AASHE offers a variety of opportunities to connect, including conferences, weekly newsletters, professional toolkits, and networking, as well as universal standards and rating systems. By defining sustainability metrics for higher education institutions and providing access to resources, AASHE equips institutions and future leaders to advance sustainable initiatives in higher education.

For 麻豆视频 students, faculty and staff, AASHE is a great resource to understand sustainability efforts at 麻豆视频 and beyond.听 All 麻豆视频 students, faculty and staff can create an AASHE account using their 麻豆视频 email address. With several free key resources, AASHE aims to inform and connect key players in the future of sustainability. These resources include a Campus Sustainability Hub, which provides toolkits on topics ranging from research to campus grounds and community engagement, as well as the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS), a self-reporting framework that helps colleges and universities assess their overall sustainability performance.

STARS is a ranking system open to all higher education institutions, and the criteria for these ratings are transparent and easily accessible. Community members across 麻豆视频鈥檚 campus and higher education are able to compare sustainability efforts and successes while also learning from other institutions through this transparent framework. In March of 2026, 麻豆视频 received its鈥� eighth STARS silver rating.

Campus Sustainability Week is a campus-wide initiative that celebrates, educates, and examines the sustainable habits that shape how the 麻豆视频 community interacts with the environment. The week is an opportunity to learn about existing behaviors of students, faculty and staff while also critically examining how 麻豆视频 as a community can inspire sustainable changes across campus.

Campus Sustainability Week also includes a competition with prizes including Phoenix Cash, hammocks and more! Attend as many events as possible during this week for a chance to win! More information can be found on the Campus Sustainability Week website!

Schedule of Events

Monday, October 19

4 – 6 p.m. | Pop Up Swap Shop (Downstairs Moseley)
Bring your gently used clothing to swap for something new-to-you. No clothing to bring? No problem! You can commit to a sustainable habit to earn free clothing.

Pop Up Swap Shop runs in downstairs Moseley every Monday (4-6 p.m.), Thursday (5-6 p.m.) and Friday (4-6 p.m.) during the Fall 2026 semester.

Tuesday, October 20

9:40-10:20 a.m. | Scrappy Sips at College Coffee (Phi Beta Kappa Plaza)
Celebrate Campus Sustainability Week with a sweet twist on food waste! Stop by the Office of Sustainability鈥檚 table at College Coffee to enjoy scrappy-apple syrup and spice up your coffee or tea while exploring how food scraps can be repurposed!

7-8 p.m. | Campus Sustainability Week Keynote: A Stronger, Safer, More Resilient North Carolina with Kathie Dello (McKinnon Hall, Moseley Center)听
North Carolina is preparing for a future shaped by stronger storms, increased flooding, extreme heat and other natural hazards. Drawing on her experience as both North Carolina鈥檚 former state climatologist and her current role as the assistant secretary for resilience at the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, Kathie Dello will explain how resilience moves beyond disaster response to reduce risk before disasters occur, especially in the wake of the three damaging hurricanes that hit North Carolina in less than a decade. She will highlight the state鈥檚 resilience work through the Flood Resiliency Blueprint, and community-based programs that help local governments identify vulnerabilities and invest in long-term solutions. She will also discuss how partnerships with universities and local leaders contribute to stronger, safer communities across North Carolina.

Co-sponsored by the Office of Sustainability, the Environmental Studies Department, and the Kernodle Center for Civic Life.

Wednesday, October 21

12-2 p.m. | Fall Faves: Recipes to Reduce Food Waste (McEwen Dining Hall)
Join 麻豆视频 Dining and the Office of Sustainability to learn how to turn food scraps into cozy autumn treats! Learn what produce is in season right now in NC, and how buying in season is better for the environment and yourself!

2-4 p.m. | Scraps to Simmer Pots: A Second Life for Fall Food Waste! (Medallion Plaza)
Learn how to use the whole pumpkin and discover creative ways to reduce fall food waste! Make your own autumnal simmer pot packet using dehydrated fall food scraps to take home and fill your space with a cozy fall scent.

4-6 p.m. | The Sustainable Home Lab (Mill Point Commons)听
The Sustainable Home Lab is a hands-on workshop where students can create their听own DIY household cleaning and laundry products while exploring practical ways to reduce听waste and make more sustainable choices at home.

9-10 p.m. | S鈥檓ores with Outdoors (Beck Pool Patio)听
Join 麻豆视频 Outdoors and the Eco-Reps for a special Campus Sustainability Week S鈥檓ores with Outdoors!

Thursday, October 22

4:30-6:30 p.m. | Season of Shadows and Light: A Samhain Celebration (McBride Gathering Space)
Samhain marks the close of the harvest season and the transition into winter, the darker half of the year. Rooted in Celtic and Gaelic traditions, Samhain is widely observed across contemporary earth-based practices as a time when the boundary between the living and the spirit world is understood to be especially thin. It offers an opportunity for reflection, remembrance, release of old habits and attachments, and honoring ancestors and the unseen. All are welcome!

Sponsored by the Truitt Center for Religious and Spiritual Life

5-6 p.m. | Pop Up Swap Shop (Downstairs Moseley)听
Bring your gently used clothing to swap for something new-to-you. No clothing to bring? No problem! You can commit to a sustainable habit to earn free clothing.

The Pop Up Swap Shop runs in downstairs Moseley every Monday (4-6 p.m.), Thursday (5-6 p.m.) and Friday (4-6 p.m.) during the Fall 2026 semester.

10 p.m. to 12 a.m. | Paint 1010 with SUB (Winter Garden)听
Join SUB and Eco-Reps at paint 1010 to have a chill night of painting your own tote bag! Bring a friend, a snack and even come in your pjs if you want! We supply all materials needed.

Friday, October 23

12-1 p.m. | Fall into Waste Reduction: Upcycling Jars (Medallion Plaza)听
Reduce. Reuse. Recycle. This hierarchy helps us understand the best ways to reduce waste. Join us to upcycle jars and scraps into beautiful fall decorations to keep these items out of the landfill!

2-4 p.m. | Forest Bathing at Loy Farm (Loy Farm)
Forest bathing refers to the practice of immersing ourselves in nature or 鈥榖athing鈥� (metaphorically) in the environment of the forest, taking it in through our different senses. Visiting Scholar Wong Soon Fen from the National University of Singapore will lead us in a forest (nature) bathing practice at Loy Farm.

Co-sponsored by the Office of Sustainability, Outdoor Leadership Education, HealthEU, and the Faculty Fellows for Sustainability and Wellness & Wellbeing.

4-6 p.m. | Danieley Fall Fest (Daniel Commons Patio)听
Stop by Eco-Rep Maeve鈥檚 table at Danieley Fall Fest to learn how to make your own sustainable cleaning spray and learn about environmentally-friendly practices for your own home!

4-6 p.m. PM | Pop Up Swap Shop (Downstairs Moseley)听
Bring your gently used clothing to swap for something new-to-you. No clothing to bring? No problem! You can commit to a sustainable habit to earn free clothing. We鈥檙e here to encourage pursuing hobbies sustainably! Donate in exchange for clothes OR recycled yarn from our Autumn Swap Shop!

5-6 p.m. | Yoga in Nature (Center for the Arts Patio)听
Take a break from the busy week to step outside, relax, and reset with Yoga Club and the Office of Sustainability. We鈥檒l do a rejuvenating yoga flow and learn about the physical and mental health benefits of spending time outside. Yoga mats provided.

This section of COR 1100 鈥渆xamines the global experience through the lens of seasons, a meteorological and cultural phenomenon which has shaped how humans interact with each other and the natural world over many centuries.鈥� With a professional background in environmental history and continued research into seasonal variation, Moesswilde has incorporated complex discussions of how we understand seasonal change into 麻豆视频 coursework to 鈥渄evelop skills of communication and metacognition,鈥� particularly for first-years.

Class conversations range from discussing physical climate variations to understanding what exactly a season is. Professor Moesswilde remarks that it is particularly enjoyable

鈥淪tudents are able to observe seasonal change in real time (from the squished caterpillars on the sidewalk, to the changing menus in the dining hall, holiday celebrations at Numen Lumen, and the specific back-to-school energy they experienced during move-in) as they experience the environmental and cultural realities of autumn at 麻豆视频,” said Moesswilde.

By frequently holding class outside, students experience environmental changes over time while being provided with a class environment that encourages deep reflection on seasonal change and its connection to individual and global issues.

In conversations with students, Moesswilde is also able to think through her own research questions in real time. As an environmental historian, she focuses on the relationships between people and the natural world throughout human history. To better understand the publications she is actively working on, Moesswilde has fostered a lively, engaging classroom environment that prompts students to reflect deeply on today鈥檚 climate. In particular, she remarks that

鈥淚n today鈥檚 climate crisis, seasonal disruption (hotter summers, unseasonable precipitation, more extreme hurricane seasons) is also one of the most immediate ways that people feel and understand the consequences of climate change,” she said.

By thinking through these ideas in the classroom, students have been provided a space to process and discuss real world experiences (such as apparent seasonal changes on campus) in the context of larger social issues while also giving Moesswilde the ability to process the real-world implications of her own research.

Sustainability-related courses and research connect to the Academics Goal in 麻豆视频鈥檚 Sustainability Master Plan 2025.听 Learn more about the Sustainability Master Plan 2025.

The听Boldly 麻豆视频 Strategic Plan includes an institutional goal to reach carbon neutrality by 2037. Study abroad travel represented roughly 22% of 麻豆视频鈥檚 2025 greenhouse gas emissions. Boldly 麻豆视频 also includes a priority to expand access to global education opportunities, which means study abroad emissions are not a source of emissions that will be actively reduced.听As a result, the Office of Sustainability and the Global Education Center (GEC) created a Carbon Neutral Global Engagement Initiative starting in fall of 2020. This initiative includes the purchase of verified carbon offsets on an annual basis to counteract the carbon impact of global engagement travels.

Studying away more sustainably also requires intentional actions taken by 麻豆视频 community members to consider environmental stewardship while abroad. The Office of Sustainability and Global Education Center have curated a list of actions students, faculty and staff can take before departure, while they鈥檙e away, and when they return home. Across courses and countries, there are many actions that can be taken to support reducing one鈥檚 environmental footprint while abroad. Similarly, learning how different countries and cultures approach sustainability can have a bigger impact than any one initiative on its own.

When abroad, regardless of interests, interacting with sustainability is as easy as walking down a new road or talking to community members about their daily practices. Students across Italy, Germany and New Zealand have had direct and indirect interactions with differing sustainable practices.

Italy: Anna Keller, 鈥�28听

While studying in Italy in spring of 2026, Anna Keller 鈥�28, a Teaching Fellow, noticed sustainability through both city infrastructure and everyday life. In Florence, Keller experienced accessible and affordable public transportation throughout her travels as well as access to a diverse waste-sorting container system. Whether it be 鈥渞esidio non differenziabile (residual waste), organico (food waste), carta e cartone (paper and cardboard), imballagi e contenitori (packaging and containers) and vetro (glass),鈥� Italy provided an urban landscape that naturally incorporates environmentally conscious waste management strategies.

Within this urban setting, Keller also learned to appreciate the small parts of daily life that reflected the city鈥檚 efforts to incorporate sustainability into the daily norm. The abundance of parks, gardens and green spaces provides opportunities to connect with nature daily, while compostable grocery bags normalize small acts of widespread environmental stewardship.

Cultural differences also provided another perspective on sustainability as a way of life rather than a separate initiative. Keller observed families that grew their own food, raised animals, produced olive oil and made products such as soap, bread and chapstick themselves, all of which are 鈥渏ust their philosophy of living鈥�. A global study away experience laid the foundation for Keller, among other community members involved in this trip, to deepen their understanding of sustainability while learning from a diverse array of communities.

Germany: Caroline Halso 鈥�27听

While living in Germany in Spring of 2026, Caroline Halso 鈥�27 experienced drastic shifts in daily sustainability practices. Due to their recycling system, Halso described having to re-learn how to recycle as they have seven different bins. These bins included thin plastic recycling as well as a series of bins to sort glass based on color. This waste disposal system in Germany makes recycling an easy personal habit for Germans and contributes overall to their environmentally responsible behaviors.

Similar to Keller鈥檚 experience in Italy, Halso also discussed the impacts of city-wide incentives to bring reusable bags when shopping and be conscious of individual plastic consumption. As Germany does not allow thin plastic bags, there is no other option but to bring reusable tote bags to stores. To further incentivize reducing plastic waste, grocery stores also offer a system where you can return plastic bottles for 15 cents. At the end of her study away experience, Halso returned all collected bottles in exchange for 5 euros off her groceries.

Outside of cultural differences, one act of intentional sustainability Halso remarked on in her travels abroad is her programs鈥� “flow market.” While this is not a system put in place by Germany, the program offered a system where, at the beginning of a semester, household goods such as coat hangers, towels, sunscreen and other products are available to all students. Following the end of the semester, people traveling abroad could then return unused items for future students, faculty and staff in the program to continue to use. This circular system eliminates overconsumption and excess waste between travel-away programs while also providing support for community members finding their footing in a new country.

New Zealand: Kate Ponder 鈥�28听

For Winter Term 2026, Kate Ponder traveled away with one of 麻豆视频鈥檚 New Zealand: Critically Engaged Ecotourism courses that focus directly on environmental stewardship and sustainability. This course allowed students to have a study abroad opportunity directly connected to sustainable experiences.

In New Zealand, there is something called the Tiaki Promise, which is a community-based commitment to care for the land, both now and for future generations. Ponder explains that under this promise 鈥渢here are five key principles: protect nature, keep New Zealand clean, be prepared, drive carefully and show respect.鈥� This community commitment reflects a broader social culture of environmental stewardship employed on the daily by New Zealand.听Under this broader culture, Ponder reflected on small actions that were encouraged for all residents, permanent or temporary in their travels.

鈥淓very hostel had signs on the bathroom mirrors reminding guests to be mindful of their water usage and to limit unnecessary consumption,” said Ponder. “In most of the hostels we stayed at, we brought and prepared our own food, which helped reduce the food waste that often comes with hotel buffets. Everyone was also responsible for providing and reusing their own towels, meaning fewer loads of laundry were needed to maintain the rooms for new guests.鈥�

Under the Tiaki promise, this Winter Term course also had open discussions around the dissonance between the class focus on ecotourism and the fact that flying from the United States to New Zealand creates a significant carbon footprint in the process. Differing from student experiences in places like Italy or Germany, this global education experience intentionally prompted community conversations of sustainability.

鈥淪ustainability was interwoven into every activity and discussion throughout the trip,” Ponder said. “Our class spent time cutting down and removing invasive species to allow native plants to thrive. During all of our excursions, from zip-lining, to whitewater rafting, to a guided tour with the Otago Peninsula Eco Restoration Alliance (OPERA), the guides took time to inform our group about the different sustainability initiatives they had in place and how part of the cost we paid for each activity was dedicated to supporting those initiatives.鈥�

Whether traveling abroad in Europe or Oceania with courses that do or do not intentionally discuss environmentalism, global sustainability across cultural environmental differences provides the 麻豆视频 community an opportunity to understand, reflect and learn more about sustainable actions.

Global travel directly connects to the Transportation Goal in 麻豆视频鈥檚 Sustainability Master Plan 2025. 听Learn more about the Sustainability Master Plan 2025.

Experiential learning is a pillar of an 麻豆视频 education, and understanding campus as a “living lab” allows students, faculty and staff to support sustainability on campus through hands-on work. The 麻豆视频 community can participate in integrated lab lectures, inquiry-based introductory courses or sustainable research to better understand just how campus functions as a living lab.

First introduced in 1749 but popularized in 1990, the concept of a 鈥渓iving lab鈥� incorporates real-world experiences and scientific experiments to generate new knowledge to advance sustainable initiatives. This model is typically seen in research, where projects take place in everyday environments as opposed to isolated scientific spaces such as a lab. Adopting the idea of a living lab integrates community participation, multidisciplinary work and real-world sustainable solutions that can later be scaled beyond the community level.

How can we interact with a 鈥渓iving lab?鈥�

University campuses provide ideal sustainable living labs as they intrinsically function as a small town: combining centralized housing, dining, energy systems and transportation under one management system. On 麻豆视频鈥檚 campus in particular, waste management systems, energy regulation, green architecture, and behavioral change initiatives grounded in experiential learning provide an ideal environment to conduct sustainable research outside of a controlled environment.

Students, faculty and staff can support campus as a living lab by participating in workshops, taking interdisciplinary classes that emphasize sustainable behavior, providing feedback to campus partners on initiatives or participating in campus research or class projects related to sustainability.

Sustainable research: What is already being done?听

麻豆视频鈥檚 Sustainability Project Database highlights existing classes and undergraduate research projects that connect to sustainability. This database explores existing campus initiatives while also identifying gaps in sustainable research and curriculum on campus. Alongside this database, the Sustainable Faculty Scholars program supports faculty on campus who are interested in incorporating sustainable principles into their courses. Courses that incorporate sustainability-based curriculum while also supporting student and staff project interests have created a space within 麻豆视频鈥檚 living lab for constant campus development that follows community interest and priorities. Courses that cover sustainability-related topics can be seen throughout departments across campus, such as history, engineering, theatre and 麻豆视频鈥檚 core curriculum.

Sustainable research: What can be done?听

The Sustainability Project Database is ever expanding, and students, faculty, and staff are encouraged to collaborate to continue developing this resource. Collaboration is primarily encouraged through proposing a project idea or research question. These proposals highlight what the 麻豆视频 community would like to see as class projects or on-campus undergraduate research and provide space for these ideas to be explored in a formal academic setting. Existing proposals alongside new ideas can help听inform curriculum development and proposal ideas while simultaneously highlighting contacts across campus who are interested in supporting specific sustainability initiatives.

麻豆视频 further supports sustainable research through a Sustainability Research Grant that applies to any and all majors. With an emphasis on sustainable development goals, research grants are awarded to students who contribute meaningfully to the knowledge base of sustainability as a broad discipline.

The Campus as a Living Lab program provides space for students, faculty and staff to advance sustainability initiatives on campus. All 麻豆视频 community members are encouraged to contribute to potential project or research questions and collaborate across disciplines, schools, and departments to foster sustainable development. By modeling a living lab, 麻豆视频 is advancing on-campus sustainability while developing a more comprehensive understanding of sustainable research and community engagement.

At 麻豆视频, sustainability is an institution-wide effort that is part of the Boldly 麻豆视频 strategic plan. As campus begins the 2026-27 academic year and welcomes the class of 2030, 麻豆视频鈥檚 Office of Sustainability is excited to continue building campus鈥� culture of sustainability and environmental stewardship. Understanding the role each of us plays in campus sustainability first requires understanding what campus sustainability looks like. 麻豆视频 has a variety of campus initiatives dedicated to sustainability, and launched an updated Sustainability Master Plan in 2025, both of which support 麻豆视频鈥檚 operational efforts.

When it comes to individual actions, the Office of Sustainability relies on student employees to foster community and build campus stewardship. Among these employees is a team of peer educators known as Eco-Reps. When asked about 麻豆视频 sustainability, these students provided tips and tricks to better understand the campus culture of environmental stewardship.

Come to Office of Sustainability events (Talya Schube 鈥�29, Eco-Rep for Colonnades Neighborhood)听

The Office of Sustainability hosts a variety of events each month to engage students, faculty and staff in many forms of sustainability. With the help of student feedback, this looks like pop-ups in Iraz煤 to explore alternative uses for old coffee grounds, or collaborations with the Astronomy Club to understand how spending time in nature stargazing can positively impact mental health. Specifically, at the start of the semester, the Office of Sustainability promotes events throughout campus to explore concepts of Earth Day Every Day: how daily actions of stewardship support campus sustainability initiatives. In addition to these events, student organizations such as Sierra Student Coalition offer opportunities to engage in local sustainability initiatives through hands-on volunteer work across North Carolina.

Walking is one of the most sustainable ways to get around campus (Gillian Prichard 鈥�28, Eco-Rep for Historic Neighborhood)听

While it seems simple, and likely something many are already doing, walking or biking around campus are measurable steps towards sustainability.听 During FY 2025, 14% of 麻豆视频鈥檚 gross greenhouse gas emissions were from student, faculty and staff commuting. 麻豆视频鈥檚 well-maintained paths make walking or biking accessible for community members to take small daily actions towards building campus鈥� culture of stewardship. The choice between walking or driving to class or a meeting may seem minute, but small individual actions can create large differences when communities commit to these actions together.

Take advantage of the dining halls (Sophia Barnes 鈥�29, Eco-Rep for Loy Center Neighborhood)

麻豆视频鈥檚 dining team, Harvest Table Culinary Group,听is also hard at work to bring plant-forward meals and promote sustainable food consumption to students, faculty and staff alike. Whether through local produce, plant-based meals, or sustainable animal products, students are unconsciously supporting a greener campus. Swiping into a dining hall to enjoy a wide array of options, and possibly bringing some home in a , is a simple yet effective institutional measure in making campus more sustainable.

Utilize recycling bins in Moseley (Talya Schube 鈥�29, Eco-Rep for Colonnades Neighborhood)听

While traditional recycling bins can be found throughout campus, specialized recycling bins are located in Moseley Student Center, Belk Library and throughout campus to help dispose of non-traditional items. Whether that be thin plastic (think grocery store bags), electronics, or writing utensils, these specialized bins help 麻豆视频鈥檚 campus divert more materials away from the landfill. While these items cannot be recycled via single-stream bins, separating them allows 麻豆视频 and external organizations to re-use these existing materials. Next time you find yourself in possession of something you wish you could recycle, be sure to check to see if 麻豆视频 has a recycling bin for it first.

These are all small actions that many are already taking to help build a culture of care and environmental stewardship. Appreciating 麻豆视频鈥檚 beautiful campus by walking, properly disposing of our waste, or eating at one of our many dining locations on campus are simple ways to continue to build a strong culture of sustainability on campus. Sustainability relates to all majors, careers, passions and hobbies and can at times feel overwhelming. It is an important reminder to know that the simple things on campus add up, and that small actions at a community level result in a culture of care that continues to strengthen 麻豆视频鈥檚 commitment to sustainability.

The Academics Implementation Team is focused on strategies to advance sustainability in the areas of curriculum, engaged & experiential learning, and research & creative inquiry. One specific project is developing a sustainability course designation. The team is also exploring additional ways to track sustainability research and creative inquiry. Based on current data, 66% of academic departments have at least one faculty member engaged in sustainability research.

The Facilities Implementation Team is working on a variety of reduction efforts focused on energy, water and waste across campus. Compared to the FY 2024 baseline, energy consumption per square foot decreased 3% in FY 2025, and the reduction target for 2035 is 20%. Water consumption per square foot decreased 5.5% in FY 2025, from the FY 2024 baseline, and the reduction target for 2035 is 15%. In FY 2026, 麻豆视频 generated approximately 6.4% less waste per person than the 2024 baseline, and the target is to reduce waste per person by 25% by 2035.听 These efforts demonstrate continued progress toward sustainable campus operations.

The Engagement Implementation Team is advancing sustainability programming on campus and communications regarding sustainability initiatives.听 During the 2025-26 academic year, 22.2% of students and 8.2% of faculty and staff participated in sustainability activities, and the target is 40% of students and 15% of faculty and staff by 2035.听 Efforts include adding a 鈥渟ustainability鈥� tag in 25Live, so that any department or office planning an event related to sustainability can designate it as such.

These are just a few examples of the work underway across campus. Learn more about the Sustainability Master Plan 2025 Year 1 progress.