| Overall Rating | Silver - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 45.25 |
| Liaison | David Tedder |
| Submission Date | Oct. 16, 2015 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
University of Kentucky
EN-3: Student Life
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
2.00 / 2.00 |
Shane
Tedder Sustainability Coordinator Office oF Sustainability |
Does the institution have one or more co-curricular sustainability programs and initiatives that fall into the following categories?:
| Yes or No | |
| Active student groups focused on sustainability | Yes |
| Gardens, farms, community supported agriculture (CSA) or fishery programs, or urban agriculture projects where students are able to gain experience in organic agriculture and sustainable food systems | Yes |
| Student-run enterprises that include sustainability as part of their mission statements or stated purposes | Yes |
| Sustainable investment funds, green revolving funds or sustainable microfinance initiatives through which students can develop socially, environmentally and fiscally responsible investment and financial skills | No |
| Conferences, speaker series, symposia or similar events related to sustainability that have students as the intended audience | Yes |
| Cultural arts events, installations or performances related to sustainability that have students as the intended audience | Yes |
| Wilderness or outdoors programs that follow Leave No Trace principles | Yes |
| Sustainability-related themes chosen for themed semesters, years, or first-year experiences | Yes |
| Programs through which students can learn sustainable life skills | No |
| Sustainability-focused student employment opportunities offered by the institution | Yes |
| Graduation pledges through which students pledge to consider social and environmental responsibility in future job and other decisions | No |
| Other co-curricular sustainability programs and initiatives | Yes |
The name and a brief description of each student group focused on sustainability:
UK Greenthumb:
The UK Greenthumb Environmental Club is engaged in environmental activism on campus and beyond. Much of Greenthumb’s work is focused on pushing to create a more sustainable campus. Greenthumb is also dedicated to educating both the UK community and its own members. Greenthumb participates in outings, such as trips to mountain top removal sights and leadership trainings held by other environmental organizations, as well as lobbying events and rallies.
UK Student Engaged in Agricultural Discovery (SEAD):
SEAD is a student-led organization whose goal is to educate the student body and members about issues within the food production system of the United States and promoting sustainable agriculture.
The Campus Kitchen at UK:
Campus Kitchen is a student-powered hunger relief effort at the University of Kentucky. Members recover unused food from school cafeterias, prepare meals, and serve them to low-income citizens.
Student Sustainability Council (SSC):
The SSC supervises the distribution of the Environmental Stewardship Fee in order to responsibly advance the theory, practice and reality of Sustainability at the University of Kentucky.
Environmental Science Club:
The UK Environmental Science Club is dedicated to enriching the experience of students interested in natural resources and environmental science at UK through: guest speakers, fun and exciting outings, job and internship opportunities, philanthropic events, and networking opportunities within the community.
All groups student governed
The website URL where information about student groups is available:
A brief description of gardens, farms, community supported agriculture (CSA) or fishery programs, and urban agriculture projects where students are able to gain experience in organic agriculture and sustainable food systems:
Shawneetown Community Gardens - Community Garden for graduate and family students at the University of Kentucky. Student-governed.
UK CSA - The UK Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) project is a part of the UK College of Agriculture, Department of Horticulture, and is an integral component of the Sustainable Agriculture (SAG) Undergraduate Curriculum. Not student-governed.
The website URL where information about the organic agriculture and/or sustainable food systems projects and initiatives is available:
A brief description of student-run enterprises that include sustainability as part of their mission statements or stated purposes:
Campus Kitchens
The mission of The Campus Kitchens Project is to use service as a tool to:
Strengthen bodies by using existing resources to meet hunger and nutritional needs in our community; Empower minds by providing leadership and service learning opportunities to students, and educational benefits to adults, seniors, children and families in need; and
Build communities by fostering a new generation of community-minded adults through resourceful and mutually beneficial partnerships among students, social service agencies, businesses and schools.
The website URL where information about the student-run enterprise(s) is available:
A brief description of the sustainable investment or finance initiatives:
The website URL where information about the sustainable investment or finance initiatives is available:
A brief description of conferences, speaker series, symposia or similar events related to sustainability that have students as the intended audience:
The UK Office of Sustainability, the Tracy Farmer Institute for Sustainability and the Environment, the Student Sustainability Council, and several of our degree programs host sustainability-focused outreach events. That said, the Dimensions of Political Ecology Conference, which is student-goverened by the Political Ecology Working Group is probably the most prominent. Several other prominent examples include Earth Days in the Bluegrass (coordinated by the Office of Sustainability-http://www.sustainability.uky.edu/edbg), The TFISE Research Showcase (http://tfise.uky.edu/showcase) and the Sustainable Ag and Food Systems Working Group's First Friday Breakfasts (http://safs.ca.uky.edu/). None of these secondary examples are student-governed.
The website URL where information about the event(s) is available:
A brief description of cultural arts events, installations or performances related to sustainability that have students as the intended audience:
Each year the College of Design hosts a large fund raising event called the Beaux Arts Ball. They feature several design installations and this year sustainability was a key focus for those installations.
Also, the UK Office of Sustainability and the Office of Recycling both participated in the The Lexington Fashion Collaborative - Neighborhood Series 2014. The designers of this Exhibit use reclaimed and reused materials from local businesses for the creation of its designs. The narrative of the Series is as follows:
A collection of materials from local businesses is used to create a garment and a set. The objective of this exhibit is to focus on reclaimed discarded resources to demonstrate reusable sustainability within our local community. The throwaway mentality has created social and economic negatives that can be reversed through reclaim and reuse neighborhood initiatives. The Lexington Fashion Collaborative has invited local artist and designers participating in this years Beaux Arts Foundation fashion show to incorporate their creations of collected materials from local businesses. These reclaimed materials have been reused and converted into fashion art forms. The Lexington Fashion Collaboratives’ goal is to use these fashion art forms to bring to the fore the issue of reusable sustainability as - The Neighborhood Series Exhibit 2014. https://www.facebook.com/lexingtonfashion
The website URL where information about the cultural arts event(s) is available:
A brief description of wilderness or outdoors programs for students that follow Leave No Trace principles:
UK Outdoor Pursuits is a student-governed program within campus recreation. The mission of the Outdoor Pursuits Program is to provide outdoor recreation and education opportunities for the University of Kentucky community using human–powered adventure pursuits‚ experiential education‚ and the natural environment.
The website URL where information about the wilderness or outdoors program(s) is available:
A brief description of sustainability-related themes chosen for themed semesters, years, or first-year experiences:
The Greenhouse is a sustainability-focused living learning community with connected course work available to first-year students.
The website URL where information about the theme is available:
A brief description of program(s) through which students can learn sustainable life skills:
The website URL where information about the sustainable life skills program(s) is available:
A brief description of sustainability-focused student employment opportunities:
The UK Office of Sustainability has a paid internship program. The Wildcat Wheels Bicyclle Library also has paid positions. http://www.sustainability.uky.edu/wwbl
The website URL where information about the student employment opportuntities is available:
A brief description of graduation pledges through which students pledge to consider social and environmental responsibility in future job and other decisions:
The website URL where information about the graduation pledge program is available:
A brief description of other co-curricular sustainability programs and initiatives:
Wide array of co-curricular programs and initiatives too numerous to list here. The University Facebook page and sustainability website listed below provide the most comprehensive sources of information on these efforts.
The website URL where information about other co-curricular sustainability programs and initiatives is available:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.