Ann Arbor

The Realities of Reaching Net Zero: An Ann Arbor Story

View of Ann Arbor looking down Liberty Street toward the Michigan and State theaters.

The Mission: Last year, I had only heard brief mentions of the 2030 District. I was working with Ann Arbor Public Schools on a project through the Graham Sustainability Scholars, where another student group was working with the 2030 District. When the program presented an opportunity to intern for them, I learned the 2030 District is a nonprofit striving to … Read More

Changing the World Starts with Changing My Life: Lessons from Salmon, Black Walnut, and Song Sparrow

CLC Fellows looking at the fish pass in Traverse City

This writing departs from my usual approach. Typically, I focus on the technical aspects of my professional experiences and the broader implications. I think about changing the world and transforming disadvantaged communities. I consider how impressive my resume looks and what it means for my career—all the potential BIG things. However, in doing so, I realized I was overlooking the … Read More

A Behind-the-Scenes Look at a Campus Waste Audit: Part 1 The Set Up

On a crisp Tuesday morning in February, I was able to join Anya Dale and Alison Richardson up on north campus to witness part of the large-scale waste audit they have been organizing. A waste audit is a way to determine how much waste is being produced, what types of waste are being generated, and which bins—landfill, recycling, or compost—people … Read More

Student Org Swag: Putting Our Money Where Our Mouth Is

It goes by many different terms, “Swag,” “Merch,” and “Promos” to name a few, but no matter what you might call it, promotional material given out by organizations across the world, or swag as I will call it in this blog post, has established itself into a global industry. Swag is one of the most popular methods of showing our … Read More

Rolling into Summer: A Week of Getting Back to Bike Riding

Although I love to bike, winter riding isn’t super easy for me with my bike’s tires, the streets I need to traverse, and having to store my bike in my third floor apartment over break. That’s why I get super excited when March rolls around! In Michigan, the month doesn’t translate to warm temperatures by any means, but with less … Read More

What is Climate Resilience?

Climate Resiliency in its simplest form is adapting to climate change. This is such a vague definition, though, that I think bringing this term closer to home helps me, at least, think about what climate resilience can look like. Michigan, a place that a lot of us Wolverines call home and know well, specializes in variable temperatures and weather conditions. … Read More

Dorm Move-Out Tips from the Planet Blue Student Leaders

This time of year, U-M students across campus are busy with final papers, exams, and team projects that are due before the end of the school year. They are wrapping up their academic endeavors for the semester, and are focused on representing what they have learned through their courses to the best of their abilities. One thing that tends to … Read More

Charting Our Impact: Planet Blue Ambassadors by School and College

As the manger of the Planet Blue Ambassador program, I always get excited when I see growth in the number of Planet Blue Ambassadors across campus each year—across all three U-M campuses. Back when I started in this role in 2018, I remember the student interns who I was supervising at the time being really excited that we had just … Read More

Sustainability Throughout History: Learning from the Past

Recently, I went to the Kelsey Museum of Archaeology to complete their “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” self-guided tour. The Kelsey is a short walk down State Street, just past the Union, and is a great place to explore on a dreary winter day. Taking the tour was relatively easy, as admission to the museum is free and the tour pamphlets are … Read More