I tend to think of myself as someone who’s in-the-know when it comes to sustainability efforts going on across U-M, but one project I had, up until recently, not known much about is the effort to pilot returnables shelves on landfill bins. I had seen the shelves popping up in a few different locations across Central Campus and wanted to … Read More
I spend a lot of my time talking to people about composting. It is a vital part of the University of Michigan’s strategy to reduce waste sent to landfill and ensure nutrients get cycled back to rebuild our soils. It supports healthy ecosystems and food growth. However, I think all this talk about composting can overshadow the actions we can … Read More
Have you ever found yourself wanting to engage in the sustainability community on campus but struggling to navigate the different student organizations? Let’s face it, finding a sustainability organization is hard sometimes! It can be confusing and overwhelming, especially since we have more than 122 organizations tagged as “environmental” on Maize Pages. The three of us have reflected that when … Read More
The Michigan League has been a part of my life since before I was born. Back in the 1980s, when my dad came to visit his grandparents in Ann Arbor, they would sometimes eat lunch at the League buffet— this was before the dawn of Maizie’s Cafe. My Nana would always order the prime rib and mashed potatoes, her favorite … Read More
I recently had the opportunity to tag along with Nicole Berg, a program manager with the Office of Campus Sustainability (OCS), on one of her routine compost site contamination checks. During this check, we were able to visit the WeCare compost site where all of the compost from the university (and the city of Ann Arbor!) is disposed. To be … Read More
The time to start thinking about what to pack for college is here! Whether you are a new student or returning, knowing the absolute essentials of what to bring can be a godsend. It can be easy to buy items “just in case” for the school year, trying to imagine something you will presumably need in every situation. However, I’ve … Read More
The University of Michigan Student Sustainability Coalition (SSC) has awarded four new grants through the Planet Blue Student Innovation Fund (PBSIF) to support large-scale, student-led projects that increase sustainability on the Ann Arbor campus. Born out of a collaboration between students and administrators in 2011, the PBSIF grants advance progress towards a more sustainable and just campus while inspiring students … Read More
What would a carbon neutral U-M campus look like? Close your eyes and take a minute or two to think about it. Note the things that you see, hear, smell, feel, and taste. In your vision of this future, is there a gigantic array of solar panels in the shape of a block M? Are there goats on the Diag? … Read More
The Planet Blue Student Innovation Fund (PBSIF), run by the Student Sustainability Coalition, provides grant funding for large-scale, student-led projects that increase sustainability on U-M’s Ann Arbor campus. The grant came into existence in 2011 after emerita U-M President Mary Sue Coleman approved many of the recommendations from the Campus Sustainability Integrated Assessment — a process that looked much like … Read More
After many months of data collection and analysis, the results of the 2018 SCIP survey are live! The Sustainability Cultural Indicators Program (SCIP) is a collaboration between the Graham Sustainability Institute and Institute for Social Research to assess sustainability knowledge, behaviors, and attitudes across U-M students, faculty, and staff over time. First implemented in 2012, the 2018 survey is the 5th iteration … Read More
