This week, University of Wisconsin Housing and the Office of Sustainability are hosting their 12th annual Sustain-a-Bash which comprises of eight different events relating to sustainability.
Sustain-a-Bash aims to celebrate sustainability initiatives by students on campus while aiding students in exploring more projects on campus, according to the Sustain-a-Bash website.
The Office of Sustainability hosted the Green Fund Fall Kickoff on Tuesday. Green Fund program manager Ian Aley spoke in front of the crowd at Allen Centennial Garden to discuss what the Green Fund does.
“The Green Fund is a program in the Office of Sustainability that supports student ideas to improve campus sustainability,” Aley said.
The kickoff included two parts, a picnic to discuss what students are doing and what ideas they have to improve sustainability on campus and, a campus tour.
At the picnic, students were encouraged to collaborate with each other and tackle projects that may impose barriers to sustainability on campus.
“It’s fun to talk to people who are working on a project that is different than yours or maybe meet somebody who could collaborate with you on a project in the future,” Aley said.
At the conclusion of the picnic, there was time to take student’s opinions and lay blueprints to bring their plans to action.
Students in attendance were also provided an opportunity to tour projects that the Green Fund currently supports throughout campus.
For UW student Courtney Manner the tour was a great opportunity to see how the Green Fund operates and brings projects that students pioneer to fruition.
“I think it’s really cool to see what my peers are doing, and knowing that I can have that opportunity too to research and explore,” Manner said. “We were at the dairy sciences building where we had lower sugar ice cream that was made at higher temperatures, so it took a lot less energy to create.”
The Green Fund kickoff is one of the ways for students to view new projects on campus relating to sustainability. There are still events throughout the week allowing students to see campus sustainability initiatives such as the Sustainability Showcase on Friday. Students can also get involved with student organizations on campus that are committed to sustainability like the Wisconsin Urban Planning Association.
