The Student Sustainability Initiative works with the leaders of student groups across the University of Michigan to advance sustainability. Collectively, the following groups represent dozens of sustaianbility-related topic areas and involve thousands of students across campus.
A2 Share
A2Share at the University of Michigan provides a forum for students to learn more about and actively participate in the sharing economy. Sharing resources supports triple bottomline sustainability -- decreasing environmental impacts, keeping more money in the local economy, and building community.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/annarborshare
Twitter: https://twitter.com/a2share/
Contact: Spencer Harbo, stharbo@umich.edu
Ann Arbor Student Food Co.
The Ann Arbor Student Food Co. hopes to bring healthy wholesome food to the University of Michigan community and promote discussion and food education.
For more information, please email studentfoodco@umich.edu, and check out the calendar to see when they'll be open for business, or check out the Student Food Co Blog, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
Bringing the Food Co to life takes concerted volunteer effort. It takes time to get applications to sell produce from a stand in Washtenaw County, and the produce needs to be sourced, bought, and peddled during the market's opening hours. We're working to establish the market as a dependable source of whole foods on campus, where fresh produce is not always easy to find.
BLUElab
BLUElab guides ten teams through a human-centered sustainable design process. Each team works with stakeholders to address identified needs. Areas of focus include water accessibility, solar technology, resource management in homes, anaerobic digestion, engineering education, and wind powered technology. Each project team works with a partner community in Ann Arbor or internationally, in Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, Jamaica, India, or Nicaragua. We offer the ~300 members involved in BLUElab the opportunity to hone their inter and intrapersonal skills, engage in social responsibility, participate in an interactive design experience, and develop as servant leaders.
Primary Contact: Keya Patel, bluelab-contact@umich.edu
CSG Sustainability Commission
As a commission of the Central Student Government, the sustainability Commission aims to hear student concerns about sustainability on campus and to make changes on campus. We work on a variety of environmental initiatives and campaigns on campus throughout the year to increase sustainability ef orts within students on campus. We hope that students will see the University Sustainability Commission as a platform to not only voice their concerns about sustainability on campus, but to also be a part of a group that can help improve our University's sustainability efforts.
Primary Contact: Jayson, jtoweh@umich.edu
Cultivating Community
Cultivating Community exists to empower and educate University of Michigan students to become leaders in the area of community food systems through hands-on organic gardening, community outreach, and volunteer activities.
For more information please email mbgna.cc@umich.edu or check out our Facebook page.
In support of our mission we:
- Provide hands-on education for UM student volunteers at our demonstration gardens, where students can practice small-scale organic growing methods including composting, ecological pest management, and space saving techniques.
- Introduce Cultivating Community student volunteers to a variety of local food system organizations and businesses-- local farms, community gardens, and urban agriculture projects-- through field trips and community service.
- Offer workshops for students about preparing and preserving fresh fruits and vegetables, composting, container gardening, and other topics of interest.
- Educate the public about small-scale urban gardening and local food systems through demonstration gardens, presentations, and the Cultivating Community website.
EnAct
EnAct is an organization whose primary goal is to foster a supportive community of environmentally-conscious students through social events, weekly meetings, and community outreach. We seek to combat climate change through collective lifestyle adaptations and education. EnAct hosts weekly Sunday meetings where members are updated on the activities of the club and are given an open forum to discuss environmental issues facing our university and the planet.
If you are interested in learning more about our organization please contact us atenvironmentalaction@umich.edu or eemaher@umich.edu.
Connect with us!
Instagram: EnActUMich
Snapchat: EnActUM
Facebook: EnAct
FeelGood
There is no way to feel good about world hunger and extreme poverty, so we are making a change to stop it… one grilled cheese at a time. We are a student-run non-profit organization exchanging gourmet grilled cheese for a donation to The Commitment 2030 Fund-- a portfolio of four organizations working to sustainably end chronic hunger by the year 2030.These organizations include The Hunger Project, CHOICE Humanitarian, Water for People, and The Pachamama Alliance.
Click here to join the Feel Good mailing list.
Mission:
To end world hunger one grilled cheese at a time
Description:
FeelGood is a movement. It is a vehicle to create change in a big way; one person, one action at a time. Our mission is to end world hunger in our lifetime. We want to create socially responsible leaders who are dedicated to the creation of a world free of hunger and oppression.
Food Industry Student Association
FISA, the Food Industry Student Association is UofM's first and only food industry career oriented organization. Together with the help of it's rapidly growing list of corporate partners, FISA aims to educate students about the career opportunities the food industry has available to students.
To learn more, email us at fisa.officers@umich.edu or visit our facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/FISAclub.
With so many job options available to students studying at the University of Michigan, sometimes opportunities are overlooked and forgotten such as the food industry. FISA aims to address the lack of presence the food industry has had on the university campus by creating and building corporate partnerships with various companies related to the food industry and bringing them to campus. In addition,FISA provides opportunities to learn and grow through project opportunities helping local businesses with their consumable goods related issues.
Food Recovery Network
The Food Recovery Network's goal is to recover leftover food from University of Michigan dining halls, divert it from the waste stream to Food Gatherers, the Washtenaw County food bank, where it can be served to those who need it most.
To volunteer or for more information, please email frnatmichigan@gmail.com, or check out FRN on Facebook.
FRN recovered over 2,000 lbs by April 2013 (after just one semester) in the Mary Markley dorm. They have plans to work with University of Michigan staff to expand into other dorm dining halls in Fall 2013. In the future, FRN also plans to partner with Circle K, a large service organization at the University of Michigan.
Friends of the Campus Farm
FCF empowers students to create a healthy future through sustainable food education and practice at the newly established campus farm and more broadly by working with the U-M Sustainable Food Program.
To learn more about what we're doing send an email to farm.core@umich.edu or join our listserve on MCommunity or check out pictures at the Campus Farm Facebook Page.
FCF is currently working to establish a farm at Matthaei Botanical Gardens at 1800 N. Dixboro Road. The staff at the gardens have offered a very generous space close to the visitor's center, completely fenced in, well and water included. We hope to build a hoop house in the future, but right now our biggest project is establishing continuity and mentorship support by seeking funding for a Program Coordinator for UMSFP to offer much needed guidance to all of the food-focused student groups on campus at U-M.
Graduate Society of Women Engineers (GradSWE)
Mission: Graduate Society of Women Engineers (GradSWE) is the graduate component of the Society of Women Engineers at the University of Michigan. We plan numerous events to help female graduate engineers, and any other interested graduate students, to integrate into a successful tenure as a graduate student. GradSWE also strives to build a sense of community among graduate students. We strive to improve the experience of all graduate students academically, personally, and professionally.
For more information contact the graduate board at gradswe.officers@umich.edu or co-directors of GradSWE at gradswe-codirectors@
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HaYerukim
Meaningfully named the Hebrew word for "the greens," HaYerukim aims to connect Judaism and environmentalism, and to establish a community at Hillel dedicated to sustainability awareness, advocacy, and action.
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.
Contact Person: Jake Aronson, jakebaro@umich.edu
Inter-Cooperative Council (ICC)
We, the member-owners of the ICC, provide a home for students that equally embodies quality living, community and social equality, all within the cooperative movement. We continuously strive to maintain and improve our organization and our houses through shared work. We are committed to furthering our education by building life skills, a strong community, and personal relationships. We create and maintain a safe and affordable environment where our members feel comfortable and at home. Eating and working together with housemates, participating in group decision-making, and sharing good times help co-opers to develop close bonds. This strong sense of community, combined with the knowledge of shared ownership, is what turns co-op houses into homes.
Email info@icc.coop for more information or coco@icc.coop to reach the executive committee.
Kill-A-Watt
Our mission is to involve all students in energy and sustainability issues while reducing energy use for its environmental and financial benefit.
Website: killawattumich.org
Facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/killawattum
Contacts: Kayla Ulrich & Natalie Stevenson, killawatt-info@umich.edu
Medical Campus Garden
The Medical Campus Garden group is student led organization focused on fostering collaboration amongst students, faculty, staff and patients affiliated with the University of Michigan Health System through the lens of growing food. We believe the culture of nutritious eating, local, sustainable food and outdoor engagement is fundamental to health maintenance and hope to establish a paradigm in our clinical care setting that promotes these preventive measures for the public.
Our mission is to provide a sustainable, experiential learning environment that engages the medical campus and local community in the practices of gardening, nutrition education, food security and overall health and wellness. By planting and maintaining a garden through the work of volunteer students, faculty, staff and patients, we hope to increase the visible role sustainable food has on our medical campus that can ultimately expand to initiatives including:
- distribution of garden produce to members of the community
- improving nutrition education in the medical school curriculum
- garden and medical nutrition therapy for patients and visitors
- sustainable food and health research projects for interested students and faculty
To learn more, or sign up to volunteer, visit umichmedcampusgarden.wordpress.com.
MHybrid Racing
Michigan Hybrid Racing is our school's Formula Hybrid racing team, where we build and compete a hybrid gas/electric racecar every year. It's not exactly a sustainable group, but we encourage sustainability through engineering and energy management.
Primary Contact: Ben Wang, benwang@umich.edu
MPowered
Eight years ago, entrepreneurship was something you left Michigan to engage in. Now, this campus is packed with student ventures, student orgs, educational degrees and programs, and more. No community has gone untouched by the innovative sprit.
Through our record-breaking programs, MPowered Entrepreneurship continues our mission to expose every student to entrepreneurship, as well as supporting the innovative initiatives on campus. We've started the fire, now we're making it roar.
Current Projects:
Startup Academy
Makeathon
Startup High School
MHacks
Startup Career Fair
The Art Project
Startup Weekend
1000 Pitches
Primary Contact: Diego Calvo, calvod@umich.edu
Oxfam Michigan
Oxfam Michigan is a campus chapter of a larger national organization that focusses on both local and global issues of food access by educating ourselves, volunteering, and spreading awareness of the unequal distribution of food around the world.
Oxfam Michigan has a variety of activities that members can take part in. We bring in guest speakers from local nonprofits to speak on issues of local issues of food access, host larger campus events such as Hunger Banquets to raise awareness, volunteer at local urban farms, sign petitions, and, of course, share a meal or two.
We meet on Mondays at 6 p.m. in the League. Feel free to reach out to Elana Horwitz at ebhorwi@umich.edu or check out our Facebook page!
Pantanal Partnership
The Pantanal Partnership is a student organization that is focused on extending Educational and Healthcare opportunities to the rural communities of the Pantanal through sustainable technologies. Our work is focused in the northern region of the Pantanal via Pocone. Much of our projects have been conducted at the Pantanal Center for Education and Reseach (PCER) -- a facility built in 2010 by University of Michigan students and community members. In recent summers PP has extended their work and technologies beyond PCER to surrounding areas through partnerships with federal, state, and municipal institutions. For more information: www.pantanalcer.
Contact Person: Grace Hilbert ghilbert@umich.edu
Permaculture Design Team
PDT is a service learning organization with a focus on educating one and other on permaculture methodology and problem solving using complex systems thinking.
If you are interested in joining the PDT please e-mail PermacultureDesignTeam@umich or check out Permaculture Design Team on Facebook or on their organization website!
We have the privilege of working with Chiwara Permaculture and Roots to Fruits, innovators in edible landscape design and permaculture education. Through working with the PDT, participants also have the chance to learn about how to become certified in Permaculture Design. We have the opportunity to work with GELT- Green Economy Leadership Training - of Highland Park Detroit to establish food forests on vacant lots within the community. You will also get the chance to engage k-12 students and explore bio-mimicry, agro-ecology, appropriate technology and systems thinking.
Our main priority on the UM campus is to establish a permaculture food forest as a part of the satellite garden projects within the Campus Farm Initiative. We are currently applying for a Planet Blue Student Innovation Fund grant to support a small permaculture garden on campus. Check out these videos from UMass to get a sense of what we want to accomplish here: part 1, part 2, part 3
PitE Club
PitE Club Mission: In short, PitE Club aims to serve the students of the environment community on campus. We do through this through a number of ways: running a mentorship program to foster a sense of community between undergrads and grads, coordinating academic and social events as well as volunteer opportunities for students, and acting as the sounding board for the PitE Administration.
PitE Club Goals for the year: Expand and improve our BEAR mentorship program and to create new academically focused events that we can host annually.
Primary Contact: Elizabeth Bedrick, ebedrick@umich.edu
Real Food Initiative
The Real Food Initiative at the University of Michigan is an organization whose mission is to bring healthier, more sustainable, and fair food to our dining services on campus. As a part of the national organization, The Real Food Challenge, our primary goal is to get President Schlissel to sign the Real Food Campus Commitment which will shift the university food budget away from industrial farms and junk food and towards local/community-based, fair, ecologically sound and humane food sources. So far 30 universities across the country have signed on to this commitment, help us make the University of Michigan be the next one!
If you want to learn how to get involved, contact mekinnan@umich.edu.
Ross Net Impact (RNI)
Net Impact Undergrad is a Ross School of Business affiliated student organization that merges the ideas of business and sustainability. We hope to develop our members professionally while educating them on why an environmental view is vital to the business world. Our initiatives this year are the Sustainability and Energy Job Fair and the Big House Sustainability Project.
Primary Contact: Tara Tarazi, tmtarazi@umich.edu
Society of Women Engineers (SWE)
The Society of Women Engineers at the University of Michigan provides its members with the ideal engineering and college experience. Every year, we run the biggest career fair on campus, invite over 300 companies to host corporate information sessions, engage hundreds of K-12 students across the globe in engineering outreach activities, host several charity events (including a 5k Fun Run, and a Mr. Engineer Competition), and organize several networking and professional development events.
The benefits of joining SWE are innumerous; continual involvement has more benefits and include the following:
- SWE National, Regional, and SWE UofM Scholarships
- Have your resume posted on the SWE website, as well as published in our Resume CD which is given to ALL recruiters at the Career Fair and Corporate Information Sessions (this is well over 300 companies!)
- An invitation to attend the elevated member end of the semester social event
- Gift cards to local Ann Arbor restaurants and stores!
Contact the board: swe.eboard@umich.edu
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Student Advocates for Nutrition (SAN)
Student Advocates for Nutrition is a group of students concerned about healthy eating and nutrition and sustainable food systems. We put this to practice by (1) cultivating a community garden at the School of Public Health, (2) volunteering with local community agencies that produce and promote good food, (3) educating students and community members on how to eat healthier and why it's important, and (4) promoting community and networking through exploration of careers in nutrition and sustainable food.
To learn more, email president.san.um@gmail.com or connect
Sustainability Without Borders
Sustainability Without Borders (SWB) is a student organization sponsored by the Center for Sustainable Systems at the University of Michigan’s School of Natural Resources. Our mission is to create a network of sustainability practitioners who develop and implement environmentally, socially, and economically sustainable projects both locally and abroad. Since 2011, SWB has worked with communities, government, and aid organizations in successfully developing and implementing projects to address resource scarcity in areas of water, energy, food and waste. Sustainability is most successful when communities are involved. Therefore, we use practical methods and local resources to plan, construct and maintain projects.
The Detroit Partnership
The Detroit Partnership seeks to unite the University of Michigan and Detroit through fulfilling community partnerships. As a multicultural organization, we strive to raise awareness, break stereotypes, and promote social justice through our service-learning programs.
Primary Contact: Alyssa Setting asetting@umich.edu
The University of Michigan Solar Car Team
The University of Michigan Solar Car Team is an entirely student-run organization that designs and builds solar electric vehicles. The team races both nationally and internationally. Since its establishment in 1990, the team has built 13 vehicles, won the American Solar Challenge nine times, and placed third in the World Solar Challenge five times. The team is recognized as the most successful Solar Car Team by the International Solar Federation (ISF).
Primary Contact: Jonathan Cha (jonncha@umich.edu) Executive Committee Contact: solarcar@umich.edu
UMBees
The goal of this group is to promote, protect, and propagate honeybees!
Beekeepers and newBees of all experience levels are welcome to join our group. There are plenty of important roles in our colony. If you want to learn more about what UMBees is up to, send an email with all of your questions to umichbeekeeping@gmail.com or check out UMBees on Facebook!
We're interested in learning about the beekeeping community around Southeastern Michigan and spreading that knowledge far and wide. We're interested in planning our strategy to hit the ground running next Spring to bring local honey and beekeeping skills to UM.
Urban Planning Student Association
The Sustainability Chair of the Urban Planning Student Association is responsible for integrating issues of urban and campus sustainability into the Board's overarching goals. As an elected student board, each chair attempts to represent a realm of interest expressed by the students. The Sustainability Chair plans volunteer events (tree plantings, clean-ups, recycling efforts, etc.), as well as educational events and/or trips to enhance students' understanding of the relationship between cities and the environment (trip to Green Garage in Detroit, Zingerman's Cornman Farms). Additionally, the Sustainability Chair keeps urban planning students updated on campus events and lectures related to urban sustainability issues, and collaborates with other student groups to accomplish campus sustainability goals. Recently, the Urban Planning Student Association in collaboration with a past PBSIF grantee, Chris Wolff, has implemented a student-led events zero waste program in Taubman College.