University of Cincinnati
EN-3: Student Life

UC has a number of student groups which focus on various aspects of sustainability. These include: Leaders for Environmental Awareness and Protection (LEAP); Students for Ecological Design (SED); US Green Building Council Students; Engineers Without Borders; Yoga for the Soul; Vegetarian Health Club;Society of Environmental Engineers; and Clean Up Cincy.
See https://www.uc.edu/af/pdc/sustainability/get_involved.html and http://www.uc.edu/af/pdc/sustainability/get_involved/committees_organizations.html

The Soiled Hands Learning Garden is a collaboration between the Early Learning Center and the Office of Sustainability. Organic growing methods are used and taught to students and attendees of the Early Learning Center. Students and community members work in the garden and the harvest is donated to the Bearcat Food Pantry on campus dedicated to food insecure students at UC. See http://www.uc.edu/af/pdc/sustainability/campus_initiatives/landscape/uc_garden.html

Each semester, the Office of Sustainability holds a Sustainability lecture series. The Climate Commitment 101 lecture series was founded in April 2007 by the President's Advisory Council on Environment & Sustainability (PACES) to help educate the UC community about the Second Nature Carbon Commitment (formerly the ACUPCC). At that time, the lecture was a quarterly event and featured a variety of staff and faculty who spoke about climate change issues and their research in sustainability. The lecture series gradually expanded to a monthly format and now features several lectures each term, some organized by the Office of Sustainability and others organized by academic departments and centers, like the Taft Research Center. The topics and speakers are diverse, ranging from science and engineering to philosophy and the fine arts. They are a way for the UC community and Greater Cincinnati to learn about sustainability in an informal atmosphere which encourages dialogue and further exploration. All lectures are free and open to the public. See http://www.uc.edu/af/pdc/sustainability/get_involved/programming_outreach.html https://www.uc.edu/af/pdc/sustainability/get_involved/programming_outreach/events_calendar.html

In addition to hosting the Sustainability lecture series, UC has a regular series of films related to sustainability. These engaging documentaries, fiction films, and shorts all capture the diverse sustainability movement in unique ways. All film screenings are free and open to the public. See http://www.uc.edu/af/pdc/sustainability/get_involved/programming_outreach.html https://www.uc.edu/af/pdc/sustainability/get_involved/programming_outreach/events_calendar.html

Additionally, the University's Conservatory of Music (CCM) presented Mozart's The Magic Flute with a contemporary spin including the devastating effects of climate change. In a world in such turmoil, the themes of a young man caught at a border war and undertaking the greatest journey of his life to rescue the woman of his dreams feel particularly relevant. Together, Tamino and Pamina try to save the planet from the threat of fire, floods and the effects of climate change. This contemporary spin on the Mozart opera takes a beloved classic and creates an entirely new relevance in the 21st-century world. https://ccmonstage.universitytickets.com/w/event.aspx?SeriesID=6

The UC Mountaineering Club organizes outdoors trips of all kinds including cycling, climbing, caving, canoeing, backpacking, mountaineering, white water rafting, skiing , and skydiving. They also provide educational classes and equipment rental. The UC Cycling Club and Serve Beyond Cincinnati also teach and abide by "Leave No Trace" principles. http://ucmountaineering.weebly.com/

The freshmen seminar program offers first year students the opportunity to explore an intellectually stimulating scholarly topic in the company of a small group of fellow students and a faculty member of the college. Each seminar satisfies a core requirement of the college, and introduces or develops one or more Baccalaureate Competencies (critical thinking, effective communication, knowledge integration, social responsibility), while introducing students to the expectations of college-level work. Examples of Freshman Seminars that are directly related to sustainability are Sustainable Energy and Society, At the Zoo: Animal Behavior, Mapping Climate Change, and Earth, Sea, and Sky. See https://www.artsci.uc.edu/information/futureundergrad/admissions/fye/seminars.html

Seeing as it is integrally important to teach students sustainable living skills, the Office of Sustainability offers numerous workshops each semester the focus on hands on learning. Over the course of the Fall 2019 semester, UC Sustainability hosted workshops in the UC Garden, where students learned valuable skills regarding organic gardening, composting, and permaculture methods, which educate and power students to be more resilient in their lives. UC Sustainability also took students on a tour of the Rumpke Recycling tour to give students the opportunity to learn exactly what is recyclable in their homes and how it is recycled. Additionally, the Office of Sustainability offers students a chance to earn an Environmental Literacy Certificate of Achievement.

The Student Sustainability Advocates help run Office of Sustainability outreach events. For example, they staff informational tables at many events on campus, help provide programs in residence halls, lead discussions after film series events, teach sustainability-related skill workshops, and encourage fans to recycle at sporting events. See http://www.uc.edu/af/pdc/sustainability/get_involved.html

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