University of New Hampshire
EN-3: Student Life

Students have a tremendous selection of sustainability student organizations on campus: http://www.sustainableunh.unh.edu/studentorgs. Examples include but are not limited to the following: Organic Garden Club, Artists Circle, ChildVoice International, Circle K, Diversity Support Coalition, Earth Science Club, Eaton House, Energy Club, Forestry Club, Habitat for Humanity, Mask and Dagger Dramatic Society, Model UN, NH Outing Club, Oxfam UNH, Peace and Justice League, Project Sunshine, Real Food UNH, Relay for Life, STAND, Student Arts Association, Student Environmental Action Council (SEAC), Student Nutrition Association, Students Advocating Gender Equality, Students Without Borders, UNH for ONE, UNH Slow Food, WildACTS Social Change Theatre Troupe, Trash-2-Treasure, and the Wildlife Society.

The UNH Organic Garden Club (OGC) is a student-run organization established in 2003. The OGC maintains a two-acre farm on the Campus-Community Farm, a 30-acre USDA certified organic site. In the winter of 2004, OGC collaborated with UNH's Students Without Borders to secure a $10,000 grant from the UNH Parent’s Association to create the “built” components of the farm site, including drip irrigation and a shed. The first growing season was the spring/summer of 2004. Crops harvested at the site are purchased by UNH Dining Services and sold at a weekly UNH Durham campus farm stand during the growing season. In 2007, OGC was voted Student Organization of the Year, and the Durham Community Dinners won Best Community Project of the Year.

The Atkins Investment Group is a completely student-managed investment fund at UNH's Peter T Paul College of Business & Economics, overseeing approximately $100,000 in long-equity positions. The group, which is open to all majors and concentrations, is comprised of thirty-five students ranging from sophomores to seniors that are responsible for making all investment decisions. Student members are provided with a unique opportunity to learn about active investing and portfolio management. In 2013, the Group began managing a Socially Responsible Fund.

UNH houses many sustainability events all year long. They are listed online at the UNH sustainability calendar: http://sustainableunh.unh.edu/sustainability-calendar For example: The Student Environmental Action Coalition holds a number of events every year around various topics, including SolarFest in the spring. Local Harvest Feast: Held each September, the Local Harvest Feast is a day of fine dining on mouth-watering creations served at all three dining halls and produced from local foods. Open to the public and students alike, this hugely popular event is a chance for attendees to learn why supporting local agriculture and food producers is so important. Attendees have the opportunity to meet various local producers and browse their presentation tables before or after dinner: http://www.unh.edu/dining/community/local-harvest.html Environmental Sciences Seminar Series. The Environmental Sciences Seminar Series is sponsored by the NRESS Ph.D. Program, the Department of Earth Sciences, the Department of Natural Resources and the Environment, the Environmental Research Group, the Institute for the Study of Earth Oceans and Space (EOS), and often the Sustainability Institute. http://www.unh.edu/nressphd/Env-Sci-Seminars-09.html Organic Agriculture Seminar Series. The College of Life Sciences and Agriculture (COLSA) each spring hosts lectures focused on sustainable agriculture. Seminars range from “Wheat for Local and Sustainable Systems” to “Sustainable Agriculture in a Post-Industrial World.” http://www.organicdairy.unh.edu/seminars.html Month of Food Citizenship: Each September/October, the student group UNH Slow Food works with departments and offices across and off campus to put on a series of food-related events, speaker series, film showings, and more, culminating in the celebration of Food Day in October.

The Sustainability Institute often partners with groups like the Dept. of Theatre and Dance, the Museum of Art, UNH, the Discovery Program, and others to sponsor sustainability-related cultural events. Examples include Sila, by Chantal Bilodeau and directed by Deborah Kinghorn in spring 2014. The play examined the competing interests shaping the future of the Canadian Arctic and local Inuit population. Set on Baffin Island in the territory of Nunavut, it follows a climate scientist, an Inuit activist and her daughter, two Canadian Coast Guard officers, an Inuit elder and two polar bears as they see their values challenged and their lives become intricately intertwined. Equal parts Inuit myth and contemporary Arctic policy, Sila uses puppetry, projections, spoken word poetry and three different languages; English, French & Inuktitut. http://cola.unh.edu/theatre-dance/event/sila In 2012, UNHSI worked with the Museum of Art, UNH, to sponsor “Chris Jordan: Running the Numbers” Jordan’s photographs make people think about how they consume. The Seattle-based artist uses large-scale digital images to depict mass consumption and waste. Jordan has been called "the 'it' artist of the Green Movement." http://unh.edu/news/campusjournal/2012/Jan/11moa.cfm Since 2012, UNHSI has sponsored a student video and image contest around sustainability, with the 2014 contest expanded to include written works. Winners are chosen by the UNH community and a panel of judges. http://www.sustainableunh.unh.edu/silacontest In 2012, UNHSI sponsored the Saul O Sidore Series "Sustainability Unbound," which brought international humanists to campus to discuss the humanities and sustainability: http://www.sustainableunh.unh.edu/sustainabilityunbound

New Hampshire Outing Club. The NHOC is the oldest and largest club on campus and is run entirely by UNH students. NHOC typically offers 2-5 trips each weekend throughout the year including hiking, rock climbing, backpacking, cross country/downhill skiing, canoeing, biking, ice climbing, kayaking, road trips, extreme sledding, and so much more. UNH’s Outdoor Education Program follows Leave No Trace guidelines and has for the past 20+ years. There is 1 LNT trainer on the staff and Outdoor Education students take a LNT course as part of the KIN 682 course. UNH offers undergraduate, masters, and Ph.D. programs in outdoor education. http://www.shhs.unh.edu/kin_oe/undergrad_oe.html

The UNH Discovery Program facilitates a theme throughout the year to focus community events and conversations on an area of broad interest a big question or an enduring problem requiring the efforts and knowledge of multiple disciplines and perspectives. Topics have included globalization, energy, health, democracy, poverty, water and more. All events are held on campus and open to the public. In 2012, UNHSI sponsored "Sustainability Unbound," a speaker series open to the entire UNH community and beyond. "Sustainability is more than a buzzword, but what does it really mean? Break free from the limits of “green.” Join an international group of humanists to discuss the big idea of sustainability — and what the humanities have got to do with it." Talks are now online as free video podcasts. http://sustainableunh.unh.edu/sustainabilityunbound

UNHSI offers sustainability tips for students: http://sustainableunh.unh.edu/sites/sustainableunh.unh.edu/files/images/UNHSI_Flyer_students_revised_2.pdf Student are also open to take classes like Sustainability Living and Systems Thinking.

Students can work on sustainability across UNH - from research opportunities with faculty to internships at the Sustainability Institute. UNHSI often hires 4-6 student interns per year to helps with data collection and reporting, communications, etc., including four Student Sustainability Ambassadors. The Carsey Institute Social Innovation Internships give students the opportunity work for organizations on and off campus on social responsibility and innovation projects. http://www.carseyinstitute.unh.edu/csif/social-innovation-internship In 2014, UNHSI took over the Clean Air Cool Planet national climate fellows program, a competitive program that has students from UNH and across the country working on climate solutions at municipalities, non-profits, government agencies, and more. http://www.sustainableunh.unh.edu/climatefellows.

UNHSI offered liberal arts and sustainability co-curricular grants to UNH faculty to help them develop sustainability co-curricular programming with a strong humanities and liberal arts focus.