University of Wisconsin-Stout will host sustainability events during October, as part of an international celebration of sustainability in higher education.
During Campus Sustainability Month, colleges and universities organize events to engage and inspire incoming students and other campus stakeholders to become sustainability change agents. It is a complement to Earth Day, which is held April 22, each year.
“Campus Sustainability Month is a great way to engage our new and returning students in our ongoing sustainability efforts,” said Sarah Rykal, UW-Stout sustainability manager. “We offer them a number of different events from sustainable food to transportation to waste reduction, to help them get to know all of the ways we’re trying to be more sustainable as a campus and to help them do the same.”
Sustainable burritos will be available from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 15, for those who play a game to sort recycling, compost and trash outside the Involvement Center in the Memorial Student Center. The burritos are made from organic ingredients. The burritos are sponsored by the Stout Student Association’s Sustainability Counsel.
A UW-Stout greenhouse plant sale is planned from 11:15 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 16, near Huff’s Lounge on first floor of the student center. The sale is open to everyone.
All are invited to help out the UW-Sprout campus garden, located at 214 4th St. W., and put the garden to rest for the season. Those attending will help with the final harvest and cleanup of the campus garden. There will be free snacks and hot apple cider for those who help.
Megen Hines, Dunn County Solid Waste and Recycling department recycling specialist, will speak from 2 to 3 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 22, in the Willow and Walnut rooms at the student center on how to recycle off campus. Hines will show those attending how to recycle when they are not on campus.
After Hines, a Lake Menomin Loop bike ride will be held from 4 to 5 p.m. The leisurely ride will start at the student center amphitheater and take the eight-mile ride around Lake Menomin. Afterward hot chocolate and cookies will be served at Huff’s Lounge in the student center. The event is sponsored by Stout Adventures and the Sustainability Office.
UW-Sprout campus garden and the Sustainability Office will sponsor a spooky and sustainable pumpkin decorating from 3 to 6 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 24, in the Cedar and Maple rooms of the student center. Attendees will celebrate Halloween by painting small and sustainably grown pumpkins from the garden. Free pumpkins for the first 50 attendees. There will also be sugar skulls on paper to decorate. Students may also bring their own pumpkin to decorate. Local, organic hot apple cider and caramel corn will be available.
UW-Stout offers campuswide recycling and compost collection helping to divert food waste, napkins and more. These items are composted into organic fertilizer to help build soil. Campus dining facilities offer the Green to Go program. Students and staff can purchase reusable to-go containers and use them any time they visit a dining facility.
In October 2018, UW-Stout was named one of the top “green” colleges in the U.S. by the Princeton Review, an education services company. The Guide to 399 Green Colleges profiles colleges that the Princeton Review names as having the most exceptional commitment to sustainability. The schools were selected based on their academic offerings, campus policies, initiatives, activities and career preparation for students.
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Students work in the UW-Sprout campus garden.
