Halloween is a fun-filled holiday full of candy, costumes, and decorations. These are the things that make it the most fun, but sustainability is often not taken into account during this holiday. It has led to overconsumption of plastic in every shape and form. The average cost a person spends on the holiday is $102.74 per person this year and it has been on a constant rise. (Snider, M)  The more people are spending on the holiday means there is more plastic waste going into landfills.

A big part of Halloween is trick or treating. As children, we would dress up as our favorite character or an animal and go trick or treating with your family. As college students instead of trick or treating we usually go door to door looking for Halloween parties. This year, 69% of adults have already picked out their costume (Snider, M.). Most costumes are bought brand new from either a Halloween store or from Amazon. After the holiday is over, the costumes get sent to Goodwill or just thrown in the trash. Halloween has become one of the most wasteful holidays because of the increase of costumes. In 2019, costumes contained 82.5% plastic. (Rose, C.) Instead of buying costumes brand new, there are plenty of ways to reduce the consumption of plastic on Halloween. Oftentimes you can find a costume around your house. Cardboard is a useful material for many costumes. Were you ever a fan of Minecraft? Become Steve for Halloween. The tin man, a lego block, basically any object can be made out of cardboard. Not only is it a money saver, but it cuts down on waste. Boxes not your thing? Look at your clothes and try to find a character you can dress up as. Another alternative is to look at thrift stores for your costumes. It is also cheaper than buying a brand new costume each year and you could find something unexpected. A bonus would be dressing up as an environmental character, such as the Lorax (he speaks for the trees). 

Along with dressing up in costumes, a lot of people decide to dress up their houses as well. Having the Halloween spirit is certainly worth it, but it is also important to try to find eco-friendly products to decorate with. Try being creative with what’s already in your house. Cardboard from boxes can be made into tombstones or coffins and all you need is a pair of scissors and some paint. If you do decide to buy decorations, try and buy decorations that are going to last. Saving money and not having to worry about what decorations you want next year are just a couple of the pros. A lot of decorations can be revamped if you want to add a little more fun to your Halloween decorating. If you are looking for easy diys for indoor decorations, the internet is always a place to start! There are a lot of creative ideas on Pinterest or the internet and all you need is a quick google search and some everyday trash items that are already in your house.

Trashing your house might be on your mind during Halloween if you are a college student. If you are not throwing a party then you are most likely going to one. Parties are often full of wasteful items because there are a lot of people and oftentimes sustainability is not on the party throwers mind. However, while buying soda try opting for aluminum cans or glass bottles. Red solo cups are so last season and they are not a friend of the environment. If everyone in your house is comfortable with it try offering a buffet style instead of offering everyone individually packaged snacks. For the amount of party goers on Halloween it will be worth it if your party ends up being the best (and most sustainable) party.

Halloween is a food focused holiday. The pumpkins, the apple cider, and the candy! Every where you look on Halloween you will see food. With the increased amount of food, we also see an increase in the amount of waste. Pumpkin picking and carving is seen as a family tradition around the time of Halloween and oftentimes people don’t know what to do with the pumpkins afterwards. In the UK alone around 18,000 tons of pumpkins are thrown away each year. (Are Halloween Pumpkins a problem for the planet?) This adds to the already huge amount of global food waste that is created each year. Rather than throwing it in your garbage, find a local compost site. At the University of Wisconsin – Whitewater, we are having a pumpkin smashing event where all the pumpkins go right into our Campus Garden’s compost! All of our information is on our Linktree! If you can’t find one, then try becoming an expert chef and finding a recipe that uses pumpkin. You might even become a fan favorite at your Thanksgiving or Halloween celebration. Pumpkins aren’t the only antagonist in the equation. Candy is often packaged in plastic and handed out by the boatloads. If you plan on giving out candy try to find ones that come in eco-friendly packaging (cardboard or foil are both recyclable). Or hand out items that don’t have packing, perhaps healthy options such as apples or bananas. However, if you don’t want to be seen as “that house” then make some Halloween popcorn balls or rice Krispie treats to hand out!

Halloween is all about fun, and taking the time to bring Sustainability in your Halloween festivities can be a way to make it more fun. Making memories with your family by painting decorations or creating a new recipe to share with your friends and roommates is one way to create a special memory for everyone. Being eco-friendly is not just about being sustainable, it often gives you more opportunities to appreciate what you have and how you can make it better. Have a Green Halloween everyone.

Sources:

Are Halloween Pumpkins a problem for the planet? World Economic Forum. (2019,

October 30). Retrieved October 28, 2021, from https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/10/halloween-pumpkins-food-waste-energy/. 

Halloween plastic waste – Unwrap an alternative. Recycle Track Systems. (2020, October 22). Retrieved October 22, 2021, from https://www.rts.com/blog/reduce-your-halloween-candy-plastic-waste/.  

Rose, C. (2019, October). Halloween Clothing & Costumes Survey 2019. Retrieved from

https://www.fairylandtrust.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Halloween-Plastics-Clothing-and-Costumes-Report-2019.pdf

Snider, M. (2021, September 22). Americans will spend a record $10 billion on Halloween candy, decorations and pet costumes. USA Today. Retrieved October 22, 2021, from https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/shopping/2021/09/22/halloween-costumes-2021-candy-decorations-spending-record/5816767001/. 

World Wildlife Fund. 10 Green Halloween Tips. WWF. Retrieved October 22, 2021, from https://www.worldwildlife.org/pages/10-green-halloween-tips.

By Jarrett DeBruin, Sustainability Office Gardens and Grounds Intern

It was a sunny day last April 30. The sky was blue with soft clouds drifting through the troposphere, a cool breeze gliding through the small town of Whitewater. As folks gathered at the “Little Red Schoolhouse” atop the glacial drumlin at the center of UW-Whitewater’s campus, they exchanged introductions and chit chat. Waiting for the exciting event to unfold, students, professors, staff members, and the campus Chancellor shared enthusiasm and anticipation…

The first Arbor Day was held in 1872 on April 10th thanks to J. Sterling Morton; Arbor Day is now held on April 30. Morton was a Nebraska native who took concern over the sparse population of trees in his state. An avid writer of agricultural content, Morton believed that trees could provide many benefits to crops and eco-services to the people of Nebraska. What was originally started to promote the planting of trees in Nebraska is now celebrated all over. Today, many celebrate Arbor Day and the planting of trees, not just for its original purposes of agriculture and celebrating the future, but for much more. This brings us back to the 2021 Arbor Day event here on the UW-Whitewater Campus.

Organized by UW-Whitewater’s sustainability director, Wesley Enterline, the 2021 Arbor Day Event served the purpose of giving back to the community and reaching the public. Once everyone gathered at the Little Red Schoolhouse, Wes provided a compelling background on Earth Day, Arbor Day, the campus, and the Salisbury Idea. The Salisbury Idea was inspired by Albert Salisbury, a campus professor who had the dream of planting every tree, shrub, and forb that could grow in our climate on the campus’ grounds. Since then, the idea has evolved into locating every tree native to Wisconsin that will grow in this climate and planting it somewhere on campus. These efforts include the newer 50 Trees for 50 Years Campaign at UW-Whitewater. The Sustainability Office on campus has been hard at work with this impressive project, and Arbor Day 2021 marked another milestone in the undertaking.

After completing his engaging dedication speech, Wes led the party over to the planting site. Waiting there in a precisely dug hole was a beautiful Pink Flair Cherry tree which had been donated by PEACE, a campus organization focused on social justice. One by one, everyone present grabbed a shovel and showered the Cherry with love. All attendees took turns, and before long, the Cherry was packed in nicely, waiting to grow and provide our campus with a blooming, ornamental aesthetic. Following the engagement of playing with dirt, everyone went for a peek at the Log Cabin on top of the drumlin, enjoying more history and conversation.

All in all, the Arbor Day event was a major success and achieved everything it was meant to. This event brought together members of the UW-Whitewater community to work together and support a great cause. That cherry tree that everyone tenderly cared for is now more than just a tree. It is a deep representation of community and care for one’s neighbors and the environment. Not only will that tree be a part of the beautiful arboretum for years to come, but it will also contribute to important eco-services that we all rely on. On Arbor Day of 2021, a small group of students, professors, staff, and the Chancellor all contributed to caring for the planet, for each other, and for the future one tree at a time. Best said in the words of J. Sterling Morton: “Other holidays repose upon the past; Arbor Day proposes for the future.”

So, if you ever happen to be in the area of the drumlin, take some time to peek at the Pink Flair Cherry tree as well as all the other trees that the community has worked hard to provide. Take a few moments to appreciate trees and what they do for us, take a few minutes to consider the importance of community and the efforts to care for it, and take a few minutes to appreciate those that make these efforts possible. Remember to reflect on the hard work that has been done to care for the UW-Whitewater Campus and look to the future of our community.

By Rocky Hickey, Data Analytics Intern

Often, we assume that conservation and sustainability is only to be found in the outdoors among the plants and wildlife, but it can also be found within our daily lives in the energy and resources we use, which have consequential impacts on the outside world. A crucial component of any organization’s efforts to measure its success in sustainability is analyzing how it is currently doing and what areas it could improve in to be more successful and that’s where data analytics can be crucially useful.

Where We Started

Creating a greener campus and organization is always an ongoing work in progress where one can seldom say that we have reached our goal and cannot improve the environment we inhabit. A more common question is: “what do we prioritize first?” As discussed, resource use costs money, time, and sometimes the well-being of the environment, so being able to outline to an organization the best and most effective ways to positively benefit sustainability are vital to ensuring resources are being efficiently used. One of the primary ways that I assist the Sustainability Office is by creating and organizing campus building energy data into formats to make it easier to gather insights from it. At times, this means pulling data from historic sources on Excel spreadsheets and cleaning that data up into more machine-readable forms in a predefined Excel table.

This process can seem daunting at first, but often is one of the easiest portions of my job and I think most people, if trained correctly, would also find it relatively easy. It is the portion of data analytics that takes up well over 90% of time and energy, converting and creating what we have as data into something that we can plug into a website or piece of software that can analyze and interpret it. This conversion in data types might seem a bit mundane at first, but consider this: which of the data below would you rather interpret?

The above examples aren’t meant to knock on how data was gathered and interpreted previously. If anything, the first visualization would not be possible had the prior work never been done in the first place, but it highlights how additional development and refinement to the data on hand can create stories that were previously hiding under an assortment of cells and rows. This work can open up many doors into creating efficiencies in energy use on campus and narrow down issues that might have previously been known but understood poorly. Visualizations like the one above are truly just the beginning of the work data analytics can do for any organization’s data, but to keep things simple I’ll stick to how any employee can provide data analytics value to their job.

How Can I Help?

Without getting too far into the weeds of how one technically performs data analytics, I think there are some general ways in which anyone can provide value in this critical area of business operations.

Keep your data in an organized electronic form

Barring any privacy or legal concerns, one of the first and easiest points of data analytics is maintaining an organized electronic file of the data that you perceive as having value. Having data on member participation, recycling rates, or a survey in physical form will prevent deep dives into data analytics, so convert relevant data and maintain that data in a logical and organized way. When I say logical and organized way, I mean within the confines of an appropriate data structure for that data. If it’s numerical data, keep that data within the confines of a structured spreadsheet with well-defined columns and rows.

File Organization and Process Documentation is Essential

Once we have the data within the confines of a spreadsheet, now we need  to make sure we know what this data is describing and when. The energy used to create the spreadsheet should also match the energy to maintain a clear and organized file folder. File folders where each spreadsheet can find its appropriate home will help future data analysis on an underlying file because there is a clear source file to work with that is accurately and appropriately described.

Keep It Simple & Get Creative

As I said before, it is a common misbelief that since we’re doing data analytics we have to get into the weeds of complex formulas, macros, and data analytical tools. Sometimes the most straightforward way to answer a question about underlying data is just to visualize the data. There are many ways to visualize a spreadsheet. Internal to the spreadsheet program, both Google Sheets and Excel have built-in visualization tools such as pivot tables and chart functions, but there are a couple free external tools (for students) that allow for more flexibility and depth if needed. PowerBI and Tableau are both powerful software platforms that allow individuals and organizations to create striking stories about their data and I recommend anyone to poke around with the software to get comfortable using them and learn the visualization portion of data analytics. Lastly, when keeping it simple, make sure to keep the process for recording information into your spreadsheets relatively straightforward and documented in some manner. Often our spreadsheets outlive the job we may be currently working as college students, so it is important to have some semblance of simplicity for yourself and other coworkers to maintain the work you have done.

Personal Guidelines for Data Analytics

As a passing point, I think that if you intend on participating in data analytics it is important to keep these points in mind while you work towards creating data structures for your organization’s data.

• Be patient – Data analytics is a marathon, not a race, in the way a newly planted tree may take years to grow into a fully mature tree, so it’s important to know that most of the work you will do will be in answering a relatively small number of questions in relation to the amount of data you gather. Be focused on the health and integrity of the data you are developing and its role within your organization, not just what it can immediately do now.
• Be an avid learner – Data analytics can be a difficult process when you encounter roadblocks that you’ve never had to overcome before. Being able to search an error code or look into the help section of a software to answer a question isn’t an admission of defeat, it’s a highlight of your perseverance in getting things to work
• Have fun with it – I have had many times where I put in several hours processing a long list of spreadsheets into a working input for PowerBI visualization and it wouldn’t work, but when I did get it to work and I got to see the visualizations that I could create, the work I did to create that was well worth the wait. So, don’t get overly frustrated, it’s all part of the process and look for the light at the end of the tunnel

If you are able to follow the guidance above and keep in mind those important components of maintaining good data you will be well on your way into introducing data analytics into your work.

By Gabby Pogantsch – Outreach Intern

Hello everyone! It’s Gabby here with a recap of March. What a crazy month is has been as we’re already enjoying our wonderful Earth Month celebrations. In March, we focused our content on Women in Sustainability Month and tied black women/creators in sustainability into this theme as we just celebrated Black History Month in February. Ashley and I released two new podcast episodes this month titled ‘danner, doc martens & more’ and ‘the (wo)man, the myth, the legend.’ These two episodes were dedicated to answering questions about sustainability and environmentalism overall and episode 5, ‘the (wo)man, the myth, the legend,’ featured Maryam Enterline, who is a woman of color that incorporates many amazing sustainable practices in her lifestyle. She is a super interesting lady who founded and runs her own business, Enterline Designs. Maryam and her husband, who also happens to be our boss, have also visited all of the state parks in Wisconsin, so tune in to that episode to learn more about her and her adventures! All of our podcast episodes are located on anchor.fm/theconsciouslypowerful. 

We just finished up our first Earth Month events, including a new one called Wellness in the Nature Preserve. This event featured many local wellness groups, such as Active Minds, Brienne Brown Yoga, Community Health in Practice (CHIP), University Health and Counseling Services, Whitewater Grocery Co., and Working for Whitewater’s Wellness (W3) tabling with some great information and resources. We held three different sessions on introductory yoga, meditation, and a quick prairie tour to practice mindfulness in nature. You can find our whole list of Earth Month events at our website. Events go until Friday, April 30th and include many events hosted by Whitewater Student Government during their Sustainability Week. 

With coming up on my graduation in May, I’ve been focusing a lot on finding jobs in the sustainability and environmental field and this last year and a half at the office has been my saving grace when it comes to defining my ‘personal mission’ while applying for new positions. The Sustainability Office has been an internship where I’m allowed the opportunity to show what I’m capable of doing all while working on amazing projects like the podcast and a full Earth Month event calendar. 

Reflecting back on my time here, it has urged me to explore many different work environments from testing water in a stream, growing a massive garden, tabling at campus events and planning events behind a computer screen. Writing a ‘recap’ can be difficult when there’s so many amazing things to point out that we do every day in the office. 

I hope the month of March has brought you all many great things and I can’t wait to see where the rest of this semester takes us! 🙂 

By Jessica Sponholtz, Digital Marketing Intern

I’ll be the first to say that the year of 2020 was eye-opening for me in terms of the racial injustices faced by people of color, especially Black Americans. I’ve always been relatively informed of recent hate crimes and major events involving racism, such as the murders of Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown. However, after the world shut down some of our usual distractions and George Floyd was brutally murdered by a police officer in Minneapolis just a couple months later, the whole world, including myself, was forced to finally pay attention. Protests erupted all over the world in defense of Black lives and the movement became shockingly polarizing as the phrase “Black Lives Matter” became more politically charged than ever before. We learned about the stories of Breonna Taylor, Philando Castille, Eric Garner, Ahmaud Arbery, Tamir Rice and so many more individuals who mercilessly lost their lives at the hands of injustice, seemingly for the “crime of being Black.”

Millions of Americans also started asking, “How can we help?” We took to the streets in the form of protesting, signing petitions, sending donations, and educating our fellow citizens regarding the history of racism within our nation. As the momentum died down and other worldly news took over our screens, it became apparent that many instances of activism were simply performative. The challenge we all face is to stay engaged in the work of “antiracism,” as Dr. Ibram X. Kendi identifies it, as simply being “not racist” is passive and we need active antiracism to fight for social justice.

The UW-Whitewater Sustainability Office set an intention to educate allies through a marketing campaign targeting environmental racism and social justice initiatives throughout Black History Month. As we reach the end of Black History Month 2021, we want to reflect on the information we’ve learned and the feelings we’ve experienced. Here are just a few examples of systemic racism faced by Black Americans:

• Lower employment-population ratio
• Higher unemployment rate (especially during COVID-19)
• Under-representation in high-paying jobs, corporate hierarchy, government, etc
• Wage and income disparities
• More likely to get denied for loans
• Low home ownership rate
• Disparity in healthcare and education
• Higher imprisonment and incarceration rates.

https://www.businessinsider.com/us-systemic-racism-in-charts-graphs-data-2020-6

In addition to some of these familiar measures, environmental racism is one of the many ways systemic racism is practiced in our society. According to the NAACP,  “race is the number one indicator for the placement of toxic facilities in this country.” Environmental racism is just as prominent as other forms of discrimination, and can be found in the forms of:

• Higher exposure rates to air pollution
• Lead poisoning (ex: Flint, Michigan)
• More likely to experience the effects of climate change such as extreme weather and natural disasters
• Higher rates of water contamination
• Neighborhoods more often located in and/or near landfills, hazardous waste sites, and industrial facilities
• Food deserts

https://cejapower.medium.com/defining-environmental-justice-communities-using-calenviroscreen-in-state-policy-4d1f350b3207

When we think of real-life examples of environmental injustices and racism, certain communities such as Flint, Michigan, Warren County, North Carolina, and Cancer Alley, Louisiana come to mind. However, from oil refineries and air pollution to neglected water systems, public health around the country is jeopardized by negligence and discrimniation in the form of environmental hazards in many communities, disproportionately affecting communities of color.  

Environmental justice is the solution to environmental racism. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) defines environmental justice as “the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income, with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies.” Policies that promote environmental justice will help us address the impacts of environmental racism and there are several organizations working toward these goals. For example, Green Action is an organization dedicated to health and environmental justice through cleaning up contaminated sites, protecting sacred land, and securing clean air and water for all. They define environmental racism as “the institutional rules, regulations, policies or government and/or corporate decisions that deliberately target certain communities for locally undesirable land uses and lax enforcement of zoning and environmental laws, resulting in communities being disproportionately exposed to toxic and hazardous waste based upon race.”

As part of our environmental and social justice campaign during Black History Month, our podcast hosts, Ashley Roscoe and Gabby Pogantsch, interviewed a couple of people who play a big role in equality and diversity on campus. Episode 2 features an interview with Dr. Kenny Yarbrough, UW-Whitewater’s Chief Equity, Diversity, Inclusion Officer. Dr. KEY encourages members of campus to take accountability to the next level and call out injustice when we see it. He shares his thoughts on intersectionality, defined as multiple social identities residing in one person.

In episode 3, our hosts sat down with Jaida, an executive-board member for Black Student Union (BSU) on campus. Jaida goes into the history of BSU and how it inspires her to take on this leadership role through events such as the Unity Walk and her position on Whitewater Student Government. She talks about her role as an advocate for minority students and the importance of accountability in predominantly white institutions. Stay tuned for the “Say Their Name” exhibit featured in the Roberta’s Art Gallery during April.

Education and activism play a huge role in dismantling systemic racism, but is often just the starting point for antiracist actions. For example, monetary donations benefit local organizations who help disadvantaged members of our communities. If you have the resources, please consider researching and supporting any of the following local organizations:

• Madison Environmental Justice Organization
• Eco-Justice Center based in Racine, WI
• Urban Ecology Center – 3 locations in Milwaukee, WI
• ACLU of Wisconsin
• Black Health Coalition of Wisconsin 
• Freedom, Inc – based in Dane County, WI
• National Black Environmental Justice Network

Most importantly, the work of an antiracist does not end on March 1 of every year. Black History Month is an important recognition of what African-Americans have faced through the legacy of slavery and unequal treatment throughout the course of our country’s history. Even now, we find this work must continue in earnest. We hope the content we shared in February is just a starting point for those that follow our digital platforms to find other ways to get involved in the fight for environmental justice. Commit your time, money, and voice to this cause by maintaining active involvement as an ally and advocate for social justice by connecting with the great organizations that focus on this work, but don’t just leave the work to them. We all need to fight for this change, for a more just and sustainable world.

By Makenna Beland, Waste and Recycling Intern with contributions from Wes Enterline, Sustainability Director

The UW-Whitewater main campus has been working hard to reduce waste by creating a more consistent program in 2020. Recently, the Sustainability Office implemented the Waste Bin Reduction project, in which consistent common area waste bins were systematically labeled and placed on campus. This project allows students and faculty to easily identify which bins are sent to the landfill and which are recycled. These community waste bins also reduce the amount of smaller office and classroom waste bins that the custodial staff need to service and sort through to dispose of items correctly. The proper sorting of landfilled materials and recyclable materials will reduce the amount of contamination within UW-Whitewater’s recycling stream and reduce the amount of recyclable material incorrectly placed into the landfill bins on campus. 

Often, there is a misconception that “waste all goes to the same place” because the dumpsters look similar and are serviced by similar trucks. However, our waste hauler has incentive to improve recycling because the stream generates revenue, while we are required to pay for disposal of items by paying a “tipping fee” for landfill space. We also often hear of complaints that the custodial staff “does not recycle” because it appears they put all of the bags into one receptacle when they remove them from the bins. This is simply a convenience for them to avoid bringing two cans on their routes so they can sort the items at the dumpster. If you are curious to see what our traditional recycling rates look like, please see our spreadsheet (slightly out of date with the transition to a new waste hauler in 2020).

On the other hand, many people have a strong habit to recycle and engage in something called “wishcycling.” This term means items are being put into the recycling stream when they should be directed to the landfill. The most common source of confusion here is related to plastic materials, as there are many different types (called polymers, denoted by the number with the chasing arrows on plastic items). The chasing arrows do NOT mean the item is always recyclable and polymer numbers matter.

For example, recyclers have traditionally taken #1 and #2 plastics which make up a variety of common household plastic bottles. #5 plastics are now more common in items like yogurt containers, although traditionally they’ve been used for more durable products. These bottles and containers with screw on, snap on, or peel off lids are also easier for the sorting machines to handle. On the other hand, it is rare for #3, #4, or #6 plastics to be used as containers. Often these are trays, films (like plastic bags), and other plastic packaging that is difficult to process into recycled plastic. Finally, #7 is a catch-all category where eco-friendly alternatives like plant-based plastics occur. Rarely are these materials recyclable because many are designed to break down more easily or apply to specialty plastics like nylon. Your best bet with plastics is to avoid them as much as possible, as even the more durable recyclable plastics have more limited use as recycled products.

Currently, UW-Whitewater is participating in a Trex recycling program to collect more than 500 pounds of plastic bags in a six-month span to receive a high-performance composite bench for the campus. There are collection bins located in Starin, Wells, Arey-Fricker, Hyland, and Upham Halls. Please bring your plastic wrap, film, bags, and others listed on their website to help us meet our goal! Please make sure the plastic is free of debris and residue.

The Whitewater campus also offers a variety of collections for universal waste, including rechargeable batteries, small electronic waste such as cell phones and wires or cables, CDs, DVDs, other physical media, and printer cartridges. There is a bin in the University Center near the Information Desk for the campus to use. Additionally, all batteries picked up by FP&M staff are properly recycled if sent back with surplus items from departments, and iCIT recycles all electronics if requested from the Help Desk. For large-sized or large quantities of printer cartridges that don’t fit into the UC collection bin, these items can also be brought directly to the iCIT Help Desk in Andersen Hall.

In order to promote proper recycling practices, UW-Whitewater is participating in the Campus Race to Zero Waste Competition between the months of February and March. The mission of this friendly competition is to provide tools and opportunities that inspire, empower, and mobilize colleges and universities to benchmark and improve efforts to reduce or eliminate waste. This year, one of the main focuses of the Campus Race to Zero Waste is the reduction of plastic use on campuses. Plastic waste can have a negative impact on wild and marine life, including in our own local lakes, rivers, streams and ponds. Microplastics are extremely small pieces of plastic debris in the environment that can find their way into drinking water and can be consumed by local wildlife. Want to know how you can help? Here are a few tips on how you can reduce your plastic waste on campus.

1. Carry your own reusable water bottle or drink container while on campus.
2. Say no to the straw or bring your own reusable straw.
3. When purchasing items on campus, place them in your backpack or bring a reusable bag with you.
4. Recycle plastic items when possible, being mindful of the considerations listed above.
5. Spread the word! Remind your friends, families and professors about how they can reduce their plastic waste.

As winter snowfalls surge and the pandemic drags on, boredom, anxiety and isolation continue to dictate many aspects of our lives. We’ve baked our banana bread and streamed endless TV shows all while navigating a strange election and instances of social injustice. 2020 was a year of coping and adaptation as many of us felt unsure, afraid, and even a little lost. Generally, the Sustainability Office serves as a tool to improve the education and awareness of environmental sustainability issues, but we’re taking that a step further this semester.

In honor of Black History Month, we have dedicated the month of February to a campaign surrounding environmental racism and social justice issues facing the Black community and other people of color. During March, we will conduct another campaign dedicated to women in sustainability to recognize the inspiring women who play a huge role in environmental advocacy. Finally, the month of April is designated to Earth Month! Last years’s Earth Day (the 50th anniversary) was overshadowed by other global trepidations, so this year’s April is dedicated to virtual resources and education surrounding the important day. Featuring various resources and perspectives, these campaigns aim to expand the conversation surrounding intersectional sustainability. Stayed tune to hear from our other interns as they offer their own perspectives through future individual blog posts.

Educational campaigns aren’t the only new development coming to the Sustainability Office this semester. Introducing…our new TikTok account and a Podcast! TikTok is a social media platform consisting of one-minute long videos. Find us on TikTok (@uwwsustainability) for sustainable living tips and office updates. If you listen to podcasts and you’re interested in all things sustainability…we’ve got the perfect one for you! “the consciously powerful” dives deep into environmental advocacy from lifestyle choices to intersectional feminism. It’s available on both Spotify and Anchor; stay tuned for episode drops on Fridays!

Every semester, we are excited to offer some internship opportunities to UW-Whitewater undergraduates seeking experience in project management, campus engagement, and best practices research across a wide range of focus areas related to campus sustainability. Our internships are designed to run semester to semester, although many of our interns are able to maintain their paid internship positions throughout the course of the academic year. Every fall, our entire slate of active positions are opened for us to consider new applicants.

This year the COVID-19 pandemic will pose some challenges and limits to our ability to host events and campus activities, but all of our positions incorporate some remote work opportunities along with safe, socially distanced, and COVID-aware accommodations to help our students complete their internships successfully and in good health. Please take a look at the brief descriptions below and click the links to see the full job posting on Handshake to consider applying for one or more positions.

Digital Marketing

Digital Marketing The primary responsibility of this internship is to develop and coordinate exciting content for various digital platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and this blog! Students will be expected to utilize engaging features to tell the story of environmental initiatives at UW-Whitewater by covering events to generate new and relevant content, and adhere to social media brand guidelines. Applicants should submit a portfolio of previous work. This internship is perfect for a Marketing major and will work with a UW-Whitewater alum with a BBA in Marketing, but various majors have been successful as long as they bring their creativity to the position.

Environmental Outreach

Environmental Outreach – This is a new internship position responsible for managing our citizen science program participation, which includes stream monitoring for the Water Action Volunteers program. There are other citizen science programs being considered for ongoing participation and engagement of the campus community and general public. The projects will also include developing trail signage to help transform the UW-Whitewater Nature Preserve into a more park-like environment for visitors to learn and explore. The position is great for an Environmental Science or related major interested in work as a nature educator or park interpretive guide.

Grounds Management

Grounds Management – This position has grown considerably in scope to encompass opportunities understanding how to better manage the ecosystems found on the UW-Whitewater campus. The primary focus will be developing a management plan for the UW-Whitewater Nature Preserve with coordination from faculty experts in the area. This intern is also involved in aspects of tree care related to our campus arboreta, specifically the Salisbury Idea and 50 Trees for 50 Years of Earth Day campaign. Interested students should either have a strong background or interest in identifying a wide variety of plant life and a responsible self-starter to manage restoration projects according to best practices.

Waste and Recycling

Waste and Recycling – As UW-Whitewater starts a new waste hauling contract with Advanced Disposal and finishes the roll-out of the Waste Bin Reduction program, this position will focus on outreach and education resources related to communicating with campus users how best to recycle various materials. The intern is also typically involved in developing pilot composting programs and gets involved with hands-on work to implement new signage and bin placements. This internship is ideal for a student newer to sustainability as waste/recycling issues are often the best identifiable aspect of campus sustainability in operations.

Garden and Greenhouse Manager

Garden and Greenhouse Manager – This position carries a higher level of responsibility and expectation for independent work as you manage two of our remote locations on campus: Upham Greenhouse and the Campus Garden. Students will start by learning how to properly care for plants in the botanical collection of the greenhouse, propagate houseplants for fundraising sales, learning how to manage an aging facility with plenty of “quirks,” and maintaining a clean and orderly environment for greenhouse users. Spring semester is focused mainly on propagating plants for the spring plant sale and Campus Garden planting for the 2021 season. The position will include full-time hours in Summer 2021 and is not subject to Fall 2021 renewal. Students hired for this position must have a graduation date of December 2021 or later for consideration. Interviews will include participating in a two-hour volunteer session at the Campus Garden with the 2020 Garden and Greenhouse Manager.

Transportation

Transportation – Transportation programs at UW-Whitewater have grown in a wide variety of ways and our intern primarily focuses on methods that are most frequently used by students, including bicycling, walking, and other forms of non-motorized transport to and around campus. Besides promotional activities, the intern will use the Bicycle Friendly University assessment to guide future recommendations. The intern will also assist with promoting ridership in the carpooling service Zimride and the Warhawk Shuttle services. Students with an interest in urban planning might find some of the considerations for transportation planning a good fit for future careers.

Data Analytics

Data Analytics – This internship will focus primarily on improving the overall data collection methodology utilized by the Sustainability Office, including data management for the STARS sustainability assessment to be conducted in 2021. This intern will also utilize the Energy Star Portfolio Manager to curate utility data for the university and explore development of a data visualization platform (either Tableau or Microsoft Power BI). This specialized internship is ideal for a student studying Business Analytics or degree programs in the Computer Science Department.