University of Montana
AC-8: Campus as a Living Laboratory

The 2023/24 academic year was a big one for student involvement and leadership around campus engagement for sustainability. First, the Office of Sustainability and the ASUM Sustainability Center decided to seek student support for a student sustainability fee increase. Prior to the increase, the Kless Sustainability Fee was $6/student/semester and had been since 2011. With support from the Office of Sustainability, a small team of students organized an effective grassroots campaign to inform their peers of the Kless Fund, the projects its historically supported, and what the revenue from a fee increase could mean for future projects. The students used social media platforms, gave class presentations, created signage for public spaces on campus, and sent targeted emails to students in environmental and sustainability-themed majors and minors. The end result was a successful vote to increase the fee from $6 to $9 starting fall 2024. 

Example #2: A small group of students in Laurie Yung's Climate and Society course worked with the Office of Sustainability on their class project focused on employee sustainability engagement. The students looked at other campus employee engagement programs for sustainability, surveyed current UM employees who had participated in UM's Green Office Program (the precursor to our current Sustainability Sentinels program), and used their research to guide a series of recommendations. The recommendations were shared in a class presentation and a written report and informed the Sustainability Sentinels program as we plan it for fall 2024.

During the 2022/2023 academic year, a team of Franke Global Leadership Initiative (GLI) students used their capstone project to investigate the challenge of plastics and medical waste. During their research, they learned that hospitals around the world have made a significant impact by switching to reusable, sterilized products or retraining staff for workflow efficiencies and waste reduction. In an effort to engage the various medical professionals and healthcare facilities across Missoula, the students coordinated a Medical Waste Day event for educating healthcare professionals and community members, administering a survey to both measure and build awareness of the issue, and build connections across institutions to foster a transition to best practices and peer learning. 

Read the students' report here.

The Lubrecht Experimental Forest is a research and training forest owned by the Franke College of Forestry and Conservation and used by the College for research and educational purposes. One of the many facets of research conducted by students at the Lubrecht forest includes research on how tree species are responding to changes in climate. In fall 2022, working closely with the College's administration, a group of forestry graduate students participated in the accounting and reporting process that allowed the College to generate and sell third party verified carbon offsets from its forestry practices.

An additional example from the 2023/2024 academic year is the work the Office of Sustainability did with a Master's student in the Business Analytics program to complete our 2022/2023 GHG inventory in SIMAP. Adam Hunter worked closely with another graduate student in the MBA program to pull together all of the data required to complete the SIMAP calculator, including analyzing our Scope 3 campus commuting emissions footprint with data from our fall 2022 commuter survey. The final GHG report can be found on the SIMAP platform and is also referenced in this 2024 STARS report.

The Missoula College Sustainable Construction Technology program partners with local organizations focused on affordable housing and energy conservation to give students hands-on weatherization experience.  Each spring in CSTN283, John Freer leads students on a deep-dive into sustainability in construction, focusing on weatherization and energy efficiency. The students in the class do hands-on work weatherizing homes for Hellgate Homes just off campus. Students perform an energy audit and weatherization expectation, execute performance testing on the homes to identify problem areas, execute weatherization and energy efficiency measures within a prescribed budget, and then conduct the testing again to predict ongoing savings. 

Beginning in fall 2022, the University of Montana began the process of designing and building a Combined Heat and Power plant on our Main Campus. The system connects to our existing steam plant and will, once operating, generate around 5MW of power for the University. Students have been involved in this project in a variety of ways since it began. In fall of 2022, two undergraduate students participated in the project design and scoping meetings, including those that incorporated energy conservation projects we pursued with the general contractor. Another student was enlisted to design and create the project website. Now that the turbines are installed and final plumbing and electrical controls are being completed, we regularly host groups of students for tours and discussions of UM's energy needs, how this project interacts with our purchased electricity from Northwestern Energy, and climate implications. In spring 2024, students in Andrew Wilcox's Energy & Environment class learned about UM's emissions and climate plan and received a tour of the CHP facility.  

Food and dining at UM have been among the most consistent topics of student interest, engagement, and learning at UM. UM's Real Food Challenge commitment and completion of the first Real Food Calculator were driven by student interest and effort back in 2016 and have continued to drive change in this area of campus operations ever since. Every spring, summer, and fall, UM Dining supports a team of 4-6 garden interns to work alongside our full-time garden manager to grow produce that we serve in catering and in our dining hall. It was also student time and support that allowed us to complete an updated food procurement assessment for our 2024 STARS submission and a student that pulled together updated information on UM Dining's current sustainability practices for OP-8. 

During the fall 2022 and spring 2023 academic year, a group of Franke Global Leadership Initiative (GLI) students used their capstone project to tackle an issue near and dear to many Montanans' and Missoulians' hearts: Bear attractants and managing our campus and community infrastructure to minimize human-bear conflict. The students did incredible work engaging campus and community stakeholders, reviewing and drawing from the City of Missoula's Bear Smart Plan, and ultimately writing the University's first-ever Bear Management Plan. The students presented their plan to UM's grounds crew, the facilities director, and our Associate VP of Operations, all of whom provided useful feedback and their support for the steps included in the plan. During the spring semester, the students wrote a grant proposal to People & Carnivores for funds to purchase UM's first bear resistant trash cans and dumpster enclosures. The team's work led to the creation of a campus working group on bear smart campus next steps and an annual Bear Fair in the fall.

Read the students' report here.

UM has a long history of student participation in transportation and campus mobility. We are currently one of only 3 campuses in the country with a student government-owned and operated transit system (UDASH). In spring 2024, a group of students living in off-campus university-owned apartments submitted a Kless proposal (our student fee-funded sustainability loan and grant program) to purchase and install an additional 5 bike racks at the Elliot Village apartments. 

Also in spring 2024, two environmental studies undergraduate students worked closely with the Office of Sustainability to research and develop UM's first Carbon Neutral Commuter program. The students administered a survey of all current parking permit holders to gauge interest in the program and determine how much we should charge for a 'carbon neutral program membership' ($9/semester was the answer). The students also designed a decal for participants with the help of a grad student in the art department and wrote a final report on their detailed research and recommendations. The program launched in summer 2024.

In response to UM Dining's efforts to divert materials from the landfill by investing in compostable single-use products, the Office of Sustainability has installed compost containers in several locations around campus in recent years. Until spring 2024 however, we had not installed compost containers in any academic buildings. Because it is home to a small coffee operation run by UM Dining, the Gallagher Business Building was the first academic building to receive compost bins during a spring semester pilot led by several environmental studies students. One of the students, grad student Soren Cunning, received internship credit by supporting the pilot. Soren developed and administered a survey of business students in the Gallagher building, did nearly daily assessments for contamination, measured materials diverted, and attended all of the compost working group meetings to inform stakeholders of the pilot's successes and challenges. The end result is that the GBB will continue to have compost containers this fall semester and the Office of Sustainability will add 3 compost containers to the Mansfield Library.

Every fall (even during COVID!), the Student Involvement Network, an office on campus staffed primarily by students, coordinates DiverseU. DiverseU is a week-long series of presentations, workshops, and keynote speakers focused on topics of diversity and promoting civil discourse. Students, faculty, staff, alumni, and community members discuss, present, perform, and exhibit art throughout this event. One full-time professional staff member supervises the team of students responsible for planning, coordinating, and hosting the event.

During the 2023/24 AY, a group of Franke Global Leadership Initiative (GLI) students focused their senior capstone project on 'eco-emotions.' Titled 'Coping with Eco-emotions,' their project was aimed at tackling the growing challenges of emotional distress brought about by the impacts of climate change, specifically eco-grief and eco-anxiety. Despite the complex and widespread nature of the issue and the limited training of the group in the field of mental health, the goal was to raise awareness about eco-emotions and provide a supportive space for individuals to process their feelings related to the climate crisis. Through hosting a week-long series of events on campus, each tailored to a different strategy for addressing eco-emotions, the project aimed to create a platform for individuals at UM to explore various coping methods, share experiences, and foster a sense of community amongst participants. Events included an interactive poster walk on UM's Oval, a discussion and creative exercise with a climate grief specialist, a meditation session tailored to calm anxiety surrounding the state of the environment, an action project to allow participants to join the solution to climate change, and more. The group's role was to support individuals and communities in their efforts to cope with eco-emotions, serving as a catalyst for larger efforts to address this pressing issue.

Read the students' report here.

While not a link to a "living lab program" at UM, it's worth including the link to our Kless Sustainability Fund since so many student projects and internships culminate in the submission of the Kless proposal. You can find many of these projects listed on the Kless website.