University of Northern Iowa
IN-3: Innovation 3

The EPA OnCampus ecoAmbassador Program are a new group at UNI made up of interns who, under the guidance of the EPA, effect change in innovation on UNI’s campus. Their internships with EPA began in the fall of 2010. This group of three UNI students are the only on-campus representatives to EPA within all of Region 7. As a result, they not only represent the UNI campus, but all campuses within the region that includes Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, and Kansas.

Initially the OnCampus ecoAmbassador devoted most of their time speaking with administration and facilities to understand challenges and goals UNI currently has for conserving energy, reducing waste, pesticide management and recycling. Part of their job has been to provide accolades for what UNI is currently doing in this regard, but also to innovate better ways to “get the job done”. They have documented opportunities to increase composting of food waste, monitored results of tray-free dinning campaigns to save water and reduce detergent and food waste. UNI Grounds staff have enlisted the Eco ambassadors assistance do document the quantitative ways they reduce the application of pesticides on the campus to the result of a safer, greener campus. By doing so they have been able to quantify the highest possible pest threshold so staff understand thresholds for maintaining a beautiful campus in an environmentally friendly way. The OnCampus ecoAmbassador have been a valuable new addition to the many sustainable initiatives on the UNI campus and have created a partnership with the federal government that was not previously in place.