University of Rochester
EN-2: Co-Curricular Activities

Some of our sustainability-focused student groups include:

• Grassroots is a group of undergraduates committed to spreading the message of environmentally responsible living through events and publications.
• Engineers for a Sustainable World is a group of undergraduates who are committed to the promotion of sustainability around campus through student lead projects, informative tours of local sustainable facilities, and participating in green awareness events in the Rochester area. They strive to implement green practices on a local scale.
• Engineers Without Borders seeks to partner with developing communities worldwide in order to improve their quality of life through the design and implementation of sustainable engineering projects.
• Student Association of Vegan and Vegetarian Youth (SAVVY)  helps increase awareness, and provides support for vegetarians, vegans, and anyone who is interested in learning about how our dietary and lifestyle choices affect us and our environment. Using veganism and vegetarianism as an educational tool, SAVVY provides the encouragement and resources necessary to enable everyone to take an active role in making society ever better.

UR Students for a Democratic Society is an association of the student left at the University of Rochester. We aim to win a new society free of racism, sexism, heterosexism, classism, authoritarianism, war, and ecological devastation by instilling democratic values throughout campus. We seek to achieve a truly participatory society, consisting of liberatory institutions in all spheres of social life. Our structure and methods will embody the spirit of our democratic vision and work towards creating a better tomorrow.

The Designing Social and Environmental Change event took place in February of 2024. The event involved ideating and workshopping between students, as well as students and leaders. The leaders of the workshop include alumni whose careers are concerned with social justice and environmental sustainability.

The University of Rochester's Sustainability Seminar Series is incorporated into the course EES 310: Science and Sustainability. Faculty from around the University of Rochester and neighboring institutions give talks on a range of topics in the natural and social sciences that relate to environmental change.

The First-Year EcoReps Program is a unique leadership opportunity that combines sustainability and residential life responsibilities. There are 20-30 first-year EcoReps distributed across residential halls. EcoReps participate in a 2-credit class, meeting for one hour twice a week, covering a broad range of interdisciplinary environmental topics. Throughout the course, students engage in debates and UN simulations, in addition to attending lectures given by Upper-Class EcoReps, professors, and community guest speakers. Classwork includes participation in one of three committees: the Community Engagement Committee, Garden Committee, and Zero Waste Committee. The course is taught by two coordinators who have previously completed the program. 

https://www.rochester.edu/reslife/first-year/opportunities.html 

The Sustainability Office has a group of hired students known as Team Green, who work to support the mission and goals of the Sustainability Office. The students are currently divided into 3 different job roles: R5 Zero Waste, Marketing and Communications, and Education and Engagement. Collectivley the students help to maintain and further develop zero waste and other sustainability-related programs, increase awareness of sustainability programs and initiatives, and engage with student groups and the student body at large through projects, events and campaigns. 

The Sustainability Community-Engaged Summer Fellows program is open to students enrolled in undergraduate programs in the School of Arts and Sciences and the Hajim School. These fellowships provide students with a community problem-based applied research and learning experience, working under the direction of a team of faculty members from the School of Arts and Sciences. It is a full-time program that runs from June 3 to July 30.

The student organization, Grassroots runs a monthly cloting exgange program in which students can stop in to donate unwanted clothing or take reused clothing free of charge. Grassroots monitors the inventory, collects data and sets up the formal exhange in Wilson Commons student activity center, at least once per month during the academic year. https://ccc.rochester.edu/grassroots/home/ 

Additionally, the EcoReps run Gilberts Garden. The garden is located off of Wilson Blvd by the Gilbert Residential Hall. It is an experimental garden in that it is subject to change based on what plants thrive. The ultimate goal is to make this a permaculture garden, integrating the beds into one cohesive ecosystem - where each plant group supports its counterparts. In that way, the Gilbert Community Gardens can serve as example of what gardening should be all the while providing yummy produce for residents.

https://gilbertgardenuofr.wixsite.com/uofr