University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point
AC-8: Campus as a Living Laboratory

The Department of Art and Design includes the ceramics area, which recycles and reuses clay for student projects; the glass program uses window glass from renovated residential halls along with recycled glass from their hot furnace for other art projects; and several courses in environmental and outdoor sculpture and design, including “en pleine aire” (on location) painting classes. ​Students are educated on how to reuse certain materials in an effort to maximize efficiency and reduce waste.

The Office of Sustainability has employed a Student Events Coordinator to assist with the creation and organization of campus and community events. The student organizes and reaches out to vendors and campus groups to involve them in events such as Campus Sustainability Day, a Sustainability Workshop Series, and Earth Week celebration events, a Sustainability Vendor Fair and many more. These events are typically located on the campus but open to the entire community. The students working within this role are assessed on their ability to disseminate sustainability knowledge to the public.

The Office of Sustainability also employs a student Communication Specialist to oversee sustainability education, engagement, and advertising through social media platforms, the campus message of the day, and reaching out to local businesses, news, and media sources with information to promote events.

UWSP has a number of properties such as Treehaven, Central Wisconsin Environmental Station, Schmeeckle Nature Reserve, and Marshfield Arboretum that are used for educational purposes. These properties are the location for numerous educational programs throughout all seasons, and are available for public participation and use. Through these educational programs, student employees and volunteers are able to practice their presentation skills, and the public learns topics across the spectrum of environmental education.

The 350 Stevens Point student organization raises awareness of the climate crisis and other environmental issues and to take action for these issues. They work with the city's 350.org group and have many members of the public involved in the organizations events and meetings.

Finally, Students for Sustainability aims to foster sustainable lifestyles among our university peers. Our organization offers the student body the knowledge of how to incorporate sustainability into everyday life by learning from and connecting to members of our campus and community. This organization aims to teach peers how to advocate for change and how to manage projects over time.

Professor Dave Snyder is an atmospheric chemist who does research work with his students in the area of air quality – specifically particulate air pollution. They operate an air quality monitoring station located on the roof of the Science Building where they collect data and samples for analysis. They are engaged in a long-term study of air quality that seeks to document and understand the impact of local and regional sources of air pollution and climate change on air quality in locations not traditionally monitored by state and federal agencies.

In Geog 308 (Climate: Past, Present, Future), course students do a climate change history/timeline of Stevens Point for the UWSP Natural History Museum that is located on campus. This in an ongoing project.

In Geog 208 (Weather and Climate), students make campus-based weather observations throughout the semester and analyze them.

Schmeekle Reserve, Treehaven and many other university owned lands are often used in forestry and natural resource courses where carbon sequestration is explored and discussed.

The new Chemistry-Biology building (opened in 2018) was built to LEED standards, and includes a green roof which will be accessible to student use and be used for urban agriculture projects. Students were included in meetings throughout the planning process of the new building in an effort to educate design and sustainability students on how LEED certification works and the challenges it involves.

Solar Panels located in Schmeekle Reserve, Treehaven, Collins Classroom Center and the College of Professional Studies building are all used in various courses in order to explore some of the design and engineering that goes into installing solar panels on existing buildings. Additionally, as part of sustaianbility courses these solar panels are evaluated as part of an assignment to see if a large scale adoption would be worth the financial cost.

EV Chargers located across campus are used to explore the emerging trend of electric vehicles and their impact on the environment.This includes policy discussion across social sciences (Specifically the impact of IRA funds), additionally it is used in sustainability courses to understanding the different impacts EV's and therefore EV chargers are having on the environment including but not limited to: energy prodcution and pricing, global lithium demand, potential reduction in local pollution and emissions.

The biofuels lab is integral to the interdisciplinary biofuels minor offered at UW-Stevens Point. Students gain foundational knowledge in methods to produce liquid fuels from biomass. In the laboratory, students produce biodiesel and ethanol from biomass. This laboratory and biofuels minor augments students’ education in the fields of biology, biochemistry, natural resources, or paper science and engineering, and positions them for employment in emerging renewable energy fields.

EV Chargers located across campus are used to explore the emerging trend of electric vehicles and their impact on the environment.This includes policy discussion across social sciences (Specifically the impact of IRA funds), additionally it is used in sustainability courses to understanding the different impacts EV's and therefore EV chargers are having on the environment including but not limited to: energy prodcution and pricing, global lithium demand, potential reduction in local pollution and emissions.

Solar Panels located in Schmeekle Reserve, Treehaven, Collins Classroom Center and the College of Professional Studies building are all used in various courses in order to explore some of the design and engineering that goes into installing solar panels on existing buildings. Additionally, as part of sustaianbility courses these solar panels are evaluated as part of an assignment to see if a large scale adoption would be worth the financial cost.

Dining Services works collaboratively with the Student Government Association, Students for Sustainability, and the Waste Management Society. Student workers are working continuously to improve the vegetarian and vegan food choices offered by dining services. These efforts are explored in sustainability courses in order to better understand some of the social and scientific aspects that come with composting and how to navigate those challenges.

Student and full time staff in dining compost all food scraps during the preparation process. These foods scraps then get processed at our Waste Education Center, and eventually gets turned into topsoil used in campus landscaping. Students in the Composting course are involved in waste audits of this compost, in addition to learning about the composting process the university uses.

Dietetics students in the Health Promotion & Human Development program operate the CPS Café and experience all aspects of food service operation and management. The café uses green and sustainable practices in operations and serves natural and organic foods sourced from local farms.

Grounds department employs 10 students that help improve and maintain campus grounds, including turf, annual flower beds, and perennial shrub beds. Some high maintenance areas include the baseball field, soccer field, and four football fields. These students learn how to properly and appropriately use grounds management tools to upkeep campus, while minimizing the environmental impact.

The UWSP Fire Crew utilizes the Schmeeckle Nature Reserve to teach and practice proper forest management using fire. This improves the health of the forest, as well as giving students valuable experience in using these techniques.

Forestry students often navigate university owned land through the lens of conservation. Often times trimming and burning dead or dying vegetation (trees) in order to spur improved growth.

The UWSP Office of Sustainability employs a Special Projects Coordinator, who oversees the purchasing of Fair Trade items at the university. This employee ensures that fair trade certified products, such as coffee, chocolate, and clothes, are available on campus and in many different locations. This student also ensures that UWSP maintains its recognition as a Fair Trade University.

Additionally, while data is hard to obtain due to manufacturer puchback, the university does use attempt to use EPEAT certified electronics. This pledge is mentioned in business classes in an attempt to understand some of the additional cost that come with environmentally conscious products.

Students at UWSP were encouraged to give feedback on a project to redesign Business 51, a busy road that runs right along campus, and which many off-campus students use to travel to campus via bike, walking, or car. This feedback period allowed students to have a voice in planning the redesign, and make sure that their needs are met.

Following the introduction of two EV charging stations in 2019, an additional green fund proposal lead by the Office of Sustainability's student Transportation Coordinator is now seeking funding for a third charging station in order to keep up with the expansion of electric vehicles across the nation. This student has developed a business case and is involved in the project management of this initative.

The Office of Sustainability has had a student employee on the Biking & Pedestrian Planning Task Force Committee. Projects include introducing a new student bike rental program to campus and creating a Bike & Pedestrian plan for campus. Furthermore, multiple students were involved in the Bike Friendly University designations over the years. Where UWSP achieved a silver ranking in 2023.

Office of Sustainability student workers organize Winter Bike to Work Day annually.

Students in waste courses get to conduct waste audits of campus. These audits help the university to see how much contamination is in the waste stream, and how they can provide education to correct the recycling issues.

The University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point is home to a state-of-the-art facility, the Waste Education Center, that provides students with landfill, wastewater treatment, recycling, composting, and hazardous waste management training. The building includes a small-scale wastewater treatment plant.

The various free or heavily discounted stores (The Closet, The Backpack, Campus Surplus Store) all seek to give gently used or unused items a second life in the hands of those who may find value in them.

The Center for Watershed Science and Education provides meaningful, practical and positive educational and professional experiences for UW-Stevens Point students pursuing careers in natural resources. Opportunities exist for graduate and undergraduate students to work side-by-side with faculty and staff conducting scientific research and performing laboratory analysis. Undergraduate students earn internship credit in Water 381 and gain valuable experience by assisting in research projects and/or working in the Water and Environmental Analysis Lab. Graduate students are able to earn a master's degree in Natural Resources by completing an approved course of study and completing a graduate thesis that researches a water resource issue.

The role of the Student Government Association (SGA) is to be active participants in the governance of the university, representing the interests of the student body by creating policy and working towards the goals of the university as a whole. SGA specifically employs an Environmental & Sustainability Issues Director who manages the Green Fund committee. This planning committee uses funds collected from student fees and allocates them to student-led sustainability projects that the committee approves. This gives student an understanding not only of civic engagement but also sustainability related planning and project management.

The Diversity & College Access provides a space for underrepresented students to explore their culture and identitiy to those who share similiar experiences. Additionally, the DCA offers students opportunities to work as peer success coaches and other peer centered positions in order to advocate for and assist unerrepresented students on campus. This gives students an opportunity to learn more about DEI efforts across the state in an effort to create more inclusive spaces for all students.

Tunnel of Awareness is a program hosted by students and staff with Residential Living that encourages participants to take action and be aware of social justice issues affecting UWSP. Tunnel of Awareness is an experience that encourages participants to engage with different topics that individuals in marginalized identities experience on a daily basis such as white nationalism, police brutality, DACA, gender identity/expression, interpersonal violence, and sexual assault. The goal of this program is to encourage participants to take action and be aware of social justice issues affecting our campus community.

The Green Fund is intended to encourage and fund projects that positively affect the sustainability of the UWSP campus community. The Green Fund is lead by a Steering Committee made up of UWSP students, and is responsible for vetting and approving projects seeking Green Fund monies. They are also tasked with creating a one and three-year strategic vision for the Green Fund. This gives students an opportunity to develop and manage projects they believe could contribute to sustainable efforts on campus.

The Employee Wellness program at UW-Stevens Point is run by health promotion/wellness students in an advanced practicum course. They manage programming, promotion and activities of wellness-related events around campus. They focus on the seven dimensions of wellness, including the environmental dimension. These students learn how to promote health and wellness to students and staff in real scenarios.

The Office of Sustainability has a student employee working on implementing a green recognition of offices & workspaces (GROW) certification program on campus that will gain participation in sustainable office practices. So far multiple offices and departments have been certified by this GROW program