Ursinus College
EN-2: Co-Curricular Activities

Reimagine Ursinus is a student run organization that works to promotes sustainability practices and efforts at Ursinus College and the surrounding community.

Wismer on Wheels is a student run organization that is a food recovery program that works to donate food from the Ursinus College dining hall to a local food pantry

Descriptions of the clubs can be found at the Ursinus College Student Engagement Webpage

There are various student run organizations on campus that focus on social justice. Descriptions of the clubs can be found at the Ursinus College Student Engagement Webpage

During the spring of 2024, Ursinus College hosted a waste summit in which Ursinus faculty, staff, and students discussed topics around waste reduction, materials reuse, and recycling initiatives. This morning session was also shared with the local school district in which they explored the same topics for their specific schools. Participants identified areas/instances where they encounter waste in their food/dining centers. Participants brainstormed collaborative ideas in which to explore that would work to reduce and/or divert wasted food from the waste stream.

There are also observances surrounding Earth Day at Ursinus College. The Office of Sustainability coordinates with various offices and students to offer “Earth Week” events each year in April. Events often vary in nature but can range from sustainability focused speaker series, sustainability related movie showings, sustainability trivia, etc.

The Sustainability Fellows program is a leadership and experiential learning program offered by the Office of Sustainability. Sustainability Fellows educate the campus on environmental issues, work with offices and administrators on campus projects, and create and implement their own sustainability-related projects. Fellows develop communication and leadership skills while working alongside other student programs such as Resident Advisors, Bonner Leaders, and more. Their work makes our sustainable efforts come together on campus as they work to lower our carbon footprint, run our farm, and make our residence halls more eco-friendly. 

Agroecology Fellows, guided by the Director of Sustainability, and Faculty from the Environmental Studies Department plan, plant, manage, harvest, and winterize various aspects of the campus farm and food forest. Fellows gain experience doing tasks such as soil sampling and nutrient analysis,tilling, weeding, creating a planting plan, undergoing food safety training, educating members of the campus, and keeping inventory, among other duties. Agroecology Fellows are also responsible for managing volunteers, who come on several scheduled volunteer or stewardship dates each semester. Agroecology Fellows host pop-up farmer markets in which they offer produce from the Campus Farm to the campus community.

The Office of Sustainability offers a variety of programing and activities for the students at Ursinus College. At each event a participation count is gathered on the number of participants through sign in sheets, participant counts, etc. In 2023 and 2024, a wide variety of programming and activities were offered (Earth Week events, tabling events, volunteer events, etc.) 700 students participated in Campus Farm volunteer and/or programming in the 2023-2024 fiscal year. 700 students represent 46% percent of the student population at Ursinus College. Thus, the figure of 46% is being reported. Although minimal, there could have been repeated visits to the campus farm from a few students. However, given the wide variety of activities offered by the Office of Sustainability and the wide focus of topics, this figure of 46% is most likely conservative.