Small enough to fit in your hand, yet powerful enough to change how we think about sustainability, these biodegradable nursery pots, made from distillers’ spent grains, tackle two major environmental challenges: bourbon byproducts and plastic...
Adreonna Rainey
Jennifer Allen
Category - Make the pursuit of sustainability an integral part of the student experience
Vision: Equip students with the knowledge, leadership skills and experience to face pressing sustainability challenges both during their time at UK and beyond.
Understanding the resilience of Kentucky ash trees at reforested sites
For over 20 years, Reforest the Bluegrass has been Lexington’s premier community tree planting festival, resulting in the planting of more than 215,000 tree seedlings. It has started to increase canopy coverage in...
Zoe McComas
Graciela Martinez
Signage study at UK’s Arboretum explores new ways to foster environmental literacy
Walk through any arboretum, and you will find signs that guide your experience, naming plants, offering insights into the ecosystem’s role, or even helping you find your way around. However, many signs fall short of...
ActivismHealthCareMake the pursuit of sustainability an integral part of the student experienceReinforce the University's commitments to our people
Intern Insights: Creating pockets of green on UK HealthCare’s campus
As a recent graduate of the Environmental and Sustainability Studies program at the University of Kentucky – and a proud alum of the Sustainability Internship Program – I had the pleasure to serve as the UK...
From connections to conservation, student interested in wildlife career finds everything she needs at UK
As a University of Kentucky student, Callie Black has “the best of both worlds.” From Knox County, Kentucky, Black was drawn to UK because Lexington was “a sweet spot” for someone interested in both wildlife...
Carlie Laughlin
6 students selected as 2025 Sustainability Summer Research Fellows
LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 27, 2025) — Six University of Kentucky undergraduates have been selected for the Sustainability Summer Research Fellowship, a program that supports student-led projects that advance...
Product design students build charging station with Campus Woods
In the fall semester of 2024, students in UK’s second-year Product Design course, PRD 220, were tasked with designing and building a new battery charging station using materials from Campus Woods, a program that...
Ella Sides
Make the pursuit of sustainability an integral part of the student experienceReduce campus emissionsResearch
UK doctoral student collaborates with adviser to write key primer on hydrocarbon biofuels
“Hydrocarbon Biofuels” will not top the New York Times’ best-seller list for nonfiction books, but for Great C. Umenweke, it’s quite an opportunity, and one that could help humans turn waste into renewable energy. ...
UK wood kiln firing: A transformative opportunity for students
The second inaugural firing of the UK Wood Kiln marks a significant milestone for UK’s College of Fine Arts students and community. Designed as a hands-on educational experience, the kiln offers an invaluable...
Introducing the 2024-2025 Sustainability Internship Program cohort
The Office of Sustainability partners with the Student Sustainability Council and sustainability-focused offices from across the campus to provide exciting and meaningful undergraduate internship...
Katherine Johnson
Built environment intern hopes to create cultural spaces through global gardens
Kayla Pane, Sustainability Internship Program Junior Landscape Architecture major and Urban Studies minor, Kayla Payne, Built Environment intern, has started designing Global Gardens- Phase Two. Global Gardens, started...
Energy intern produces case study on UK’s water conservation efforts
SIP Interns: What are they up to? Sophomore Chemical Engineering major, Jennifer Bukowski, UK Energy intern, has created a case study for the new Stormwater Harvesting Project recently launched this past summer. Working...
AcademicsBecome a zero-waste campusBehind The ScenesMake the pursuit of sustainability an integral part of the student experience
Fabricating play: the Big Blue Bench comes to Cornerstone
The Big Blue Bench (figure 1) is a furniture piece and public art installation that serves as a prototype to demonstrate the reuse of plastic waste as building material (figure 2). The product is one result of a...
CommunityMake the pursuit of sustainability an integral part of the student experienceReinforce the University's commitments to our people
UK students serve healthy, balanced meals to community through Meals on Wings
At the University of Kentucky Campus Kitchen, a remarkable initiative — Meals on Wings — is taking flight, bringing nourishment and community spirit to those who need it most. Meals on Wings is not just about food...
2023-2024 SIP Cohort Introductions
Karen Capellan University of Kentucky Office of Sustainability Communications Intern Senior; Environmental and Sustainability Studies and Economics “Hello! I am excited about showing UK what sustainability can be...
