Kova JonesEach year, the Sustainability Champion Awards recognize individuals who have made significant contributions to sustainability at the University of Kentucky. At the 2025 Sustainability Showcase, Ryan Lark, UK Zero Waste Specialist, was recognized as a Sustainability Champion for his commitment to sustainability throughout both his academic and professional career.
Ryan Lark’s passion for sustainability started long before he became the Zero Waste Specialist for UK Recycling.
Lark’s interest in sustainability first developed around 2014 during his time as a UK undergraduate student. What began through student activism and environmental service opportunities at the University of Kentucky eventually grew into a career focused on recycling education, waste reduction, and helping students create a more sustainable campus community.
One of the experiences that inspired him most was his involvement with GreenThumb, a student environmental activist organization on campus. At the time, the organization was heavily involved in advocating climate action and helping push the university toward stronger sustainability commitments.
This student-led effort eventually contributed to the university’s first climate action commitment, which aimed to reduce campus emissions by 25% by 2025.
“Seeing students play a role in creating measurable environmental change really showed me the power that our campus community has when working toward a shared goal,” Lark said.
Another defining experience came through the university’s Alternative Service Breaks program, which organizes service-focused trips that allow students to work alongside communities both inside and outside the United States.
Lark participated in a nine-day environmental service trip to the Amazon region of Ecuador, where students partnered with a research institution to help expand agricultural space for a local community. The experience combined environmental work with direct community impact, helping him solidify the direction he wanted his future career to take.
“That trip was incredible,” Lark said. “It really became the moment where I realized this is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.”
Today, Lark’s work as UK Recycling’s Zero Waste Specialist continues to center students in many of the university’s environmental initiatives.
“One of the most amazing parts of working at a university is the ability to collaborate with students and faculty members who bring innovative ideas to sustainability work,” Lark said.
In 2025, Lark mentored undergraduate student Olivia Smith to establish The Thrifty Cat, a student-led initiative focused on reducing waste while also providing affordable resources for students. Today, The Thrifty Cat is operated entirely by students and serves two major purposes: reducing campus waste and supporting students who may need affordable items and resources.
“It’s completely student-driven,” Lark said. “Managed by students, developed by students, and created for students.”
Lark has also partnered with Tracy Farmer Institute Director Lauren Cagle and students in the Sustainability Internship Program to lead several recycling education efforts at UK.
A campus survey, created in partnership with Cagle and undergraduate student Finley Haight, examined attitudes toward zero waste and revealed that many students misunderstood what happened to recyclable materials after they left campus bins.
That feedback led to a video project spearheaded by environmental and sustainability studies student Henry Walke that followed the entire recycling process from collection to remanufacturing. Walke’s goal was to increase transparency and help students better understand how recycling works beyond simply placing an item in a bin.
Lark remains focused on creating programs that make sustainability approachable. Through student partnerships, recycling education, and initiatives like The Thrifty Cat, his work continues to encourage students to think differently about waste, responsibility, and their impact on campus.
