I grew up in Cleveland, Ohio, but a passion for sustainability drew me halfway across the country to 91��Ƶ. When I arrived here, I thought I had it all figured out. I recycled all my papers and plastics, used reusable containers and thrifted most of my clothes. However, shortly into my time on campus, I realized there was much more to being zero waste than I had ever expected. Composting was the sharpest learning curve. 

Prior to moving to Boulder, I thought composting was just something that could be done on an individual scale to make soil using food scraps and yard waste.   

There were a lot of things I didn’t realize about compost: 

• Composting creates a nutrient-rich soil to be used instead of toxic fertilizers. 
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• Compostables in landfills will create methane, a much stronger greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. 
• Landfills are often located in someone’s backyard, and that someone is often part of a low-income community that can’t escape from the smells, noise and runoff from landfill operations. 
• Keeping material out of landfills will reduce the need to build landfills. 

In spring 2023, Colorado’s composting guidelines changed. Previously, 91��Ƶ offered compost bins all over campus and accepted compostable paper towels and plastics along with food scraps and yard waste. With the changes, 91��Ƶ continues to compost food scraps and yard waste from campus operations. These were the majority of the items composted from our campus before the change. In 2022, 91��Ƶ composted approximately 23 tons per month of yard waste and 40 tons per month of food scraps. 

 If you live off-campus in Boulder, you can talk to your landlord about providing landfill, recycling and compost bins to help you manage your household waste sustainably. It is essential to know that compostable plastic and paper are not recyclable. If you have a number seven plastic and composting is unavailable, throw it in the landfill bin. Compostable plastics are common contaminants in recycling, and too many can make recycling unusable. 

We are lucky to attend a school that prioritizes composting to dispose of waste. I hope this article helps build your understanding of composting and kickstarts your journey to being a compost lover!    

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Are you a member of CU’s Greek community, passionate about making a positive impact on the environment? Look no further than Green Greeks! Whether you're interested in reducing carbon footprints, promoting waste diversion or educating others on sustainability, Green Greeks offers a platform to make a real difference. 

On Sept. 27, 2023, members of Green Greeks gathered for an impactful meeting at the University Memorial Center (UMC) to discuss their mission, upcoming events and the role of Green Greeks Representatives. This meeting shed light on the exciting opportunities and impactful initiatives that await you. Here’s a summary of the key takeaways: 

• Green Greeks aims to inspire sustainability leadership within CU’s Greek community by promoting eco-friendly practices. 
• The club collaborates with various programs including Greek Week, ECO-Visits, Zero Waste Green Team, SKI Bus and the Basic Needs Center, offering numerous opportunities for members to positively contribute. 
• They’re hiring Fraternity Sustainability Coordinators! Reach out via email at greengreeks@colorado.edu to express your interest and learn more about this fantastic opportunity.

Why Join Green Greeks?

• Make tangible changes in your community and translate your actions into meaningful change.
• Develop valuable leadership skills in sustainable practices.
• Foster change within your Greek chapter and connect with like-minded individuals who share your passion for sustainability.
• Gain knowledge about sustainability, waste diversion and energy efficiency while actively reducing carbon footprints in your community.

The Sept. 27 Green Greeks Representative meeting was a resounding success, serving as a reminder of the passion and dedication within the Greek community to promote sustainability and environmental responsibility. As we move forward into the fall semester, Green Greeks continues to pave the way towards a more sustainable and environmentally conscious future for all Greek houses at CU. 

Ready to get involved?

Register by completing the Green Greek interest form

To learn more, you can visit the Green Greeks website or reach out via email at greengreeks@colorado.edu.

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The University of Colorado wishes to recognize outstanding efforts toward continuing the leadership and legacy of sustainability at 91��Ƶ. Since 1997 the Annual Campus Sustainability Awards have recognized individuals, departments and offices that have made a significant contribution to reducing the ecological footprint and increasing the resilience of campus infrastructure and improving social cohesion and equity in campus communities. Outstanding efforts make CU's successful and challenging approaches to attaining sustainability possible. The awardees exemplify CU's continuing efforts to become a sustainable institution and set an example for environmental stewardship and responsibility. Some of the awardees have made groundbreaking efforts that will change the overall way CU operates, and others make an impact on the community and campus environment with their everyday actions. The awards happen every April in conjunction with the Campus Sustainability Summit.

2023 Campus Sustainability Awards

• Karen Bailey, Green Faculty
• The Colorado Environmental Justice Digital Storytelling Project, Civic Achievement
• Fossil Free CU, Student Leadership
• Emily Yeh, Green Faculty
• , Outstanding Alumni
• Mountain Research Station, Departmental Achievement
• Mortenson Center in Global Engineering and Resilience, Civic Achievement

Three partnership initiatives deserve special recognition: 

• Climate Across the Curriculum Training, Special Recognition, Partnership for Sustainability
• , Special Recognition, Partnership for Sustainability
• Buffs One Read, Special Recognition, Partnership for Sustainability

The CU Green Labs Program recognizes three awardees:

• MIMIC Core Facility, Partnership for Lab Sustainability
• Department of Biochemistry Shared Equipment, Departmental Achievement 
• CHEM 1021 Green Chemistry Integration, Partnership for Lab Sustainability

Awards come in the form of a 100% recycled-content plaque presented by campus leadership at the 30th annual Campus Sustainability Summit scheduled for April 19-20, 2023.  

Sustainability Award Archives

2022 Campus Sustainability Awards Announcement

2021 Campus Sustainability Awards Announcement

2020 Campus Sustainability Awards Announcement  

Award Selections 1997-2018

Campus Sustainability Awards Committee (2023)

• Lisa Barlow, Associate Teaching Professor, Environment and Natural Sciences Residential Academic Program and Environmental Studies Department
• Virginia Schultz, Coordinator, CU Conference Services
• Marianne Martin, Associate Director, Environmental Center
• Serafina Scalo, Sustainabilty Coordinator, CU Student Government
• Edward von Bleichert, Sustainabiltiy and Resiliency Program Manager, Infrastructure and Sustainability

Do you know a CU faculty, staff, employee or alum who prioritizes sustainability? Nominate them for a Campus Sustainability Award!

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Sustainability and CU go hand-in-hand and have a long history together. CU has been a leader in climate research and sustainability practices on and off campus. Sustainability is a building block of both campus and the university system itself. CU has a number of sustainable accomplishments:

First U.S university to:

• Create a student-led environmental center
• Build an NCAA Division I zero waste stadium and athletics program
• Be Sierra Club’s #1 greenest school
• Launch a student-led campus recycling program

This is just the beginning. CU has many more accomplishments and is continuing to pave the way for more sustainable research, innovation and leadership. CU is committed to pushing the limits of sustainable development, enabling sustainable leaders and positively impacting the local Boulder community and the planet. 

CU’s location provides students access to numerous top-notch research facilities, where students and faculty collaborate with some of the most recognized individuals in their research field. A few of the facilities located right here in Boulder include:

• National Center for Atmospheric Research 
• National Ecological Observatory Network
• NOAA Earth System Research Lab 

Want to get involved? 91��Ƶ students can:

• Volunteer with the Environmental Center
• Join the Climate Justice Leadership Program
• Participate in the upcoming  
• Send sustainable ideas to campus leadership

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Black figures in environmentalism 

Environmentalism has a difficult history riddled with injustices, but these members of the Black community have not let that stop them from making their voices heard. 

1. 
Dr. Bullard is known as the father of environmental justice. He has 15+ publications on environmental justice issues, has won multiple awards, and the Sierra Club even named an award after him. He is the director of the , a Texas Southern University center that addresses issues such as systemic racism and structural inequality. 

2. 
Camille Dungy is an “eco-poet” responsible for Black Nature: Four Centuries of African American Nature Poetry. According to its , “Black Nature is the first anthology to focus on nature writing by African American poets.” In addition to the anthology, Dungy has also published another anthology, four poetry collections and two novels, including . This book metaphorically highlights diversity after growing up in Fort Collins, Colorado, where the city had regulations on what could and could not be planted in one’s garden. 

3. 
George Washington Carver was born into slavery but made black history. He earned his Bachelor of Science at what was then the Iowa State Agricultural School, the first-ever African American to do so. From a young age, he helped farmers keep their crops healthy. His work led to many different forms of synthetic materials, along with making crop rotation a mainstream practice.

 4.  
Professor Maathai is the founder of the Green Belt Movement (GBM), a movement based out of Kenya that encourages a holistic approach to sustainability. She is the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate. GBM has planted over 51 million trees thanks to her involvement.  

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On Saturday, Oct. 1, the Harvest of All First Nations Corn Festival took place at the Yellow Barn, just outside Boulder. The Climate Justice Leadership Alliance volunteered at the event, directing items to be disposed of properly to reduce waste.

The event introduced earth-based decolonization strategies and environmental justice, and featured interactive workshops, guest speakers, local indigenous vendors and a live band. It showed the power behind communities organizing and how sharing traditional ecological knowledge can reconnect people to the land. 

A few of the staff favorites were the Land Back Movement speaker Ava Hamilton, Mi Chantli break dancers, land blessings, indigenous stories, the band Los Moccochetes and numerous events focused around regenerative agriculture, food preservation and indigenous harvesting practices. 

“I thoroughly loved attending this harvest, not just because I got to make an impact environmentally by disposing of waste, but I also got to experience a completely different culture," said one student who attended the harvest. "Considering I come from the east coast, I had never been able to experience this type of culture. Sitting in on the LandBack focus group and attending the ceremony in honor of indigenous ancestors was truly incredible, and it was amazing to get to sit in on such a beautiful culture so close to the CU campus.” 

If you'd like to learn more about climate justice or attend future events like the Harvest of All First Nations, check out the Climate Justice Leadership team.

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The Environment Center (or E-Center) is located in the University Memorial Center (UMC) building on campus. We are responsible for zero waste programs, organizations, events and general sustainability efforts on campus. Here are some interesting resources available on our website!

Find out more about the E-Center

• Check out the Environmental Center on campus. 

Graduate and Family Housing sustainability

• Check out the GFH Sustainability website! 

E-Center newsletter

• Join the newsletter listserv  

E-Center job board

• Looking for some extra income and want to get more involved in sustainability efforts on campus? Check out the jobs available at the E-Center.

• Highlighted job opening: Food Justice Coordinator (will assist with running both the Saturday and Tuesday free food distributions).

E-Center event calendar 

• Stay up to date on upcoming events.

Highlighted events

• Green campus tours are a great opportunity to learn more about various “green” features of CU’s main Boulder campus. Sign up for a tour  

E-Center publications

• Interested in reading the results of research done by the E-Center? Dive deeper into our publications section for pieces on our STARS report, Energy Guides and the Colorado Food Waste Composting Guide, among many other resources!

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Parker McMullen Bushman, the chief operating officer of Inclusive Journeys and founder of Ecoinclusive Strategies, will be this year's keynote speaker at the 29th Annual Campus Sustainability Summit Solutions Showcase. Bushman's talk, Exploring Inclusivity and Climate Justice, will take place April 21, from 6:15-7:15 p.m. and other showcase events ahead of the event.

91��Ƶ the talk

The world is facing a decisive moment in the battle against climate change–one that requires bringing a range of voices and perspectives to the table. Climate change is inextricably linked to the challenge of creating a more equitable world. It is impossible to tackle climate change without also tackling inequality. Everyone deserves a clean and healthy environment. All communities must have clean air and water, and one’s life expectancy should never be determined by zip code, race or income. This is a critical moment to define bold and equitable climate solutions that address the legacy of environmental racism in the U.S. Join Parker McMullen Bushman as she talks about what it means to have inclusive climate action and how we can develop solutions to tackle climate change with an equity mindset. 

Parker is a dynamic speaker and facilitator that engages organizations in new thinking around what it means to be a diversity change-agent and create dynamic organizational change. Parker’s background in the non-profit leadership, conservation, environmental education and outdoor recreation fields spans over 24+ years. Parker has a passion for equity and inclusion in outdoor spaces. Her interest in justice, accessibility and equity issues developed from her personal experiences facing the unequal representation of people of color in environmental organizations and green spaces. Parker tackles these complex issues by addressing them through head on activism and education.

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Over the past couple of years, many leaders have been talked about in regard to the sustainability movement. Here are a few black individuals paving the way for a more inclusive, environmentally-focused future.

Rue Mapp: Outdoor Afro founder

Rue Mapp is the founder and CEO of Outdoor Afro, a national non-profit organization connecting black individuals to nature in the form of hiking, kayaking, camping and fishing. Since founding the organization in 2009, over 45,000 individuals have been able to connect with nature thanks to Outdoor Afro. Mapp says, “the trees don’t know what color I am. The birds don’t know what gender is. The flowers don’t know how much money I have in my bank account.” 

Ron Finley: Ron Finley Project founder

Ron Finley, also known as the ‘gangster gardener,’ started planting vegetables in the dirt patches along his street in Los Angeles in 2010, a well-known food desert. The city of LA was unhappy about this and cited him for gardening without a permit. He started a petition that would allow him, and others within his community, to garden in these areas, and won. Fast forward to today, where he is teaching communities how to transform underutilized areas within their communities into gardens. Finley says, “gardening is the most therapeutic and defiant act you can do. Plus, you get strawberries.”

Dominique Drakeford and Whitney McGuire: Sustainable Brooklyn founders

Dominique and Whitney founded Sustainable Brooklyn because they never saw themselves reflected in the sustainability movement. Sustainable Brooklyn aims to narrow the gap between the sustainability movement and communities that are directly impacted, especially Black Indigenous people of color (BIPOC). They want the organization to “fashionably foster the evolution of sustainability to create an inclusive future for all.”

Jason Swann: Rising Routes co-founder

Jason Swann co-founded Rising Routes with Marisa Jarae. This Colorado-based organization aims to help people from different cultural backgrounds bridge the divide within the outdoor industry and society. They promote environmental stewardship, social justice and mental health events in the Denver area. Swann also works as a Western Lands policy analyst, with the goal of making sure that every human who lives in the west has equal access to water, land and wildlife. 

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Join us on Zoom from 3:30-4:30 p.m. on Feb. 2, as Professor Phaedra C. Pezzullo interviews Mia Ives-Rublee about a number of topics, including disability justice with environmental organizations, institutions and coalitions; outdoor recreation access; her experience as a competitive athlete; plastic banning advocacy and the value of public protest and voting.

91��Ƶ Mia Ives-Rublee

Mia Ives-Rublee is the director for the Disability Justice Initiative at American Progress. Ives-Rublee holds a bachelor’s degree in sociology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a master’s degree in social work from UNC Chapel Hill. She is a leader in disability justice and inclusion, working with nonprofit organizations and businesses including Women’s March, Families Belong Together, DC Action Lab, Adoptees for Justice, Fair Fight, People’s Collective for Justice and Liberation, Lonely Whale and more.

Best known for founding the Women’s March Disability Caucus, Ives-Rublee helped organize the original Women’s March on Washington in 2017, pushing for better access to disability accommodations at progressive events and more policy platforms inclusive of the disability community. Ives-Rublee was named by Glamour magazine as one of 2017’s Women of the Year. She was also recognized by She the People as one of 20 Women of Color in Politics to Watch in 2020. Ives-Rublee also worked on several political campaigns during the 2020 cycles. As a North Carolina community regional organizing director for the Elizabeth Warren Campaign for President, she communicated policies and organized events around specific issues affecting the disability and Asian American communities. Ives-Rublee worked as the field director for Down Home NC to encourage rural residents to vote. She also worked with the Asian American Advocacy Fund and the Georgia Disability Vote Partnership to help elect Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) and the Rev. Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA) during the 2021 election.

Hosted by: the Department of Environmental Studies.
Co-Sponsored by: the College of Media, Communication & Information, the Environmental Center, Ethnic Studies, & Disability Services.
On Access: The University of Colorado Boulder strives to host inclusive, accessible events that enable all individuals, including individuals with disabilities, to engage fully.

To request an accommodation or for questions about accessibility, please contact Prof. Phaedra C. Pezzullo (phaedra.pezzullo@colorado.edu) at least seven days prior to the event start date. We will make all reasonable efforts to fulfill requests made by January 26, 2022.

*Live ASL Interpretation will be provided.

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