UMD Office of Sustainability

We are Hiring!

Do you have an interest in sustainability and want to be a team player in creating a more sustainable campus? Apply to join our team! Applications close April 3rd.

If you have any questions feel free to email [email protected], or dm us here on instagram! 🌍🫶♻️

Did you know that fall leaves can pollute our lakes & streams? If leaves & other yard waste are blown onto the street, the next rainstorm may wash them down the street storm drain & right into your local streams.
🍁 Storm drains are meant to handle excess rainwater that cannot soak through concrete and other urban surfaces, not icky leaves!
🍁 Rainwater runoff is NOT treated before entering your local water sources, so be mindful of what you put in your yard or near the street.
🍁 You can be the solution to stormwater pollution! Remember to properly dispose of leaves & yard waste; WLSSD & Superior Landfill will even compost it for free!
✅ Pro Tip: Mulch or compost your leaves in a wooded area of your yard to return the nutrients to the soil. Thank you for helping keep our regions water clean & clear.

Bulldogs! Make sure to stop by Climate Cafe, every Wednesday from 10 am to 2 pm. We are located in The Garden Room. There is free hot chocolate, coffee, and tea! It’s a great place to hangout with your fellow students, talk about sustainability related issues, or study.

Happy finals week bulldogs! As you wrap up the semester and potentially prepare to head home for the summer, feel free to donate unwanted items to the free store. We will have a main drop off point on the first floor of Heaney Service Center (see slide two for more information). There will also be bins located in housing! All of these donations help keep the free store going and help close off the carbon loop on campus. The free store is a super fun and easy way to get involved with sustainability while also cleaning out your clutter. Feel free to let us know if you have any questions! Good luck on finals and happy summer bulldogs!

Did you know that we earned gold once again for the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS)? This is a big win for sustainability on our campus, especially since only 175 colleges and universities are ranked gold by STARS! All of us have been working extremely hard to make this happen, so keep up the great work bulldogs! If you’d like to learn more about STARS or why we’re rated so high, there is a link in our bio to the STARS report!

Hello bulldogs! If you’d like to support Duluth Public Schools getting solar panels, come to the listening session. Make sure to wear blue to show your support!

October 2nd, 2024 two great events went down…

Food Waste - We were so grateful for the opportunity to talk to folks about food waste on campus! Thank you to everyone who filled out the google form. Your feed back is really helpful for us to better gage food waste.

Campus Clean Up - Thank you to everyone who came out to clean up campus before the weather turns! We had great turnout from tons of different UMD clubs and individuals. All your hard work helps keep Lake Superior clean. Hope to see you all for the Spring Campus Cleanup!

Happy birdsday bulldogs!!! Today our bird is the rose-breasted grosbeak. These birds are native to the forests of Northeastern US and Southeastern/Central Canada. During the winter, they end migrating like many other birds to escape the cold climate. On their journey to Central and South America, they’ll end up stopping in a variety of habitats and calling them home for the time being. This makes them very versatile. Once they do make it to their winter home, they mostly will live in forests and semi open habitats. These habitats often end up being in the middle elevations and highlands. The birds will live all the way up to 11,000 feet. The air is pretty thin up there, so that is quite impressive!

With all of this rain Minnesota’s been getting, it might be a good idea to install a rain barrel! Rain barrels collect and store rain water run off from rooftops via gutters/pipes. They’re a great way to collect water to use later for your garden, lawn, or indoor plants. It helps conserve water and reduce stormwater pollution. The best part is after you buy the barrel it’s free!

Happy birdsday! This week our bird is the indigo bunting, native throughout North America. These birds migrate at night using the stars to guide them. They even have an internal clock that allows them to adjust their angle of orientation even as the star moves through the night sky. Pretty cool right?