Sustainability News

The OHIO Men’s Basketball game on Feb. 21 served as the GameDay Challenge as a part of OHIO Campus Recycling’s Campus Race to Zero Waste initiative. As the eight-week effort continues, and there are many events coming up to engage students and community members. 

During the basketball game, members of the Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Service, the Climate and Sustainability Ambassadors, Campus Recycling, and community members tabled and helped Bobcat fans place their trash in the correct bin. After the game, all waste was sorted and the stands were litter picked.

Luscious flora and dense oak trees encapsulate Sells Park in Athens, which weaves through various shale and limestone rock formations deeply connected within Strouds Run Park.

Inside the forests of Strouds Run lies towering chestnut, oak and persimmon trees that have existed for hundreds of years — alongside numerous different species of edible mushrooms and lichens such as liverwort and turkey tails.

Foraging is the act of gathering foods such as fruits, nuts, vegetables or fungi from the wild, and it is a process that has occurred for thousands of years.

Luscious flora and dense oak trees encapsulate Sells Park in Athens, which weaves through various shale and limestone rock formations deeply connected within Strouds Run Park.

Inside the forests of Strouds Run lies towering chestnut, oak and persimmon trees that have existed for hundreds of years — alongside numerous different species of edible mushrooms and lichens such as liverwort and turkey tails.

Foraging is the act of gathering foods such as fruits, nuts, vegetables or fungi from the wild, and it is a process that has occurred for thousands of years.

The OHIO Office of Sustainability(opens in a new window) is now accepting nominations for the 2023 Sustainability Awards. The awards recognize students, staff, faculty, departments and community members or organizations for their outstanding contributions to sustainability at Ohio University or in the local community.

The awards are open to all OHIO students, faculty and staff on all Ohio University campuses, and the Community Sustainability Award is open to community members or groups. Award winners will be announced at Ohio University's Earth Day Celebrations on April 27, 2023. The entire University community is invited to participate in the Earth Day activities.

The OHIO Office of Sustainability(opens in a new window) is now accepting nominations for the 2023 Sustainability Awards. The awards recognize students, staff, faculty, departments and community members or organizations for their outstanding contributions to sustainability at Ohio University or in the local community.

The awards are open to all OHIO students, faculty and staff on all Ohio University campuses, and the Community Sustainability Award is open to community members or groups. Award winners will be announced at Ohio University's Earth Day Celebrations on April 27, 2023. The entire University community is invited to participate in the Earth Day activities.

While maximizing the potential of energy is a never-ending quest, students at Ohio University have found ways to improve energy efficiency on OHIO’s main campus in Athens. The Building Energy Treasure Hunt is an experiential learning class that allows students to collaboratively conduct their own energy audit on a campus building and then suggest changes for improvement. The one credit class is divided into teams and the winning team’s suggestions are then implemented by OHIO’s Facilities Management staff. 

This year’s Game Day Recycling Challenge, a recycling and waste reduction competition to minimize waste generated during a single sporting event, took place at the Oct. 22 OHIO football game. This challenge is a part of Campus Race to Zero Waste, which is an organization that encourages colleges to reduce their waste through various competitions. 

aculty experts Steve Scanlan, professor of Sociology, director of Graduate Studies for the Sociology MA Program and director of Studies for the HTC Environmental Studies Program in the College of Arts and Sciences, Michele Morrone, professor in the College of Health Sciences and Professions, and Thomas (Thom) Stevenson, assistant professor of instruction in the Patton College of Education, will discuss food sustainability and safety around the holidays, as well as the importance of food access during an Ask the Experts livestream on Friday, Nov. 18 at 3 p.m.

Neatly tucked behind The Ridges in the woods on Dairy Lane, a small house sits up from the brick road. While it may seem like a regular house to a typical passerby, it is a bustling hub of sustainable living.

The OHIO Ecohouse is a form of student housing full of educational opportunities about sustainable living by practicing it firsthand.

According to its Project Mission, "The OHIO Ecohouse is not just a place– it is a dynamic education experience which promotes critical thinking and tangible actions toward sustainability."

On Tuesday, community members were welcome to the Ecohouse for a Thanksgiving dinner that provided an opportunity to learn more about food and holiday sustainability.

The Climate and Sustainability Ambassadors want to raise awareness about the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and how students can translate these global issues into local action in the Athens community.

The ambassadors and the Ohio University Office of Sustainability are hosting Sustainability Day on Monday, Nov. 14, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Baker University Center third floor south atrium.

The park features two pawprint-shaped outlines that can be seen from above, one of which is designated as a campus hammocking area with metal poles and shade screens, and the other serves as an open concrete and gravel space for students and communities on campus to gather and hold events. 

The space was conceptualized collaboratively between OU Housing and Residence Life, the Campus Involvement Center, the Office of Sustainability, Campus Recreation and various students to create a site that would serve programmatic needs as well as student wants, Jneanne Hacker, executive director of Housing and Residence Life, said. 

If the sun isn't shining and the wind isn't blowing, then ramp up the fossil-fuel power plant to fill the gap. But it's not that easy or efficient to run a power grid that way, said economist Daniel Karney(opens in a new window),  who recently won a U.S. EPA challenge(opens in a new window) to study the effects of "ramping."

Karney and Khyati Malik(opens in a new window), a Ph.D. student at Ohio State University, will use Power Sector Emissions Data from the EPA's Clean Air Markets Division to study the ramping behavior of fossil fuel-fired power plants and the subsequent impact on emissions and regulatory compliance. Malik is an Ohio University alumna, having earned an M.A. in Economics(opens in a new window) from the College of Arts and Sciences in 2018.