Three of the four new student sustainability grants given by Ohio State's Office of Student Life have their roots in CFAES. And two of the three got their start in a course in the college's School of Environment and Natural Resources.
"The winning teams are responsible for all aspects of their project," said Carlos Lugo, the Office of Student Life's sustainability program manager. "So they get real-world experience with everything that is involved in getting the project done and working with multiple constituencies."
The money for the grants comes through Coca-Cola's Student Sustainability Grants program.
"I'm excited for the students, and I'm proud of their success. I think it gives them a lot of confidence as they head toward the job market."—Greg Hitzhusen
- $10,672.15 to a student research team from SENR's "Communicating Environmental and Natural Resources Information" course, ENR 2367 (pdf), in conjunction with the Department of Horticulture and Crop Science, to develop a new May-session course on invasive plant removal. A focus: First-hand practice along the Olentangy River.
- $6,200 to Horticulture and Crop Science's Student Farmers Coalition to establish "Farm Smart," a sustainable-agriculture station at the college's Waterman Agricultural and Natural Resources Laboratory. Features: Rainwater catchment, vermicomposting, perennial orchards, and intensive vegetable growing.
- $3,751 to a second student research team from ENR 2367, working with Ohio State's Energy Services and Sustainability office, to install a large permanent map near the Ohio Union showing bicycle-friendly routes on campus and to print copies of the map.
- $550 to an Undergraduate Student Government group for a prototype project establishing electronic-waste collection for the campus's residence halls.
"The call for grant proposals deadline happened to coincide with a due date for our students' revised research reports, so we decided to make it an option for them to rewrite their final papers as grant proposals," said ENR 2367's instructor, Greg Hitzhusen.
"I'm excited for the students, and I'm proud of their success," he said. "I think it gives them a lot of confidence as they head toward the job market and other future prospects."
Further details, including the names of all the team members, are available from the Office of Student Life here.
-- Kurt Knebusch, CommTech