Sustainable Opportunities

As a student at UW-River Falls, you have access to a wide variety of ways to get involved with sustainability efforts on campus and in the River Falls community. Explore this page to learn more about student organizations, employment opportunities, volunteer openings and more! 

Are you interested in getting involved in any of the organizations or activities on this page? If so, email sustainability@uwrf.edu to help get connected!

Students pose at a table wearing sustainability shirts and sharing materials

 
Student Organizations

There are several ways to get involved with sustainability efforts at UWRF! There are several student organization that focus on or are related to sustainability including:

  • We Bike River Falls
  • Resource Management Club
  • UWRF Green Team
  • Bee Club
  • Horticulture Society

More information on student organizations can be found on FalconsConnect.


Community Involvement and Service Opportunities

You can also get involved with sustainability in the community!

  • Grow to Share is a way to engage community members in a collaborative community garden, sharing harvest with families in need. Garden working during the growing season (April through October). Volunteers can also assist with events, including children's programming, and fundraising events. Everyone is welcome - all ages and ability levels.
  • The River Falls Community Food Pantry aims to provide food, with respect and dignity, in times of need to those in the River Falls community. Volunteers needed for variety of duties during open hours at the pantry. These include: working with clients, (checking them into our computer system and answering questions, assisting with bagging and bringing groceries to vehicles), stocking shelves, accepting donations from community members, sorting donations, and other duties as assigned. Excellent customer service skills a must!
  • POWERful Choices! is a community-wide effort to install a strong local conservation ethic while demonstrating the effectiveness of energy efficiency, conservation, and renewable resource development. The group meets once a month - all are welcome!


Professional Networks

UWRF is a member institution with the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education(AASHE). All UWRF faculty, staff and students with a valid uwrf.edu email address are able to create an account to access an abundance of sustainability resources in the resource hub section of the website.


Student Employment

UW-River Falls has a team of students serving as sustainability representatives educating their fellow students on sustainability. The students host several campus events each year, coordinate social media posts and maintain a sustainability newsletter educating people on sustainability and making them aware of various regional sustainability events.


Green Fund

The Green Fund is an allocable segregated university fee created to support sustainability initiatives and projects at UWRF. Since the Green Fund is a student segregated fee, the Student Government Association oversees administration.

UWRF defines sustainability as our local and global responsibility to meet the needs of present and future generations, as demonstrated by an integrated set of ecological, social, and economic values, principles, and practices that frame how we think, choose, and act in personal, professional, and community life.

The funds generated through the Green Fund support both the UWRF Office of Sustainability and act to provide funding for projects that improve sustainability. Campus faculty, staff, and students can apply for Green Fund funding. Please read the documents to the right for additional information on eligibility and guidelines.

Funded projects or initiatives must fall under at least one of the following categories:

  • Educational/Promotional - This category allows for educational/promotional campaigns or resources to raise awareness and inform students of sustainability initiatives or opportunities on campus. Examples include informational booths and kiosks, sticker campaigns, reusable promotional producs, and more.
  • Non-Academic Research - Academic research is not to be funded by the Green Fund due to alignment with Administrative Policy 820. However, non-academic research such as pilot projects, surveys, data collection, etc. can be funded to help inform UWRF's sustainability efforts and initiatives.
  • Energy - This category allows for renewable energy and energy efficiency initiatives to assist in reducing the campus' energy consumption and reliance on fossil fuels. This may also allow for the purchase of renewable energy credits or renewable energy programs through utility companies.
  • Food - This category can be used to increase sustainable food, as defined by the AASHE Sustainability Tracking, Assessment, and Ratings System (STARS) defintion, which includes local/regional, healthy, culturally diverse, and environmentally and socially progressive food options. This category may also use funding to increase transparency of on-campus food services.
  • Buildings, Design, and Construction - This category is to support sustainable construction and renovations of campus buildings.
  • Grounds - Projects in this category will work with the grounds department to approve and implement sustainable garden design and sustainable landscaping practices. Funds can be used to protect and preserve the naturally existing ecology as well.
  • Water Conservation - This catgory addresses water conservation, pollution, and storm water mitigation.
  • Waste Minimization - This category addresses the improvement of waste diversion and reductino efforts on campus. The waste minimization category can be used to promote the reduction and reuse of materials.
  • Transportation - This category includes all sustainable travel methods with low to no fuel, such as biking, walking, carpooling, carsharing, etc.


Green Careers and Entrepreneurship

The need and opportunity for our students and regional citizens to consider "green careers" has never been greater, and it will only grow. As government, commercial, and non-profit organizations evolve to adapt to the ecologic, social, and economic drivers of sustainability, they will increasingly seek employees with very strong sustainability-based knowledge, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills. There is an especially strong need for entrepreneurially-based individuals to develop locally owned product and service businesses that can contribute to and maximize the mutual benefits of locally adapted sustainable community development agendas. Entrepreneurial businesses supporting local and regional self-sufficiency in energy, food, water, shelter, clothing and transportation will be especially successful.

Related Links:

Sustainability

215 North Hall
410 S. 3rd St.
River Falls, WI 54022

sustainability@uwrf.edu

715-425-4333