Sustainability at UM

Transcript

 Okay, everyone let’s meet with a UM student who traded oceans for mountains. Kennedy works in campus gardens and labs to lessen UM’s carbon footprint and emerge as a leader in environmental sustainability. Growing up in Hawaii, Kennedy developed a deep passion for protecting the natural environment, at UM you can find her working to create a more sustainable future for her community.

– Hello Alex, I’ve always enjoyed spending time outside, whether in the beaches or tropical forest of Kailua or in the mountains and valleys of Montana. I’ve traveled to Montana every summer since I was 11. And after spending so much time exploring outside, I knew that I wanted to come here after high school. Adjacent to study environmental studies and sustainability science because I deeply value the environment. And I also believe that everyone should have the opportunity to explore while breathing clean air and drinking clean water. The University of Montana has taken strides to better the planet in multiple ways. The first is by creating opportunities for students to learn both inside and outside the classroom through experiential learning. The campus has also invested in sustainable practices through their gardening programs, solar panel installations, electric buses, and more than 10 student groups focused on sustainability. UM also converts 24% of waste into recycling and compost. While I always believe there’s room to improve, UM is headed in the right direction for a sustainable future. In my environmental citizenship class, a group worked with an afterschool program to increase sustainability education. Another group wrote a grant to fund eco-friendly lighting on campus. My group started a sustainability network within the Montana University system. Both the professors and staff on campus provide experiential learning and create change with students. Here at the University of Montana, there are many opportunities to learn about sustainability and you can see it on campus firsthand, and you can be a part of that change. I’ve learned here that there are so many opportunities and if there’s something that you want to do, you can contact a professor or a staff member and you can do it. Alex, back to you.

– Thank you, Kennedy. It is inspiring to see that you can develop your interests at UM and transform them into action. We know with UM’s commitment to environmental sustainability students, like you are leading the way to a better world. Cheers Kennedy.