The University of Montevallo provides many outlets for students to get involved on campus. One of those outlets had so much popularity it turned into a major and minor.
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| One of the Hydration Stations provided by the Green Fund |
Environmental Studies is a major that is continuing to grow both in the classroom and outside of the walls of the university.
With programs like bike sharing, hydration stations, community gardens and even a community recycling center, there are multiple ways students can get involved in the community while making it more sustainable.
The "Green Fund" was started by students in the 2010-2011 school year when members of the UM Enviornmental Club successfully gained support from both
the student body and SGA to charge an additional $5 to student tuition per regular semester.
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| The Recycling Center |
Dr. Susan Caplow with the Enviornmental Studies program said, "Students have a lot of power here. All of the big initiatives for sustainability were started by students."
Grants are given out to students or faculty who are organizing projects that fail into one of two categories, Student Projects or Special Projects. These projects also must promote sustainability across the UM campus and throughout the City of Montevallo as a whole.
The UM Organic Community Garden provides anyone with the opportunity to grow their own fruits, vegetables, herbs and spices. Individuals can rent their own plot and the all of the amenities, like hand tools are available for use.
According to recycleacrossamerica.org, "recycling is the top action society can do to simultaneously improve the environment, the economy, sustainable manufacturing, and to prevent waste from going into the ocean.
Dr. Caplow said, "Ideally, recycling is a gateway behavior, in that people start doing that and then they realize there may be other things they can do."
For more information on how to get involved around the community with UM students, the Green Fund, or sustainability you can click here.
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