The Campus Environmental Center works to educate UT students, faculty, and staff on the sustainability resources available on campus and to improve the current sustainability infrastructure at the university. It is our vision to build an intersectional, inclusive community empowered to protect people and the environment through leadership, education, and action.
We strive to accomplish our mission through educational workshops, campus events, and advocating for infrastructure change. We also have four unique project teams that help us engage the larger campus community.
- Creates free composting and recycling services, environmental consulting, and the provision of compostable materials, hundreds of pounds of student-generated waste is diverted away from landfills.
- Seeks to protect people and the planet by empowering students to engage with the environmental movement through an intersectional perspective.
- The first student-run organic farm offering volunteer opportunities to student organizations and educating the student body on sustainable farming practices.
- Diverts gently-used clothing and dorm goods from the landfill and creates an affordable alternative to buying new through $1 thrift sale events.
Our four project teams provide students with a unique one-stop shop to engage in sustainability efforts at UT Austin. Each team is run by two paid part-time Co-Directors and fantastic volunteers. The CEC is supported by the Office of Sustainability through a full-time staff advisor. This structure has created a robust internship program where Co-Directors learn pre-professional skills, increase sustainability knowledge, and get the opportunity to lead their peers and enact impactful change at UT.
How you can help!
The CEC is celebrating its 20th Anniversary! With the help of the Student Government, the CEC officially launched in January 2003. This semester with 20 Years on the 40 Acres the CEC needs your help to make the next 20 years our most impactful. Below you can learn more about each project team, and what they are fundraising for.
Green Events
Who we are: Our mission is to lead UT towards achieving its goal of 90% waste diversion. Through free composting and recycling services, environmental consulting, and provision of compostable materials, hundreds of pounds of student-generated waste is diverted away from landfills.
What are we fundraising for:
Compostable Materials (plates, cutlery, compost bags)
-Dinnerware for club event for 50 members: $25 per event
-Dinnerware for a club event for 300 members: $150
Compost bags for 100 students to start composting at home: $20 each
Compost Bags for Student Events (120 pack) $102
At-home compost bins for students: $30 per bin
Contracts for industrial composting
-Organics by Gosh: 4 bins for a year for one apartment building in West Campus $3000
By funding these items, we can remove price barriers for organizations that want to buy our compostable materials, but can not afford to do so. This way, accessibility to sustainable options is equal for all student organizations, and UT will be a greener campus!
When organic materials are thrown into the landfill, they emit a greenhouse gas called methane. Through our composting services, we save these organic materials from the landfill which reduces methane emissions. It also helps student organizations limit their environmental impact, and educates students about sustainable practices. Last semester, we worked with over 15 student organizations to divert over 500 pounds of waste. By funding our materials, you will be making events more sustainable and limiting landfill waste.
Environmental Justice Collective
Who we are: We are the Environmental Justice Collective (EJC), and we seek to protect people and the planet by empowering students to engage with the environmental movement through an intersectional perspective. Created in the Fall of 2018 by students of color, the EJC was born out of the need to center issues of race, class, gender, ability, and other social issues within environmentalism. We do this through educational workshops, community building events, volunteering, and integrating social and environmental justice into UT’s curriculum.
What are we fundraising for:
A part-time paid Curriculum Development Lead: $1,500
A part time paid Curriculum Development Lead increases our reach and ability to assist faculty with updating and integrating environmental justice into their course.
-Sponsor an EJC event including room fees and food: $300
Help our educational events reach over 120 students in our efforts to create easier ways to connect people interested in sustainability! Promote the creation of safe spaces for discussion and debate for BIPOC students at UT.
-Fund a speaker: $400
Help us provide leadership development opportunities to advance education in the field of social and environmental justice!
Through past generous donor contributions, we have been able to hire two students for paid part-time positions as project co-leads. With two students dedicating their time and leadership, we’ve been able to expand environmental justice initiatives on campus to reach more students.
Microfarm
Who we are: UT Microfarm is the first student-run organic farm offering volunteer opportunities to student organizations and educating the student body on sustainable farming practices. Everything we grow is donated to the UT Outpost, the food pantry on campus. We have donated over 1,000 pounds since 2019. We also run the only seed library on campus accessible to the student body. We manage a team of 20 student volunteers who we train with leadership skills and pre professional abilities.
What are we fundraising for:
Seed Library supplies for upkeep $50
Transplants for a semester $250
Safety supplies (gloves, organic ant killer, etc) $100
New tools to replace broken ones $500
Future greenhouse/hoop house for making our own transplants $2,000
We can even have your company logo on it!
We are fundraising for new equipment and funds for supplies such as transplants and seeds. We have big dreams for a greenhouse!
Running a farm is a lofty task, and while we are crafty with our money and supplies, having extra funding will allow us to provide adequate tools to all volunteers, and invest money in new projects that will beautify the farm, such as an aquaponics garden or greenhouse.
Microfarm was started with the help of donations and grants – without this type of support, the farm wouldn’t exist! We also recently received a grant that allowed us to build a shade structure. Previously, we didn’t have any shade, making summer months especially brutal. Donors allow us to improve the safety, productivity, and the overall volunteer experience of the farm.
Trash to Treasure
Who we are: Trash to Treasure is a sustainable project that diverts gently-used clothing and dorm goods from the landfill while making buying used an affordable alternative to buying new. Through a campus-wide dorm donation drive and subsequent $1 thrift sale events, we provide thousands of pounds of essential items to students and faculty.
What are we fundraising for:
Events & Moving Costs
-Sponsor a Trash to Treasure Thrift Sale on main campus (donor/company marketing banner included)- $1,200 per event
Workshop/Storage Facility
-Permanent, accessible storage location on/by campus- $1,000 per month
-Transportable wheeled bins– 4 for $320 each
Workshop supplies
– Sewing Machine to host 4 events per year to mend clothing- 5 for $200 each
–Mending kits – 5 for $40 each
–Desk space– 2 for $215 each
Laundering facility
–Washer and dryers capable of laundering thousands of pounds of clothing – $2500
Your donation will allow us to expand our project’s reach across UT by increasing our operational capacity. With a larger storage facility and more resources, we’ll be able to accept more donations and give UT students and faculty more access to affordable essentials like clothes, shoes, school supplies, etc.
Through generous donations, three of our thrift events have been fully sponsored since Fall 2021, saving our project over $4,000 in transportation costs. These donations allowed us to reallocate over 3000 items (clothes, etc) to students in need.
To learn more about the Campus Environmental Center (CEC visit our website or contact our advisor Jessi Drummond at jessidrummond@austin.utexas.edu.
Thank you for helping make UT Austin more sustainable!
-Live Green, Bleed Orange
Campus Environmental Center 