UW-Eau Claire is joining alumni and students together to explore solutions and career paths in sustainability.
The Sustainability Symposium consists of numerous events starting on Thursday, Oct. 9 and will span through Saturday, Oct. 11. The event’s goal is to create opportunities for students to learn from alumni working in sustainability fields such as solar energy, waste management, policy, business and communications, according to Sustainability Coordinator Lily Strehlow.
This event aims to highlight the steps UW-Eau Claire is taking to combat climate change. According to Strehlow, the university is committed to carbon neutrality by 2050. This requires the end of all campus fossil fuel use and further adoption of renewable energy sources.
“The new Sonnentag Center uses non-fossil fuel technology called ground source heat pumps to heat and cool the building, and an offsite solar array produces the same amount of energy that the Sonnentag uses in a year, making the building net energy neutral,” Strehlow said. “This is the model we want to replicate everywhere.”
Student director of the Student Office of Sustainability Kristen O’Brien said that climate change and pollution are not only issues for the future, but are affecting UW-Eau Claire students right now. The 80-degree day this October was an example of that.
“If UW-Eau Claire does not act on these issues, we will be contributors to the problem that disproportionately affects students and community members that are already minoritized and struggling because of the wasteful actions of the higher class in the United States,” O’Brien said.
Every UW-Eau Claire student will be forced to adapt to the impacts of climate change within their lifetime, according to Strehlow. Impacts include extreme heat, rainfall and other local extreme weather events. These impact human health, deteriorate buildings and increase energy costs, taxes and construction costs.
“The reality is that we need students of every major graduating ready to address these challenges and working to stop climate change from getting worse,” Strehlow said.
UW-Eau Claire’s Administrative Office of Sustainability has been working hard to get geothermal energy on Upper Campus to help reduce the university’s carbon footprint, according to O’Brien.
Other sustainability initiatives are also in the works, according to O’Brien. The university has been working to increase public transportation options — including bringing in a bikeshare pilot — and reducing food waste by repackaging dining hall leftovers.
Many UW-Eau Claire alumni are working in the sustainability field both locally and nationally, according to Strehlow. They can provide expertise and guidance for current students trying to understand how to get started down a sustainability-oriented career path.
Strehlow said she encourages students to attend the Alumni in Sustainability Panel at 1:30 p.m. on Oct. 11 in Centennial Hall room 1704 to learn how former students are using their degrees to implement sustainability within their careers. Panelists work in a variety of fields including waste, solar, policy, business and communications.
The inspiration behind the Sustainability Symposium is to connect students and alumni, giving students the opportunity to learn, network and have fun. The event also gives alumni the opportunity to come to campus and see changes, including those in sustainability, since their graduation, according to O’Brien.
“I hope this event encourages and inspires students to pursue their passions and see examples of ways they can do that,” O’Brien said. “I also hope the alumni feel encouraged and inspired by seeing a younger generation passionately pursuing the same topics they did.”
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