Hanley Sustainability Institute

By Cassie Austin, Anne Majka, Lia Schmidt, Shane Geiger, Shannon Dennemann, Jack Wardzala and Kelsey Frantz

The Hanley Sustainability Institute's Undergraduate Sustainability Fellowship Program was a rewarding and impactful experience for six outstanding UD students this past summer. Recently, the sustainability fellows presented their final project results to over 20 student, faculty, staff and community stakeholders to show off their progress in projects on and off campus.

In its second year, the Fellowship Program has been able to expand to support campus focused projects in part due to the creation of the Campus Operations Sustainability Goals. This year, the fellowship consisted of five on campus fellows and one community fellow:

• Anne Majka, sophomore sustainability major - Food Systems Fellow
• Lia Schmidt, sophomore sustainability major - Zero Waste Fellow
• Shannon Dennemann, sophomore sustainability and psych major - Residential Energy Fellow
• Shane Geiger, sophomore mechanical engineering major - Residential Energy Fellow
• Jack Wardzala, senior graphic design major - Graphic Design Fellow
• Kelsey Frantz, junior sustainability major - Community Fellow, City of Kettering

At the start of the summer, the fellows were provided with a list of project ideas within their scope of work, and were asked to choose and develop their own projects. HSI’s Sustainability Projects Coordinator  Cassie Austin said the fellowship was intentionally designed to allow students to set their own workflow and goals and to see through projects from start to finish. Not only does this foster personal and professional growth, it exhibits the idea of experiential learning in the truest sense.

Zero Waste Fellow Lia Schmidt set her goal to focus on recycling behaviors in residence halls by piloting a new waste bin system in Marycrest Hall. By providing clear signage and designated areas fo trash and recycling, the contamination in recycling bins will decrease and recycling rates will increase. Lia enjoyed the uniqueness of the summer fellowship program, saying “... it provided a hands-on experience, offering insight into the practicalities and possibilities of working in the field of sustainability. We were given a lot of independence, allowing us to choose and implement projects that we were passionate about, which greatly enhanced my communication and professional skills.”

As the Food Systems fellow, Anne Majka worked alongside UD’s Dining Services to increase the use of Go Green reusable containers through visual aids such as posters, educational infographics, social media, staff training and more. She also created a sustainable dining assessment used in the upcoming year to help Dining Services grow in their sustainable dining initiatives and provide recommendations on how to reduce food waste and increase food donations. Her favorite project was working with the Brook Center and the Office of Energy and Sustainability to pilot a Community Support Agriculture (CSA) box program, which brought campus-grown produce directly to student’s hands through the Food4Flyers food pantry.

Residential Energy Fellows Shane Geiger and Shannon Dennemann paired up on determining which houses in the student neighborhood could benefit from energy efficiency upgrades. They spent many hours digging into energy bills for each house to calculate the Energy Use Intensity (EUI) as well as conducting physical energy audits in over 30 individual houses. The fellows worked closely with campus stakeholders already engaged in this work, including the Office of Energy and Sustainability, Residential Properties and Facilities Management to support their work through data collection and analysis. The work was incredibly valuable, not only providing hands-on experience to students interested in energy work, but also providing real recommendations to campus to help reduce the overall carbon footprint and save money for the university.

In addition to the campus fellows, Kelsey Frantz worked as the Community Fellow with the City of Kettering on developing their first ever city-wide sustainability goals. She spent the summer compiling research on initiatives and best practices for the city’s sustainability action plan. She also had the opportunity to interface with community members about sustainability.

"My favorite project from this summer was hosting a community clean-up because it gave me the opportunity to talk about sustainability with various people from the Kettering community," Frantz said.

Jack Wardzala, a senior graphic design student, also joined the team as HSI’s first-ever graphic design fellow. He worked with each fellow to support their project’s graphic design needs. He enjoyed the collaborative nature of the work and said “the work environment was friendly and supportive. The team was incredibly welcoming and loves to collaborate.”

Jack also created an updated brochure that showcases everything HSI does, from hosting the academic major and minor, to managing the student leaders program, to getting involved with community sustainability efforts. The brochure will help communicate the unique offerings of the Hanley Sustainability Institute and allow for future connection and collaboration with other organizations.

In addition to the various projects, the summer fellows met weekly to experience a field trip, workshop or professional development session. The sessions included a group bike ride to Riverscape MetroPark during the annual Bike to Work Day, discussing local food systems with a visit to Gem City Market, attending the Dayton Environmental Advisory Board meeting and participating in a river cleanup at the Great Miami River.

A field trip to the Cincinnati Reuse and Recycling Hub was a favorite of many students. Lia Schmidt enjoyed touring the behind the scenes efforts, saying “we got a very hands-on and in-depth view of all the work that goes into reducing waste on a large scale.” The fellows were inspired by the efforts of recycle and reuse and hope to bring similar programs to campus.

However, the work does not stop at the end of the summer. For Shannon Dennemann, the lasting impact of her work was an important aspect of her experience.

“What was most rewarding about this work was knowing it will continue to be used in the future to bring positive change to campus," she said. "We spent the summer laying the groundwork for future efforts that we can continue helping with.”

Many of the summer fellows will continue their work through the school year as a part of HSI’s Student Leaders Program.