Third-year student Yushun Ding's interest in sustainability was piqued at the Student Activity Fair, so she took a chance, got an internship and is now a staunch sustainability champion.
I first learned about the Office for Sustainability (OFS) Student Activity Fair during the first in-person semester. I found student engagement opportunities on the OFS website and by Fall 2021 I was engaging with the office as a Zero Waste ambassador and Sustainability Advocate. I gradually realized that sustainability work requires thoughtful and detailed design, effective implementation and active communications. However, these aspects need lots of effort in a large community like UVA. Thus, wanting to learn more about sustainability management on Grounds, I applied for an OFS summer intern in Spring 2022.
The Green Labs Program, which is a perfect match for me, offered me a position and I accepted. As a non-science and non-technical student, I am interested in the idea of communicating about technical, interdisciplinary environmental topics in research environments. Green Labs is an engagement-based program supporting sustainability initiatives in laboratories. The Green Labs team acts as an emissary between different groups on Grounds like researchers, students, professors, facility managers, Environmental Health and Safety and others. Working together with many stakeholders at the University, I have met with people with great passion for sustainability, working to strengthen UVA's sustainability mission and incorporating experts into solutions.
Unexpected harvest
There have been many moments of growth and learning during my time working with the Green Labs Program, but a few stand out. Touring the recycling sorting facility had a real impact on me, seeing firsthand all the work and logistics that go into the process of diverting waste. I recognized that what we call “waste” can often be a misallocated or underutilized resource.
I was impressed by Facilities Management managers Sonny Beale and Victor Martin’s determination to minimize waste and raise awareness of recycling and composting. I was moved by their dedication to this straightforward and indispensable work. You who are reading my blog post, me and other UVA community members are so connected by daily small actions. Therefore, it is important to think of others in each decision we make. Witnessing the work that goes into processing the waste our community on Grounds generates, I have become more conscientious about my consumption behavior and sorting my waste appropriately.
An important lesson I learned from Victor is that students have the loudest voices to make the biggest impact and change the norms on campus. Sharing what you learn makes knowledge even more valuable because then more intelligent people can apply the knowledge. I shared my facility tour experience with my friends, and it turned out that they were very curious about the behind-the-scenes stories and were glad to know more.
The opportunity to learn about sustainability has also extended to my immediate community. By talking with Green Labs managers from many other universities, I realized that a successful project is a combination of the relationship with participants, institutions, and society. Sustainability is a growing field of work. No one has an absolute answer to the climate issue, but everyone can learn about it and take action. Therefore, a collective effort to aggregate knowledge and share experience is extremely important in the ever-changing world.
I am so grateful that UVA empowers students to explore and apply the best sustainability practices, and that so many faculty and staff all across UVA and other institutions are willing to share their expertise with me.
What does sustainability look like in everyday life?
Sustainability is often just as much about people as it is our environment. Labs are probably some of the most culturally and professionally diverse settings at UVA. Each lab has its own vibe and stories. This means that creating opportunities for different labs to interact and share experiences are a very important function of the Green Labs Program. For example, people could meet at a Glass Washing Fair and share different techniques for washing lab equipment and find the safest and most water efficient methods. I believe that sustainability management starts with existing difficulties and questions, focuses on details and tools, then requires individual experiences and feedback as initiatives are created and nurtured.
There is sustainability work to do everywhere, but we need to think out of the box and challenge the conventions that surround us. For example, I would never expect six labs to save $7,632 in one month this year by just shutting the sash of their chemical fume hoods. We can adapt to changes when they arrive, but we can also think ahead and get involved in the change itself. Sustainability is about integrating knowledge into innovation and practices in order to create many possibilities in this wonderful world.
My Sustainability Tips
- Bring your own eating utensils for one week. You’ll like using your own!
- Challenges can be seeds of opportunity once you face them with confidence.
- Share knowledge and opportunities with your friends to multiply its value.
- Spend time in unfamiliar fields and try whatever you want.
- Question common knowledge and ask people what they think.
- Incorporate fun, happiness and positivity into dialogues.
Yushun Ding has been involved with the Green Labs program since Summer 2022. She is a third year Global Studies - Environment and Sustainability and Economics double major. Outside of school, she is passionate about outdoor activities, reading literature, making handicraft, and creating science education materials for kids. She is currently working on a Lab Supply Chain Audit project at UVA research labs to improve resource efficiency and the culture of sustainability in labs.