The Center of Environmental Studies at Austin College offers more than just classes. It provides opportunities to make a difference through campus and community service projects, internships, and hands-on research experiences. Getting involved can be rewarding and impactful.
Austin College Thinking Green
Austin College Thinking Green, or THINK, is a campus-wide greening initiative. THINK hosts events each semester aimed at building and promoting sustainable habits and behaviors among students. Each year in October, THINK hosts an energy saving competition between traditional dorms on campus to help reduce energy use. The competition averages a savings of about 11,000 kWh annually (the equivalent use of an American household for an entire year!).
THINK also organizes a community engagement event each spring, GreenServe, wherein more than 125 student, staff, and faculty volunteers travel to sites around Grayson County to perform services like landscaping, beach cleanup, trail maintenance, and more. Service opportunities like GreenServe blend community service with environmental initiatives, allowing participants to make a tangible impact while working alongside others who share their passion.
THINK volunteers assist first-year students with early move-in each August to give them a jumpstart on campus sustainability initiatives like recycling. First-year students receive information about recycling correctly in their new residence, as well as assistance with breaking down their moving boxes. For the last two years, THINK and Aramark have helped divert more than 1,500 lbs. of cardboard from local landfills.
Have a green idea? THINK can help with that too! Submit a proposal to the Student Sustainability Fund (SSF) to make real, lasting changes to the AC campus. More than 30 student proposals have been adopted since the SSF was created in 2011. Recent proposals have added a greenhouse and abundance of native plants to campus and funded the installation of multiple EV chargers. Past projects include water bottle refill stations in most campus buildings, green to-go boxes in the cafeteria, and retrofitted LED lighting in older buildings.
Interested in gardening or just want to learn more about native plants? The Adopt a Butterfly Bed program allows student groups to plan, design, and maintain their own garden beds on campus using native and perennial flowers and shrubs. Contact Dr. Mari Elise Ewing for more information.
More ways to get involved
Attending events hosted by the Center for Environmental Studies, such as our monthly Lunch Talks, can also be incredibly beneficial. These events feature alumni and other guest lecturers that offer valuable insight and networking opportunities to current students. Keep an eye out for these events to expand your knowledge and connect with like-minded individuals.
The Sneed Prairie Restoration is an experimental field site where AC students manage and monitor the restoration of 100 acres of Blackland Prairie. More than 1,100 students, faculty and staff have contributed to the project over the years. Selected AC students also act as guides for field trips around the prairie for local 4th and 5th grade students. As of 2023, more than 12,000 schoolchildren and their teachers have visited the site from more than 20 districts around Texoma.
JanTerm classes are offered at Sneed Prairie every other year. Students in the Prairie Restoration JanTerm help prepare the field site and receive training and equipment to perform controlled burns in certain experimental fields. The Sneed project earned the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality’s Environmental Excellence award in Education in 2020.
The Center for Environmental Studies also offers paid competitive summer internships with outstanding environmental organizations that each offer an opportunity to spend part of your summer with a small but nationally known entity that is a recognized leader in its field. Spend the summer in Michigan learning about land preservation at the Little Traverse Conservancy, at The Land Institute in Kansas studying sustainable agriculture, or head down south for a hands-on course in rangeland management from The East Foundation.
How green are we?
Austin College is a Princeton Review Green College. AC has been part of Second Nature’s Carbon Commitment since 2008, when former president Oscar Page signed the American College & University President’s Climate Commitment. The College subsequently cut its emissions in half by switching to 100% wind-powered electricity in 2015. AC’s current Climate Action Plan includes a goal of carbon neutrality by 2035.
Ready to get started? Contact Rebecca Jones to join our volunteer list and receive more information.
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