When the Student Sustainability Council first began brainstorming ideas on how to spend our newly created Environmental Stewardship Fee, we knew we wanted to encourage students to enact environmental, social and economical changes around campus.
The Sustainability Lecture Series had already started, and although we place great value on bringing knowledgeable individuals to campus to share their experiences and guidance, we also wanted to foster an environment in which students could make real change on campus.
To realize this objective, we decided to create a student internship, but we didn’t know exactly what facet of sustainability to target first.
We had learned of the new Water Quality Management Fee that the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government would be implementing in 2010 due to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Consent Decree, and we t
hought it would be great if our first project would not only help raise awareness about Lexington’s stormwater problems, but would save the university money as well.
We immediately put out a call for stormwater management interns and received nearly 15 applications 
from a diverse group of students.
After a long deliberation process and a few false starts, the SSC chose Stephanie Hopkins, a biology and anthropology senior, to work to reduce the university’s water quality impact while informing the UK community about the stormwater issues the Lexington area faces.
Hopkins has been working hard to effect real change at UK. After over a semester of researching management methods, tracking UK’s stormwater footprint, and negotiating with grounds and facilities, the groundwork has been laid for a rain barrel demonstration area, complete with seven barrels, an informational display area, and a community garden in place to use the water diverted from the storm sewer by the rain barrels.
Hopkins is also finishing a stormwater management plan for the university that could be used in the future to implement other stormwater solutions, including rain gardens and pervious pavement.
The unveiling of Hopkins’s rain barrel demonstration project will take place in early April as part of “Earthdays in the Bluegrass,” so please stay tuned for more information about that exciting event.
Because we believe our energy use and source is the university’s most pressing issue, the SSC has also hired James Calitri as our renewable and alternative energy intern.
Calitri will be working to install a solar water heater demonstration project and will also be compiling an energy plan for the university that could be referenced for future projects.
Both of our internships give students the chance to take groundbreaking steps toward proving that sustainable solutions to problems such as urban flooding and burning coal for energy really do exist at UK.
In addition to our current internship offerings, the SSC also envisions a process in which rolling applications are considered for student project grants that would encourage students from any department on campus to develop solutions to problems that they feel exist at UK.
This type of system would allow more students to have a real impact on campus in a variety of ways.
This structure is not officially in place yet, but with a possible increase in funding ahead and a growing awareness of our presence around campus, we encourage the submittal of all ideas for future projects and any other comments to us at ukysustain@gmail.com.
Sarah Wightman is a natural resource conservation and management senior. E-mail opinions@kykernel.com.
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