• STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS •
“Undergraduate Student Government is the voice and governing body of the undergraduate student population at Ohio State, dedicated to the betterment of higher education and student life. USG strives to be accessible to undergraduate students while being attentive to and a voice for undergraduate concerns.”
“USG’s Sustainability Committee strives to improve our environmental ethic as a campus and to enhance students’ understanding of important issues such as climate change, waste reduction, and habitat loss. Our committee is not only driven by people that have an extensive environmental background, but also by people who truly want to learn about how they can help the planet. This committee operates under the philosophy that what someone wants to accomplish, we will work on. All ideas are accepted and promoted.”
Email: usg@osu.edu
Twitter: @usgosu
Facebook: @usg_osu
“Students for Recycling is a student-run organization dedicated to furthering recycling on the Ohio State campus and in the Columbus area, educating the student body on the importance of recycling, and bringing students who love to recycle together. In addition to our general body meetings, we run several programs throughout the year and we are always open to new ideas and new people. Stop in for one of our meetings or get in touch with one of our members if you would like to get involved and help make Ohio State a greener place!”
Email: osusfr@gmail.com
Twitter/Instagram: @osusfr
“Best Food Forward was created at The Ohio State University with the goal of enriching lives through increasing accessibility of healthy produce. To meet this goal, we built the area’s first food bulk-buying club, where members pre-order massive amounts of produce and spread it out amongst each other. This results in an average of 50% savings compared to a normal grocery store, and promotes community involvement.
We’re working to expand our impact beyond Ohio State in order to enrich communities nationally by providing them access to healthy, inexpensive produce.”
Email: bestfoodforward@osu.edu
Twitter: @bff_osu
Instagram: @bestfoodforward_osu
“Food Recovery Network is a national nonprofit that unites students at colleges and universities to fight food waste and hunger by recovering perishable food that would otherwise go to waste from their campus dining halls and donating it to those in need. Our goal is to change the norm from food waste to food recovery in the United States.”
Email: kirby.209@osu.edu
(National Organization) Twitter: @FoodRecovery
(National Organization) Instagram: @foodrecovery
(Ohio State Chapter) Instagram: @frn_osu
“The Ohio State Undergraduate Chapter explores the intersection between business and sustainability. Our members gain professional experience by working on real-world sustainability projects and create connections with the leaders of sustainability through a variety of events. Our chapter is committed to making a real and significant impact on campus and in the greater Columbus Community.”
Email: nisc.osu@gmail.edu
(National Organization) Twitter/Instagram: @netimpact
(Ohio State’s Chapter) Twitter/Instagram: @NetImpactOSU
“The Students Understanding Sustainability and Taking Action to Improve Nature and Society (SUSTAINS) Learning Community focuses on helping students explore and engage with sustainability topics and human interaction with environmental problems. Through discussion, service and hands-on learning, students who are members of this community will learn about best practices for sustainable living and have opportunities to explore how sustainability relates to their lives and the lives of others.”
Email: griffin.603@osu.edu
Twitter: @SUSTAINS_LC
Instagram: @sustains_lc
“It’s a common idea that pervades American culture: when you’re in college, it’s simply a rite of passage to sustain yourself on cheap, unhealthy food.
We disagree.
In 2014, a research group at Ohio State conducted a survey that determined 15 percent of undergraduate students—approximately 7,000—suffer from the effects of very low food security. This means that, on a frequent basis, these Buckeyes are unable to afford enough food to adequately feed themselves.
Not only were these students being forced to sustain themselves on a diet of things like Ramen noodles and hot dogs, but even with eating cheap, unhealthy food many still couldn’t afford to adequately feed themselves. With continually ballooning costs of tuition, school supplies, housing, and other expenses, paying for food becomes a luxury to some students—rather than the necessity that it should be.
While the university does its part to ensure students who live on campus have a meal plan, some of those students acknowledged several of their peers lacked reliable access to affordable, nutritious food.
After searching for a convenient, safe, and comfortable space for students that offered the room necessary to accommodate large amounts of inventory, the university generously donated a space in Lincoln Tower. After months of renovations and collecting food, Buckeye Food Alliance opened its doors on March 30, 2016.”
Locations:
Lincoln Tower, Suite 150
1800 Cannon Drive, Columbus, OH, 43210
(614) 688-2508
St Stephen’s
30 W Woodruff Ave, Columbus, OH 43210
Email: info@buckeyefoodalliance.org
Twitter: @BFATweets
Instagram: @buckeyefoodalliance
“Buckeye Precious Plastic is a creative solution to plastic pollution. We are building and using machines to shred and mold plastic waste into usable, new products and educating the Ohio State and Columbus community about plastic pollution”
Global Website: PreciousPlastic.com
Email: BuckeyePreciousPlastic@gmail.com
Instagram/Facebook: @buckeyepreciousplastic
“The Zero Waste Syndicate is a reaction to the unnecessary amount of single-use plastic and general waste created on campus. This organization goes beyond a general sustainability club, as it focuses on the effect of individuals making low-waste lifestyle choices and the collective impact of focusing not just on recycling, but instead on never creating waste in the first place. The organization’s purpose is to educate students and provide them with the tools, physical and conceptual, to make low-waste choices everyday.”
Email: zerowastesyndicate@gmail.com
Twitter/Facebook: @thezerowastesyndicate
“Smart Campus is a student-driven, multidisciplinary organization that develops innovative solutions through collaborative efforts and project-based teams to improve the Ohio State community. A smart campus leverages data analytics and technological advances to improve campus life through enhanced university services. Our organization engages in internal campus projects, uses campus as a test bed for industry sponsored projects, and collaborates with the Smart Columbus initiative through the blending of students from diverse academic backgrounds.”
Email: smartcampusosu@gmail.com
Twitter/Facebook: @SmartCampusOH
“TerrAqua is an affiliated student organization of the Water Management Association of Ohio at The Ohio State University. We are aligned with the School of Environment and Natural Resources, enrolling our members in activities related to water quality. Please use this site to find information regarding common activities, upcoming events, membership, or contact information.
Every year TerrAqua participates in CLAM Training and Sampling. CLAM, or Citizen Lake Awareness and Monitoring, is a type of data collection used to improve water quality in various Ohio lakes and watersheds. Collecting CLAM data consists of using a secchi disk, a thermometer, and a color strip to analyze different water characteristics. CLAM Sampling is held at Hidden Lake every two weeks between the months of April and October.
TerrAqua also participates in Macroinvertebrate Sampling at the Park of Roses each year. Like CLAM Sampling, biological indicators are used to analyze water quality in nearby rivers, lakes, and streams as well. Becoming a certified data collector is very useful for many science-related fields and looks great on a resume!
In the past, TerrAqua has toured a Coral Reef Farm, the Mollusk Department of the Museum of Biological Diversity, and behind the scenes at the Columbus Zoo. We strive to put on fun events throughout the year while gaining professional experience and skills necessary for your time at Ohio State and beyond!”
Email: terraquaosu@gmail.com
“The Sierra Student Coalition works to bring the mission of the Sierra Club, “Explore, Enjoy, and Protect the Planet,” to our campus. To achieve this goal, we explore today’s environmental questions through educational events, enjoy the natural world through outings, and pursue protection of our planet through service and environmental advocacy. This organization aims to appeal to environmentally concerned students who are passionate about any or all of our four components, education, Outings, Service, and Advocacy.”
Email: sierraclubosu@gmail.com
Twitter: @SierraClubOSU
Instagram: @sierraclubosu
“Buckeye Blackout is an initiative that raises awareness about sustainability and encourages sustainable living throughout the year. Through hosting an annual concert, Buckeye Blackout rallies students to drastically reduce their energy consumption for the night and to be mindful of their energy use going forward.”
Email: buckeyeblackout@gmail.com
Twitter: @BlackoutOSU
Instagram: @buckeyeblackout
“Buckeye Current is the electric motorcycle racing team at OSU. The team builds two-wheeled electric racing vehicles for professional competition at national and international events. Our vision is to enhance the development of electric vehicle technology and allow our students to be a part of a professional racing team.”
Email: buckeye.current.osu@gmail.com
Instagram/Facebook: @buckeyecurrent
Engineers for a Sustainable World are “a project based club looking to improve devices of today using sustainable engineering principles and practices.” Who strive to have “a world in which engineering fosters environmental, social, and economic sustainability to improve both the quality of life and the condition of our planet.”
Email: esw@gmail.com
Twitter: @eswhq
“Engineers without Borders at Ohio State is a student organization that focuses on creating sustainable solutions using engineering disciplines. As an organization, we partner with a community for a target 5 years to fully understand the needs of the community. We are currently in the final stages of implementing an irrigation system with the community of Njau in The Gambia. Our organization also holds a sector called Local Projects that focuses on developing similar solutions for the community of Columbus. Despite the name, our organization is open to all students, engineering or not. We are open to ALL interested students!!”
Email: ewb.ohiostate@gmail.com
Twitter: @EWB_OSU
Instagram: @ewb_ohiostate
Email: thefacicompany@gmail.com
Instagram: @thefacicompany
“Ecosia is the search engine that plants trees. It works just like Google or Bing, but unlike those other search engines, Ecosia donates 80% of its profits to tree planting organizations around the world! We’re working to adopt Ecosia as THE official search engine of The Ohio State University by setting Ecosia as the default search engine on desktop computers across campus. We’re also encouraging community members (students, staff, & alumni) to start using Ecosia on their personal laptops and phones.
Thanks to funding from the Ohio State Energy Partners’ Smart Campus Challenge, Ecosia at OSU joined the Ecosia On Campus movement. We became the first US university to widely adopt Ecosia, and in classic OSU tradition, we also became the largest student campaign in the world. Due to users like you, OSU’s community will plant 100,000 trees in the next year!
#EcosiaAtOSU
Email: ecosiaatosu@outlook.com
Facebook: @EcosiaAtOSU
Instagram/Twitter: @ecosia
Ohio State Instagram:@ecosia_at_osu
“Our mission is to enhance ecosystem functioning within the central Ohio landscape by promoting the return of ecosystems to a more natural state (e.g., restoring habitat). We aim to accomplish this through conducting on-the-ground restoration work and sharing and disseminating knowledge regarding ecological restoration among members of the OSU and broader Columbus communities. We organize and participate in restoration-related professional development and service-learning activities, such as restoration project management (including hands-on native plantings and invasive plant removals), research, and workshops. SER@OSU membership is open to anyone in the OSU community, including graduate and undergraduate students.”
Email: ecological.restoration.osu@gmail.com
Instagram:@osu.ser
“GIVE’s mission is to inspire growth, empower global citizens, and ignite sustainable change worldwide. Ohio State GIVE is one chapter of many in place to uphold this mission all over the country. We raise funds to support volunteers and our overseas projects, support volunteers before and after their trips, and do service projects in the Columbus area.”
Email: give.backosu@gmail.com
National Instagram/Twitter:@GIVEvolunteers
Ohio State Instagram/Twitter:@GIVE_OSU
“Habitat for Humanity Campus Chapter at The Ohio State University works to reduce substandard housing by connecting OSU students to opportunities to raise funds, serve their community, and form friendships that support collective acts of altruism.”
Email: habitatOSU@osu.edu
Global Twitter:@Habitat_org
Global Instagram: @habitatforhumanity
Ohio State Instagram:@h4h_osu
“We are a campaign on campus called “Take Back the Tap.” We are fighting against the privatization of water and the environmental damage that results from single-use plastic water bottles. A huge step towards this is banning the sale of single-use water bottles on OSU’s campus.
We do tabling events throughout the semester to promote this movement! We are also excited to introduce other events next academic year that will help educate students and improve their access to reusable water bottles. We are a small group so it is perfect for anyone hoping to make a big impact!”
Petition: go.osu.edu/tbtt
Email: palsa.3@osu.edu
Instagram:@OSUTBTT
“The Society of Environmental Engineers is a professional organization committed to bringing together students with a common interest in environmental engineering, providing them with networking opportunities and career advice, and opportunities to engage in the community while serving the environment. It is an umbrella organization that houses three former student organizations, the American Academy of Environmental Engineers, the Water Environment Federation, as well as the American Water Works Association.”
Email: killian.39@osu.edu
Additional resources to explore ↓