Sustainability at the University of Maryland

Sustainability Internships, Volunteer Opportunities and More!

The green industry is one of the fastest growing sectors of the US economy with many exciting career opportunities for college graduates. Get your foot in the "green jobs" door by working on sustainability initiatives at the University of Maryland, which is recognized as a national leader in campus sustainability.

Internships

Dining Services Internships

  • Green Dining Communications Intern
  • Green Dining Peer Education Intern
  • Green Dining Program Support Intern: Rooftop Gardens

PAID - Recycling Internship

TapRoots Agricultural Education Internship

TapRoots is an education program that places a specific emphasis on hands on learning to enhance middle school science curriculum. Since December 2010 TapRoots has invested time and resources to investigate techniques on how to interweave an agricultural educational with Maryland public schools. TapRoots officials have determined the appropriate pedagogy for Maryland schools and will be launching the revised curriculum in January 2012 at Greenbelt Middle School.

 

Volunteer Opportunities

Dining Hall Compost Pilot Volunteers

  • Who: Five volunteers are needed per shift at the North Campus Diner and the South Campus Dining Room to educate students about reduction in deposable use (i.e. using trays, flatware, glasses, dishes, etc.) and where to place their waste at the end of their meal.
  • What: 1-2 volunteers to educate students about taking non-disposable items when entering the dining rooms, 1-2 volunteers to support separation stations, and 1-2 volunteers to guide students to the tray return belts at the end of their meal (instead of walking outside to dispose of waste)
  • Where: North Campus Diner and South Campus Dining Room
  • When:
    • South Campus Dining Room
      • Monday-Friday 11-1 pm
      • Monday-Friday 5-7 pm
    • North Campus Diner
      • Monday-Friday 5-7 pm

      Contact Allison Lilly at alilly@umd.edu or 301 314 1016 (office) if you are interested in participating.

EPA OnCampus ecoAmbassadors

Are you interested in the environment? Do you want to get more involved with the EPA and sustainability efforts on your campus? Be an EPA OnCampus ecoAmbassador!

Students can choose from a variety of events and projects, all of which are based on projects from EPA program offices and utilize EPA resources to help students plan their environmental activities. Past ecoAmbassadors have improved recycling efforts, organized Earth Day celebrations, initiated composting programs and certified campus buildings as Energy Star compliant. To get involved, students select an activity and a professor or administrator as their school sponsor, register their project or activity online, then organize their event and report their results.

In particular, students benefit by greening their campuses and developing valuable leadership and project management skills. The most active ecoAmbassadors will have the opportunity to interact with EPA employees at the Regional offices, Headquarters, and lab facilities.

Registration begins on September 1st and any individual or student organization can participate. Students must register their events on our website.

 

Competitions

9th Annual EPA P3 Awards: A National Student Design Competition for Sustainability Focusing on People, Prosperity and the Planet

As part of P3 - People, Prosperity and the Planet Award Program, is seeking applications proposing to research, develop, and design solutions to real world challenges involving the overall sustainability of human society. The P3 competition highlights the use of scientific principles in creating innovative projects focused on sustainability. Click here for more information.

  • Solicitation Opening Date: September 29, 2011
  • Solicitation Closing Date: December 22, 2011, 11:59:59pm Eastern Time

Jansson Prize for Environmental Writing

The 2ND annual Jansson Prize for Environmental Writing invites writers of all ages to compete for the $500 first prize. The challenge for the 2011 competition is to compose an essay describing what actions you would take to restore the health of the Chesapeake Bay if you were a King or a Queen. Click here for more details.

Odebrecht Award for Sustainable Development

Engage in a challenging exercise to develop solutoins that promote progress by writing and submitting a paper on contributions to sustainability. We believe that engineering is a powerful force for positive change; therefore we intend to use winning entries as a platform to implement sustainable business practices. Entries should explore innovative methods and ideas that can be implemented on a variety of real-world ventures. Click here for more.

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