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While a Sustainability Studies major will give you all the experience you need to build a skill set and passion, opportunities for further participation are available through the Office of Sustainability! With paid employment and supervision under the Sustainability Coordinator, student workers have the flexibility to design and implement sustainability projects around campus. Past projects include the development of a sustainability newsletter, establishing rain barrels on campus, conducting a tree inventory for campus, and investigating a Green Cleaning Plan to eliminate harmful chemicals in our housekeeping practices. Pictured here, student worker Morgan proudly shows the potato she helped dig from the garden!

At Â鶹´«Ã½Ó¦ÓÃ, sustainability does not only happen in the classroom. Our campus is home to three sustainability-themed clubs, with a wide range of opportunities for engagement and leadership! Our Sustainability Club focuses on gathering like-minded students with eco-friendly art projects, tomato canning, jelly making, and preparing a garden-fresh dinner party for employees. The Ethical Purchasing Club focuses on economic sustainability, delving into campus purchasing, introducing ethically sourced merchandise in our Bookstore, and hosting a local farmers market. Citizen’s Climate Lobby is our politically active club, advocating for green policies, traveling to Washington D.C. to lobby for fresh water, and participating in protests downtown.

Students in Sustainability Studies have traveled to conferences across the region! Prioritizing relevant information and professional development opportunities, students will have the opportunity to engage with sustainability professionals and learn from the experts. Previous conference opportunities include the PASA Sustainable Agriculture Conference, the Ignatian Justice Summit, and the Green Building Alliance’s 2030 District Progress Luncheon. These events help students network, find internships, and get a better understanding of their desired field of work.

At Â鶹´«Ã½Ó¦ÓÃ, we are proud to welcome distinguished and thought-provoking guest lecturers. In February 2025, Dr. Jon Erickson visited from the University of Vermont to promote a critical aspect of holistic sustainability: ecological economics. His talk reminded us that our futures rely on responsible economic growth. Therefore, we encourage business students to double major in Sustainability Studies, combining their passion for innovation with a responsibility to society and the natural world.

As part of our commitment to counter food insecurity at the City of Erie, Â鶹´«Ã½Ó¦Óà organizes the Tower Garden Lending Program, pictured here at Diehl Elementary School. These vertical aeroponic grow towers allow for the growth of leafy greens, small flowering fruits, and flowers indoors throughout all seasons. Pictured here, former VISTA Amber Marshall harvests lettuce for a 5th-grade lunch!

Our most recent addition to the campus’s green infrastructure is our rooftop greenhouse, proudly opened to the public in November 2023. This greenhouse will serve as a conservatory for interesting plants, a growing space for year-round vegetables, a research opportunity for classes, student projects, and a workplace for gardening and potting in preparation for the growing season. Featuring such plants as a Venus fly trap, a rubber tree, a living stone, and a banana tree, the greenhouse is a beautiful oasis during the chilly winter months. Ìý

Urban forestry is a priority on campus and in the City of Erie. Trees provide manyÌýbenefits, such as shade, food, water retention, and wildlife habitat. Â鶹´«Ã½Ó¦ÓÃ’s Tiny Forest, pictured here, isÌýthe eighthÌýsuch planting in the countryÌýand is host to almost 600 native trees within the space of a tennis court!ÌýOur commitment to trees is further highlighted by the over 100 trees planted in October 2025 to increase our own campus biodiversity and canopy, as well as theÌýformationÌýof a Landscaping Committee to help regulate treeÌýmaintenanceÌýand replacement.

Â鶹´«Ã½Ó¦ÓÃ's sustainability commitment goes beyond our gates and into the City of Erie. With partnerships formed throughout the city, a Â鶹´«Ã½Ó¦Óà education gives opportunities for innovative collaborations with businesses, nonprofits, local school districts, and neighborhoods. Pictured here, Sustainability Coordinator Molly Tarvin and Coordinator of Service and Justice Deonte Cooley serve Â鶹´«Ã½Ó¦ÓÃ-grown salads at United Way’s National Night Out, complete with lettuce, kohlrabi, parsley, kale, and chives!