Greenhouse: UK’s new environment and sustainability residential college

Ever since I was a little girl, one of the things I have loved most is wading through streams. I love feeling the coolness of the water on my legs. I love watching the water as it flows around bends and over rocks. I love turning over those very same rocks to find out what lives underneath. I have been lucky enough to play and work in streams in Kentucky, the U.S., and the world.

With each stream I visit, I think of a quote by the fluvial geomorphologist Luna Leopold: “The health of our waters is the principal measure of how we live on the land.” Some streams I have visited were healthy and functioning well, while others were not.  Because of my love of streams and the environment, I decided to spend my career working on ways to improve the health and functioning of streams.  Luckily for me, while working at the University of Kentucky, I have been able to combine my love of streams and the environment with my love of teaching.

In the next few months, I will have the opportunity to continue working with students on environment and sustainability issues. Starting in the fall of 2014, the University of Kentucky will open the doors to a new living learning community focused on the environment and sustainability.  Located at Woodland Glen II, this new community called Greenhouse is open to freshman and sophomores of all majors with an interest in the environment and sustainability. Greenhouse is a partnership between the College of Agriculture, Food and Environment (CAFE) and the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S). Mary Arthur (Forestry), Shannon Bell (Sociology), and Alan Fryar (Earth and Environmental Sciences) and I are co-directors. 

Greenhouse is designed to foster the development of an environment- and sustainability-focused community on UK’s campus by helping students make connections with each other as well as faculty, staff and community professionals. The intent is that these campus community connections will lead to student-driven contributions that will improve the environment and advance sustainability on campus and beyond. In essence, these are the four C’s of Greenhouse: campus, community, connections and contributions.

Students in Greenhouse will enroll in a two-credit hour connected course (AS 100 Pathways and Barriers to Environmental Sustainability) in the fall and a one-credit hour course in the spring.  Co-curricular activities such as weekly coffee chats, tours and field trips, guest speakers, and movie nights are planned. You can find out more at http://greenhouse.as.uky.edu/.

While I think of a quote by Luna Leopold when I think of streams, I think of one by his father, the famous conservationist Aldo Leopold, when I think of Greenhouse: “We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect.” With Greenhouse, we want to build a community of engaged students who can improve the environment and sustainability at the University of Kentucky and beyond.

To apply for the Greenhouse Living and Learning Community, please visit  http://greenhouse.as.uky.edu! 

Carmen Agouridis, Ph.D., P.E.

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering