Michigan Sustainability Community: A New Era in Sustainable Education

The Michigan Sustainability Community offers hands-on learning in sustainability to 100+ undergraduates yearly.

November 11, 2024

Beginning next year, the University of Michigan will recruit over 100 undergraduate students annually for a new sustainable living and education program. The Sustainable Living Experience pilot is expanding into the Michigan Sustainability Community (MSC), offering first-year students unique educational opportunities in sustainability. This initiative combines required courses, hands-on activities, and social events to enhance students’ knowledge of sustainable practices. Open to all students across the university, it serves as an entry point into the diverse sustainability opportunities available on campus.

The expanded program’s first cohort will start in the fall of 2025, residing at Oxford Houses on Central Campus, which is also home to a student-run sustainable mushroom farm. Supported by the Office of the Provost and the Office of the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, the MSC aims to create learning communities that align with the university’s vision for life-changing education and sustainability.

A photo of several people with buckets at a mushroom farm — Students build mushroom buckets at the student run sustainable mushroom farm by layering wet pasteurized wheat straw with grain spawn The farm is at Oxford Houses which also will host the new Michigan Sustainable Community Photo courtesy of Business Finance

Provost Laurie McCauley highlighted the MSC as a testament to the university’s commitment to Vision 2034, integrating education with climate action and environmental justice. The program pushes educational boundaries by blending classroom learning with real-world experiences. A core course, Campus as a Sustainability Lab, engages students in collaborative projects, such as scaling vermicompost operations to manage dining hall waste.

A photo of four students planting trees — Students work on a campus tree lifecycle project in Nichols Arboretum planting trees to replace those damaged by storms and which were sawn into lumber for class projects Photo courtesy of Business Finance

The initiative is a collaborative effort involving Student Life, Housing, the Provost’s Office, and the Office of the EVPCFO, along with LSA, the School for Environment and Sustainability, and the Program in the Environment. Martino Harmon, vice president for student life, emphasized the MSC’s transformative potential, stating that it allows students to thrive in a sustainability laboratory. The mushroom farm at Oxford Houses supports the dining hall, where students learn about sustainable food practices, advocating for mushrooms as an eco-friendly meat alternative.

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