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The 2026 Teaching Sustainability Initiative (TSI) is now accepting applications and instructors from all disciplines are encouraged to apply. Those accepted into the program will earn a stipend for their participation.

The program, hosted by Planning, Sustainability and Project Management (PSPM) and the Chancellor's Committee on Sustainability and Energy (CCSE) Education and Research Subcommittee, aims to expand UIC’s sustainability course offerings. Fellows will attend a first workshop in May 2026 to learn about sustainability concepts and receive instruction on how to incorporate sustainability learning outcomes into their courses. The Fellows will then spend the summer planning and testing new course materials in the fall, reporting back at a final December 2026 workshop.

If you have questions or need more information about the program, please email Heather O'Leary at heather@uic.edu.

Submit your TSI application before December 12, 2025. 

 

Rooted in place, yet oriented toward planetary concerns, Anthropocene Consequences is a four-day event that brings a wide range of disciplines and practices into dialogue, linking local urgencies to global entanglements. By creating common tools, insights and imaginaries, participants will explore how learning can become a form of action and how new pedagogies can open paths through the complexities of this epoch.

A collective experiment in ecological science, environmental justice, artistic activism and organizing under increasingly chaotic conditions, the event will be held at UIC and two other locations October 22-26. It will focus on Chicago, the Great Lakes and the Mississippi Watershed.

For more information, the full schedule of events and to register, visit the Anthropocene Consequences website.

Most people care about the climate crisis, but many get stuck in overwhelm or burnout and lack pathways from concern to meaningful contribution. Climate Wayfinding changes that and empowers students to take action.

Climate Wayfinding is an immersive learning program for students seeking clarity, courage, and community on their climate journeys. Educators across North America, including the UIC Department of Psychology's Dr. Julia Kim-Cohen, have trained to facilitate Climate Wayfinding on their college campuses. More information is available on the Climate Wayfinding website.

The 12-hour weekend workshop is being offered to graduate and advanced undergraduate students in any major or discipline and is supported by the Sustainability Fund. 

The workshop is free, but space is limited to a maximum of 24 participants. If interested, complete and submit the Climate Wayfinding interest form by 5 p.m. on Friday, October 24.

The mission of the Chicago Student Cycling Club (CSCC) is to build a thriving, connected community at UIC through cycling.

The group will host workshops, sustainability initiatives and weekly group rides on Sundays. Visit the club's GroupMe to get involved and obtain information about fun rides and other cycling activities.

Thank you to everyone who participated in PSPM’s Campus Electronic Recycling Collection (CERC) events on September 10 and 17. 

Items collected from the two CERC events are being stored in the UIC warehouse and when there is enough electronic material to fill a truck, it will be picked up by UIC’s e-recycling vendor.

City riding can be tough on bikes and challenge cyclists' repair abilities. On Wednesday, September 17, 20 UIC cyclists got together at the Engineering Makerspace to learn how to fix flat tires.

The workshop was hosted by PSPM, West Town Bikes, a not-for-profit organization that offers bicycle mechanic classes, workshops and special events to community members, and the Sustainability Fund.

Subscribe to UIC's cycling listserv to learn about cycling events and receive updates on topics of interest for UIC cyclists.

UIC offers many eco-friendly ways to get to and around campus. These include walking and the options below:

• Divvy bike-share
• UIC shuttle buses
• Night Ride 
• UI Ride intercampus shuttle
• Student U-Pass + transit passes

Faculty and staff who wish to commute via public transit or already do so can enroll in the university's Commuter Benefit Program, which provides pre-tax savings for qualified mass transit expenses through the convenience of payroll deduction. Unfortunately, student employees are not eligible for this benefit.

Each transportation option above supports a sustainable campus while also connecting users to everything Chicago has to offer. Visit the UIC Transportation website to learn more. 

If you missed last month's UIC today article which highlighted ways you can help the university reduce waste, here's more information about what you can do to support its climate commitment to become a Zero Waste university. 

UIC provides indoor recycling bins across campus for paper, cardboard, metal, glass and some plastic materials. Additional specialized recycling stations are available in certain buildings for laboratory plastics, batteries, pens, markers, plastic bags, and ink and toner cartridges.

While recycling is important to reducing landfill waste, the university encourages students, faculty and staff to consider “reduce” and “reuse” as even more effective ways to be sustainable. For example, minimize the purchase of single-use items and opt for reusable items instead. This saves resources and energy while reducing the amount of waste sent to landfills.

For more information about recyclable materials and campus collection locations, visit the recyclable materials web page.

On Thursday, October 2, volunteers spent time at UIC’s Little Prairie on the Campus, located behind the Center for Structural Biology, 1100 S. Ashland. They were there to participate in a native planting stewardship day with PSPM biodiversity intern Ava Leith and Agricultural Garden Foreman Elise RoBison from the UIC plant research laboratory greenhouse. 

RoBison generously donated young native plants that she raised from seeds harvested from the UIC James Woodworth Prairie, a 5-acre remnant prairie in Glenview. The natives that were planted during the stewardship day included columbine, cultivar echinacea, rattlesnake master, obedient, yellow cone flower and mountain mint. UIC students, faculty, and staff are invited to visit the pocket prairie to see the young plants and return often to observe how the prairie changes from season to season, providing a healthy habitat for local pollinators.  

If you are interested in learning about future sustainability volunteer opportunities, sign up to become an EcoVolunteer.

If you’re looking for more ways to learn about and support native plants, Illinois Extension has an upcoming webinar, Native Plants A-Z, on November 12 from 6 - 7:30 p.m. 

UIC’s Rights of Way as a Habitat Working Group is working to support pollinators and other wildlife as well as create healthier ecosystems along rights-of-way, a term used to describe the lands immediately adjacent to, under or above energy and transportation infrastructure.

The group was recently featured in a UIC today article, The big impact of UIC’s effort to protect the smallest of creatures. It explores the drastic decline in the eastern monarch and provides details about the Monarch Candidate Conservation Agreement with Assurances and UIC’s partners in that effort.

In 2024, Illinois passed HB 4895, which went into effect on July 1 and directs public schools to teach climate change by 2026 - 2027. An organization called SubjectToClimate created the Illinois Climate Education Hub to connect the state's K-12 educators with lessons, activities and professional development opportunities that are developed by teachers.

The resources are all locally relevant and vetted by scientists. Get a sneak peek at the site and discover how you can integrate climate education into any subject or grade level and empower students to take climate action. 

Connect with us via Instagram, Facebook and YouTube to stay updated about sustainability-related events, news, jobs and involvement opportunities.

Become an EcoVolunteer
EcoVolunteers help eventgoers properly sort waste, set up and run annual events like the Great Stuff Exchange, talk about UIC’s sustainable initiatives and spread the good word at campus events. EcoVolunteers also help plant trees and native plants on campus.

More information can be found on the EcoVolunteer web page

Join EcoReps
EcoReps act as liaisons between their unit/department and Planning, Sustainability and Project Management. Group members attend webinars throughout the year to learn about sustainability issues and how to make their office space and culture more sustainable. They also share information with their organizations about upcoming sustainability events such as the Great Stuff Exchange, Campus Electronic Recycling Events and Earth Day.

You can find out more on the EcoReps web page.

The Chancellor's Committee on Sustainability and Energy (CCSE) focuses on implementing CCAP 2024 and achieving the UIC Climate Commitments.

Join a subcommittee!