Applications for UK Sustainability Challenge Grant Program now being accepted
The Sustainability Challenge Grant Program is designed to engage transdisciplinary teams from the university community to foster scholarly, creative and research projects that promote sustainability and advance fields of study. Sustainability, in this context, is intended to convey the need to seek a balance between environmental, social and economic impacts.
Applications for the University of Kentucky Sustainability Challenge Grant Program are being accepted now through Sept. 12. Total project funds available are expected to be $130,000 with individual projects eligible to receive up to $50,000. Application materials can be found at sustainability.uky.edu/sustainability-grants/sustainability-challenge-grants.
This year's proposals are encouraged to align with one or more of the five guiding principles outlined in the application AND support the UK PURPOSE strategic plan.
“Over the past decade, this program has been a powerful catalyst for bringing together faculty, staff and students from multiple disciplines to focus on the exciting and important work of understanding the interplay between environmental, social and economic systems,” said Shane Tedder, director of facilities services and sustainability in Facilities Management, and co-coordinator for the program.
Since the program’s inception 10 years ago, 66 projects have been awarded a total of $1.95 million to pursue a wide range of sustainability-driven projects on campus and beyond. Learn more about these projects.
The 2024 Sustainability Challenge Grant recipients were:
- Art Walk in a Prairie Grassland
- Campus Woods Utilization 3.0
- Can Urban Reforestation Contribute to Climate Mitigation? Exploring the effects of urban forest establishment on soil ecosystem structure and functions
- Moving Polymer Clay Towards a Greener Art Material
- Sustainable Color for Kentucky's Future
The program is a collaborative effort of the Tracy Farmer Institute for Sustainability and the Environment and the Office of Sustainability in Facilities Management.
Funding for the program is provided by the Executive Vice President for Finance and Administration, the Vice President for Research, the Office of the Provost, the Tracy Farmer Institute for Sustainability and the Environment, and the Student Sustainability Council.
For more information visit https://sustainability.uky.edu/sustainability-grants/sustainability-challenge-grants.
