Sustainability fund offers support for student projects

Applications for projects are due Nov. 12.

By Travis Cornejo

Published Oct. 30, 2009

The Office of Sustainability held an informational session Tuesday night to discuss the student sustainable initiative fund application process.

According to the application, the fund's purpose is to provide funding for student-oriented projects at MU. Approximately $12,000 is available for this year.

Lauren Hasler, Missouri Students Association Sustainability Committee chairwoman, said there is no minimum amount students need to ask for and the question of only partially funding projects has not been addressed.

Hasler said the student sustainable initiative fund is funded through the MU student sustainability fee that was passed in February 2009.

Student Sustainability Coordinator Ben Datema said the idea for the fee came from discussion with MSA last year.

"We've seen it at different campuses," Datema said about student sustainability fees. "I didn't think it would work here for some reason."

Datema said it did work out and that the inspiration for the student sustainable initiative fund came from a desire to directly give some of the money from the sustainability fee back to the students.

"We do want to always be conscious of the fact that these are student fees and we want to spend them well," Datema said.

For the fall semester, written proposals are due by 5 p.m. Nov. 12 to Hasler.

Hasler said it is not a difficult or long process. Applicants will then be expected to give a 10-minute oral pitch to go into further detail about their proposals. Committee members will have the opportunity to ask questions at this time.

Hasler said the next application deadline would be sometime next semester.

A nine-person committee will oversee applications. Applicants will be notified of approval of funding by Nov. 20.

Hasler said the committee was actually created in the spring semester 2008 under the Department of Student Services.

"It's nice because it's the first umbrella organization for all of the environmental organizations on campus," Halser said.

A final analysis will be due two weeks following the completion of any project that receives funding. The final analyses will include documentation of expenses.

Datema said it has been tougher than he expected to get word out about the student sustainable initiative fund and he hopes there will be a lot of applicants this year.

"It could be anything and everything," Sustain Mizzou Student Adviser Pat Margherio said about possible projects. "We have a lot of great groups doing a lot of great stuff."

Hasler said because this is the first year of the student sustainable initiative fund, they do not know how many proposals will be submitted.

Datema said doing something new such as this is always an interesting process that involves many unexpected problems.

"The main goal for everything that we're doing is to get the word out about the office and what sustainability means," Datema said.

Senior Jonathan Klamm and sophomore Megan Nordhues, members of Weatherization Mizzou, a student group that aims to make MU and Columbia more energy efficient, both attended the informational session.

They discussed a possible project idea for a fluorescent light bulb drive to help lower energy consumption among low-income families and students living in East Campus.