Sustainability Center opens on campus

Sustainability Center hires Work Study students like Roderick Martin, Evan Fleck and Brie Small. Courtney Prielipp | Washtenaw Voice

Alice McGuire

Staff Writer

The Center for Sustainability and Resilience is new on campus, though many of the faces behind it are familiar. 

Building on collaboration

Emily Thompson, who is the faculty lead for the center as well as the adviser for the Students for Sustainability club, and William “Bill” Ghrist, who is the Director of Energy, Sustainability, & Facilities Planning, have envisioned this collaborative effort for the better part of a decade. 

“I see a lot of issues around me in the world and in my own backyard that concern me as far as the environment–pollution coming from our power plants, chemical pollution from the various different ways in which we pollute the waterways and air spaces,” Ghrist said when asked about what motivated him to devote his time to sustainability efforts. “I want to do everything I can.”

Brie Small, who is a work study student employed by the center, described the collaboration by saying the center’s sustainability efforts are a blend of focusing on campus facilities and developing education and coursework. 

The center works closely with existing groups on campus such as the Sustainability Literacy Task Force and the Students for Sustainability Club and brings initiatives such as Bee Campus USA, Tree Campus USA, and Bike-Friendly Campus USA together. 

Some of the center’s current projects include a Lights Out! Campaign, which aims to prevent migrating birds from crashing into windows at night as well as marking an ADA accessible trail to enable members of the campus community to be mindful of how many steps they’re getting in. 

Emily Thompson is the faculty lead for the Sustainability Center as well as the Students for Sustainability club. Courtney Prielipp | Washtenaw Voice

How the sustainability center came to be

After traveling to different colleges and universities and seeing their sustainability offices, Thompson was inspired to open one at WCC. One of the goals of the center is to employ students in the environmental sciences program. 

“I want to give my students the experience that I had. I had some tremendous opportunities, so I try to make extra-curricular opportunities for students like the ones that I had. I feel it’s my obligation to give back,” she said.  

Work study students involved with the program, such as Evan Fleck, expressed similar sentiments of wanting to give back to their community. 

“I want to leave the world a better place than I found it,” said Fleck, who described his current work with the center as largely entailing research and building the center’s foundation. 

Roderick Martin, who is president of the Motion Picture Society Film Club, became involved in the center after seeing flyers and finding that his skillset proved valuable. Martin said he hopes to combine his interest in sustainability and digital video production together in the future. 

“I wanna come up with a story concept–whether it’s a documentary or fiction–I want to combine the two [sustainability and digital video production] together,” he said.

The work ‘you don’t notice’

When asked about what invisible ways in which these various organizations have contributed to the everyday experience of the average WCC student, Thompson and Ghrist both thought back to the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“We did everything in our power to make a safe place for people to come to work and school,” said Ghrist, adding: “There’s a saying–you don’t notice what you don’t notice.”

Sustainability on campus is a joint effort, Thompson said. 

“I think what is invisible is the heart and soul of all of the people who collaborate with us. They’re largely volunteers, giving up free time to put on events and help others learn,” said Thompson. 

To those who want to get involved in any capacity, Ghrist says, “Challenge yourself to learn on your own about the environment and sustainable actions, and try to incorporate those sustainable actions into your daily living.” 

We all have a responsibility to do our parts, according to Fleck.

“My big thing is the water refill stations. I save at least eight plastic water bottles a day using those things. So if more people could use those instead of vending machines, that would make a difference,” said Fleck. 

Students for Sustainability meets every Thursday from 5-6 in LA 227. 

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