Making a sustainable change to the UTEP campus, let alone the entire borderland, can be challenging, but UTEP’s Green Fund makes the change happen through a purpose and a vision.
The Green Fund is a student-approved referendum that tackles sustainability projects all over campus. This committee provides information on the impact of the institution and the environment. By investing in renewable energy, lowering the carbon footprint, conserving water and increasing energy sufficiency. Their motive is to make a change that is beneficial for the future.
Green Fund Chair, Sara Urueta, joined the committee her freshman year and always had a passion for making a change to UTEP being a more environmentally friendly campus.
Marketing Assistant Andre Gardea shared he joined the committee after not having a connection with his former major in marketing. He felt that marketing was convincing towards audiences that don’t make a beneficial impact. After discovering the Green Fund, he was curious how he could make a larger impact.
Gardea shares that it doesn’t depend on one student to make a change, it is a matter of the organization listening to student ideas and making that change into fruition. “It’s about having students feel like they can have an impact,” said Gardea.
UTEP students pay a three-dollar fee integrated into their tuition, this helps support the funding for the committee. Raising up to $200,000 per year for sustainability projects.
One of the main projects the organization is working on a micro farm called Babylon. A self-sustaining indoor green farm that would act as a mini ecosystem.
“You don’t have to water it, it’s low on electricity usage and we’re hoping that we could take these micro greens and put them on display in the Natural Gas Conference Center Building,” said Urueta.
Another project that is in the works is the expansion and upgrade of charging ports. With companies such as Apple constantly changing their charging ports, the Green Fund is planning on making them more easily accessible to all electronic devices.
Students and faculty are welcome to share any green ideas that they may have. The upcoming micro farm was proposed by a UTEP student, and the Green Fund forms the vision into reality. The Green Fund shared that all their funding goes straight to the projects they have in store.
“You know, this is the world we live in,” said Gardea. “We do not have another one. So, if you want to improve the world that we are already living in, this is your shot. This is your chance. I’m just one person but we really are the resource that makes it happen.”
To any student who has an idea to make campus grounds green and environmentally safe, share your ideas on their website https://www.utep.edu/student-affairs/greenfund/ or on Instagram @utep_greenfund
Marco Hinojosa is the audience and engagement editor and may be reached at [email protected]
