OSEP grants support campus-wide sustainability efforts

OSEP grants support campus-wide sustainability efforts

Awardees to create internships, expand community outreach

The Ohio State Energy Partners (OSEP), the university's comprehensive energy management partnership, has announced 2024-25 grants for projects that establish internships for students to study sustainability efforts at companies, assist campus facilities administrators in transitioning from gas-powered to electric tools, and enhance environmental education across the state, among other initiatives.

OSEP contributes $810,000 each year to the university or affiliated philanthropic causes that promote sustainable energy and environmental initiatives. Working with OSEP, the Office of Academic Affairs engages Ohio State faculty, staff and students to submit proposals that advance university priorities and promote interdisciplinary and community collaboration.

Grants include $50,000 to Professor Patrice Hamel, College of Arts and Sciences, for a global education project titled "Experiential Learning in Sustainability: An International Perspective."

The project's goal is to promote education about the environmental benefits of transitioning to a low-carbon economy and providing information to communities about how to reduce their carbon footprint, Hamel said.

"Sustainability is something very broad that is a multi-component, multifaceted sort of problem," he said. "It is global in the sense that there are so many aspects that are interconnected."

In collaboration with a France-based consultant (C. Cohen-Dujardin) with expertise in the low-carbon transition, a group of Ohio State students will be trained to research, collect and present data on how to build a U.S.-relevant version of an educational workshop focused on sustainability.

Another group of students will be placed as interns in French companies that demonstrate a commitment to sustainability. The program will enable students to learn more about practices that benefit the environment while gaining practical work experience, Hamel said.

"Instilling a culture of sustainability or an awareness for what we need to do to have a world that is more sustainable would probably be most efficient while students are still in college," he said. "I like the fact that this is a project that's going to educate students in their formative years before they decide what professional careers they're going to follow."

Another $50,000 OSEP grant has been awarded to John Irwin, a manager in Ohio State Facilities Operations and Development (FOD), for "Campus Shop: Paving the Way for a Sustainable Campus."

The grant will enable FOD to transition from gas-powered power tools to more environmentally friendly battery-powered, electric tools to maintain campus grounds, such as concrete crushing and paving equipment, saws, generators and debris blowers, Irwin said.

"In the process of writing this grant, we were working with the [university] sustainability team," Irwin said. "That got us more in touch with them. We're actually going to start collaborating more on sustainability goals, which is a direct result of applying for this grant."

A $40,402 OSEP grant has been awarded to Geddy Davis, the Byrd Center's Weather & Climate Services program coordinator. The grant will fund the project, "Improving Weather and Climate Understanding and Teaching Among Ohio Environmental Professionals and Volunteers."

The initiative was inspired by a growing demand from environmental professionals for enhanced weather and climate science educational content, Davis said.

"Our goal is to empower Ohio's environmental educators and volunteers with the knowledge and tools they need to effectively teach about climate and weather," Davis said. "The project will address common barriers, such as lack of knowledge, concerns over controversy, and the absence of specific curricula tailored for Ohio."

The grant will facilitate the production of in-person and asynchronous course sessions, building upon a foundational chapter of the soon-to-be-released Ohio Certified Volunteer Naturalist (OCVN) Handbook. The project will also offer one-day training courses in various regions of Ohio and develop an accessible virtual training platform.

The educational modules are designed to reach a broad audience of environmental professionals, equipping them with the necessary resources to engage and educate communities across Ohio, Davis said.

Along with Davis, the collaborative project involves the Byrd Center's Education and Outreach team, led by Jason Cervenec, and the State Climate Office of Ohio, led by Aaron Wilson, in partnership with Ohio State University Extension. Also participating is Anne Baird, director of the OCVN Program.

Other OSEP grant award winners include:

$50,000 to Cecil Okotah, Department of Athletics, for Advancing sustainability through the utilization of electric leaf blowers to achieve cleaner air and reduced noise levels.

$50,000 to Richard Niese for a real-time utility dashboard for Off-Campus Wexner Medical Center Facilities.

$37,900 to Jack Gruber, College of Engineering/Knowlton School, Solar GPS Tracking of Animal Behavior and Landscape Use Dynamics at the Wilds.

$22,900 to Emma Kline, College of Arts and Sciences, for Lost Waters: The Secrets of Neil Run.

In addition, OSEP supported the following projects this year:

Smart Campus Challenge, $185,000.

Targeted Investment in the Arts, $175,000.

Center for Automotive Research Battery Challenge Grant Match, $50,000.

State Science Day, $25,000.

WOSU Annual Fundraiser Support, $25,000.

Wexner Center for the Arts General Support, $25,000.

Ohio State Hackathon, $22,500.

WestFest Community Science Day, $15,000.

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