What does it mean to “Live Green and Bleed Blue” at the University of Connecticut? It means precisely what you think it does! At UConn, we Huskies are dedicated to improving sustainability by being mindful of our actions and how they contribute to our campus’ health, beauty, and greenery. Being a university with much school pride, we are actively making improvements for ourselves, so the future generation of Huskies can continue thriving and bleeding that blue spirit.
Of course, when discussing this topic, it is only right to highlight the organization that makes it possible — UConn’s Office of Sustainability. On the OS’s website, they describe their mission to “lead, collaborate, and empower” with the help of partnerships and community, students on both the main and regional campuses, and by serving as the “central hub for sustainability leadership at UConn.”
os events
One of the countless ways that the OS carries out its mission and promotes living green is through its numerous events in which OS interns, students on campus, faculty, families, and pretty much anyone can participate. These events are highly diverse, unique, and engaging, allowing for community outreach and working wonders in bringing the community together while bringing awareness to our everyday environmental actions.
1. Green game days
Green Game Days are especially exciting because they embody UConn’s mission to live green and bleed blue. At several of our football and basketball games, the OS partners with UConn Athletics to have interns and volunteers educate fans about how to recycle and share interesting facts about waste or how they can be sustainable.
At the end of the games, we collect bottles and cans from the stands at Gampel Pavilion or the parking lots at Rentschler Field to be properly recycled.
I love Green Game Days because the OS and UConn Athletics successfully bring together families, students, and fans to support our school’s teams, while promoting sustainability.
2. Waterbury cram session table
On Dec. 3, 2025, the OS hosted the Waterbury CRaM session tabling event at the UConn Waterbury campus. The event’s main goal was to promote the OS, its purpose at UConn, and what students could do to get involved.
One Sustainability Regional Campus intern even created an infographic about Waterbury’s tree cover concerns and was able to educate those who visited the session about our Greenhouse Gas Inventory initiative. The event was co-hosted by the Career Development Center and goes to show how all of our campuses are actively promoting sustainability and living out OS’s mission to lead and empower.
3. haunted heep
Haunted HEEP is my favorite event because of its creativity and its popularity with students. Every year, the OS hosts a free Halloween-themed one-mile trail walk at the Red Trail by the Hillside Environmental Education Park. Throughout the trail, students encounter spooky scenes, making it a thrilling experience for both volunteers who act as scare actors and those walking the trail.
The education park’s history is particularly interesting as it “contains a remediated landfill.” In 2025, Haunted HEEP had over 1,400 student attendees, and over 90% of them said they’d come back to the trail on their own time.
This past year, I was a scare actor, and I can confidently say that the experience was both hilarious and challenging because of my scene’s effort to successfully scare participants while making the other half cry of laughter. I highly encourage you to go to this year’s Haunted HEEP, whether it’s as a volunteer or attendee, because it will be the experience of a lifetime while participating in your own and the community’s sustainability.
4. Ecomadness and recylethon
EcoMadness is a month-long event aimed at reducing energy and water usage across campus. With “over 13,000 residential students engaged on the Storrs campus,” EcoMadness aims to make students aware of how much energy and water they’re using. According to the OS, EcoMadness has reduced electricity usage by 20%, water usage by 30%, and has “enhanced recycling compliance.” While not all residence halls on campus have the tools to measure this data, sustainability outreach interns still complete recycling audits that promote the act throughout the month.
During RecycleThon, sustainability outreach interns complete weekly recycling audits that, like EcoMadness, measure how well students in our residence halls are properly disposing of their waste. This past RecycleThon, our Towers buildings, Beecher and Vinton, won with the best results, and Shakespeare and Troy hall won for being the most improved in their recycling, going from 67% at the start of February to 96% by the end. As a result, the residents won free ice cream coupons for UConn’s famous Dairy Bar.
5. Earth day spring fling
Earth Day Spring Fling is a day full of festive, sustainable activities that bring students, staff, and faculty from all over campus together. The event collaborates with vendors that sell organic, clean, and local foods along with beautiful hand-crafted goods. Various eco-organizations are also featured to promote their actions, making both our campus and the world a more sustainable place.
The OS also partners with UConn Dining to host an outdoor zero-waste barbecue on Fairfield Way, inviting all students to join. Previous Earth Day activities have included a ceremonial class tree planting, goat yoga, an environmental art show, and a party peddler sustainability bike tour!
While I have yet to attend the event, I’m surely looking forward to it and can’t wait to participate on April 22. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t excited for goat yoga… but I truly can’t wait to come together with the community and my fellow interns at the OS to celebrate and love our planet in many different ways!
These are only some of the many events the OS hosts and examples of how we are actively engaging with students, families, partners, and others in the community to bring awareness to how we can live a greener life. These events have done a marvelous job at highlighting how to be eco-friendly and why it’s important, because while we all may know it deep down, we don’t always acknowledge that each person has the ability to be more sustainable, which impacts an even larger community.
My Experience with the os
In Fall 2025, I was given the opportunity to join UConn’s OS as a Sustainability Outreach Intern. As an SOI, I am primarily responsible for hosting events, especially in my residence hall, that promote sustainability, and making sure the events are both engaging and fun for students. In the fall, I hosted events such as painting reusable tote bags and making sustainable vision boards, which were both aimed at getting college students to use reusable, sustainable materials and acknowledging that we don’t have to over-consume.
For the month of February, I collaborated with other SOIs for a Valentine’s Decorating event where students from various residence halls were able to make sustainable Valentine’s cards out of paper, cardboard, felt, fabric, and more. We then delivered these valentines to students in our residence halls. This month, I am planning an event where students will engage in a Sustainability Trivia Night and learn how their everyday actions impact the environment on and off campus. The goal is to educate students about what they can do to be mindful while learning about how the university itself is working towards being eco-friendly, using data and other fun facts.
By working with other SOIs, I’ve been able to learn from their ideas and gain inspiration about how I can make my experience both creative and innovative.
“I love being an SOI because everyone in the office is very approachable and makes an effort to support you in achieving your goals,” said Anna Dinkel, an intern at the OS. “It has helped me meet some incredible people and has led me to opportunities I would have never had before.”
The OS clearly thrives at offering guidance for all UConn students while creating an inviting and inclusive environment. I am eternally grateful for this experience, the friends I’ve made, and my profound hope that our world can be a greener, safer, and healthier place.
Moving Forward
Of course, this article does not touch upon all of the approaches that UConn and the Office of Sustainability are making towards making our campus live green. The OS also partakes in research, offers internships and fellowships, and has won several awards and national certifications as a leader in sustainability.
If you’re interested in learning more about the university’s contributions and what you can do to be sustainable, be sure to visit the OS’ platforms, like our website and social media, that have constant updates about events we’re hosting, who we’re collaborating with, and how you can get involved!
If you’re a student at UConn, I hope you’ll partake in the OS’ amazing events, and if not, still remember that your everyday actions have the ability to make a more sustainable life for you and those around you. Encourage your friends to do the same, and as a Husky myself, I’ll be sure to keep bleeding blue and living green even after my time at UConn is done!