A person seated at a desk in front of a computer.

(Above) (Komaee 5-1) Sustainable laboratory setups were configured for SIU’s Robotics and Control Laboratory using a Green Fund grant.  (Middle) (Saluki Food Pantry ending 02) Green Fund grant funding helps the Saluki Food Pantry provide for the needs of students suffering from food insecurity. (Below) (Planning Plant Pattern) A green fund grant was used to rejuvenate the living wall at the Agriculture Building. Photos provided

April 23, 2025

SIU awards more than $154K to 17 unique sustainability projects

by Christi Mathis

CARBONDALE, Ill. — Southern Illinois University Carbondale’s Earth Day celebration included awarding more than $154,000 in Green Fund grants to 17 diverse and unique projects.

The winning projects encompass an eclectic mix of sustainability and green goals and initiatives as wide-ranging as addressing student food insecurity to composting organic waste, from spurring raspberry production to adding bat habitats and much more.

A woman hands a bag across a counter to a customer.“Earth Month reminds us that small actions on campus ripple out to a better world,” said Aimee Lemrise, sustainability director. “Sustainability isn’t a trend; it’s a commitment. And here at SIU, it’s a student-powered movement. Students, faculty and staff have dedicated significant time and energy to Green Fund grant proposals to further advance sustainability initiatives, and the Sustainability Council had to make tough decisions this year.”

In all, 30 project proposals were reviewed by the Green Fund Grant committee, which is chaired by a student and includes three additional students along with a staff and faculty member.

“Each grant written, each idea shared, each challenge met – this is how change takes root at SIU,” Lemrise said. “When students lead with purpose, the planet follows. This is the power of our Green Fund.”

Grant winners

During a special awards ceremony on Earth Day, April 22, a total of $154,225 was awarded for the 2025 projects. Including this round of funding, SIU has now awarded almost $3.8 million to 357 sustainability projects. The work is funded by a student Green Fee of about $10 per semester that was adopted in 2009 as the result of a student-led initiative.

Projects selected for 2025 Green Fund grants are:

  • Saluki Food Pantry, Emily Spann, associate director, Student Center, $20,701. The grant will address food insecurity among students by creating a more sustainable framework for the Saluki Food Pantry by reducing food waste, promoting the use of reusable bags and ensuring food is available to meet the needs of the student community.
  • Transforming SIU’s biowaste (organic waste) into a plant biostimulant to enhance campus sustainable farming and flowers, Chetan Singh, master’s student in molecular biology, microbiology and biochemistry from Haryana, India, and Scott D. Hamilton-Brehm, associate professor of microbiology, $18,945. This novel project involves using oxidative hydrothermal dissolution (OHD) to efficiently convert the university’s biowaste into a biostimulant that enhances plant growth while removing biowaste and reducing the use of expensive fertilizers.
  • Improving sustainable agriculture through greenhouse composting, Clinton Chamness, greenhouse gardener, $11,770. Workers will enhance the sustainability of the greenhouse by recycling organic waste.
  • Nutrient management strategy development for high tunnel red raspberry production to support local growers for potential use in future horticulture instruction, outreach and food systems at SIU, Kayla Grey, a master’s student in plant, soil and agricultural systems from Carbondale, Illinois, $11,525. This project will focus on developing a strategy for high tunnel raspberry production to optimize nitrogen dosing and delivery methods to improve yield, quality and plant health while increasing awareness of the culinary and nutritional value of the crop.
  • Preventing future closures of SIU’s Campus Lake: a data-driven water quality monitoring model for sustainable water resource management, Arif Hasnat, doctoral student in engineering science from Bangladesh, $11,430. The project involves collecting and analyzing the daily water quality data year-round for Campus Lake, building machine-learning-based models to identify key factors and predict recurrent algae blooms. The goal is to develop an interactive database to monitor the lake’s health and prevent future algae problems.
  • Agricultural pollution monitoring and management for Sustainable SIU Farms, Amirmahdi Ghanaatikashani, doctoral student in engineering science from Tehran, Iran, $11,184. The grant will be used to analyze and visualize agricultural pollutant runoff (including nitrogen and phosphorus from fertilizers) from SIU farmland and its distribution to support sustainable decision-making to protect human health, enhance agricultural productivity and minimize water quality degradation.
  • Green roof regeneration to optimize vegetable production, Alan Walters, horticulture professor, $10,900. By focusing on newly developed soil mediums, this project to regenerate the agriculture green roof will enhance vegetable crop production there.
  • Theater education lighting retrofit, Jaemin Park, assistant professor of lighting and sound design in the music and theater programs, $10,854. McLeod Theater will become the newest SIU facility to become more sustainable as 18 existing incandescent light fixtures are replaced with more energy-efficient LED modules to reduce costs, waste and environmental impact while preserving the original housings and securing a sustainable environment for student learning.
  • Development of a semi-portable solar electric vehicle charging system, Sean Boyle, automotive technology program director and associate professor, $7,740. A semi-portable, off-grid single bay (14’ x 24’) solar carport will be developed and constructed at SIU’s Glenn Poshard Transportation Education Center for charging electric vehicles.
  • Rainbow’s End Child Development Center water bottle refill stations, April Ring, program director, $7,200. Installing water bottle refill stations at the child care facility will reduce the use of disposable water bottles and cut waste taken to landfills.
  • Touch of Nature Outdoor Education Center nature trails and volunteer coordinator, Tom Brummer, associate director of facilities and operations, $7,000. The funding will provide for a graduate student to identify, coordinate and implement sustainable trail maintenance and improvement projects and to coordinate trails and programs, volunteer opportunities and projects at Touch of Nature.
  • Living infrastructure: microbial research for smarter green roofs, Amanda Weidhuner assistant professor, School of Forestry and Horticulture, $5,863. Microbial communities on the Agriculture Building’s green roof will be investigated to improve plant health, reduce maintenance costs and lay the foundation for future conservation-focused rooftop plantings.
  • Student Center LED spotlight expansion, Jonathan Newlin, Student Center technical director, $5,460. With impressive results of spotlight upgrades in the Student Center ballrooms courtesy of a 2024 Green Fund grant, the goal is to expand the upgrade by adding three additional energy efficient lights, thereby improving the quality and sustainability of the system.
  • Saluki Spokes programming and staff support, Stephanie Dukat, Student Center Craft Shop coordinator, $4,240. The funding will help the Craft Shop’s Saluki Spoke’s bicycle repair program for students continue to offer free or low-cost bicycle repair services, tools and parts within the Student Center by covering the cost of supply purchases, educational workshops and student worker wages.
  • The Saluki Sip Spot: Evergreen Terrace fountain project, Hend Jadalla, a master of health informatics student from Libya, $4,110.49. The grant will pay to install a water fountain near the playground at University Housing’s Evergreen Terrace to provide convenient outdoor access to safe, cool drinking water for student residents and their families.
  • Installation of a bat habitat on campus, Carolyn Harness, a recreation professions major from Mount Carmel, Illinois, $3,000. At least one bat habitat will be installed on campus, and a special event will be held this fall to highlight the benefits of bats and the habitat to the campus.
  • Reduce, reuse cardboard sculpture workshop, Stephanie Dukat, Student Center Craft Shop coordinator, $2,300. The Craft Shop will host a workshop with participants using recycled cardboard to create cardboard sculptures and artwork.

Student sustainability efforts rewarded

The Earth Day celebration also featured a presentation by Justin Harrell, SIU senior engineer, about the climate action plan, along with additional awards. Winners of the recent “Salukis Got Style: Repurpose the Runway” show shared their environmental messages and displayed their winning fashion designs, created from “discarded” items. The winners are:

  • 1st – Amilia Estrada, a junior journalism-photojournalism arts and media major from Carbondale, Illinois. $750.
  • 2nd – Yahri Edmond, a freshman art / arts and media major from Carbondale, Illinois, $350.
  • 3rd – Aniya Vaughns, a senior fashion design merchandising major from Chicago, $150.

SIU’s 2025 Environmental Ambassadors were also recognized for volunteering a minimum of 30 hours toward environmental-related efforts:

  • Maelin Abbott-Rinehart, a senior recreation professions major.
  • Cecilia Acosta Lopez, a freshman horticulture major.
  • Fisayo Akinde, a master’s student in geography and environmental resources.
  • Sydney Bailey, a senior management major.
  • Tess Brummer, a junior public health major.
  • Elizabeth Cheek, senior business manager for undergraduate admissions at SIU.
  • Hannah Connolly, a senior political science major.
  • Jordan Dale, a senior psychology major.
  • Antonio Diaz, a freshman criminology and criminal justice major.
  • Riley Donath, a sophomore biological sciences major.
  • Sandra Emberton, a master’s student in human sciences.
  • Marsden Fisher, a senior zoology major.
  • Harrison Gerges, a senior recreation professions major.
  • Raegan Graham, a senior biochemistry major.
  • Carolyn Harness, a senior recreation professions major.
  • Madelyn Harrelson, a junior recreation professions major.
  • Marie Holtrop, a junior recreation professions major.
  • Abby Johnson, a junior recreation professions major.
  • Angie Kuehl, recycling coordinator for the Jackson County Health Department.
  • Olivia Larrison, a senior forestry major.
  • Justin Marconi, a senior pre-physical therapy major.
  • Avery Martin, a sophomore biology sciences major.
  • Mandy Nevels, a junior economics major.
  • Opie Piper, SIU superintendent of grounds from Facilities and Energy Management.
  • Jack Pizziferro, a senior recreation professions major.
  • Joseph Ragnanese, assistant professor in the School of Automotive.
  • Sarah Ramsey, a senior linguistics major.
  • Santonio Resonno, a senior zoology major.
  • Chaya Rice, a senior geography and environmental resources major.
  • Clover Robinson, a senior recreation professions major.
  • Katrina Stanley, a senior English major.
  • Gladis Sunny, a senior physiology major.
  • Timothy Sunny, a senior economics major.
  • Rajee Tamraker, a master’s student in geographer and environmental resources.
  • Ryan Wang, a senior chemistry major.
  • Jessica Webb, a senior recreation professions major.
  • Katie Wise, a senior psychology major.
  • Jazmine Zarate, a freshman geography and environmental resources major.

Learn more about SIU’s longstanding and award-winning commitment to sustainability and green initiatives by visiting sustainability.siu.edu.

Students construct a living wall.