'Green Talks' on WRFL Features Student Sustainability Efforts

by: Shane Tedder, Whitney Harder, Mariah Rhodes

(Jan. 27, 2015) — "Green Talks," a new weekly talk show on WRFL 88.1, is focusing on student-funded sustainability efforts at the University of Kentucky. With efforts ranging from bottle filling stations and outdoor recycling bins to keynote speakers and funding assistance for research, travel and symposia, there is a lot to talk about. Listen to the show from 4-4:30 p.m. every Wednesday.

Michael Blum (Mechanical Engineering Student), Krista Jacobsen (Horticulture) and Helen Turner (Interior Design) discuss their work bringing food and design together at the Greg Page Shawneetown Community Garden with "Green Talks" host Ellen Green on Jan. 21, 2015.

Funding for these initiatives comes from a mandatory student fee called the Environmental Stewardship Fee, which was initiated in 2009. Each full-time UK student pays $3.25 per semester into the fund, which generates approximately $160,000 annually. A student organization, the Student Sustainability Council (SSC), was chartered in 2009 to oversee how the funds are spent and meets each month to review and vote on funding proposals submitted by the campus community. 

On "Green Talks," host Ellen Green, the director of outreach for the SSC, will interview faculty, staff and students who have received funding to implement projects, and will discuss the impacts these projects are having on students and the UK campus. 

The show launched on Jan. 14, and previous episodes will be available on WRFL's website. Below is a schedule and descriptions for upcoming shows.

  • On Jan. 28, the show will focus on Amelia Baylon’s recent trip to the Dominican Republic to learn about human rights challenges in the global textile industry and the role universities can play in safeguarding those rights.
  • On Feb. 4, "Green Talks" will focus on a partnership between the Student Sustainability Council and the Physical Plant Division to install a 30KW solar photovoltaic array on the roof of the Ralph G. Anderson Building.
  • On Feb. 11, the show will feature Caroline Engle, a junior double majoring in Natural Resources and Environmental Science and Agricultural Economics who traveled to Peru last semester to represent the United States at the 20th annual Conference of the Parties (COP20) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).