- December 04, 2025
- By Karen Shih ’09
Erin Cooley ’29 was used to tossing all her waste at high school, from food scraps to plastic bottles, into trash cans because it offered only one kind of receptacle for everything.
But after just a few months at the University of Maryland, the English major thinks twice before she throws out anything, and is now well-versed in recycling and composting—thanks to a new sustainability challenge launched this fall.
“I’m a lot more mindful now after doing all the activities,” said Cooley, “and I learned a lot about UMD.”
She became the first student to complete the Green Terp Bucket List, created by the Office of Sustainability and the Department of Resident Life. It provides 20 ways undergrads can become better stewards of the environment, with cute enamel pins and a green graduation cord as incentives.
“This is a great way for students to see how they may already be doing sustainability work, and also to find a new hobby, niche or even a job market they want to go into,” said Sustainability Outreach and Communications Associate Solana Page ’24, who developed the program.
Her idea was inspired by the UMD Alumni Association’s Bucket List, which helps build Terp pride among students. With the Green Terp Bucket List, students can enroll in a “course” on Canvas, then upload photos or respond to text prompts. There are four categories—campus locations, campus events, climate anxiety and wellness, and individual challenges—and five tasks in each. When students complete a category, they can pick up a corresponding pin at an Office of Sustainability event (follow @SustainableUMD and @GreenTerp for details).
“The challenges are meant to be easy but meaningful,” said Page. For example, donating to the Campus Pantry might pique a student’s interest in food insecurity or giving back. Visiting the Campus Farm connects students with the university’s land-grant mission. And learning about native Marylander Frederick Douglass broadens students’ views of his activism, which included environmental justice.
Page reviews all submissions in Canvas, offering feedback, such as correcting misconceptions about what types of waste can be recycled, composted or trashed, and additional resources, like pointing students to more walking trails.
Since the Green Terp Bucket List launched Oct. 1, more than 410 students have signed up.
Cooley was initially motivated by the cute pins, but then found that the activities were so “fun and interesting” that she quickly sped through the challenges. “Literally any day you have an extra 30 minutes you can knock one out.” Her favorite was participating in a service event; she and her boyfriend, Sam Virk ’29, made bird feeders to hang by Eppley Recreation Center.
Page is glad to be opening eyes of students like Cooley. “Sustainability can be incorporated into any job you go into in the future,” she said. “Environmentally, economically, socially, it’s important to see how sustainability has an effect or plays a role in everything.”
Cooley, who completed seven tasks in about two hours one afternoon, takes us through the list and shares how those actions are helping her build long-term habits:
Campus Events
- Find the Outreach Bike
- Participate in a service event
- Check out a sustainability club or organization
- Practice sustainable commuting
- Attend a Terp to Terp Campus Reuse Store pop-up
Cooley started at the Farmers Market with Virk and Tobi Ojo ’29, checking out the Terp to Terp Campus ReUse Store booth. Every week, she plays its games, like learning how the clothing industry affects the planet and where to put groceries in a fake refrigerator to make them last longest. “The first time we tried it, it was low-key kind of embarrassing,” she said. “But now I put stuff like leafy greens where they’re supposed to go.”
From left, Cooley, Virk and Ojo at the Terp to Terp pop-up.
Individual Challenges
Cooley with the green wall at the Stamp.
Ojo refills his water bottle at the Stamp.
- Fill a reusable water bottle at a refill station
- Use a reusable bag when shopping
- Waste sorting: Where do you put the following items?
- Give something a second life—donate, swap or upcycle an item
- Turn off the lights when you leave a room
They then headed to the Adele H. Stamp Student Union, where they checked out the biowall and refilled their water bottles. “I knew UMD was a pretty green campus, but I didn’t know there were buildings with plants on the wall and roof,” she said.
Campus Locations
Cooley checks out goats at the Campus Farm.
Cooley poses with abolitionist Frederick Douglass at Hornbake Plaza.
- Visit a biowall
- List three green roof locations
- List three campus parking garages with solar panels
- Visit the Frederick Douglass statue
- Visit the Campus Farm
“I have a lot of STEM major friends and I’m always waiting for them to get out of class, so I’ve stopped by the Campus Farm before,” she said. This time, she saw more animals, including horses, goats and sheep. “That was cool.” On their way down to the farm, the trio took photos at the Frederick Douglass statue on Hornbake Plaza.
Climate Anxiety and Wellness
Cooley and Virk try a Shuttle-UM bus for the first time.
Virk walks along the Paint Branch Trail.
- Spend time on a nearby campus trail
- Attend a sustainability event
- Visit a garden at the Memorial Chapel
- Check out the Community Learning Garden
- Check out the Campus Pantry
Finally, they took a short walk on Paint Branch Trail by the creek before hopping on a bus by the Toll Physics Building to get to South Campus Dining Hall. “That was the first time I’d taken Shuttle-UM,” she said. “I walk everywhere because I don’t have a bike, so I’m using them more now that I know how the buses work.”
Visit the Office of Sustainability site for more details and descriptions.