Office of Sustainability and the Environment

Students looking at insects through a microscope

Solving Grand Challenges

Balancing human and environmental wellbeing.

Welcome to the Office of Sustainability and the Environment (OSE)

The OSE serves as a central resource for integrating sustainability into the University of Iowa’s operations, academics, research, and community engagement. Through collaborative partnerships, innovative initiatives, and educational opportunities, the OSE connects the campus community and empowers Hawkeyes to make informed decisions that drive meaningful, lasting impact.

Students observing water samples from a creek

Find Sustainability Degrees and Research Programs

Search sustainability-related majors, minors, certificates, and research centers

Students tossing graduation caps on Pentacrest at sunset

Add a Sustainability Certificate to Any Major

Give your resume a competitive edge with practical, future-focused skills employees are looking for

Take a Sustainability focused Course

Find a Class

Explore Sustainability Initiatives at UI

Students help sort waste at President's Block Party

See Waste Information

Bee campus sign in front of pollinator garden at Catlett/Chemistry

Explore Outdoor Spaces

Student holding earth everyday sign on Pentacrest

Find Jobs and Internships

Office of Sustainability staff give away plants at UI Library patio

Sustainable Living Tips

News

UI launches new program to improve health outcomes for Iowans

Tuesday, June 9, 2026

map of US showing surface ozone air quality on a scale of blue (improving) to red (declining)

Wildfires have worsened ozone pollution in the United States

Tuesday, June 9, 2026

a child taking a photo of flowers in a prairie with people in the background

Explore and Connect at the UI's 6th Annual BioBlitz

Thursday, June 4, 2026

Events

Summer Bird Banding

Wednesday, June 17, 2026 7:30am to 9:30am

Macbride Nature Recreation Area - Iowa Raptor Project Parking Area

Summer Bird Banding

Discover Your University: IIHR Hydraulic Wind Tunnel Annex

Wednesday, June 17, 2026 11:00am to 12:00pm

Hydraulics Wind Tunnel Annex

Following the devastating 2008 flood, the Iowa Flood Center joined IIHR in 2009 and provides Iowans with critical tools and information to help them understand and mitigate flood risks.

Tour attendees will get a glimpse of IIHR and the Iowa Flood Center's research expertise and breadth by seeing what goes into the fabrication of field monitoring equipment. Participants will also experience interactive demonstrations of research labs solving complex erosion and sedimentation challenges, advancing...

6th Annual BioBlitz at the Ashton Prairie Living Laboratory

Saturday, July 11, 2026 9:00am to 11:00am

Ashton Cross Country Course

What types of plants, animals, and fungal life might you find at the Ashton Prairie Living Laboratory? Let's find out!

Join researchers in collecting, observing, and recording biodiversity at the Ashton Prairie Living Laboratory in our 6th Annual BioBlitz. Your findings will inform a major research project and will contribute to the fifth data point in a multi-year documentation of how diversity changes at this site over time. Collections will be housed with the UI Museum of Natural History...

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