The Central Campus Pollinator Project was proposed by a group of students alongside
the grounds team in the spring of 2021. This project upgraded a perennial garden to
the west of the Hurley Administration Building (Parking Lot 1). The project incorporated
new irrigation, native plants, and educational signage about the importance of pollinators
and pollinator-friendly landscaping as an initiative under the UNT Bee Campus USA Committee. In one day, the project team and volunteers planted over 100 plants!
Funded Amount: 13,725.00
Project Status: Completed
The Aunt Flow Bathroom Initiative was proposed by the Division of Student Affairs
leadership in conjunction with the Student Government Association in summer of 2022.
The project implemented a system to provide free menstrual products in every student-facing
bathroom on campus.
Funded Amount: $22,308.50
Project Status: Inactive as of Summer 2024
The Community Garden Composting Initiative was proposed by a UNT Ph.D Candidate and
avid UNT Community Garden Member in Spring 2021. This project implemented a three-tier composting system to the UNT Community Garden,
which enabled garden members and staff to increase the amount of organic material
that could be composted and created. Additionally, the compost bins were used as a
tool to educate students about new methods of composting and reducing their food waste.
Funded amount: $4,770.00
Project Status: Inactive as of Fall 2024
Let’s Chat Zero Waste was proposed by a We Mean Green Fund Committee Member alongside
the UNT Dining Services Department in the spring of 2019. This project created a reusable to-go container system for the Campus Chat in the
Union in order to reduce single-use plastic on campus. Additionally, this project
included a low-cost buy-in program for folks who may be low-income and unable to participate.
The project was implemented in Fall 2022 and is still available in the campus chat
today. Simply ask for or order a To-Go container for your food for a small $5 one-time
fee. When you return your container, you will get a coin that labels you as a participant
for your next meal!
Funded amount: $32,602.50
Project Status: Active
The Reusable Bags for Food Pantry Patrons Project was proposed by the UNT Dean of
Students office in Spring 2022. As the food pantry continued to have an increasing
number of visits, the staff felt that their use of bags was generating a lot of waste.
This project provided the food pantry patrons with refrigerated, reusable bags to
use at every pantry visit, as opposed to single use plastic or paper bags.
Funded Amount: 10,000.00
Project Status: Completed
The Mean Green Wall workshops were proposed by a geography student in the spring of
2022. This project incorporated a series of workshops where students would learn more
about science behind green walls, or vertical growing spaces. Part of the proposer’s
vision was to experiment with how to create a native green wall, and to research the
benefits of indoor plants on air quality.
Funded Amount: $1,680.00
Project Status: Completed
The UNT Butterfly Flower Patch was proposed by a student in Spring of 2022. The Butterfly
Flower Patch, which is located just north of Willis Library, was created to provide
a habitat for butterflies on campus! The plants selected in this project include host
plants, for caterpillars, and nectar plants, for butterflies. The project received
5 years of funding to continue to plant new plants and eventually with be a fully
established garden.
Funded Amount: $5,922.00
Project Status: Active
The Requiem for a Poisoned Earth: Spring 2023 Environmental Education and Conversation
Concert was proposed by an ungraduated Music Composition student in Spring 2023. This project
was a collaboration between musicians, artists, and environmentalists at UNT that
sparked awareness in the community about harm to the environment and health that PFAS
(hazardous “forever chemicals”) cause. Over 90 students from the College of Music
performed onstage at the Winspear Concert Hall preceded by an educational conversation
with students and faculty from the Colleges of Science and Liberal Art and Social
Sciences. The artwork of College of Visual Arts and Design students were also showcased
in the entrance to the concert hall for guests to peruse entering and exiting the
performance. The performance can be watched through the College of Music Archive https://recording.music.unt.edu/media/t/1_szvukzff/273512632.
Funded amount: $28,500.00
Project Status: Completed
The College of Music: Room 258 Green Lighting Initiative was proposed by College of Music Master’s Student and Staff in Fall 2022. This funded
the replacement of the outdated fluorescent lighting with energy-efficient LED lighting
for this classroom and practice space. This reduced the energy consumption of a frequently-used
space, allows for less frequent maintenance schedule, and easily recyclable materials
generating less landfill waste.
Funded amount: $25,000
Project Status: Completed
The Water Bottle Filling Stations project was proposed by an Academic Affairs staff along with staff and faculty from
the Colleges of Science, Business, and Music in Fall 2022. This project outfitted
many water fountains in academic buildings with water bottle refill stations, allowing
students to bring re-usable bottles rather than buying single-use plastic bottles.
The refill stations also have a count of how many plastic bottles the refill stations
have saved.
Funded Amount: $61,480
Project Status: Completed
The Landscape Material Composting Program was proposed by the UNT Facilities Grounds
Team in Spring 2020. This project addressed the need to compost and reuse landscaping
scraps on campus. The program, which was implemented in Fall 2021, provides the grounds
team with the space and capabilities to compost any unusable landscaping material
to be used for the mulch and soil around campus.
Project Status: Active
The Mobile Bike Shop was proposed by the UNT Transportation Services in Spring 2020.
This project created a mobile trailer that can pop around to various locations on
campus to help students with bicycle repairs- for free! There are also low-cost supplies
available at the shop. This program aimed to increase bicycle users and bicycle safety
on campus. Find the Mobile Bike Shop today!
Funded Amount: $14,819.00
Project Status: Active
The Mean Green Fix-n-Wear event was proposed by faculty from both the College of Merchandising,
Hospitality and Tourism as well as the College of Visual Arts and Design in Spring
2020. The event was a pop-up mending and fixing workshop where the campus community
could bring by their old and ragged clothing to get mended or upcycled. During this
event, over 20 lbs of clothing was diverted from the landfill and students learned
how to reduce their impact moving forward.
Due to delays from COVID in spring of 2020, the Mean Green Fix-n-Wear team also hosted
a virtual workshop!
Funded Amount: $2,124.00
Project Status: Completed
Through collaboration with the UNT Grounds team and the We Mean Green Fund, around
60 solar-powered trash and recycle receptacles were placed throughout the campus.
These bins made it more effective for the Grounds Team to assess full trash and recycle
bins on campus, by getting notified when a bin needs to be refilled. The second phase
of the Big Belly Trash and Recycle Bins projects was to increase the number of trash
receptacles on campus, and to unify the signage on the bins across campus. The project
included funding for a student designer, who worked alongside UNT facilities and the
City of Denton to create educational signage about recycling and waste on campus.
Funded amount 57,870.00
Project Status: Completed
The UNT Community Garden Pollinator Mural was proposed by an ecology student and community
garden member in spring 2020. The project included the digital creation of a mural
that highlighted various native plant and insect species that would be found at the
Community Garden. The project also included smaller signage that was placed within
the garden beds. All of the designs where digitally created by now alumni Thomas Strimpel
who proposed the project!
Funded Amount: $1,046.98
Project Status: Completed
The Community Garden Pollinator Protection Project (now known as the Legends Hall
Native Bed) was proposed by a previous garden member in spring 2021. When the students
were gardening, they were inspired to create a larger native plant focused space in
the garden to increase pollinator habitat and therefore increase garden productivity.
Part of the student's vision was to create an aesthetically pleasing boarder around
the plants, mimicking the movement of a river. The project included a pond that also
provided water for wildlife species, such as birds, who would benefit from the ecosystem
as well as to keep them away from any juicy produce in the summer!
Funded Amount: $15,000.00
Project Status: Completed
The Native Plants for the Union Green Roof Project was proposed by UNT Union Staff
in spring 2021. This project aimed to increase the native plant life on the Union
Green Roof (now Bruzzy’s Patio). The project also includes signage, solar lighting,
and subsequent re-installations.
Funded amount: $14,000.00
Project Status: Active
The Mean Green Gowns for Grads program was initiated from a gernous donation of graduation reglia to the Dean of
Students office. The program aims to provide free graduation reglia rentals to students
who are unable to afford it. Additionally, the program offers a closed-loop solution
to graduation regalia on campus. Alumni are able to donate their gown to a future
Eagle, and gowns are then rented instead of purchased.
After its first few years of funding from the We Mean Green Fund, to be able to purchase
new gowns, tassels, and provide eco-friendly dry cleaning, it became a part of the
WMGF operational budget and is now a program operated out of the Diamond Eagle Student
Resource Center.
Initial Funded Amount: $16,545.80
Project Status: Ongoing
The UNT Goes GreenSense Project was proposed in Spring 2019 to address progress toward
a net zero energy on campus. This project allowed UNT to purchase Renewable Energy
Credits that accounted for 13% of its electricity use between September 2020 and August
2021. This was the equivalent of 14,638 megawatts (MWh)!
Project Status: Completed
The Natural Dye Garden Advancement Project was proposed by Fibers Arts Faculty who
ran the Natural Dye Garden at the time. This project included a student employee position
that created a Natural Dye Swatch Archive which is still utilized today by the now UNT Sustainable Arts Garden. The student position is now overseen by the We Mean Green Fund department.
Funded Amount: $10,486.00
Project Status: Completed
Phase II of the Pecan Creek Pollinative Prairie was implemented in Fall 2020. This
portion of the project added 4 educational flowerbeds which are used by ecology students
to study urban landscaping, as well as to show vistitors how to incorporate natives
into their own homes. This phase also included additional funding for supplies and
seedings.
Funded Amount: $22,000
Project Status: Ongoing
The Battery Powered Lawn Equipment Project was proposed by the UNT Facilities’ Grounds
team in spring 2020. This project created a pilot program for a mow crew that was
entirely electric powered. By doing so, the project team hoped to reduce their carbon
footprint by utilizing more zero-emission equipment.
Project Status: Completed
The gardenblock project was proposed by a sculpture student in Spring of 2018. The
vision for this project was to create a earthly sculputure that would bring people
together in community while enjoying the art. The sculpture was created using all
locally sourced materials that were chosen based on their sustainability and low environmental
impact.
The gardenblock project was then set to be deinstalled in the summer of 2023. During
the deinstallation, art students where able to observe and learn about deinstallation
of sculptures and long-term sustainability of materials.
To learn more about Kirsten Angerbauer's innovative project, check out the following
article: UNT alumna creates sculpture, pavilion for UNT campus
Funded Amount: $12,952
Project status: Completed
The LEED Certification Program was proposed by UNT Facilities in spring 2018. This
project was set to provide certification opportunities for buildings across campus
to qualify for the LEED Program (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design). Through
this program, UNT’s campus was benchmarked for their contributions to campus-wide
sustainability initiatives. The buildings analyzed through this program included:
Chestnut Hall, Environmental Education, Science and Technology, Gateway Center, Performing
Arts Center, and Radio, TV, Film & Performing Arts.
The program also provided funding to a student intern who helped document and report
on data.
Funded amount: $107,340.00
Project Status: completed
The Lot 27 Tree Initiative was proposed by the UNT Grounds Team as part of their certification
for Tree Campus USA in Spring of 2018! This project supported the planting of 14 trees
in parking lot 27 to assist in increasing campus canopy and reducing the urban heat
island effect.
Funded amount: $28,500.00
Project Status: completed
The Pecan Creek Pollinative Prairie was initiated in the Fall of 2016 by Ecological Sciences Professor Dr. Jaime Baxter-Slye
(slye@unt.edu). This project restored 4.5 acres of land on the Discovery Park Campus and has documented
over 700 species of native plants and wildlife due to the project. Primarily, this
funded the seeds and solarization to start the process of restoration.
See Polliniative Prairie Phase 2, and Phase 3 for updates!
Initial Funded Amount: $6,041.54
Project Status: Active
IBike UNT and the UNT Bike Theft prevention program was initiated by the UNT Police
Department in conjunction with the UNT Department of Transportation in Spring 2016.
This project provided free engravings and free U-locks for bicycles and scooters to
help encourage students to utilize alternative methods of transportation and feel
safe while doing so.
Students who would like to receive a free bike lock or have their bike engraved with their identification can contact the UNT Police Department's non-emergency phone
940-565-3000 or visit the PD for more information.
Initial Funding: $5,000
Subsequent Funding: $35,000.00
Project Status: Active; Now funded through UNT PD + UNT DSA
The Sustainable T-Shirts Project was proposed by a previous We Mean Green Fund Committee
member in spring 2016. This project was implemented to address the large number of
UNT Swag Items and providing a more sustainable option, specifically at large scale
events such as Earth Fest, University Day, and Homecoming.
The Tailgate Recycling Project was proposed by UNT Facilities Recycling program in
spring 2016. This project aimed to address large amounts of waste produced at football
games, specifically during tailgating. Through the Tailgate Recycling Program, student
organizations competed to collect the most amount of recyclable waste, and a trophy
was given to the winner.
The Sustainability Hackathon was proposed in Spring of 2016 by the College of Arts and
Science’s Innovation Greenhouse. This project provided a space for students to engage about sustainability and generate project ideas though the We Mean Green Fund.
The Bring-Your-Own-Bottle Initiative was proposed in the spring of 2015 through the Student Activities
Department to fund over 3,000 reusable water bottles that were distributed during
Earth Fest. Now, the WMGF provides reusable swag at every Earth Fest event in order to reduce wate and help students receive free reusable items to use in their every day life.
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