The Student Government recently implemented the Green Fund, a designated $15,000 of the special project fund, composed of student fees. The Green Fund is intended to be allocated to student organizations’ campus projects relating to sustainability.

Starting in the fall semester, the Green Fund committee will begin accepting applications from student organizations with green project propositions.

Lia Gomez, Student Government director of sustainability, said projects as broad as installing more hand dryers in campus bathrooms or adding recycling bins into more buildings and as focused as creating a pollinator garden or community garden will be considered.

“As long as they fall under the big umbrella, that is sustainability,” Gomez said. “They can apply for the Green Fund.” 

Katie Holmes, previous director of sustainability and newly appointed co-director of ISU Legislative Ambassadors, said these projects should benefit all Iowa State students, whether directly or indirectly.

Solar trash compactors, a past Student Government project, are used by many students every day, whether they realize it or not. Holmes added that the compactors make trash pickups less frequent, allowing campus maintenance staff to focus on other campus issues, in turn saving students money.

Gomez said more than a hundred universities in the United States have already created a green fund, so it only made sense for Iowa State, with its size and green reputation, to follow suit.

“After being involved in Student Government and realizing how tedious and nitpicky the finance process for student organizations to get funding is, I realized that there was a niche that needed to be filled,” Holmes said.

As each year passes, Holmes said it’s getting more crucial to preserve our resources and make sure Iowa State is living up to being a sustainable campus.

“As we’re seeing budget cuts, we’re starting to realize that some things are going to get cut, and we wanted to secure funding for sustainability projects,” Holmes said.

In the past, Student Government has funded projects such as the printing credit standardization, which helped with cutting down on paper usage, as well as efforts to introduce more outdoor study areas.

Student interests should mold these projects, Gomez said. Although it is the Student Government’s decision on which projects to fund, the focus is to help students.