Make a Plan to Vote on November 3rd!

Did you know 11.2 MILLION (that's 11,200,000) Americans registered to vote and put the environment as their #1 voting issue but DID NOT VOTE in the 2024 election? (According to the Environmental Voter Project).

Make sure you do your research, make a plan to vote on November 3rd, and encourage your friends to do the same!

Check out our Get the Vote Out Campaigning Resource Doc for resources we compiled in a previous UMACS Coffee Chat.

Thank you to those that attended the UMACS Conference!

We had a record number of attendees this year for our 20th anniversary!

286 attendees

42 campuses represented

14 community partners

2026-27 Sustainability Fellows Program

DEADLINE EXTENDED! Applications due October 8

We invite all undergraduate and graduate students to consider applying for this year's Sustainability Fellowship program. This leadership development program will start with weekly trainings in the fall, starting with six weeks of Climate Wayfinding. The second half of the training program will prepare students to successfully design and implement a Fellowship project and will include human-centered design, campus outreach strategies, and intercultural competence (including taking the Intercultural Development Inventory). In the winter and spring, Fellows will receive coaching and peer support as they develop their Fellowship Project. The program will be co-facilitated by Sophia Agtarap and Megan Voorhees (learn more about the facilitators here).

Join our Member Listserv!

Is your campus a UMACS Supporting or Limited Member? If so, you're invited to join our Member Listserv by filling out this form ! Individuals on the listserv can share resources, events, and initiatives within the network.

Building Bridges: Social Justice and Sustainability

Wednesday October 28th 9-10am CST

"It’s about the leaning in, the learning and the living of relationship building on campus and in community."

Our conversation will start with Dave Barbier (Sustainability Director, UW Stevens Point) sharing about his efforts to try and broaden the Social Justice conversation on his campus. We’ll get into the good, the deltas and the unexpected of this still-happening multi year journey to bring people and a just transition forward in the sustainability space of a small midwest liberal arts college. There will be plenty of time for you to share your own experiences and ask questions.

Advising Student Groups

Wednesday November 18th 9-10am CST

Are you advising, supervising and/or cheering on environmental student groups? Join us to share what is working and what is not, and to learn from your peers about how to support student groups to be successful, manage leadership transitions and more.

Strategic Communicators Co-Lab

This three-part CoLab is designed for students, staff, and faculty interested in or already involved in sustainability communications roles. The goal of the CoLab is to help these individuals learn communications strategies, share ideas, and build a network of strategic communicators. Individuals are welcome to attend all three sessions, just one, or any combination. Register below for each session you plan on attending.

Part 1: Campus Outreach: What Strategies Will You Use?

Friday Oct 2nd, 2:00-3:15pm CST

Part 2: Best Practices in Message Design

Friday Oct 16th, 1:30-2:30pm CST

Part 3: Sharing Ideas & Creating Communicators Library

Friday Nov 6th, 1:00-2:15pm CST

This interactive workshop will help you to identify different strategies for engaging a wide variety of audiences on your campus using some simple strategic change-making tools. It will also give you a chance to gather new outreach ideas from other students, staff and faculty. The workshop will be led by Megan Voorhees, UMACS Executive Director.



This session will introduce key message design principles (think: mini-art school) and best practices for translating and sharing your institution's sustainability information across multiple platforms and media.

Hosted by: Jes Thompson, Assistant Vice President for Sustainability at Northern Michigan University



In this session, everyone will have the opportunity to share their communications projects/ideas with the group. This will be an open discussion for all to listen and/or participate. We will also begin the process of creating a collaborative "Communications Library" where we can house communications templates that others can reuse!

Sustainability Career Panel

Tuesday, December 1st 5:00-6:00 CST

Are you interested in a career in sustainability? Join us to learn from five panelists about their work in sustainability and their career/education paths.

National Sustainability Society Coaching Program

Apply by October 31st

The NSS Career Coaching Program pairs students and early-career professionals with experienced sustainability leaders across academia, industry, and the public sector — creating one-on-one relationships built around honest conversation, career strategy, and shared purpose.

Serving as an NSS coach is one of the most direct ways to strengthen the next generation of sustainability leaders — and to stay connected to the energy and ideas emerging from the field. Coaches set their own availability and structure, making this a flexible commitment with a lasting impact. Find out more here!

Students can also submit an application to be matched with a coach. This is perfect for students looking to get involved in a sustainability-related career. Find out more here!

PBS Thoreau Documentary - Midwest Campus Tour

Earlier this year, PBS released a new three-part documentary produced by Ken Burns about the life, times, and legacy of American writer, naturalist, and activist Henry David Thoreau. It also brings together perspectives on Thoreau and his times, including new insights on the abolition movement, the role of women in Thoreau's life , and his interactions with and perspectives on Native Americans. Above all the film seeks to reintroduce Thoreau as an important voice for young people at the present moment seeking to engage with nature, political action, and cultivation of an authentic and meaningful life in the modern world.

Now, Thoreau College, a microcollege located in Viroqua, WI, is teaming up with Ewers Brothers Productions, the award-winning film company behind the documentary, to bring a screening and discussion tour to college campuses and communities across the upper Midwest. Erik Ewers will be coming to our region in mid-November, planning to visit with classes and campus organizations, as well as staging evening events for the wider community. A generous donor has stepped forward to cover an honorarium for Erik to visit, so costs will be limited to his travel expenses, spread across all host organizations. Many of these costs can be covered in kind, in the form of food and lodging on campus.

If interested in this opportunity, email jacobhundt@thoreaucollege.org

Energy District Cup for Students

Team applications due October 14th

The Energy District Cup is a new collegiate competition that challenges multidisciplinary student teams to develop practical, cost-effective energy solutions for a campus or mixed-use district.

Students from engineering, finance, architecture, urban planning, communications, and other disciplines work together to evaluate how buildings use energy and recommend strategies involving energy efficiency and building systems, on-site generation, energy storage, energy management, critical load support, and energy procurement.

Read more here!

EnergyThink.ing

Do you want to track energy and conservation news in multiple states? Climate advisor Mike Fourcher created EnergyThink.ing, which turns the daily flow of state energy legislation, agency actions, and news across all 50 states (or just the states you choose) into a daily digest. Following one state is free and UMACS members can get a free, two-week trial to the full service (which is $12/month) by using this link.

Reconnecting with Voice and Purpose: A Full Day Workshop for Educators

October 24th, 11:00-6:00pm CST, Online

"As busy educators, it can be difficult to stay attuned to our own voice amid the many demands and pressures of our work. This Circle of Trust workshop, grounded in the writing of Parker J. Palmer and the Center for Courage & Renewal, offers a space for caring and committed educators to slow down, reflect, and listen deeply to themselves and one another. Together, we will reconnect with the meaning and purpose that nourish our lives as educators."

Job Opportunities

• ReUse Manager, University of Minnesota
• Interested in a one year environment-related job or AmeriCorps position? Check out our list of One Year Service Programs (and please tell us about other programs we should add)

2026-2027 Conferences

• October 4-6, 2026: AASHE Conference in Baltimore, MD
• November 18-19, 2026: Partners in Community Forestry Conference, St. Louis, MO
• March 7-9, 2027: Second Nature Higher Education Climate Leadership Summit, Denver CO
• March 31-April 2, 2027: Midwest Climate Collaborative Summit in Lincoln, NE
• June 7-11, 2027: Planetary Health Annual Meeting in Tokyo, Japan
• June 22-24, 2027: Green Sports Alliance Summit in St. Louis, MO

The Upper Midwest Association for Campus Sustainability (UMACS) is a network of staff, faculty and students from colleges and universities working together to promote sustainability throughout the Upper Midwest. We welcome everyone in higher education who wants to create a culture of sustainability on campus and in their community, working to meet the needs of all people without harming future generations' ability to meet their own needs.  Reach out to Megan Voorhees, Executive Director to share ideas about how we can best support your work.