Annual Sustainability Symposium Showcases Student Work and Collaboration across UMN

“Wouldn’t it be neat,” Schmitt asked, “if we had a place where students could come together and share the sustainability work they’re doing?”

That unassuming question sparked what would become the annual Sustainability Symposium – an event designed to celebrate and connect emerging sustainability leaders across the University of Minnesota system.

With seed funding support from an IonE Mini Grant, the pair developed the event as a new opportunity for students across all disciplines and  University campuses to exchange ideas and showcase their sustainability research. 

A few months later, the inaugural 2011 symposium launched in the LES atrium, featuring 40 student presenters sharing posters on wide-ranging topics such as gender differences in sustainability and bird-building collisions. 

They couldn’t have predicted that more than a decade later, students would still be gathering annually – and that the event would continue to grow in size, scope, and significance.

Today, the Sustainability Symposium is a signature, student-led event organized by the Institute on the Environment in collaboration with sustainability offices and partners systemwide. Students from the Twin Cities, Crookston, Duluth, Morris, and Rochester campuses participate by presenting posters, lightning talks, and creative works.

The event encourages interdisciplinary collaboration across the state, giving students a platform to engage with diverse perspectives and explore real-world sustainability challenges.

Mary Hannemann, co-program director of Sustainability Education at IonE and symposium advisor, said the overarching goal of the event has remained consistent over the years, which is to “bring students together and allow them an opportunity to practice communicating about what they care about.”

One of the hallmarks of the event is its low barrier to entry.

“We stress that sustainability is for everyone,” Hanneman explained. “Anyone who has an idea, class project, or research they’re working on that they want to share – everyone is welcome.”

In recent years, Hannemann and co-organizers have worked to deepen the event’s inclusivity by partnering more closely with sustainability leaders across the UMN system, empowering each campus to shape how the event works best for their own community.

Katy Chapman, sustainability director at UMN Crookston, emphasized how meaningful it is for students to see the broader sustainability network they’re part of.

“It gives students a community where it’s cool to be the ‘sustainability kid,’” Chapman said. “It’s always good to know you’re part of a team working to make positive changes for people and the planet at the University.”

The symposium not only highlights student work – it’s also largely organized and run by students themselves, demonstrating the important role they play in making the event happen.

Each year, student staff lead the planning and implementation of the event: conducting outreach, developing marketing materials, coordinating logistics, and ensuring things run smoothly the day-of.

Cassie Atkinson, an undergraduate Sustainability Education program assistant, said helping lead the most recent symposium with a focus on inclusion and community made the work feel meaningful and true to the spirit of sustainability.

“I hope participants of this experience were able to find a sense of community and resilience through this event by being celebrated for hard work that is for humans and the planet, not against humans and the planet,” Atkinson said.

Vivi Tabor, student assistant for the UMD Office of Sustainability and student representative for the 2025 symposium planning, said this opportunity helped foster cross-campus collaboration in a way that felt both energizing and impactful.

“The symposium really brings us all together to learn more about some niche topics in sustainability,” Tabor said. “It is essential to help us spread our ideas to a broader audience.”

Over the years, the symposium has weathered transitions and global disruptions, continuing each year in some form – including fully virtual sessions during the COVID-19 pandemic – with the consistent goal of spotlighting student passions and achievements.

Schmitt, now a senior research scientist in Sustainable Food Systems at IonE, credits the event’s longevity to the way it continues to evolve.

“It’s endured because they keep innovating and making it better,” she said. 

Behind that innovation are organizers who are continually exploring new ways for the symposium to grow and adapt.

“My hope is that we continue to focus on how this symposium can reflect the broad nature of the work being done across the system in a way that is accessible for every student,” Hannemann said.

What started as a passing “wouldn’t it be neat?” has grown into a sustained effort – a space where students continue to share ideas, build community, and look toward the future.

Molly Stroh is the Communications & Editorial Fellow at the Institute on the Environment.