UMass Amherst Libraries Announce Winners of Undergraduate Sustainability Award

The UMass Amherst Libraries are pleased to announce the winners of the 2022 Undergraduate Sustainability Award.

The Undergraduate Sustainability Award promotes in-depth understanding of sustainability topics, research strategies, and the use of library resources, providing participating students with vital skills they will carry into future academic and vocational endeavors.

The competition was open to all currently enrolled UMass Amherst undergraduates. Five winners were chosen and received $800 scholarships. Two honorable mentions were chosen and received $400 scholarships per group. The awards are funded by the award-winning UMass Amherst Libraries’ Sustainability Fund.

Winners:

• Shakhi Begum ’22, for “What Has Fast Fashion Got to Do with Sustainability?”
• Theodore Eagle ’22, for “Toto, We’re Not in Hadley Anymore!: Environmental, Economic, and Cultural Complexities Surrounding the Adoption of No-Till Farming on Large-Scale Farms”
• Adam Finke ’22, for “Community Food Action Plan”
• Gwynnevere Klumpenaar ’22, for “Urban Greening Techniques in U.S. Cities:  Public Welfare or Social Warfare?”
• Gregory Poelker-McKee ’24, for “Cooked Nature: What Three Classic Books on the American Lawn Can Tell Us About Our Current Struggle to Mitigate Climate Change”

Honorable Mentions:

• Brady Bell ’23, Marley Norton ’23, and Ariel Fine ’23, for “Anaerobic Membrane Bioreactors as a Treatment for Wastewater and Biogas Production at University of Massachusetts Amherst”
• Kieran Tay ’22, Nicholas Sbalbi ’22, Michael Forozis ’24, and Flo Sabatini ’25, for “Undergraduates Raising Awareness for Anaerobic Digestion”