06/01/2026
Leveraging Campus Partnerships for Eco-Sustainability Learning Experiences
Christopher T. Belser & Carol T. Lunn
Sustainability and eco-consciousness are topics at the forefront of the minds of many Generation Z students due to growing climate anxiety and a desire to enact green initiatives (Gomez et al., 2018; Tyson et al., 2021). Green jobs are also on the rise within the workforce (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2022; LinkedIn, 2022). Universities are responding with new curricular and co-curricular programming. In this article, we highlight the need for applied sustainability projects for university students on their campus and provide an overview of an eco-sustainability internship program at the University of New Orleans.
Applied Sustainability Learning Experiences
Learning experiences built around eco-sustainability offer students opportunities to build upon classroom learning, gain workforce skills, and enact creative projects that benefit their communities (Beaudoin & Brundiers, 2017). Two common mechanisms for these experiences are undergraduate research experiences and sustainability internships. Whereas the former emphasizes more traditional lab-based research in collaboration with university faculty (Haeger et al., 2020), sustainability-focused internships can include research activities and/or more “real-world” projects that address environmental issues (Miller et al., 2021). Both have strong implications for students’ career development, including deeper learning of major area content, acquiring soft skills, field-specific networking, and opportunities to test potential career options.
Project SEED
Project SEED was a grant-funded initiative at the University of New Orleans that provided undergraduate students with a one-year paid opportunity to lead a native plant habitat restoration project. Student participants identified green spaces on campus in need of rehabilitation, researched appropriate native plant species, recruited volunteer support, and coordinated the planting and maintenance of the green spaces. The first author, a counselor educator and certified master gardener, served as the Project Director who recruited student participants and oversaw project activities.
Through Project SEED, five students helped rehabilitate three gardens on campus. Most students were pursuing degrees in Earth & Environmental Sciences, with one pursuing a degree in Planning & Urban Studies. The gardens were certified as wildlife and native plant habitats by state and national organizations, and students earned the National Wildlife Federation’s Campus Eco-Leader Certification for their project leadership. This credential opens recipients up to a host of career-related resources (e.g., resume guides, job boards, career exploration tools).
Key Research Findings
We conducted a qualitative study (Belser et al., 2026) of the experiences of three students who participated in the first year of Project SEED, using Social Cognitive Career Theory (Lent & Brown, 2019) as a framework. The findings shed light on numerous career development-related topics. Participants shared their motivations for participating in an experience like Project SEED, including personal interest in the topic and a desire to operationalize their major into an experiential project. Interestingly, participants found that they were able to draw from their own strengths throughout the project, such as organizational, communication, and pre-existing leadership skills. Similarly, they shared about content-specific skills and soft skills they gained. Participants also found that the benefits of participating in the project ranged from personal benefits, career benefits, and community benefits. The challenges that participants shared within the project helped the team identify opportunities to build a stronger program in the future. In the end, participants felt that participating in Project SEED set them up for future work experiences, including experiences they had not previously thought of as accessible to them.
Other Campus-Based Sustainability Learning Experiences
Though Project SEED focused on one native-plant project on campus, there are countless possibilities for universities to enact learning experiences that help students’ future career development. The second author coordinated multiple paid opportunities for students related to sustainability efforts on-campus. One service-learning opportunity within a Fine Arts painting course involved students researching threatened native bird species and developing murals on campus highlighting the impacts of climate change on multiple local birds, in coordination with the Audubon Mural Project. The second author also initiated multiple paid opportunities for undergraduate students to lead campus-based initiatives, such as native plant habitat development, enacting a campus recycling ambassador program, and coordinating regular campus litter clean-up events. Students’ experiences in these activities, as well as Project SEED, have led to additional independent study courses focused on sustainability, internships that they had not previously considered, post-graduation job attainment in related fields, building on their campus-based experiences, and admittance to graduate programs to further their learning. Many of these projects could be adapted for online-only programs, particularly through partnerships with community sites where students reside. For example, the mural project could be converted to a digital poster, and students could organize a litter clean-up in their neighborhood.
Resources and Opportunities for Partnership
Developing sustainability-focused learning opportunities in colleges and universities cannot occur through the efforts of a lone staff or faculty member. First and foremost, having administrative buy-in can help shepherd projects through the appropriate approval channels. Staff and faculty interested in developing such programming should develop partnerships with any existing staff focused on sustainability, such as a sustainability officer or related academic disciplines. Additionally, coordinating with campus entities like facility services, campus dining, related academic departments, student government, and other student organizations can provide a network of knowledge, existing resources, and volunteers. Coordinating with career services and advising networks on campus can help recruit students who may be interested in participating and also help participating students leverage their experiences in future career endeavors.
Engaging the support of outside organizations, such as environment-focused non-profits, plant and wildlife societies, and other civic groups can help garner community engagement and volunteerism with campus-based initiatives. Federal Work Study funding may be utilized for campus-based experiences, depending on the scope of work within a project, and community-based Work Study funding may help fund off-site internships for sites meeting federal criteria. Community-based internships offer solutions for students in online programs to engage in learning experiences in the communities where they reside.
The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education has helpful resources, such as their Sustainable Campus Index and their guide for sustainability learning projects (Beaudoin & Brundiers, 2017). Jones et al. (2015) offered additional examples of student-driven projects. It is important to note that many of the projects they highlighted include the development of online educational materials or other media, which can easily be completed by students enrolled in online programs.
Sustainability learning experiences help students have career-benefitting opportunities beyond their academic curricula. Such experiences align well with Generation Z’s preference for environmentally conscious and eco-active work experiences (Tyson et al., 2021; Gomez et al., 2018). Career professionals are well positioned to help participating students translate their experiences into career opportunities and should be engaged in helping plan and enact such programming on their respective campuses.
References
Beaudoin, F.D., & Brundiers, K. (2017). A guide for applied sustainability learning projects: Advancing sustainability outcomes on campus and in the community. The Association for Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education. https://hub.aashe.org/browse/publication/15675/A-Guide-for-Applied-Sustainability-Learning-Projects-Advancing-sustainability-outcomes-on-campus-and-in-the-community
Belser, C. T., Wade, M., Tavormina, H., & Lunn, C. (2026). Campus-based eco-sustainability internships: Initial findings and implications for career programming. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSHE-01-2025-0064
Gomez, K., Mawhinney, T., & Betts, K. (2018). Welcome to generation Z. Deloitte. https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/us/Documents/consumer-business/welcome-to-gen-z.pdf
Haeger, H., Banks, J. E., Smith, C., & Armstrong-Land, M. (2020). What we know and what we need to know about undergraduate research. Scholarship and Practice of Undergraduate Research, 3(4), 62-69.
Jones, K., Cochran, C., Eagan, D. J., & Goodlaw-Morris, J. (2016). The campus wild. The National Wildlife Federation. https://www.nwf.org/-/media/PDFs/Campus-Ecology/Resources/The-Campus-Wild/The-Campus-Wild_LR_Aug25.pdf
Lent, R. W., & Brown, S. D. (2019). Social cognitive career theory at 25: Empirical status of the interest, choice, and performance models. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 115, 103316. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2019.06.004
LinkedIn. (2022), Global green skills report 2022. https://economicgraph.linkedin.com/content/dam/me/economicgraph/en-us/global-green-skills-report/global-green-skills-report-pdf/li-green-economy-report-2022.pdf
Miller, H., Miller, B. R., & Spoelstra, J. (2021). A sustainability internship program: Strategies for creating student stewards for sustainability. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 22(5), 1022-1037. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSHE-08-2020-0314
Tyson, A., Kennedy, B., & Funk, C. (2021). Gen Z, millennials stand out for climate change activism, social media engagement with issue. Pew Research. https://www.pewresearch.org/science/2021/05/26/gen-z-millennials-stand-out-for-climate-change-activism-social-media-engagement-with-issue/
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2022). Green growth: Employment projections in environmentally focused occupations. https://www.bls.gov/careeroutlook/2022/data-on-display/green-growth.htm
Christopher T. Belser, Ph.D., NCC, NCSC, is an Associate Professor in the Counselor Education graduate program at the University of New Orleans in New Orleans, LA, USA. He is a past-president and current board member of the Louisiana Career Development Association and the current editor of the Journal of Child and Adolescent Counseling. His research interests center on intersections of career development, nature, and wellness and P-16 STEM career initiatives. He can be reached at ctbelser@uno.edu
Carol T. Lunn, MBA, PhD, is Assistant Vice President for Research and Economic Development at the University of New Orleans, where she leads strategic research growth and oversees a comprehensive portfolio of sponsored programs. Her work focuses on advancing research infrastructure, fostering faculty scholarship, and promoting community-engaged initiatives across the Greater New Orleans region. She earned her PhD in Urban Studies, with research examining environmental sustainability in higher education institutions. Lunn’s scholarship and leadership emphasize practical, campus-based approaches to sustainability, workforce development, and regional impact. She can be reached at clunn1@uno.edu