"There’s finally life in the town.

And when there’s life, there’s new beginnings.

And when there’s new beginnings, there’s a new future ahead for the next generation."

"You hear all the time in the news about the way climate change and pollution is and will be affecting the world, and you hear about all the ways in which we could change it. However, to me most of these changes are all talk and no action, and so we see our future slipping through our fingertips. It's only when we actively fight this inevitable future that we are able to change the outcome, just like how you have to consciously make an effort to keep that sand from escaping your hands."

"The statement “if I am not protecting myself, who is protecting you?” asks the viewer how they can protect themselves from harm while the food production system in our country pushes big harvests, supplemented by harmful pesticides, and profit over human health. In addition, the statement asks how the vulnerable in our society— endangered species, communities and our future generations— can protect themselves when the norm for farming practice is unsustainable."

"My piece is about having humor, flexibility, and patience in my own personal goal to always improve my relationship with the environment. We can’t separate ourselves from nature and we shouldn’t. Nature will continue to adapt through repetition and we must take advantage of how lucky we are in this life to be able to choose to make a positive impact."

"This artwork is meant to be the embodiment of "one man's trash is the next man's treasure" by turning what would otherwise be trash sent to a landfill into a beautiful piece of art. The piece is purposefully meant to juxtapose the natural landscape (bird watching over a valley) with an almost industrial and processed feel (recycled man made objects)."

"In today’s post-industrial society, we live our lives detached from nature. We assume it will always be there should we need it and ignore it when it serves no immediate purpose. We benefit from the fruits of countless biological processes but find little incentive to give back. I myself am guilty of repeatedly overcoming and succumbing to this state of indifference. In creating Oasis, I wanted to highlight the potential effects of exploitation and depletion driven by human activity."

"This film strives to educate about sustainability and food systems, while also creating an exciting visual experience for the audience. All of the visuals are original content, curated with the intention of adding appropriate mood and tone to environmental issues."

"With the materials available, my mind has also been fed with ideas for sustainability from the recent documentary on Netflix, Seaspiracy. It is now nearly obvious that a plant based diet is necessary and I am thankful for UMass’ vegan options. Although my painting and video did not address veganism directly, I think that the biggest thing we can understand from information around climate change and documentaries like Seaspiracy, is that everything is connected. My video tries to capture this feeling of nature surrounding us and trash being tied and woven into our ecosystems."

"My home country is deeply and violently occupied. In the video, when I say “how do I begin to save it all?'', I'm referring to trying to live sustainably, trying to do something for the environment when you have no state autonomy and have other, more important priorities like surviving.

I do whatever I can, even when it is exhausting, even when I feel helpless.

I made this art/video to remind myself how badly I've wanted to hold this earth and save its bits. I made this video because I'd like to think that I've begun."

"In the creation of this piece, it was very important for me to express my connection to sustainability not only in the positive aspects, but also in the negatives. As someone who cares for the environment, shame and guilt are large themes for me–these feelings can be tied in the emotions of trying to live sustainably, yet still feeling fear and hopelessness in relation to human interaction and impact on our planet."

"While environmental conscience is a universal effort, we turn to engineers and experts in sustainability to pave a path where things are successfully recycled instead of landfilled or littered. Massive strides have been made and are continuing to grow in collecting, cleaning, and converting waste. We hope this piece demonstrates the excitement and remarkable progress to fulfill sustainable initiatives from the perspective of a team of engineers."

"I took the route of co-existing with our Earth and showing that sustainability happens when we work with what we have, rather than against it. I want to inspire a connection within ourselves and the environment. Let’s find where our feet can wander freely in the dirt, where our bodies can sway with the wind, and where our souls can explore but respect the ecosystem, we are living in. We should not give up or wait until we find a perfect place over the rainbow, because all of us here right now, can make a difference. My hope is that through my piece, we will all go in search of that deeper connection because in order to see the change externally, we have to find it internally. "

"The birds with the blue silhouettes are the birds that are gone because of the population decrease. They are present in the painting but the real birds in the painting are only the birds without the blue aura. I was not at the station in 2018 but I’ve heard from the station manager that 2018 fall was very busy because hundreds of migratory birds were caught in the nets, which is very contrasting to what I have experienced in 2019 fall. This experience opened my eyes to how real climate change is because I could visually see the changes in bird populations as climate change has continuously impacted them."

"For my piece of art, I targeted the issue of plastic and trash in our oceans; plastic takes hundreds of years to decompose and single-use plastic is not sustainable whatsoever. I want to do what I can to help, and usually I won’t throw out certain trash because I believe I could use it for something else later. Moving on, I used trash/pieces of plastic in my art that would have otherwise been thrown out, some of it was from around the house or from my friends, but it’s pieces I saved."

"In my project I was inspired by the way nature finds a balance between simplicity and complexity. I decided to replicate this through design by combining linear turns, simple planes and curved roofing. My structure is based on the need for an outdoor, unique space where students can feel excited to go to for relaxing or working on homework. When designing the space, I thought of how light occupies space when tilting and curving roofing. I wanted each space to have a different experience, similar to being in nature."

"The poem “Asking for More” reflects on humanity’s struggle to acknowledge the real and tragic effects of climate change as we experience the negative consequences. The actions of humans have created change that results in the suffering and endangerment of innumerable animal species as well as our own selves. As animals suffer through the inability to survive in ever-changing ecosystems, humans also suffer despite our adaptability. Yet, the reality of climate change is still questioned, and many industries thrive off of unsustainable practices."

"Day Arc is a sanctuary, an observatory, an intimate space to connect with the natural world. With the sky as its ceiling, Day Arc participates in the characterization of an oasis—it exists to flourish through natural resources. Using methods of rainwater conservation to support and foster plant growth, Day Arc takes an extremely literal and technical approach to sustainability, while still reserving an ability to exist as a structure rooted in artistic design. Therefore, the interaction of these two categories—sustainability and art—is something that the visitor, viewer, or participant experiences."

“To put it simply, my relationship with sustainability is being cognizant of the fact that what I do as an individual matters, but only to an extent. There is only so much that recycling and driving an electric car can accomplish. More importantly, it should be the responsibility of world leaders to make an effort to do something about climate. Politicizing an issue as grand as climate change serves only one purpose, it allows politicians to run for their own selfish gains meaning that the issue will never actually get solved. I believe that as long as society is blindly driven to prioritize capital, laws that are stringent enough to actually protect the environment will never be passed."

"As the world’s consumers demand that companies become more sustainable, a significant problem within the beverage industry is the heavy use of plastic bottles. Most plastic containers and bottles are made from virgin plastic, which is made from oil, and most have caps that are of a different material inhibiting effective recycling. My company, Eco Bottling, responds to this problem with our revolutionary can alternative, the EcoCan, the world’s first-ever 100% rPET beverage can."

"During the Covid-19 pandemic, I found myself looking for the opportunity to get out of the house, and find some peace and quiet. I have always enjoyed walking through the surrounding woods in Amherst. Last fall and this spring, I’d bring spare scraps of wood and my grandfather’s set of carving tools with me on my walks. I would find a place to sit and would carve wooden kitchen utensils. I have really enjoyed the serenity and peace of mind that crafting these pieces have brought me. I have found this to be a great way to relax and unplug while dealing with the stress of the past year."

"In my piece of art I decided to implement a banner with the words “ECO NOT EGO” over a scene of the University of Massachusetts Amherst campus. This quote is important because in times where our planet is suffering we need to come together. The main meaning behind eco is having respect for others and the environment while ego is taking power over others and not working together. We must coexist in order to create a sustainable, safe environment. Protecting our environment isn’t going to happen if one person makes a difference, but if we all come together and respect one another we can make a change."

"I love being able to reuse the glass jars from foods and drinks, it’s a small way to cut down on the amount of waste I create if I am able to reuse these and make my friends and family little pieces to brighten up their spaces. Being able to do even small things to lower the amount of waste I produce is incredibly important to me."

"This poem emphasizes the feelings that we get from the world around us, and how certain features of the environment and our interactions with them can instill lifelong lessons that you don’t necessarily get to learn anywhere else. It speaks to a lot of my own personal experiences, but serves to touch a breadth of areas to highlight how there’s something out there for all of us, and that there’s a lot more benefit in the environment than physical natural resources alone."

"Sustainability to me means a recognition that we are a single facet in the web of life, not greater than the other parts. It means that we must understand not only the ways that we affect the world but the ways it changes us. Part of this understanding is being able to start to see the human world and natural world not as two separate parts but rather the human world as part of a larger whole. We have mentally put them in opposition with each other, which helps create the mindset needed for ecological destruction in the pursuit of profit, even though for the vast majority of human history the difference between humans and not was not as marked. "

"Mandala art is spiritual art based in Hinduism and Buddhism. As someone who is American with South Asian descent, I have used both influences of Eastern and Western art in my mandala. I have also used a color scheme that starts with light, radiant colors which pan out into darker colors to show how pristine environments have been polluted. But, there is a glimmer of hope that we, one day, will be able to get to a place where we can get closer to nature and become more environmentally friendly. The use of mandala art was to also bring together the eastern and western influences I grew up with in terms how we think about nature."

"Sustainability is the art of maintaining ecological balance by respecting Earth and maximizing our natural resources, however limited they may be. As a biology major, I was often told DNA is one of the fundamental building blocks of life. Inversely, the formation of life required carbon, water, and minerals; all provided by the earth beneath our feet. Science is based in unending and unyielding progress in order to sustain itself and more importantly to sustain each and everyone of us. My sculpture is meant to be a culmination of these concepts, in which the DNA helix is growing in the form of a tree out of the Earth, being nourished by the rich resources available."

"Deforestation is the clear-cutting of forests. It happens all around the world and affects local communities and ecosystems. Deforestation is the second-largest source of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. Its main driving force is the growing industry of forestry and agriculture. Much of the forests are cut for the creation of agricultural land. Deforestation in the tropics releases about 2.6 gigatonnes of CO2 yearly. Deforestation is also the major cause of biodiversity loss. International trade is also a significant part of deforestation and emissions. As more countries are trading agricultural goods it increases GHG emissions."