University of Puget Sound Student Takes Action for the Environment

Campus, Students

Kaylynn O’Curran ’23 helps lead the charge for greater sustainability on campus.

Long before she had heard the term “sustainability,” Kaylynn O’Curran ’23 was obsessed with recycling. She wanted to live a lifestyle as close to zero-waste as possible, so she did her research on products to minimize her impact on the planet and try to be a conscious consumer. She felt good about her choices, but when she started studying at University of Puget Sound, she quickly learned that addressing climate change requires more than individuals making sustainable choices—it demands wide-ranging changes on a collective scale.

“When I filled out my work study form, I put down that I love to recycle and that’s how I got matched with Sustainability Services,” O’Curran says. “From day one, it’s been the best job and the only thing I can see myself doing.”

During her first year as a student work in Sustainability Services, the gender and queer studies and environmental policy and decision making double major focused on the campus’ waste management efforts. The student-run team helped educate the campus community about what went into the trash and what could be reused or recycled instead of joining the waste stream and ending up in a landfill. All was going well until the COVID-19 pandemic forced the team to change direction.

Kaylynn O'Curran ’23 is a double major in gender and queer studies and environmental policy and decision making at University of Puget Sound.

Kaylynn O'Curran ’23 in a Sustainability Services meeting. — O'Curran is a part of the Sustainability Services team, a branch of Facilities Services run primarily by student workers that manages Puget Sound's recycling and waste management program.

Kaylynn O'Curran ’23 driving a golf cart on campus. — In addition to providing a robust recycling program for the campus community, Sustainability Services offers educational programs and service opportunities to help raise awareness of sustainability and environmental justice issues.

“It wasn't safe to go into the residence halls or offices. We couldn’t work the way we used to,” O’Curran says. “That summer, we started brainstorming ways we could do more than just waste management. We wanted to build community and get other students involved in doing something about climate change.”

Working with Lexi Brewer, the university’s new director of sustainability, O’Curran started planning an event that would inspire Loggers to take action on Earth Day 2022. O’Curran and her peers made cold calls to environmental justice organizations around the South Sound to invite them to a virtual summit. In all, 16 local groups attended, giving students a chance to learn about their work and become volunteers.

In addition to the summit, O’Curran also organized a clean-up of the area around Thompson Hall, weeding out invasive and non-native plants like English ivy and replanting with species that are native to Western Washington, like salal. The event was paired with a food drive for Food Not Bombs, a nonprofit that provides food and hygiene supplies to people experiencing homelessness. O’Curran emphasizes the importance of remembering that climate change not only affects ecosystems—it impacts human populations, too.

Volunteers at an Earth Day event in 2022 planting native species outside Thompson Hall. — O'Curran helped organize Earth Day events on campus in 2022, including an informational session about local, climate-focused nonprofit organizations.

Earth Day volunteers weed out invasive plants outside Thompson Hall. — Volunteers spent an afternoon weeding out invasive plants near Thompson Hall and replanted the area with native species.

An Earth Day volunteer wearing a mask digs up an invasive plant. — The event was paired with a food drive to highlight the ways environmental and social justice issues are deeply intertwined.

Since the 2022 Day of Action, O’Curran has continued to advocate for educational opportunities on campus to get more Loggers involved in the fight against climate change. After graduation, she is considering different options for how to channel her passion into a career.

“I’m debating doing something in environmental education or maybe environmental law. I’d be really interested in writing policy to address some of these issues,” O’Curran says. “What I really want to do is take the things I’m learning in my classes and translate them into actions on the ground.”

EXPLORE MORE STORIES

Alden Robert ’23 moves a blue recycling bin

Campus

At Puget Sound, Environmental Sustainability Goes Beyond the Recycling Bin

For Alden Robert ’23, creating an environmentally sustainable campus involves a lot more than recycling, but it’s a place to start. The religious studies and international…

Nola Thury ’22 talking with a woman at a table

Students

Puget Sound Student Gives a Voice to People Behind Bars

Nola Thury ’22 was a first-year student when they attended their first event at the Northwest Detention Center. Surprised to learn that there was a detention facility…

Capriana Jiang ’22 (right) with a visitor of Tacoma's Neighborhood Clinic

Community

Puget Sound Pre-Med Student on a Mission To Provide Equal Access to Health Care

On a typical weeknight, you can find Capriana Jiang ’23 at the Neighborhood Clinic in Tacoma’s Hilltop neighborhood. Each night, the free clinic sees about a dozen patients…