Empowering Solutions for a Sustainable Future

The Institute of the Environment (IoE) at UConn brings together the expertise and passion of scientists and scholars across the University to address some of the most pressing challenges and grandest opportunities society faces in the 21st century.

The resources and expertise of the Center for Environmental Sciences and Engineering, the Office of Sustainability, the Connecticut State Museum of Natural History, and the Natural Resources Conservation Academy support the IoE’s integrated mission of research, education, and engagement. The IoE works to advance foundational understanding and develop innovative solutions to pressing environmental challenges, to prepare the next generation as adept and agile members of a 21st century workforce, and to inform and engage the public about what are arguably the existential issues of our time.

Solving environmental problems related to climate change, sustainability, food security, pollution, and species extinction requires an interdisciplinary approach that leverages expertise from diverse disciplines across the natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities. It requires consideration of multiple angles, from biophysical to cultural, and from legal to health perspectives.

A Living Building

Join us on an exciting and innovative philanthropic opportunity as we raise funds to construct a distinctive “Living Building” to house the University of Connecticut’s Institute of the Environment, encompassing the Center for Environmental Science and Engineering, Connecticut State Museum of Natural History, Natural Resources Conservation Academy, and Office of Sustainability.

Environment in the News

A field of young switchgrass in the northeastern U.S.
A Shortage of Native Seeds is Slowing Land Restoration Across the US, which is Crucial for Tackling Climate Change and Extinctions

Restoration projects require vast quantities of native seeds – but commercial supplies fall far short of what’s needed

portrait of Joe Fullerton
Joe Fullerton Appointed Director of the UConn Office of Sustainability

Fullerton will continue UConn’s institutional legacy of sustainability and further advance UConn’s national and international leadership in sustainability and the environment.

Organic microgreens in spoons.
Tiny but Mighty: Microgreens Could Play an Important Role in Feeding a Sustainable Future

‘With the same amount of food, we can provide higher nutritional quality with microgreens’