| Adventure Beyond Campus | Want to explore beyond campus? Thanks to Iowa City’s fare-free bus system, students can easily check out new spots around town—no car needed! The OSE has curated interactive maps for five of the bus routes to help you discover local restaurants, parks, shops, salons, and so much more. It’s a great way to get to know the community and support local businesses. | | | | Iowa carries lessons of soil loss, water challenges, and fragmented ecosystems, but also stories of resilience and solutions ready to scale up. Tending Iowa’s Land, edited by researcher and writer Cornelia Mutel, gathers essays and personal narratives that explore paths toward a regenerative future.
Join us on Tuesday, Sept. 23, 10 a.m.–2 p.m. at the Lagoon Shelter House by the Iowa River for a community read-aloud. Sign up for a 20-minute slot to give voice to these stories, or come to listen, recharge, and connect with people and organizations working to bring these ideas to life.
Learn more | | | | The University of Iowa’s Undergraduate Engagement Corps (UEC) is a program designed to help students turn ideas into action through community engagement. Members take part in a one-credit spring seminar focused on the principles and practices of engagement, while also participating in workshops and events on campus and in the community. Each student receives mentorship on the development of a community-engaged project based in their hometown, with the opportunity to compete for UEC-specific grants to support their work. If you're an undergraduate student passionate about addressing pressing societal issues, improving quality of life, and becoming an engaged citizen, the UEC is for you!
Learn more | | | Started in collaboration between UI Facilities Management and student gardening club D.I.R.T., this garden grows fresh produce for campus while also supporting native pollinators as part of UI’s commitment to Bee Campus USA and the Xerces Society. Vegetables like cherry tomatoes, sweet potatoes, and green beans grow alongside flowering herbs and plants like lavender, chamomile, and butterfly milkweed. No gardening experience? No problem. If you're interested in planting, weeding, watering, or harvesting, your help is welcome.
| | | | The University of Iowa Museum of Natural History has been awarded over $1 million from the National Science Foundation, the largest grant in the museum's history, to preserve and digitize more than 140,000 insect and invertebrate specimens. This effort will modernize storage, safeguard specimens for future research, and make the collection digitally accessible for research and education. The grant also funds 30 paid undergraduate internships over the next three and a half years, along with a new bilingual exhibit and outreach programs that highlight the ecological importance of invertebrates in Iowa’s natural history.
Learn more | | | Research shows that access to nature reduces stress, lowers symptoms of anxiety and depression, restores focus, and boosts overall mood, which points to the idea that expanding green space on college campuses, through trees, gardens, or small natural areas, offers a simple and cost-effective way to improve student well-being. This is meaningful because with millions of students experiencing stress and depression, even modest additions of green space can have a meaningful impact in fostering a stronger sense of belonging and supporting mental health and academic success.
Learn more | | | | The Eastern Iowa Fiber & Dye Cooperative, founded by Nicholas Cladis, is a community garden at Reno Street Park in Iowa City that grows plants like indigo, flax, and coreopsis for natural dyes and fibers. Supported by the Big Field Fund, the Andy Warhol Foundation, and Iowa City Parks & Recreation, the co-op combines art, nature, and sustainability, providing resources for paper, textile, and book artists. Members practice responsible harvesting, create site-specific artworks, and host workshops to connect the community with the cultural and ecological significance of these plants.
Learn more | | | Alliant Energy is proposing to add up to 1,000 megawatts of wind energy to Iowa’s electric grid, a move that would increase its wind generation capacity by more than 50%. The project, estimated to cost over $3 billion, is expected to power more than 350,000 homes and support the reliability of the company’s generating fleet. The proposal, named “New Wind III,” is currently under review by the Iowa Utilities Commission, with a decision anticipated in early 2026. If approved, the expansion will help Alliant meet capacity needs and support clean energy goals.
Learn more | | | | The Iowa City Downtown District (ICDD) has appointed Ian Dunbar as its first-ever Director of Place Management. Dunbar will oversee signature programs such as Pop-Up Markets, Black Hawk Mini Park activations, North Linn Street programming, and summer road closures for outdoor dining. An Iowa native and University of Iowa graduate, Dunbar brings a background in environmental policy and planning, with experience in sustainable urban development. His appointment underscores ICDD’s commitment to fostering a vibrant and inclusive downtown environment.
Learn more | | | Residents of Ottumwa raised concerns at a September 3 public meeting about Interstate Power and Light (IPL), an Alliant Energy subsidiary, amended wastewater disposal plan for its coal plant, specifically the potential presence of heavy metals like lithium, cobalt, and manganese, and their possible health impacts. However, representatives from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources acknowledged confusion around permit terminology and language, while Alliant Energy emphasized that the amendment resolves a technical issue from a 2024 permit and fully complies with DNR regulations, ensuring the protection of water quality in the Des Moines River.
Learn more | | | Jobs, Internships, and Other Opportunities | | | | | |
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