The Provost's Sustainability Internship placed Victoria Tichy at the Arboretum as part of a year long program to implement a project there. The Arboretum is dependent on private funding through donors and grants, as well as fundraising through plant sales, memberships, and gift sales. Many events are held throughout the year and these provided a perfect opportunity to get the community and employees thinking about the amount of waste we create and how to fix that.

A way to foster pride in sustainable office life was to raise the Arboretum's Green Office Certification Rating, so a green team was assembled with three other office members and the intern. They prepared for being recertified in May by having monthly meetings, acquiring two more energy saving smart strips, posting reminders around the office to turn off computers and remove screen savers, and by reducing trash produced at events.

The intern was on all event planning committees and was responsible for both finding ways to get students to participate, and for making innovations for events to be low waste. The Arboretum used slug ware, re-usable bamboo flatware, cups, and plates, for a few events and worked with organic, local caterers. At the events student sustainability volunteers (brought in through class visits and other outreach) helped divert compost and recycling from the land fill by 'trash talking'. Additionally, the intern reached out to other environmental agencies to include them in events. At Hummingbird day we had different organizations table and talk to the community about their own projects.

The intern wrote a grant to the Carbon Fund for the Arboretum to receive a dishwasher, as we already have ceramic dishware and silverware. With a dishwasher staff can utilize these at events clean them afterwards. There is no longer a need for disposable products.

As a place of learning that is devoted to plant conservation, we feel we should be setting an example of sustainability to both the campus and community.