{"id":166057,"date":"2026-09-21T12:30:45","date_gmt":"2026-09-21T17:30:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/?p=166057"},"modified":"2026-09-21T12:30:47","modified_gmt":"2026-09-21T17:30:47","slug":"ole-miss-recognized-for-sustainability-conservation-efforts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/ole-miss-recognized-for-sustainability-conservation-efforts\/","title":{"rendered":"Ole Miss Recognized for Sustainability, Conservation Efforts"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Sustainability office launches dragonfly gardens, recycling initiatives, and more<\/em>.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

by Clara Turnage<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality<\/strong> has recognized the University of Mississippi <\/strong>for its commitment to sustainability and conservation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

John Brugge<\/strong>, director of the\u00a0Office of Sustainability<\/strong><\/a>, accepted the recognition at the\u00a0enHance Environmental Stewardship Workshop and Awards Luncheon<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0last month in Jackson<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"John<\/a>
John Brugge. Photo by Srijita Chattopadhyay\/Ole Miss Digital Imaging Services<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Ole Miss joined enHance<\/strong>, a state initiative designed to support environmental leaders across Mississippi<\/strong>, as part of the 2026 cohort. All participating organizations commit to making environmental improvements beyond standard regulatory requirements. Ole Miss<\/strong> joined the imitative at the\u00a0steward level<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor us, sustainability is not just about our campus,\u201d Brugge said. \u201cWhat we\u2019re trying to do is become a leader in Oxford, the region and the state. We want to set and maintain the new Mississippi standard.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since joining the administration last year, Brugge has initiated multiple new projects to promote sustainability on campus, including new recycling standards and signage, revitalizing the campus community garden, and creating new dragonfly and damselfly habitats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Involving the community in every step of the process is important, said Bebe Falkner<\/strong>, a senior Southern studies and interdisciplinary studies major from Christiana, Tennessee<\/strong>. Falkner works in the Office of Sustainability and joined Brugge in Jackson to accept the award.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think that’s getting to the heart of what Southern sustainability is,\u201d Falkner said. \u201cGetting face-to-face conversations with individuals in our community about what they want to see and how they want to move forward is so important to understanding how we approach sustainability in a way that\u2019s not intimidating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe want to look at our community and culture and cultivate something together.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Working alongside groups such as the\u00a0Department of Landscape Services<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0and the\u00a0Department of Biology<\/strong><\/a>, many of the office\u2019s efforts are already becoming a part of everyday life for members of campus, from improved recycling bins to gardens that invite community involvement and support local bees, butterflies, moths, beetles and birds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou can see them across campus,\u201d Brugge said, referring to the many pollinator gardens maintained by UM Landscape Services. \u201cIt\u2019s helpful for pollinator insects, but it\u2019s also just something you can do in your backyard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMost people love a pollinator garden, but what you don\u2019t hear about as often is a predator garden.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through funding from the\u00a0National Wildlife Federation and the 2026 Mutual of Omaha\u2019s Wild Kingdom Grant Program<\/strong>,<\/a>\u00a0the sustainability office is working to bring an aquatic predator habitat to campus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A water feature behind the\u00a0Residential College South<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>will soon be home to a host of dragonflies and damselflies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDragonflies are some of the most effective predators of mosquitoes, wasps, horseflies and even other dragonflies,\u201d he said. \u201cBut dragonflies are also losing their habitats, especially in places like cities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat we hope to demonstrate is that by reestablishing a predator habitat, we can lower the population of pest insects while serving an endangered species.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The grant will offer Brugge and his students a chance to monitor both the aquatic habitat on campus and one being developed at the\u00a0UM Field Station<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0to understand how reintroducing predator species affects local wildlife and communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Community gardens and pollinator gardens at the University of Mississippi support local populations of bees, moths, butterflies, beetles and wasps. Photo by Srijita Chattopadhyay\/Ole Miss Digital Imaging Services<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The office also recently partnered with Oasis Venture Holdings<\/strong>, an American aluminum manufacturing company, to offer reusable aluminum cups made with recycled materials.\u00a0The cups, which bear the Ole Miss logo, are in the style of disposable plastic drinkware, but are meant for reuse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The cups are available for purchase<\/a> via donation, with all proceeds benefiting the university’s Sustainable Ole Miss fund<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf we want people to stop using single-use plastic waste, we have to give them a better option,\u201d Brugge said. \u201cThat sounds like a small thing, but being sustainable often means making better small choices, and you have to start somewhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s our goal: we want to make it easier for our campus to take that first step.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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