Image
In 2025, the Office of Climate and Sustainability proudly awarded eight SCALe Mini Grants to innovative projects that bring climate and sustainability learning to life on campus.
The Sustainability and Climate Applied Learning (SCALe) Mini Grant provided seed funding for projects that use Duke’s campus as a living learning laboratory. The projects described below enhance student learning and position students, staff and faculty as change agents to activate behavior change and cultivate a campus culture that prioritizes sustainability progress.
2025 Awardees
This project was designed to establish a wellness garden on the Duke Physician Assistant (PA) Program campus, with the goal of fostering mental wellness and promoting ecological diversity and sustainability education. Read more to see the installed garden.
In partnership with Duke Dining, two undergraduate students led a campaign to reduce unnecessary plastic waste in the Brodhead Center by encouraging students to choose durable utensils when dining in. The project included outreach events to prompt conversations about sustainable dining choices and a survey to explore what influences students’ utensil preferences. By raising awareness and shifting behaviors, Give a Fork! aimed to make more mindful consumption a norm in one of Duke’s busiest dining hubs. Read more.
This juried photography exhibition invites the Nicholas School community to explore climate and sustainability challenges—and celebrate solutions—through visual storytelling. In Fall 2025, the Nicholas School community was invited to submit artwork that identified present and future challenges related to climate change and sustainability at Duke, and that demonstrated the promising solutions that Duke has already undertaken or can implement in the future. The exhibition will launch with a gallery event in spring 2025 and aims to spark campus dialogue by using art as an accessible and powerful tool for climate awareness and action. Read more.
Climate Cafes are weekly, informal gatherings that provide a supportive space for the Duke community to discuss the emotional, social, cultural, and political aspects of climate change. These conversations aimed to foster understanding, connect personal experiences with global challenges, and create a sense of shared purpose in addressing climate issues on campus and beyond. Read more.
A Master of Population Health Science student organized an educational campaign and event focused on menstrual health, distributing free reusable menstrual products and highlighting their environmental and economic benefits. The project encouraged sustainable behavior change and aimed to reduce stigma associated with menstruation and eliminate waste associated with period product packaging, all while making menstrual care more accessible and affordable for Duke students.
This collaborative project between Dan Richter, Leanne Gilbertson and the Duke Campus Farm team will install moisture and temperature sensors to monitor above- and below-ground climate conditions in real time. The data will support improved water management as the Farm’s well system becomes less reliable, while also enriching nearly 15 years of soil health research under organic practices. The project will expand research opportunities for students, enhance interdisciplinary collaboration and equip Farm staff and student fellows with tools to interpret and communicate environmental data. It builds on the ongoing Soil Fertility Fellowship, strengthening the Farm’s role as a hub for civic agriculture and applied climate learning.
This project brings undergraduate and graduate students together for a series of eight small-group dinners with sustainability experts and researchers on campus. Guided by the Climate & Sustainability Fluency Framework, each dinner conversation will explore either Duke’s operational climate initiatives or faculty-led research, creating space for interdisciplinary dialogue and connection. With support from the Office of Student-Faculty Engagement, the program encourages students to see how their academic paths intersect with climate action and empowers them to become change agents both on campus and beyond.
Inspired by NC State’s Sustainability Make-A-Thon, this student-led event will invite Duke undergraduate and graduate students to rapidly design and prototype campus-focused energy and climate solutions. Taking place in Fall 2025, the Make-A-Thon will activate Duke’s makerspaces and foster cross-campus collaboration through hands-on engagement with the Climate and Sustainability Fluency Framework. Involving faculty, staff and community partners as coaches and judges, the event aims to spark innovation and strengthen climate-minded networks across Duke and the Research Triangle.