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Future environmentally friendly native plants will soon be reaping the benefits of a student-led composting effort on the University of Northern Colorado鈥檚 campus. At the end of the spring 2025 semester, members of the Student Leadership for Environmental Action Fund, or Student LEAF, gathered on the hill outside the University Center (UC) near the Northern Vision statue to help transfer four cubic yards of compost onto planting beds where the new native plants will grow.

Related: Sprouting New Landscape to Save Around 2 Million Gallons of Water Per Year

The university is transforming the UC hill area, converting the 3.4 acres of underutilized Kentucky bluegrass into water-resilient plantings and an accessible public park. The changes will save around 2 million gallons of water per year. Energy and Sustainability Manager Chris Bowers says adding compost to this area is essential to the success of the landscape as it enriches the soil, creating healthier plants, while reducing water use and the need for synthetic fertilizers.  

鈥淚t is also diverting waste from the landfills, which is reducing methane emissions, a harmful greenhouse gas that food decomposition produces in landfills,鈥� Bowers said.

The ability to use compost soil started with the members of Student LEAF looking into ways to combat food waste on campus. Wanting to limit the amount of unfinished or spoiled portions of food being tossed out every day, the student organization began partnering with a Fort Collins-based company called Compost Queen.Together, they collect almost all food scraps, including meat, bones, rinds and grains from UNC鈥檚 Holmes Dining Hallandtransform it intocompost material.The partnership began in January, and so far,5,354 pounds of food waste have been collected.

Related: Turning a New LEAF with Composting

While Compost Queen will reduce their collections over the summer, full-service collections will return during the fall. Student LEAF was able to fund this composting initiative as a pilot program with the hopes that the university and their dining partner, Sodexo, would adopt composting as standard procedure starting in 2026.  

鈥淭he students have been interested in a program like this for years, and we鈥檙e thrilled that it鈥檚 finally become a reality,鈥� Bowers said.