Announcements Benefits Engage Well-Being

Healthy planet, healthy people

Welcome to WashU’s summer well-being challenge, Sustain. This four-week program offers personalized guidance for daily practices that contribute to improving your personal well-being and the health of our planet and its inhabitants.

Participating in the challenge can help individuals improve their well-being by learning and practicing eco-friendly activities that reduce their ecological footprint and conserve natural resources. Participants will have access to activities and daily tips about local area resources provided by WashU’s Offices of Human Resources, Sustainability, and Parking & Transportation. However, the resources available below can benefit anyone looking to live a more sustainable lifestyle.


Climate change poses many threats to the health and well-being of all Americans…it affects the food we eat, the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the places that provide us with shelter. It can also impact people’s health and well-being by altering the frequency or intensity of extreme weather events and spread of certain pests and diseases.

Environmental Protection Agency’s webpage on climate change and human health

Health and well-being for all. Living a sustainable lifestyle is crucial for both human and environmental health. We understand the importance of this and are here to assist you with valuable local resources, innovative ideas, and helpful suggestions for a greener way of living. We encourage you to involve your household members in your efforts towards sustainability, as it can be easier to adopt eco-friendly habits when everyone is committed.

Let us help you on your journey toward a well and sustainable life with these weekly mini-challenges.

Week 1 | June 26
Weekly mini-challenge: What is one sustainability effort you would like to improve?

Sustain participants, post your answer on the wellness wall this week to be entered into a raffle for a CSA produce box!

WashU offers resources to help support your well-being and sustainability practices:
  • Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)
    WashU is proud to partner with the local non-profit Holistic Organic Sustainable Cooperatives (HOSCO) to provide a CSA crop box program for faculty and staff. View crop box options and sign up today
Week 2 | July 3
Weekly mini-challenge: Visit the WashU Farmers Market or another local farmers market near you.

Sustain participants, post a selfie at the market, or share what you bought on the wellness wall this week to be entered into a raffle for a CSA produce box!

WashU offers resources to help support your well-being and sustainability practices:
Week 3 | July 10
Weekly mini-challenge: Explore the outdoors by taking a stroll or cycling on a nearby greenway. If you don’t have one close by, capture a sweaty selfie during your next workout.

Sustain participants, post a sweaty selfie from a local greenway or recent workout on the wellness wall this week to be entered into a raffle for a CSA produce box!

Check out these local resources to help support your well-being and sustainability practices:
  • Great Rivers Greenway is working to make the St. Louis Region a more vibrant place to live, work and play by developing a network of greenways to explore and enjoy. With more than 128 miles of greenways constructed, there is probably one near you, making it easy to live more of your life outside.
  • WashU Danforth Campus Bike Tune-up | July 12, 2023, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
    This summer, the Edison Courtyard at Danforth Campus will host a free bike tune-up event brought to you by Parking & Transportation and the Office of Sustainability. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to get your bike running smoothly!
Week 4 | July 17
Weekly mini-challenge: What new sustainable practice are you excited to implement in your home or office?

Sustain participants, post your answer on the wellness wall this week to be entered into a raffle for a CSA produce box!

Continue your journey of discovering how to improve personal and planetary well-being.
  • Missouri Department of Conservation | If you want to immerse yourself in nature, Missouri has plenty of areas to explore. Use the Missouri Department of Conservation tool to discover the perfect conservation areas that fit your recreational interests.

Dive deeper

If you want to learn skills to enhance your well-being, reduce your ecological footprint, and conserve natural resources and have not already done so, consider participating in WashU’s current wellness challenge, Sustain, which runs from June 26 through July 23, 2023.

Bookmark these pages for easy access to WashU well-being and sustainable resources:

Sustain is a four-week opportunity to enhance your well-being while learning and practicing everyday activities to reduce your ecological footprint and conserve natural resources. Benefits-eligible employees can join the challenge any time before it ends on July 23, 2023. Learn more about and register for the Sustain challenge