My Time in the Office of Campus Sustainability
Source: Museum of Nature
So, my time working in this office is drawing to a close, and I feel that a parting message is in order. That’s not to say that I won’t ever blog again, but it won’t really be a regular occurrence, and I won’t be buzzing around this office spreading my crazy anymore. By spreading my crazy, I mean being “productive” or something to that effect.
I began my journey here last April, with only a basic idea of what exactly it is that I was to be doing. My idea of sustainability was pretty loose, at best, and my life definitely had a lot of room for improvement in that department. I found the growth of knowledge to be exponential; both with respect to the campus as a community and in the greater scope of the world. I began using a reusable water bottle and convinced my entire family to follow suit; we have now eliminated a substantial expenditure AND eliminated roughly 850 plastic water bottles from passing through our house yearly.
I have increased my knowledge of recycling and have introduced the previously-unheard-of concept of composting, which reduces my household’s waste considerably! In addition to these major changes, I’ve begun altering my diet to be more sustainable (a step at a time, though; it’s hard to make a 180-degree change right off the bat), and generally behaving in a more responsible way, with regards to our planet.
The fact that I had the ability to actually contribute to the University experience made my position feel that much more significant. Writing and “publishing” (the internet counts) the water fountain report, as well as the Dump & Run report, among others, made me see that the steps we’re taking are actually making a dent in our unsustainable society and the lack of public awareness. It felt great to be able to contribute ideas and designs to the various processes and projects that I’ve worked on and helped out with.
Overall, this has been both a fun and enlightening few months, and I’m able to take away a lot from the experience. With that said, I bid you a formal adieu, but never fear – this isn’t the last you’ll be hearing of me…
-vedrana
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