Week 2:
Getting in the Groove

June 18, 2016

June 8 – June 14

This week I became aware of some of my more consistent duties and got a little bit more hands-on.

Wednesday

On Wednesday the 8th I attended my first major event for the Sustainability Center – one of many freshman orientation fairs. The University of Iowa’s student body is about thirty times larger than Cornell’s, so they have multiple freshman orientations throughout the summer. At these fairs, campus organizations and clubs set up booths in order to provoke membership, much like Cornell’s annual activities fair. The Office of Sustainability has two booths. One is for the Eco Hawks, and the other about biking on and around campus.

Eco Hawks isn’t really a group as much as a movement. Any U of I student, staff, or faculty member can join and be as involved as they want. In doing so, they help U of I achieve their 2020 Vision goals. Depending on a person’s level of commitment, Eco Hawks either simply receive biweekly newsletters to educate themselves on more sustainable ways of living or directly get involved in the community.

The biking booth was where I spent most of my time at the fair, as it was easier to learn about on the fly than everything Eco Hawk. Biking is really the best way to get around the U of I campus (and Iowa City as a whole) due to the maneuverability and environmental conscientiousness of a bike. The biking booth had a variety of pamphlets to get that message across, as well as a flier for the Bike Library in Iowa City where people can rent a bike for six months.

At this first orientation fair I mostly served as an observer. I watched George and the other interns say their piece to any interested people and learned what sorts of questions were asked and how to answer them. There’s at least one orientation every week so I am expected to go to them and teach people about sustainability on campus. Due to my experience working at the Cornell activities fair and my observations I am confident it will go well.

Thursday

The following day I gained another weekly duty. Every Thursday near one of the medical science buildings a variety of food trucks gather around lunchtime. There’s live music and good food, so it gets pretty packed. In order to capitalize on the foot traffic I and two others had three bins set up around the area: recycling, trash, and compost. Since not a lot of people know what is and isn’t compostable, we made signs that indicated what could go in each bin. Even so, we stationed ourselves nearby to let people know where individual pieces could go.

Once all the people and food trucks had gone, my compost bin was filled just as much as the trash bin, maybe even more so. A lot of people, including myself, were surprised at this. When I told people what was and wasn’t compostable I was often met with questions and disbelief – many had no idea that more than half of their “garbage” could be reused! At the end of the day we had collected about 25 pounds worth of compost from three different bags.

This experience was completely different than what I had experienced thus far. It was more physical and hands-on, and the change was much appreciated. It’s one thing to talk about sustainability as an abstract concept, but quite another to actually be outside working to actively make a difference in the environment. Even though it was a scorching hot day outside it was quite an enjoyable experience talking to people about recycling and helping them save some reusable resources, and I used the heat as an excuse to get some delicious shaved ice from one of the trucks!

Other Projects

In other news, the window display is up! The design was tweaked a little bit so it is no longer set within a box frame. This allows the display to be lighter and easier to hang. Additionally every component now hangs independently instead of all together to allow for some natural pendulous movement. It really gives the hawk some lively attitude! The back panel was also changed to make it more visually interesting.

Moments after hanging the display people in the halls could be seen stopping to examine it, so I would consider it a success. While that was the major component, some secondary design elements are being considered, such as hanging various paper hawks throughout the office.

My final ongoing project of this week was to update the staff page of the Sustainability Center website. This involves using SilverStripe some more, which I am becoming intimately familiar with. Each current staff member has been asked to write up a bio for themselves and send it to me along with a picture, which I will then put onto the website. This should give visitors to the website a more personable look at the staff and promote better relations with the public.

Final Thoughts

I feel like I’m becoming more comfortable around the office. I’m finally in the computer system, I’m learning everyone’s names, and I have multiple ongoing or weekly projects to work on. As each day passes and I learn new things about sustainability I become more sure of myself and my place in the office. And while I have gotten into a sort of routine I know to be ready for anything down the line and to always expect the unexpected.

Want to learn more about the U of I Sustainability Center and what they do? Click here!