Education
Click on the icons below to learn more about our educational projects and initiatives in the house, around campus, and in the local community.
Creating a Sustainable Future
Our mission to create, educate, and support a community of socially and environmentally conscious individuals is central to our existence as the sustainability and social justice house on campus. More than anything, we want to challenge our peers to think critically about their lifestyles and decide what sustainability really means to them. But in order to do that, there is a lot of learning we all need to do. And this kind of learning won't happen in the classroom. It will happen over a potluck dinner made from local food. It will happen in the backyard at the compost pile. It will happen in the garden harvesting carrots and rutabaga. It will happen while volunteering at El Centro, the Homeless Shelter, or the Senior Center. It will happen on a trip to Leon, Nicaragua, visiting women's groups and fair trade coffee cooperatives. Sustainability pervades every issue, every challenge facing our society today. Whether its in food, energy, the environment, health, economies, or social justice, we can all get behind the call to create a more just and sustainable world.
The Ugly Truth
Unfortunately, part of what makes addressing sustainability so difficult is that it requires us to take a hard look at how we live today and the role we play as consumers driving an linear market economy. Check out this short film below, presented by Annie Leonard and produced by Free Range Studios:
The Story of Stuff
Next steps
There are many problems, its true. But the moral of this story is simple: we created these problems, so we can fix them too! If the market is driven by consumption, by us, than we have power beyond belief to forge a new path of consumption, one that demands zero-waste, supports local economies, and promotes social justice and sustainability.
Here are some actions you can take starting now:
1) Think critically about your consumption habits. What do you buy on a regular basis? Do you know where it came from? What did it take to get it to you?
2) Decide what kind of economy you would like to vote for with your hard earned dollars. Who would you most like to reward with your business? Are there more responsible companies or businesses that would benefit from your support?
3) Chose products that you know are ethically and sustainably produced over conventional products. Although these items are sometimes more expensive, consider the reason that conventional products are so cheap. What are the true costs of producing those items, either in environmental resources or human labor? Decide what you think is worth the extra $1 and take a stand in creating a more just and sustainable global economy.
4) Join a local co-op that you know will support and strengthen your local economy. If there is no co-op in your community, try to buy from local businesses as often as possible. The more you know the hands who made (or grew) your products, the better.
5) For products that you cannot find locally or domestically, look for items that are labeled as fair trade. Fair trade products ensure that workers are paid fair wages and are working in a healthy environment. They include coffee, chocolate, bananas, peanuts, almonds, cashews, sugar, tea, spices, fresh fruit, honey, cotton, wine, sports balls, and cut flowers. To learn more about fair trade and the exploitative histories of the items listed above, click here.
Here are some actions you can take starting now:
1) Think critically about your consumption habits. What do you buy on a regular basis? Do you know where it came from? What did it take to get it to you?
2) Decide what kind of economy you would like to vote for with your hard earned dollars. Who would you most like to reward with your business? Are there more responsible companies or businesses that would benefit from your support?
3) Chose products that you know are ethically and sustainably produced over conventional products. Although these items are sometimes more expensive, consider the reason that conventional products are so cheap. What are the true costs of producing those items, either in environmental resources or human labor? Decide what you think is worth the extra $1 and take a stand in creating a more just and sustainable global economy.
4) Join a local co-op that you know will support and strengthen your local economy. If there is no co-op in your community, try to buy from local businesses as often as possible. The more you know the hands who made (or grew) your products, the better.
5) For products that you cannot find locally or domestically, look for items that are labeled as fair trade. Fair trade products ensure that workers are paid fair wages and are working in a healthy environment. They include coffee, chocolate, bananas, peanuts, almonds, cashews, sugar, tea, spices, fresh fruit, honey, cotton, wine, sports balls, and cut flowers. To learn more about fair trade and the exploitative histories of the items listed above, click here.