School of Sustainability Graduate Culminating Experiences
Student capstone and applied projects from ASU's School of Sustainability.
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Description
People everywhere should be doing everything they can to be more sustainable so that climate change can begin to be mitigated. We are already feeling the negative effects of climate change, and they are thoroughly documented. Despite this people are not changing to be more sustainable fast enough. Many either reject the idea of climate change, do not know what they could do, or are unaware of how climate change affects them. Sustainability also impacts more than just climate change. Living more sustainably can have positive impacts economically as well as positive impacts on human health. In a world that is so connected and with such a wealth of information, we can no longer afford to have communities in the dark. Leaders need to rise on a community level to make a difference. Leadership is an aspect of an organization or a project that can elevate it to new heights. A leader is not everything, but the difference a good leader makes is universal. In this paper I will teach you about organizing a sustainability fair that educates and engages marginalized communities that typically are not included in the conversation on how to save our world.
ContributorsSalinas, Jorge (Author)
Created2018-11-10
Description
Strategies and interventions have promoted the sustainability of urban communities, but effective communication of these solutions is lacking. Documentation of current solutions tends to be dense and difficult for non-academics to understand. Sustainability scientists and practitioners need ways to meaningfully and intelligibly communicate their experiences to the lay public. This project sought to visually present sustainable community development solutions to address this communication barrier. Members of urban/community gardens in Phoenix and Tempe, Arizona, and Copenhagen and Aarhus, Denmark, were photographed, interviewed. Their feedback was then examined to assess the degree to which photographs can tell a holistic sustainability story.
The photographs focused on aspects of life and behaviors that have contributed to happiness in local communities. A website was created and a gallery event was mounted for public review and discussion. Gallery attendees and website visitors were asked to complete a survey to assess (1) gained knowledge of sustainability solutions, and (2) how effective a tool photography is as a means of sustainability solutions communication.
This visual medium allowed people think about how to incorporate sustainable community solutions into their own lives and may have changed people’s interest in, and thoughts about, overall sustainability and sustainable solutions. The survey results demonstrated that photographs can successfully communicate sustainability ideas. Specifically, viewers gained an increased awareness of how community and urban gardening can increase happiness, well-being, and sense of community. This visual approach can continue to be used to more successfully communicate additional sustainability solutions ideas and methods to the public.
The photographs focused on aspects of life and behaviors that have contributed to happiness in local communities. A website was created and a gallery event was mounted for public review and discussion. Gallery attendees and website visitors were asked to complete a survey to assess (1) gained knowledge of sustainability solutions, and (2) how effective a tool photography is as a means of sustainability solutions communication.
This visual medium allowed people think about how to incorporate sustainable community solutions into their own lives and may have changed people’s interest in, and thoughts about, overall sustainability and sustainable solutions. The survey results demonstrated that photographs can successfully communicate sustainability ideas. Specifically, viewers gained an increased awareness of how community and urban gardening can increase happiness, well-being, and sense of community. This visual approach can continue to be used to more successfully communicate additional sustainability solutions ideas and methods to the public.
ContributorsRosenstein, Rachael (Author) / Cloutier, Scott (Contributor) / Prosser, Paul (Contributor)
Created2017-11-15
Description
The community of Gumantar in Lombok, Indonesia, one of the poorest regions of the island, is home to a large number of coffee farmers. Due primarily to production quality, these farmers struggle to earn a sufficient wage. While trying to provide for their families, the local environment often suffers. The persistent poverty has resulted in lower education levels, health care barriers, and decreased well-being. In an effort to empower the farmers and promote sustainable development, I have created a best practice guide that looks at five coffee production factors. The local farmers have specifically requested case supported, science-based information regarding these factors. The factors include farming techniques, drying practices, coffee specific small business skills, financial literacy, and coffee certification requirements. Access to information regarding these topics is intended to help reduce poverty, increase accessibility to quality education, and support local economic development, environmental health, and community health and well-being.
ContributorsPrice, Paige (Writer of accompanying material)
Created2020-05-13
Description
This project focuses on building capacity for the long-term viability of the garden based learning program at Martin Luther King Early Childhood Center through cultivating relationships with local organizations and businesses. Building upon Matthew Waldman’s 2018 MSUS project work with this school and The Farm at South Mountain, this project’s purpose was to explore ways to integrate the greater school community and allow them to share their vision for an outdoor community space.
The intervention tool used to engineer this collaborative mindset was individual square foot garden boxes that each child in the 2019 student body was able to decorate and take home.
As a tangible piece of this Culminating Experience, I have installed a pollinator garden that has been registered with Monarch Waystation Program. This space serves as a celebration of the school’s mascot and provides a totem for the collective action of the community.
With the onset of COVID-19 and the implementation of local, state and federal guidelines, the school has been closed since March and has curtailed the anticipated deliverables.
The intervention tool used to engineer this collaborative mindset was individual square foot garden boxes that each child in the 2019 student body was able to decorate and take home.
As a tangible piece of this Culminating Experience, I have installed a pollinator garden that has been registered with Monarch Waystation Program. This space serves as a celebration of the school’s mascot and provides a totem for the collective action of the community.
With the onset of COVID-19 and the implementation of local, state and federal guidelines, the school has been closed since March and has curtailed the anticipated deliverables.
ContributorsSchmitt, Christina (Writer of accompanying material)
Created2020-05-13
Description
COVID-19 brought so much uncertainty into the world and has molded this project into what it is today. The first project journey that was chosen was meant to show the impact of how much plastic waste was being produced at Starbucks. Then due to COVID-19 yet again, it changed into how much paper waste there was within the State of Washington Department of Licensing (DOL) Business and Professions Division (BPD). DOL BPD is a state agency division that licenses over forty plus professional and business licenses to the residents of Washington state. Due to the pandemic, the project transformed into how the three pillars of sustainability impacts remote work within BPD. BPD is in this new and unique paradigm where the deliverable that was brought forth as this project completed are, “The 9 Benefits of Sustainability through Remote Work” (Appendix D) where this specifically showed DOL why remote work is sustainable and how it should be implemented even further throughout the agency. This list was put together with the benefits that best fit DOL BPD.
ContributorsReynolds, Jordan (Writer of accompanying material)
Created2021-02-11