SustainaBALLERS
University communities have always been a principle forum for social change and with the growing global debate over environmental issues and sustainability, this forum must be used to channel education and awareness. One approach to directing these efforts, which our workshop took, is the creation and distribution of a sustainability guide for the University of Virginia student body. Our specific group was tasked with researching the content of the guide, judging topics in terms of greatest importance and relevance to student life. After researching previous efforts made at U.Va. we polled the student body through both an email and tabling survey. With the results, we established five main categories of content: energy, food, natural resources, recycling, and water. The workshop then created specific tips and “How- Tos” within each topic to distribute to the student body through a weekly email newsletter. This project was effective in discerning how a student body is best targeted and how information is best disseminated. In our findings it is clear that short, interactive, relative mediums are the most effective in engaging a student body; however, these conclusions should not be limited to the scope of the University. This issue, the issue of sustainability, is one of an international context, and the principles derived from our research could have implications on the global stage as well.
Sustainability Guide, SustainaBALLERS, sustainability education, student engagement, University of Virginia, Erin Austin, Jessie Greene, Matt Latimer
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SustainaBALLERS

Education_SustainabilityGuide (click PDF)

Fall 2011

Team members: Erin Austin, Jessie Greene, Matt Latimer

University communities have always been a principle forum for social change and with the growing global debate over environmental issues and sustainability, this forum must be used to channel education and awareness. One approach to directing these efforts, which our workshop took, is the creation and distribution of a sustainability guide for the University of Virginia student body. Our specific group was tasked with researching the content of the guide, judging topics in terms of greatest importance and relevance to student life. After researching previous efforts made at U.Va. we polled the student body through both an email and tabling survey. With the results, we established five main categories of content: energy, food, natural resources, recycling, and water. The workshop then created specific tips and “How- Tos” within each topic to distribute to the student body through a weekly email newsletter. This project was effective in discerning how a student body is best targeted and how information is best disseminated. In our findings it is clear that short, interactive, relative mediums are the most effective in engaging a student body; however, these conclusions should not be limited to the scope of the University. This issue, the issue of sustainability, is one of an international context, and the principles derived from our research could have implications on the global stage as well.

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