Home Grown Sustainability, From Pittsburgh to D.C.

My fellow classmates are part of University College at American University, which is a living and learning community. We all take the Environmental Science class, Sustainable Earth, and live in the same dorm with each other as roommates. We have the class 2 times a week with an additional lab once a week and a D.C. lab led by our leader an additional day per a week as well. It's really neat to be able to call Washington D.C. our "lab!" So far, we have participated in Freshmen Service Experience which was three days out of a week long welcome week. There were many different groups that American University, Earth Day Network, Green went to many different sites as volunteers. We went to Clagett Farm in Upper Marlboro, MD. As volunteers at this recently certified organic farm, we contributed to the volunteer work force that runs Clagett, harvesting squash, potatoes (digging them out of the ground, very tedious laborious work), and cucumbers and weeding a strawberry field.

While there are some paid workers who serve as the base for the farm, many of the workers are either working for CSA shares or as pure volunteers. In addition, we have gone to The Earth Day Network in Dupont Circle Washington D.C. and learned about their yearlong effort to educate and make changes to society. With lobbyists in Congress and people working with schools and local businesses, they gave us many opportunities to apply for internships and eventual full time jobs, opening our eyes to the importance and relevance of green jobs overall.

In addition to our D.C. labs, our actual class lab has included testing the water quality of the Potomac river in canoes and off a pier, and using those results to find the overall water quality which is not stellar but is better than it has been in the recent past. The Sustainable Earth lecture portion of the class is taught by Dr. Kiho Kim, a researcher of coral reefs. He leads the class discussion with engaging PowerPoints and goofy anecdotes of his experience in Costa Rica and other tropical sites.

Being able to live and have class with students who care about the planet and are mindful of their actions not only gives us all a greater hope for humanity, but helps us produce greater ideas for change and also study for tests. With many more D.C. field trips in the near future and many more problems to solve, the future of Sustainable Earth is exciting. American University has a major focus on sustainability including greening many roofs (which a few of us helped with, hauling rocks and soil) and focusing on locally grown food. If American University is any indicator of the future, the future looks bright. Laura Beck