Major
Communication Studies
Second Major
Public Relations
Advisor
Missimer, Amanda
Advisor Department
Nutrition and Food Sciences
Date
9-2023
Abstract
There has been an increased interest in sustainability and “green” products in recent years. In my sophomore year, I started working with the URI Free Farmers’ Market, a group that sustainably grows, harvests and provides students with free produce. My work with the URI FFM inspired me to look into sustainable agriculture and explore what other aspects of a college students’ life could be adapted to be more sustainable. To do this, I created a Fall Sustainability Festival focusing on sustainable initiatives at URI and in the Rhode Island community. The RI Food Policy Council, Rhode Island Office of Energy Resources, URI Fashion Merchandising Society, URI Master Gardeners, Engineers for a Sustainable World and the URI Honor Program attended the event and provided information to attendees. Students had to visit each booth and complete a Bingo card to win a prize; repurposed t-shirts, notebooks, water bottles and other items from URI faculty. Students learned about sustainable farming, fashion recycling, energy conservation and more. This accomplished my goal of educating students about how they can be more sustainable on campus and in their lives. Through this project, I was able to apply my knowledge of event planning outside of the classroom. I had to research and contact groups and organize timing, materials and a team to get the event running smoothly. Through my work with the FFM, I was able to build a project to educate the URI community about sustainability and explore my future career.