Aidan Ward

Heather Christy-Robinson

ENG 170

29/04/2024

Increasing Sustainability Through Biodiversity

Our project was one of passion and vigor. We sought to create an impact in a creative and non-traditional manner, implementing traditional campaigning methods to raise awareness for our cause. We utilized interactive educational experiences through the hands-on recycling of paper, alongside direct interviews of local professionals in sustainability and campus practices. The scope of our project was directly inspired from the wicked question, becoming fundamentally intertwined with the mission of the class. Our project was multifaceted, and each facet touched on maintaining our local ecology while observing cultural practices.

Firstly, we interviewed the groundskeeping crew on campus, learning about the obligations and responsibilities of the individuals who curate our local campus environment. The interview provided us with insight on the decision-making processes of the groundskeeping crew as they explained their rationale for their mowing practices alongside their choices for plant ecology (to maintain or ignore biodiversity). This fundamentally intersects with culture, as the rationale for decision making was entirely dependent on deeply embedded cultural norms. These norms (such as prioritizing beauty or cost) proliferate in our campus environment, and become indistinguishable from our own prerogatives, as culture pierces the way we perceive the world and our actions within it.

Secondly, we interviewed the esteemed professor Laura Wyeth, who is a pioneer on creating biodiverse campus ecology. She provided us with highly specific insight into the inner machinations of facilitating local pollinator habitat locations here on campus. This further intersects with culture, as the campus prioritizes what it deems “aesthetically pleasing”, which often runs contrary to the uncoordinated aesthetic of the natural world. By analyzing this contradiction, we can observe the lengths to which individuals will go to maintain the natural world, preserving the natural beauty of our local ecosystems, maintaining biodiversity and local species who are reliant on these “safe spaces”. The natural solution to this paradigm is altering our cultural norms to appreciate and embrace the natural chaos that is our native ecosystem, integrating wildflower preserves, free-grow areas, and other ecologically mindful practices into our societies.

Although in the grand scheme of this goal, our project was menial, the impact we sought to have was largely achieved. My team and I were able to create a small coalition on campus with a central goal of recycling paper and increasing biodiversity through the spreading of native wildflowers, and as such we succeeded in bringing attention to the ethos of the wicked question.

The differential in medium compared to the standard written portion of an English class provided a nontraditional opportunity to explore writing in unique and unexplored tones, as the variance between each task required a different and thoughtful approach. Firstly, the initial writing component of the project was coordinating our outreach with relevant individuals on campus, necessitating numerous emails explaining our project. Next, we set our sights on writing grant proposals to fund this endeavor, which required a more detailed explanation of our scope and philosophy. This approach was markedly similar to the proposal assignment we later submitted, as both required us to articulate our goals and purpose in a more concise and detailed format. This formal backdrop provided a more structured overview of our work, elucidating our approach through concrete methods and establishing our individual roles to achieve success. These constraints were ultimately helpful in constructing a logical pathway to achieve our goal.

         The target audience for each medium was different, as numerous individuals from our local community were pulled together for our event. Firstly, the emails constructed were professional and concise, prioritizing the individuals’ time to ensure a quick response. The proposals took a longer, more academic approach, as our goal shifted from scheduling meetings to convincing others about the  importance of our project, a more drawn-out explanation was needed to convince the relevant faculty of our intentions. Lastly, we see a shift from faculty and professors to students on campus, as we needed to market our event, a more lackadaisical approach was utilized. This shift in discourse was relatively little, as the extent of our marketing was on social media and posters, but nonetheless this still necessitated a shift to a more informal and exciting tone.

         The project in totality was executed with minimum friction, as most individuals pulled their appropriate weight and engaged with the community in a satisfactory manner. This engagement facilitated a populus event with the larger campus community, bringing together both familiar faces and strangers under a common umbrella of sustainability and ecological consciousness.  Furthermore, the last-minute outreach by group-member Solva to the local seed distributor to acquire a seed package that fit both our specifications and price-point allowed for the wildflower planting to go off “without a hitch” (Stagnar).

         The most difficult aspect of the project would likely be the coordination efforts to assign all group members a sufficient workload. Delegating unique and equivalent tasks to 9 individuals during such a short turn-around period was challenging, as often schedules were misaligned to an inhibiting extent. However, this challenge managed to resolve itself, as due to our large group size, other individuals were always available to assist those who needed it. This aspect of our group allowed us all to bond, growing closer together, similar to a family dynamic.

         Overall, the work was divided in a fairly equitable manner, although it should be considered that a somewhat informal hierarchy of responsibility was established, with Mason and Solva sitting at the top of said hierarchy. This was likely an asset, as having individuals with a passion to lead tends to benefit the group at large. Solva largely took point on coordinating individuals, with occasional assistance from myself. Mason largely assisted with quality assurance of the written portion of the project, assisting individuals with tasks as requested. Our process and progress was systematically documented by Jessie, who took notes on our daily objectives and aspirations.

         I believe an appropriate way to conclude this reflection would be thanking all the individuals who made this possible. Firstly, thank you to the groundskeeping crew who gave us notable insights on campus culture and dynamics, providing crucial information that allowed us to designate our wildflower planting zones. I would also like to thank Laura Wyeth, who offered us insight on past initiatives and assisted us in narrowing our scope. Lastly, I would like to thank Professor Heather Christy-Robinson, for inspiring this project and assisting us at every turn, facilitating a positive outcome in the end.