It is not difficult for me to find myself represented in most rooms. I can look toward female leaders and see someone who looks like me. Yet, walking into the Women in Green Luncheon, hosted by USGBC, I saw me. I was greeted by a room full of passionate women, many with similar untamed and curly hair, make-up free faces, and vaguely professional, neutral clothing that borders office attire and outdoor comfort.

I had never really grasped the value of representation until that moment when I saw myself in the room. I was immediately humbled by the privilege I have to be so represented in the field I someday hope to enter. To be able to see women who looked like me doing what I hope to do only gave me more drive to realize the possibilities of my own future. One step into the room and the luncheon had already achieved its goal: to inspire the next generation of women in sustainability careers.

Each of the women represented on stage and in the room had come to…


Supporting GT’s already strong tradition of providing students with opportunities to present and discuss their research with their peers, SLS’s Student  Showcase gathers students from across all six colleges. Students passionate about building sustainable communities present their research, which engages with the Sustainable Development Goals in their own unique way. The excellence of student research and the diverse set of approaches to sustainability made it very challenging to select winners.

In third place, the student team of Veronica Thompson and Emily Register presented their project, “Designing Artificial Nests to Support Native Pollinators.” Collecting and analyzing big-data on local pollinators’ habitats, Veronica and Emily offered innovative ways of building and designing artificial nests…


            This spring, I was generously sponsored by Serve-Learn-Sustain to attend the second annual Aglanta conference. The event was a joint effort by Agritecture Consulting, the Atlanta Mayor’s Office of Resilience, and Southern Company, bringing together stakeholders in government, industry, and non-profits to discuss the future of urban agriculture in smart cities. The conference focused on seven intersections of agriculture with smart cities: resource management, operations, finance, education, distribution, retail, and urban development. There were 33 speakers and 7 panels over the course of the two-day event.

            Overall, the conference was enjoyable and informative. I was able to network with urban farmers, EPA staff, tech entrepreneurs, and education reform advocates. I even happened to meet a man who is converting a superfund site to a hydroponic organic farm in my hometown of Brunswick, Georgia. However, there was a moment during one of the panels that…


By: Nataly Granados

This spring break, I had the life-changing opportunity through Alternative Service Beaks (ASB) and SLS to lead a service trip to Nicaragua focused on sustainability. Nicaragua was only my third international trip, along with one to my family’s country and a similar spring break trip last year to the Dominican Republic with ASB. I first want to express my gratitude to SLS and ASB for making this possible, as I never imagined I would have these opportunities. My trip to Nicaragua as a leader was one of the most challenging, educational, and inspiring experiences of my life.

Our work in Nicaragua was with a self-sustained community called La Fundadora and it included projects with their school to beautify it by painting their classrooms, preserve the surrounding environment by preparing dirt to be used for a…


Iceland is a magical place. A land filled with contrasts and extremes. A land filled with volcanos, and at the same time covered in glaciers. A land of people who believe in mythical creatures like trolls, ogres, and elves, and all the while possess an incredibly adept knowledge of the inner workings of their energy supply. A land with only 350,000 inhabitants, and a virtually unlimited supply of energy.

Southern Highlands of Iceland

So what lessons can we learn from this Land of Fire and Ice? How does a country with the potential to be the richest nation in Europe, balance their stewardship to their land and its citizens, and how can we apply these notions to our lives in the United States.

At the end of March, I was fortunate to fulfill a dream of mine, and experience Iceland for myself. I traveled as part of an education abroad experience called the GREEN Program. This program provides…


The Saporta Report, an online news site dedicated to civic and business issues in Atlanta and beyond, recently published a guest column co-authored by SLS-affiliated instructor Emily Weigel, SLS partner Na'Taki Osborne Jelks, and SLS Service Learning and Partnerships Specialist Ruthie Yow.  The column focuses on citizen science initiatives with Georgia Tech students and community organizations and residents on Atlanta's Westside. 

 

Read the full column here.


The Saporta Report, an online news site dedicated to civic and business issues in Atlanta and beyond, recently published a guest column co-authored by SLS-affiliated instructor Emily Weigel, SLS partner Na'Taki Osborne Jelks, and SLS Service Learning and Partnerships Specialist Ruthie Yow.  The column focuses on citizen science initiatives with Georgia Tech students and community organizations and residents on Atlanta's Westside. 

 

Read the full column here.


Catherine Muse is SLS’s new Community Engagement Specialist. In 2013, Catherine graduated from Emory University with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology. In December 2015, she completed her Masters in Negotiation and Conflict Resolution from Columbia University’s School of Professional Studies.

I was born and raised in Brunswick, Georgia, but moved to Atlanta for college. During my freshman year I decided to participate in the AmeriCorps Jumpstart program as a Corps member providing additional adult support and promoting children’s language and literacy skills with local Atlanta preschoolers. This volunteer experience sparked my initial interest in better understanding how universities connect and engage with local community members as well as what role university faculty, students, and staff can play in shaping the quality of life of local, regional, national, and global communities.

In 2014, I left Atlanta and moved to New York City to pursue my graduate…


By: Adrianna Fu

My trip to Maryville, TN encompassed all the aspects of serve, learn, and sustain—and so much more.  I selfishly think that I gained more from this trip than I gave—but then I pause and remember that we picked up nearly a ton of garbage, cleared out trails for future hikers, and even had the opportunity to honor the Cherokee people by restoring a burial ground. This week was a definite departure from the grind of school and extracurriculars, but not in the way I expected. First of all, I met and worked with some amazing people; the Maryville ASB team was surprisingly diverse, and I loved that everyone was coming in with different experiences and perspectives. Our hosts at Once Upon A Time, Ed and Arleen, were also the sweetest people I’ve ever met; they somehow became our grandparents for the week, even though they see around 160 students come through their home every year.

This couple leads such an extraordinary lifestyle; their entire March is…


Periodically SLS highlights a particularly interesting and fun course partnership.  Back in December, Camilla Warren of the EPA Southeast Region connected PhD candidate Firaz Peer who teaches Principles of Visual Design to Michele Ritan of the East Decatur Greenway.  Here, we’ve asked them to reflect on their collaboration.  Their comments offer insight as to the importance of communication, reciprocity, and shared expectations—and what results when Georgia Tech students channel their energy and expertise into real-world projects with a great partner!

What do folks at Tech need to know about the East Decatur Greenway?

MR: East Decatur Greenway is a very small nonprofit. However, our mission (public greenspace, environmental education) has a big constituency, so we really need publicity, branding, and related materials to get the word out and engage the community. Thus, we are most grateful for the opportunity to work with Georgia…