December 20, 2016
SLS Staff - Jenny, Christian, Kris, Jamie, and Carol
To celebrate the holidays, we are sharing here a few highlights from the past year that we haven’t written about before.
Thank you to all of our partners who worked with us to launch SLS this year – with a bang! We look forward to seeing you in 2017.
Wishing you a healthy, happy holiday season full of love and cheer.
Best wishes from the SLS Staff:
Jenny, Christian, Kris, Jamie, and Carol
P.S. We’ll throw in a book recommendation as well! While people may associate sustainability with giving things up—it’s actually about creating healthier, happier communities. Check out this book full of essays from prominent sustainability and community scholars about sustainability and happiness. Happy reading! Sustainable Happiness: Live Simply, Live Well, Make a Difference
2016 SLS Highlights
13 SLS trainers, representing all 6 colleges and key staff offices, helped us spread the word to their colleagues and students. Thanks for all your hard work and for continuing to work with us!
By row, from top left: Sarah O’Brien, Anne Rogers, Jennifer Hirsch, Jennifer Leavey, Monica Halka. 3rd row: Chris Burke, Chris Le Dantec, Joy Harris. 2nd Row: Baabak Ashuri, Carol Subiño Sullivan, Neha Kumar, Dori Pap. Front Row: Supraja Sudharsan, Nitra Wisdom
Our year-long Environmental Justice Series is off to a great start! The fall semester was wildly successful, attracting close to 1,000 participants to on-campus lectures and off-campus activities. A number of faculty used series’ events to enhance their courses and encouraged their students to attend by offering extra credit or tying events to course assignments. We have an amazing line-up now for spring!
A student from the SLS core course, Sustainable Community Principles, collects a water sample as part of the EJ Series’ River Rendezvous community service event held on the Westside with West Atlanta Watershed Alliance and Chattahoochee Riverkeeper.
In October, SLS Staff Trainers Chris Burke, Anne Rogers, and Nitra Wisdom presented a workshop for staff interested in exploring opportunities to engage with SLS, through both contributions to student learning and professional development opportunities (featured in photo). A small group is now planning staff participation in the SLS MLK Day of Service, which will also include students, faculty, and community members. We are also collaborating with GT Health and Wellbeing and Campus Sustainability to plan more opportunities. Interested in learning more? Visit our website or email Kris Chatfield, Program Manager.
Over the course of 2016 (Spring and Fall semesters), SLS had over 100 courses and projects affiliated with our program, representing all colleges and several student organizations. The Tech4Good service learning expo, held on December 5th, 2016, highlighted student projects benefiting nonprofits and community partners, including the SLS-affiliated Bee-Snap VIP (featured in photo) and Computing for Social Good.
SLS’ inaugural fellows program, focused on Food, Energy, Water Systems (FEWS), concluded on December 1st, 2016 with a gathering with environmental, community, industry, and policy partners at Southface (featured in photo). 33 fellows from all six colleges plus additional campus units completed the program, during which they initiated or advanced collaborative work on projects ranging from climate change mitigation to K-12 education. In early Spring, SLS’ blog will feature posts written by fellows about their projects. We will also share updates about our Spring Semester Fellows Program, focused on Smart Cities.