As my time with Sustainable Campus and the Seminole Organic Garden comes to an end, I want to share my reflection on the past several years I’ve spent in the garden.
In 2021, I had the pleasure of being introduced to the garden through my best friend and former garden coordinator, Kate Lovett. If not for her, I would not have been given the chance to learn, grow, and inspire others in the space for years to come.
During the Summer 2024 semester, fourteen Sustainability Fellows partnered with six campus and community partners to tackle a variety of sustainability challenges.
Partner: Coastal Plains Institute
Project: Illustrated Field Guide
Student: Lauren Pinder
In the Fall of 2024, The Challenger Center of Tallahassee became Gold Certified as a Green Office. This is the first time that The Challenger Center of Tallahassee has been Green Office certified, and seeing the office breakthrough at the highest level of Green Office certification is an exciting sustainability achievement.
Partner: Sustainable Campus
Project: Revitalizing The FSU Sustainable Campus YouTube
Student: McKinnon Bell
This past Spring semester, I had the opportunity to be a part of the Spring ‘24 Sustainability Fellows cohort working with Florida State University’s Office of Sustainability to revitalize their YouTube channel.
Gabriella Mohammed, a first-year undergraduate student majoring in Environmental Engineering, worked as a Sustainability Fellow as a part of the Spring 2024 cohort. Partnered with the City of Tallahassee Utilities, Gabriella’s project focused on energy storage innovation for the Clean Energy Plan. Gabriella was particularly excited to take on this project as the goals tie back to her passion for learning more about the energy industry, particularly concentrating on renewable energy.
There are over 200 places on the main campus of Florida State University to refill your water bottle, coffee pot, mug, or other vessel that requires drinking water. Each of these water bottle refill stations is either from the brand Elkay or Brita. From the two brands, there are also subcategories of a single refill station or a hilo refill station. A single station may be either brand and means there is one refill station above a regular water fountain.
I first learned of Tallahassee Future Leaders Academy (TFLA) through my school, Capital Preparatory, and thought it was interesting because I wanted a job but did not know how working really worked as I am only a rising sophomore. I took this opportunity and received a job placement here at Sustainable Campus at Florida State University.
Partner: Apalachee Regional Planning Council
Project: Sustainability Development Plan for Gadsden County's Economic Development
Student: Nastya Sidorova
Partner: Apalachee Regional Planning Council
Project: How To: Conduct an Economic Valuation of the Apalachee River
Student: Isabella Marmanidis
Isabella Marmanidis, a first-year graduate student in Demography, worked as a Sustainability fellow during teh Spring 2024 semester. She partnered with Caroline Smith at The Apalachee Regional Planning Council (ARPC) to create a framework for an economic valuation of the Apalachicola River.
