Blog

We don’t always have the time or energy to seek out news that might be important to us. This is where newsletters have found their niche. Newsletters offer an easy way to have updates and news sent directly to your email, often about specific topics that align with your interests. As the environment and climate change become a bigger topic of international discussion , multitudes of sustainability related newsletters have sprung up all around the internet.

Tallahassee houses a hidden gem of both nature and history in the Alfred B. Maclay Gardens State Park. During the summer months, outside of the primary blooming season, the gardens and surrounding park can be accessed for $6 a vehicle. Even outside of peak blooming, Maclay Gardens offers an impressive walled garden featuring brick walkways (with various accessibility aids available at the Ranger Station to make the gardens a relaxing spot for all guests), a secret garden, a reflection pool, and an expansive variety of flowers and trees.

The internet is full of fantastic resources to learn more and stay up-to-date on the world of sustainability. Most of us generally don’t have the time or desire to read through dense scientific articles and papers to find out what’s going on. This is where blogs come in! Designed to be easy, short, and engaging reads, blogs help keep the sustainability conversation accessible to everyone. Here at Sustainable Campus, one of our main goals is to make sustainability easily accessible and available to the Florida State University community.

Just west of Tallahassee lies Lake Talquin State Park, home to a 10,000-acre lake and various activities for every level of nature enthusiast. For only $3 per vehicle of up to eight people, visitors can enjoy leisurely hikes through unusual Florida habitats, plentiful fishing, a picnic area, paddling, and more. Parties looking to learn more about the Florida wildlife can even book an hour-long guided tour with a park ranger taking them through the various features of the park.

The Green Office Program is a certification process that encourages FSU employees to identify and implement sustainable practices in their workplace. By recognizing offices for their sustainability achievements, this program plays a vital role in fostering a culture of environmental consciousness throughout the campus community. Florida State University's commitment to sustainability is clearly outlined in its Strategic Plan.

The Tallahassee area is home to various natural landscapes and ecosystems, rich with history and wildlife. Few places make this as clear as it is within the bounds of the St. Marks River Preserve State Park. This natural park houses the headwaters of the St. Marks River, which flows all the way to the Gulf of Mexico from the wetlands east of Tallahassee.

In a unique cross-disciplinary effort, students from three courses joined forces to develop an innovative project that highlights FSU's Landscaping. Led by faculty members Dr. Katie Kehoe, Dr. Keith Roberson, and Dr. Andy Opel, this collaborative endeavor combined geolocative augmented reality (AR) technology with a socially engaged approach. The culmination of the project involved a tree planting action, contributing to sustainable infrastructure on campus. 

In the COM 5565 Social Media Campaigns class at Florida State University (FSU), students worked on a real-world challenge—creating social media campaigns for the Coastal Plains Institute (CPI). This course, taught by Dr. Katherine Dale, introduces students to theories and research related to social media campaigns.

Students from the Immersive Video Production course (RTV 5596/4595) utilized 360 video technology to create a non-fiction, immersive experience for their audience. Led by Dr. Andy Opel, the students collaborated with the Apalachicola Riverkeeper, a non-profit organization committed to protecting and preserving the Apalachicola River and its watershed.

In an effort to combat food waste on campus, students enrolled in the COM 6931 Social Marketing course took on the challenge of creating impactful campaigns. With the partnership of Sustainable Campus, led by faculty member Dr. Laura Arpan, these students worked to develop innovative strategies to reduce food waste among FSU students.