Hey guys! This is my post about our Tailgating Service Project. Our table bro gang, Stephen, Nate, David, Will, and I did our project on the Saturday of the Missouri game. We had zero idea what we were doing at all, but we really took matters into our own hands and had a blast. When it comes to waste management information, tailgating gave us the perfect excuse to help educate others about their trash. We were given a ton of cool resources to give out: recycling and trash bags, cards with recycling information, and pins with cute graphics on them! We weren’t given any specific directions, so we just went around to various tents informing people.

Being intellectually stimulating, relevant to the audience, and creative were all things that were sort of in the back of our heads as we presented to people. We didn’t want to come off as just plain and boring activists. While talking to others, we made sure to be welcoming and engaging in order to make sure that people were at least interested by what we had to say. I think the stuff that we were able to give out gave us a creative edge as well.

Especially when getting started, it was a little nerve-racking to actually go out and talk to people. It’s not like we thought the people were going to kill us for going to talk to them, but we had a false feeling that we weren’t going to be received well. Recycling isn’t exactly the most exciting thing to get people riled up about on a game day, unfortunately. After mustering up the courage to talk to one group though, it was much easier to continue talking to others! We eventually learned that a little confidence goes a long way and confidence builds as the ball starts rolling. Our audience actually wanted to listen to us; it was just getting over a mental barrier that kept us from getting going. Analyzing that tailgaters weren’t going to come to us, we had to become more proactive and outgoing.

If there was anything that we could do better, it would be that we become more prepared prior. On the front end, we were too preoccupied with how cool all the stuff looked instead of actually preparing what we were going to say. If we did, we probably would’ve had more confidence going into the project.

Doing this project helped me see the actual real-life applications of what I had been learning in class. You always hear all the time about how we should be recycling and various methods to conserve, but when it comes to telling others about that in a nonacademic setting is sometimes awkward but so necessary. If we really want to change the culture surrounding trash and waste, we must become comfortable enough to talk about these issues. Serving in this way aided me in seeing the relevance and importance of the material in our Biology class. I get to see firsthand how the way I dispose of my trash affects my environment and the attitudes of others.

That being said, I really do feel like projects such as these are very effective. The effects of serving and presenting in real life are more far-reaching than one could expect. Not only do we get to live out what we are taught about waste management, but we also pick up valuable communication experience and confidence builders. Despite being mainly environment wired, I can see how this experience can influence my future endeavors in my studies as a Marketing major.

Overall, this project was something that was super cool to serve in and experience. I’ve never been in a class that has emphasized real-world involvement as much as this biology class has, and to be able to do it with some cool friends who share the same initiative as me is so rewarding (have you seen any kids happier about putting up a trash bag than us?). Not only did we get to take the dopest team selfies ever, but we got to do a project that benefits the UGA community as a whole. As a group, we just had a ton of fun serving a greater cause.

For my service outreach project, I, along with David, Nate, Richard, and Stephen, walked around our campus and talked to tailgaters about why they should recycle. We provided them with trash bags as well as recycling bags and pins if they wanted them. Along with these items, we talked to them about which items could be recycled vs which items needed to be thrown away in the trash. We executed our plan around the Myers Quad area and alternated between each other for who would talk at each tailgate. We incorporated “intellectually stimulating” into our presentations by telling them that we were doing a project to help protect our campus. We incorporated “relevant to the audience” into our project due to the fact that the tailgaters being the ones we were trying to get to recycle and throw away trash. We incorporated “creative” into our project by coming up with our own plan to target the different tailgating groups in different ways. One thing that we discovered as we went around to different tailgates is that many tailgaters already came prepared with trash bags and recycling bags. Another thing that we discovered was that the tailgaters who did not already have trash bags and recycling bags were very accepting when it came to our trash and recycling bags. When we came up to each group, we looked to see whether they already had trash and recycling bags and we targeted each audience different. The ones that did not have bags were the ones that we had longer conversations with and gave them trash bags. With the ones that were prepared, we educated them on what was recyclable and what wasn’t. If I were to do this again, I would not change much. I would maybe come with a larger group to get to more people and more items to give out but everything else I would keep the same.This helped me better understand that other people outside of the class also want to keep our campus clean and want to help in that. Also, many people are already educated on what is recyclable and what isn’t. In the future, I know now what is recyclable and what isn’t, and also that people are typically very accepting if you approach them. I think our group did a great job of coming across how we wanted to since people accepted what we had to say. This assignment was effective because we were able to reach a large audience through our campus to help keep the campus clean through recycling and throwing away trash. The feedback we received from the community was very helpful because we found out that many people were already educated on what we were trying to deliver.

On Saturday November 9th before the football game against Missouri, me, Richard, David, Nate, and Will did our recycling outreach with tailgaters. We went out to multiple tailgating areas to talk with people and encourage them to recycle. We had buttons to hand out, cheat sheets telling what could and could not be recycled, trash bags, and recycling bags for people to take for their tailgates. We went to multiple tailgates in Myers Quad and the surrounding area since it is such a heavy concentration of people. We would go up and alternate who gave our talk advocating for recycling, and we would give them the tools needed to become more recycling conscious tailgaters. Everyone seemed to be very receptive of what we had to say to them as well as appreciative to have people going out and helping others to be aware.

One thing I noticed that made me happy was the amount of people with recycling already. The school gives out many recycling and garbage bins for game days that many people tailgating had right next to their tailgate in order to be environmentally conscious. The people who did not have their own recycling who we talked to were very accepting of it and glad to do their part. I feel that one of the most helpful items we handed out besides the actual recycling bags was the cheat sheet. Often people do not always know what exactly can or cannot be recycled when it comes to certain items, so our sheets were able to clear up some confusion and help with the recycling process. Even though someone has a recycling bag, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they will recycle. That is why is was important to provide a bit more education and encourage people to be very recycle conscious while tailgating.

One thing that we could have improved upon was helping people follow through with their recycling. Once we went we couldn’t be sure that they would follow our advice, so maybe next time we could have a little longer talk or set up their bag for them in a central place to be seen. This project definitely made me more personally recycling conscious especially with tailgating. It is very easy to toss something in the trash without realizing it instead of recycling, and I see how I must focus on where things belong. The greatest part of this was the actual feedback we would get fro the people we talked to. No one was opposed to recycling or turned us away, and everyone was kind and seemed to want to be as environmentally conscious as possible. The more people that we can reach on campus in the future, the better we can make the campus and our recycling as a whole.

The Rivers Alive clean up was a rewarding and fun experience. A large group of us walked up and down the Oconee River picking up everything from plastic bottles to plastic tires. Everyone had the same role: pick up any trash you see and add it to the various piles that accumulated on the side of the path.

I enjoyed the experience quite a lot. Although sometimes the labor was strenuous, especially picking up the heavier objects like tires and old TV sets, seeing the area near the river gradually grow cleaner and cleaner was well worth it.

I applied organization and clean up skills I learned from being heavily involved in my high school’s Key Club.

As a result of this experience, I will make a conscious effort to litter less and pick up litter when I see it. I learned that more people need to care about this beautiful town we call Athens and not actively aid in its degradation. Keep Athens Beautiful #KAB

1. Chase Ghannam and I volunteered for clean-up at the Carriage Lane site for the Rivers Alive Outreach project. This road is directly adjacent to two sets of apartments and a Greek-life house. As a result, there is bound to be a large amount of litter throughout the area, including beer bottles with varying amounts of liquid, partially eaten Lunchables packages, and filled-baby diapers. With several teams, we all spanned out across the site. Chase and I assigned ourselves to the patch of woods next to the Greek-life house, which proved to be a very challenging region to clean.
2. Despite initially thinking there would be a large amount of rubbish, I was very much surprised at the sheer amount of trash scattered throughout the woods. It made me extremely concerned for two major reasons. 1) If this area were not a recognized clean-up site, would the trash have ever been picked up? If not, would it have just continued to pile up without any community response? 2) How many other areas in Athens are left with this excessive amount of trash littering the environment that no one cleans up? Seeing the trash concerns me deeply that some people lack so much regard for the environment and throw out that much trash into the woods.
3. Despite the concern I initially felt, I now have significantly more hope. I now know that there are several organizations that are actively trying to improve the conditions of some environments that are plagued with trash. The selflessness of the people who regularly volunteer for Rivers Alive is astonishing. If more people follow the example of these amazing human beings and if efforts are expanded to more sites, so much can be accomplished in improving the environment.
4. I learned so much from this experience. I cannot put into words the amazement and appreciation I have for Rivers Alive. I look forward to volunteering again next year at another site, hopefully bringing along even more friends to show them what I now know to be true, that littering is not only present in our society, but it is an epidemic.

1. On October 5th, I participated in the Athens Rivers Alive clean-up. I specifically volunteered at the MLK Greenway site with about twenty other volunteers, some of which were also from our biology class. The site was very close to a river, so I could hear and see the water. I saw lots of trash, especially broken pieces of glass, and my main role was to pick up as much of that trash as I could. Thankfully, the volunteer crew provided us with gloves, so I could safely pick up the glass pieces. One of the main coordinators of the event spoke to us about the history of the location and explained why there was so much trash embedded into the ground. Apparently, back in the day, people would put the trash into the ground of sloped areas in an attempt to prevent erosion. Overall, although the event was tiring, I enjoyed it.
2. It disappointed me that there was so much trash, even though Athens Rivers Alive does the clean-up every year. In my mind, I was expecting a lot of paper and rubber products, so it was surprising to me when there were so many broken glass products. However, it was interesting to dig up random items from the ground. For example, within about ten minutes of cleaning, I found a spoon and a pair of shoes. 
3. The experience opened my eyes to the problem of pollution in Athens. Prior to the experience, I did not know that there was much much waste and trash in the city. However, now that I know, I am open to doing what I can and even participating in the event next year as well. In addition to that, I acquired more communication and collaboration skills, as it was a joint effort to clean-up the site.
4. As a result of this experience, I will make a more conscious effort to keep Athens clean. I learned that there is so much trash, even under the ground, and that it is a significant issue. Knowing more about this trash problem, I will be sure to volunteer at more events that involve cleaning our home.