Throughout my time studying sustainability at UGA, I was able to take classes in social, economic and environmental spheres of sustainability. I learned how the build structures that are in harmony with the natural environment, how to interpret models of scientific phenomena and valuable resources in the Athens community for getting involved in the world of sustainability.
My coursework, detailed below, included: Sustainability Seminar, Fundamentals of Sustainable Development, Computer Modeling for Sustainability, Design and the Environment and Effects of Global Agriculture on World Culture.
Reflection on Sustainability Seminar
During two sustainability seminar classes, I was introduced to the different ways sustainability manifests in our society. Each week, we had a leader in sustainability come to speak with the class. These were inspiring talks that led me to consider new career choices and different ways to incorporate sustainability into my future. We heard from a business owner who makes paper out of sugar cane by-products and previously worked in corporate social sustainability for Coke.
We also heard from a the creator of a wonderful organization at the university called Ideas for Creative Exchange (ICE) which is a platform for the interdisciplinary collaboration of art and science. I have always been intrigued by the intersection of art and science and scheduled a meeting with him following our class. We ended up talking for two hours about his research and it is one of the most memorable meetings I’ve had at UGA. Later on, when I became the strategic communications intern for the Office of Sustainability, I used my subscription to the ICE newsletter to find events and announcements happening in sustainability at UGA and promote them in the office’s weekly newsletter.
During the seminar, I was also introduced to the owner of a sustainable landscape architecture firm in Athens who had previously been the director of the UGA Costa Rica campus. In my last semester at UGA, I had coffee with him to discuss possibilities for working in Costa Rica given my love for the Spanish language and sustainability. He was able to connect me with a few people working in Costa Rica who I later spoke with about possibilities for employment.
I am forever grateful for the sustainability seminar as it opened my eyes to the sustainability community at UGA and the places I can go after I graduate from the certificate program.
Reflection on Anchor Course: Fundamentals of Sustainable Development
The Fundamentals of Sustainable Development class I took when I first started the certificate gave me a foundation of tools and and perspectives to carry with me to other courses. The coursework focused mainly on natural resource conservation. In class, we not only learned about the conservation of resources, but also how tourism and recreation affect the quantity and quality of the elements in our natural environment. We skimmed the surface of forest management, life below the sea, species endangerment, the importance of wetlands and the different types of renewable energy. The class exposed me to many topics which I later researched on my own, such as the detrimental environmental effects of our current method of harvesting fish.
We watched a few documentaries, and I found them to be an engaging way to view phenomena from around the world I wouldn’t have seen otherwise. An image from a movie we watched about the fishing industry is still frozen in my mind. A hidden camera captured the inside of a fish company’s freezer in Japan — there were thousands of blue fin tuna stored in it in preparation for the tuna’s extinction.
We also had visits from class speakers, including a professor from the Warnell School of Forestry. This was the first time when I learned why clearing a forest with a wildfire is beneficial and at times necessary. I also learned that growing a tree farm takes a lot of detailed knowledge about the ages of different plants and the statistics behind how many trees to cut at a time. It gave me a new appreciation for the pine tree farms I drive frequently drive past in Georgia.
Reflection on Economic Course: Computer Modeling for Sustainability
To gain experience in the economic sphere of sustainability, I took the class, “Computer Modeling for Sustainability.”
We learned there are patterns in the natural environment that have a large effect on sustainability goals, such as the demographic transition, the population pyramid, the rise in global population, the balance between entropy and empathy in developing countries (as we develop, we produce more fossil fuels and pollution) and the fact that very complex scenarios can occur from the repetition of basic, repeated patterns (emergent properties).
Working in sustainability requires the ability to look closely at data, determine patterns and predict outcomes. We looked at equations and different types of slopes on graphs to determine the “line of best fit.” In a different situation with many inputs and outputs, I could use this equation to raise a pattern or trend out of the data.
We also learned to question descriptive numbers and labels such as a rating of “most livable cities,” because the result is a “made up” number based on parameters and variables that are likely arbitrary rather than objective.
Reflection on Economic Course: Design and the Environment
In order to learn about the environmental sphere of sustainability, I took the course “Design and the Environment,” which focused on how to construct a built space that exists in harmony with its natural environment.
We learned about the step-by-step process of formulating and implementing a project plan for a built space. A landscape architect must spend time doing a site inventory of the areas around the targeted site and a site analysis where the architect spends time observing the natural rhythms (sun, water flow) of the site itself. This taught me the importance of planning projects ahead of time and analyzing how an outside environment may impact desired results.
Understanding the natural sciences is crucial to understanding landscape architecture, and so I learned about geology, hydrology, biology, botany and ecology during the semester.
Also, it was interesting how comprehensive landscape architecture is. Ideally, it is a win-win-win between environmental health, human health and economic prosperity. A well-designed site should allow the landscape to provide ecosystem services such as supporting, provisioning, regulating and cultural services.
Reflection on Social Sphere: Effects of Global Agriculture on World Culture
Brian Kiepper, our professor, taught our class that a lot of the ways we think about agriculture are due to a global mindset, not an objective truth. I remember being shocked at the number of “food fads” that came before the current trends in food we see plastered on grocery store boxes today. He made us question whether terms such as “No Antibiotics” and “Non-GMO” are truly beneficial to the environment or whether they are marketing buzz words. We learned that a lot of jargon about food, such as “Farm Raised” may not mean what customers assume them to mean. These terms may not really differentiate one company as being more environmentally friendly or animal-friendly than another.
He showed us pictures of meals he ate in places like Kazakistan and China. Many people made disgusted faces at the pictures of horse meat or blood sausage, but Brian showed us that those reactions are a result of our cultural conditioning.
The speakers that came to the class were also very relevant and informative. I remember hearing about the difficulties of being a family farmer and business owner from the owner of a South Georgia farm. He took us inside his daily life on the farm and helped to remove the curtain hiding the food production process from customers like us. He talked about how difficult it is to get an organic certification, how he believes it is necessary to sell GMOs in some cases and the way he harvests pecans by using a machine to shake the trees.
After taking that class, I began to question the common place perceptions surrounding our agricultural processes. I still wonder how much of those perceptions are shaped by our culture and the objectives of large corporations rather than objective reality.