Green Spotlight Blogs
The Green Spotlight blogs allow students, faculty, staff, and friends of Appalachian a chance to express, in their own words, their personal connection to sustainability.
Eric Halvarson - A Reintroduction, A New Year
Welcome to App State, whether it be for the first time, or the fiftieth, the Office of Sustainability is glad you’re here!
The Office of Sustainability is excited about the wonderful growth of our team and some other fantastic opportunities that we’re lucky to be involved in, including the App State Gardens, improving compost facilities on-campus, and our recent designation as a Bee Campus USA!
Sustainability initiatives, classes, and organizations on campus dedicated to that word “sustainability” take many different shapes and sizes, but the job of the office is to bring them all together. There’s a reason that Appalachian has embraced the concept of sustainability and justice at the university, and through the resources offered around Boone, and with what our students bring to our community, we look forward to a year of sustainability in all senses of the word.
Most often, we associate sustainability with the environment or ecology, but because that often comes first- I’ll address that last.
Sustainability at App State can also describe personal wellness or health within a community. After all, the health of each individual is crucial to wellbeing and positive experiences that we cherish as a community.
A great place to look for these resources is https://wellness.appstate.edu/ , which details physical health services on campus, mental health services, as well as fitness facilities scattered around our community.
Some examples of amazing resources and programs include:
- Food Pantry and Free Store at the Office of Sustainability https://sustain.appstate.edu/initiatives/food-pantry/
- Counseling and Psychological Services https://counseling.appstate.edu/
- University Recreation https://urec.appstate.edu/
Often at App, sustainability refers to the social environment on campus and in the greater Boone area. The conflicts and injustices of the world are not separate from the Appalachian community, but with patience, empathy, and all of the energy and resources around us, we hope to encourage a year of harmony, challenging and respectful dialogue, and justice at Appalachian State. All with your help, we can transform App State into a place of social equity and just governance.
- Diversity at App State https://diversity.appstate.edu/about/
- Resiliency in the App State Community https://sustain.appstate.edu/about/resiliency/
- Sustained Dialogue, opportunities to engage in difficult conversations https://sustaineddialogue.appstate.edu/
Finally, the environment at App State is not only part of the attraction to this beautiful area, but part of the mission. Appalachian not only offers fantastic courses and studies on an academic level, but has plenty of resources and student organizations that are always looking for you to help them with service or just join their community united by a larger cause.
- Academics and related programs https://sustain.appstate.edu/academics/
- Engagement opportunities https://sustain.appstate.edu/get-involved/
- And for clubs especially dedicated to sustainability, check out https://campusactivities.appstate.edu/club-directory Category (Sustainability)
For events without long term commitments, and your opportunity to contribute to the fulfillment of our university’s mission: “Envisioning a just and sustainable future”, check into this newsletter, look at the sustain Appalachian list of events: https://sustain.appstate.edu/news-events/
And keep your eyes peeled around town for awesome volunteer opportunities and educational events. Before we get washed away in the mid-semester grind, now is the time to put these events in your calendars!
Remember, sustainability takes many forms for Mountaineers, and as much as we should support the efforts we all do with this popular word, we must be critical about what it means and the role it plays on our campus. While the Office of Sustainability does its best to encourage sustainable and just practices on campus, we are constantly looking for energetic hands and imaginative minds to make App State the home we all deserve. Sustainability is a guide and goal for our community, and we’re glad you could join us. To another year!
