Climate Change Practicum: First Half of Semester Report

The first half of the Climate Change Practicum working with the Climate Impact Initiative team has been nothing short of enlightening and transformative for me. I have learned so much about the environmental issues facing Fordham, New York City, and the planet as a whole. At the same time, the practicum has allowed me to become part of a community that is actively working towards developing fundamental change. I have become part of the Climate Impact Initiative’s Compost Team, which is working to implement an effective composting program at Fordham University. Before joining the working group, I had some background knowledge on the importance of establishing composting initiatives at large institutions, but knew very little about the strategies employed to reach such a goal. Our group is led by two individuals who are extremely knowledgeable and passionate about the issue. In fact, I actually attended high school with one of them before we committed to Fordham. The piece of the work I am most interested in is the collaboration with Fordham’s United Student Government. As a Political Science major, I have a fascination with political systems and have worked on campaigns for now-elected officials that are committed to environmental justice and protection. Therefore, it has been rewarding to see the group commit to working with elected leaders at the university level. As of now, the Compost Team has been developing a proposal to set forth the needs and requirements of an impactful composting program at Fordham University. I believe firmly that the group will be able to make significant progress on this front. We meet weekly as a team in a seminar style to present and discuss the current state of the project. As a larger group, the Climate Impact Initiative team meets weekly to discuss the environmental issues at Fordham, while also bringing our own successes and challenges as the Compost Team to the conversation. It is exciting and rewarding to come together as a community. I am looking forward to continuing my work with the Compost Team and the Climate Impact Initiative team. I hope to ingrain a culture of environmental sustainability at Fordham University before my graduation.