Many Cool Project Ideas

Wow, am I excited about the project ideas that have been generated in our class! The more I teach this class, the more original and meaningful ideas are generated, and the more I realize that although creativity is becoming a clichéd catch-phrase at this university, there really is a fountain of creativity among RIT students.

Pretty much everyone has turned in an idea, but a few people seem as though they are not 100% pleased with their plan and are looking for alternatives. Let me list a few. Some of these ideas came from your classmates and some from students in my upper-level environmental philosophy class. Keep in mind that it is not just OK but even encouraged to work on projects as a team. I do require that each person do their own writing on the reflection paper.

1. Greater Rochester Urban Bounty
GRUB is an organization in Rochester that promotes enriching the natural and social capital of the northeast neighborhood through a farm and educational center. I talked to the RIT faculty coordinator who works with GRUB, and there will be several volunteer work days at The Vineyard (the farm in downtown Rochester) in April. Anyone who would like to contribute is welcome, and the campus contact is Jane Amstey at j.amstey@rit.edu.

2. The City of Rochester's Clean Sweep Program
In this program City of Rochester employees, neighborhood groups, Boy Scout troops, and volunteers pick up trash and tidy up neighborhoods in the city. It has both environmental and community-building goals. The first one is on Saturday, April 25 and is in the city's Southwest quadrant. Information and links to sign-up forms are here and here. Anyone who is interested can sign up directly--or you can contact an RIT student, Jesse Knoth, at jak0965@rit.edu. He is organizing Clean Sweep activities in his 19th ward neighborhood.

3. Go Green Recycle Rally at the Seneca Park Zoo
On Sunday April 19 the Seneca Park Zoo is partnering with Sunnking, an electronics recycling company, to host a recycling event. Families can bring items like sneakers, cell phones, and car batteries to be recycled, and volunteers are needed to help out on that day. The person to contact if you'd like to volunteer is Kimie Romeo. Her e-mail address is kromeo@Sunnking.com, and she has worked with RIT students a lot this year and is very clear and helpful. She knows a lot about recycling!

4. Other Volunteer Programs
Here is a calendar and contact list for a few projects in April. They include working for Foodlink, which is our local food pantry; a recycling project for Habitat for Humanity; and a sorting day at InterVol, which is a local organization that recycles unused medical supplies and sends them to places that desperately need them.