Sara Cano

Community Project 

Sustainability has become a relevant concern nowadays as more people are realizing the enormous environmental consequences brought throughout unconscious business activities. Lately, some companies have incorporated sustainable activities as an essential part of their business, which have created value for our environment and society in a minimum scale. In an effort to contribute to the environment, my GBUS class was required to assist an  individual community project but unfortunately of the COVID-19 pandemic the choices were reduced and limited.

For my community project I decided to join a virtual conference called environmental psychology. The sponsor of the event was Kean Skylands, the newest campus at Kean University located in the Oak Ridge section of Jefferson, NJ. The purpose of the event was a discussion on psychological well-being during COVID-19 and the positive environmental development this pandemic had led to the ecosystems . The event was delivered in Google Meets on friday, april 24 at 11:00 am. The speakers of the event were Jennifer Block-Lener, Danielle L Servedio, Daniela Shebitz, Robyn Roebuck, and Feng Qi. The first two speakers currently work in the psychological department at KU, following Daniela Shebitz and Robyn Roebuck who work in the Biology department and lastly Feng Qi that works in the health and sustainability sciences departments. The main points discussed on the event were the explanation of the concept known as environmental psychology and its effects during this pandemic, the demonstration of how nature therapy improves psychological well-being, and the description and actual demonstration through different studies and pictures of how sustainability can bring happiness during this pandemic and an invitation to all of us to adopt sustainability in our daily activities and contribution to our planet. 

I chose to join this event because I believe that getting educated on what is happening around us is a key to understanding the causes and coming up with solutions for the problems that arise. I’m in agreement that sustainability has always been an essential factor to take care of, and I feel much better now that I have realized that more people are thinking of this issue on a bigger scale. This workshop was very helpful in demonstrating how nature plays an essential role for us as a human being, and the importance of natural conservation, especially now that we have seen the physical and psychological consequences of not having rigorous controls over production activities. 

The speakers of the workshop claimed that besides the negative side of the COVID-19, it has also brought some positive environmental improvements. Examples are the lowered GHG emissions, the notable reduction of water and waste, the cleaning of rivers, and the returning of many species to their homes. Lastly, Dr Feng Qi as a response of how sustainability can bring happiness and well-being showed us some different ways we can grow our own vegetables for our familiar consumption instead of going to a supermarket during this pandemic, and she also emphasizes on  the importance of having contact with the nature to avoid stress and mental illnesses during this period. People that are not able to go out are primarily recommended to buy any kind of plant, but if that is not of their preference, they can also  join the park's virtual tours, look for pictures that reflect nature, or look throughout their house’s window. I personally think it is an innovative and healthy idea that each of us can implement in our houses which will cost us less and will be more valuable in the long run. I hope that after this pandemic ends,  people but especially industries take rigorous actions on climate change issues and work on the creation of innovative solutions to it.