Change Projects | Sustainability

All degree students in the Center for Creative Change conduct a capstone change project in an organization or community. Change projects enable students to integrate ideas studied in the classroom with real-world experiences of social change.

These student change projects cover a range of issues and approach them in many different ways. Here are examples of student projects on environmental and community sustainability: 

Paving the Way to Sustainability in the Army Corps of Engineers

Alicia Austin Johnson (Environment and Community) worked as a member of a team at the Army Corps of Engineers (Seattle District) to develop a program that incorporates sustainability into the district's mission, projects, and operations. A key focus for her work was the Environmental Operating Principles/Sustainability Action Group.

What Do 280 Species of Birds Know That We Don't Know?

Alison Ball (Environment and Community) collaborated with a network of environmental education organizations in Cleveland, OH. She organized community members to develop and implement initiatives to restore a lakefront dredge disposal site as a nature preserve. This site already provides habitat for more than 280 species of birds and other wildlife species, as well as many plants.

Connecting Hope and Change: Daily Practices for People and Planet

Lisa Bakke (Organizational Psychology) partnered with a nonprofit called Earth Ministry to inspire communities and volunteers to care for all creation through advocacy, activism and spiritual practices. She co-facilitated trainings around Puget Sound, learned and shared stories that unite daily life with global action and found renewed personal calling and dedication for the work of Earth stewardship and social justice. Bakke's work highlights opportunities to experience sacred space in the midst of our daily lives.

Good Neighbors: Promoting Community-scale Sustainability

Bryan Cook (Environment and Community) worked with the Phinney Neighborhood Association in Seattle to explore ways to engage community members in programs and activities to promote sustainability. His work led to the development of new ideas about the interface between community members and neighborhood associations.

Reviving the Portland Green Map: Creating Sense of Place and Sustainability

Darcy Cronin (Environment and Community) initiated a project to revive the Portland Green Map, a local resource dormant since its publication in 2002. She reviewed the original Portland, OR, grassroots effort and researched project models from other cities in an effort to redevelop the project through collaborative partnerships. Cronin's work helped to develop a stronger sense of place, while promoting ecological and community sustainability.

Facing the Future Together: Collaborating For Sustainability

Travis Green (Organizational Psychology) worked with the Center for Ethical Leadership to organize and facilitate the Sustainability Confluence, a two-day event for sustainability leaders in Puget Sound. Green's work highlights the importance of collaboration in developing the sustainability movement.

Business and Environmental Sustainability

Krista Hunter (Environment and Community) collaborated with Sustainable Connections in Bellingham, WA, to assist member businesses in setting yearly goals and to demystify sustainable development. She helped develop industry-specific toolkits, training and support programs, publicity and measurement tools for sustainable business practices in construction, food/farming, retail, manufacturing and the service sector.

Co-creating a Vision for Sustainability: Blue Mountains of Eastern Oregon

What does successful collaboration for sustainability look like? Working for the U.S. Forest Service, Elaine Kohrman (Whole Systems Design) used a whole systems design approach to help create a new vision for sustainability on public lands in Eastern Oregon. The collaborative public process that she facilitated provides a new model that transforms the tragedy of conflict into "Success for the Commons."

Ecological Patterns in Community Gardens

Inspired by community gardens as a model for weaving together social justice and environmental sustainability, Kristen McIvor (Environment and Community) worked to strengthen the relationship between the South Park community in Seattle and Marra Farm, a publicly owned, community-run model urban farm. In particular, she explored how concepts of permaculture can be used to strengthen communities.

Rainwater Harvesting in a Community College

Tammie Stark (Environment and Community) coordinated a collaborative effort to install a rainwater harvesting system at Lane Community College in Oregon. Using the system as a teaching model, she led interactive educational workshops focused on water issues. Her workshops became a stepping stone toward other programs and activities on sustainability, community building, systemic thinking and integrated water management.