Abstract
By taking an interdisciplinary approach to increasing local and sustainable vegetable consumption, the Green Team Initiative’s tailored interventions to increase awareness about the benefits of consuming local produce and provide opportunities for direct engagement with the process of cultivation. This includes a community supported agriculture (CSA) site on campus that facilitates a direct alternative to sourcing food. Our framework uses the transtheoretical model of behavior change to initiate three interventions aimed at increasing readiness to consciously consume more produce through campus collaboration and student involvement. A series of invited speakers discuss the environmental and ethical impacts of factory farming. Understanding the economic and ecological benefits of sustainable agricultural practices increases consciousness about the benefits of eating locally. Second, we worked with student-led clubs and campus organizations to promote place-based learning gardening projects. Participants engage in cultivating produce as well as attend tours that teach about different growing practices, encouraging self-reflection while having a transformative impact on our local environment. Finally, a CSA produce pick-up stand on site for purchase on a sliding scale promotes direct action and sustained positive behavior. The team believes that by connecting people to the physical world, we might notice the impact of climate change on our day-to-day lives. Isolation and inaction ensue because we distance ourselves, cognitively, from the reality of the grueling work to harvest crops for consumption in turbulent climate conditions (heat exhaustion, drought, policy changes targeting migrant workers); thereby making behavior change both imperative yet daunting.
Presenters
Amanda AlmondAssociate Professor, Social Science, CUNY- New York City College of Technology, United States Sean Mac Donald
Professor of Eonomics, Social Science, CUNY- New York City College of Technology, New York, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Theme
Education, Assessment and Policy
KEYWORDS
Community supported agriculture, Behavior change, Interdisciplinary learning, Place-based learning
