Name: Brittany Barnett
Year: Sophomore
Hometown: Tallahassee, Florida
Major: Family and Child Sciences
Relationship Status: In a relationship
Photo By: Annie Grafe
Her Campus (HC): What are you currently involved in?
Brittany Barnett (BB): Probably the biggest thing that has taken up my whole life right now is my internship with Rethink Energy Florida; I am the outreach coordinator for it. This past couple of weeks, we have spent a lot of time focusing on advocacy. Fracking has been a huge deal in the capital lately. There are some bills that people are trying to pass that will allow for unregulated fracking. My organization does not support that because fracking can do a lot of damage and it is not well researched. There have been a lot of incidents where it has affected people’s water and there are a lot of risks that come with it. Advocacy Day has been about trying to get our representatives and our senators to give locals a lot more freedom and involvement. Right now, our representatives and senators are trying to make decisions statewide despite what our counties desire. While that has been our main focus lately, we also go to schools and talk to kids about solar energy, other renewables and ways to live more sustainably. That is what I mainly want to do in the future; I want to work with kids and talk to them about how they can have a lower resource impact.
HC: Can you tell us more about projects that Rethink Florida Energy has been working on?
BB: Our most recent event (that is coming up on February 27) is called Energy Wiz! It is basically a huge competition among students in grades 4-12. They will make solar ovens and participate in a solar car race. We hope to get kids interested in solar energy and renewables. We are hoping to get other organizations to participate and educate our public. We also need volunteers to help register and be judges. If you are a judge, you can taste-test the food! We need people to help us make sure that all ends are met and the day runs smoothly; it should be a really fun event! We are also looking for more kids to sign up, so if anyone knows any children interested in engineering, science and fun, then send them my way!
HC: What are some ways that we can help the environment?
BB: I think that the biggest thing a person can do is reduce their waste impact; so much gets thrown away! One of the things I do is throw my scrap food in a compost pile; it all goes to our edible garden. We have a bunch of herbs, lettuce and other vegetables growing. It’s important to turn off your lights and reduce, reuse, and recycle! Make sure to open your windows more and turn down your air conditioning/heater. Get some exercise and save our environment by riding your bike from place to place. Lastly, it is important to reduce animal-product intake. It is super important to ask questions about where everything that you use comes from; that is something that I always tell the kids.
HC: If you could have any job, what would it be?
BB: Wow, this is a very difficult question! I have a lot of ideas of what would be fun! I really like working with young people. I love communities, the environment and education! Whatever I am doing, I want to be educating people and making their lives happier and healthier. I really like helping people have fun; getting people outside and helping them find their passions. I have a couple of dream jobs: one of them would be to be my AP Psychology teacher from high school. She was really inspiring and made me think about the world differently. I’d love to do that for kids in whatever way I can. Teachers have changed so many of my viewpoints and have made me think so much deeper about things. My second job would be working at my summer camp, Everglades Youth Conservation Camp. I got the opportunity to be a group leader mainly for middle school girls. I accompanied them on camping trips, hiking and group activities; my job was to make sure they were having a fun week.
HC: What is a fun fact about yourself?
BB: I groom dogs on the low. My dog, Muffin, died over the summer and I had groomed him since I was 10-years-old. I miss him dearly and I needed some more dog loving in my life. I know college kids need to conserve money. I want to be friends with your dog while making him look sharp.
HC: Would you consider yourself a hunter or a gatherer? Why?
BB: I consider myself a gatherer. I love finding things, and free food! Ha-ha. I actually go dumpster diving every now and then. I always find huge cans for my plants! The best thing I’ve found while dumpster diving has been a small shopping cart.
If you or anyone you know is interested in volunteering at the Energy Wiz event for Rethink Energy Florida, please visit their website here for more details.