Sustainable Campus is FSU’s Office of Sustainability, an organization that runs a variety of initiatives and programs across FSU’s campus dedicated to promoting sustainability. From the Seminole Organic Garden to Garnet and Gold Goes Green (G4), they organize projects that help reduce the university’s and the student body’s environmental impact and make everyday choices on campus more sustainable.
Sustainable Campus isn’t a typical administrative office at FSU; there are plenty of opportunities for students to be involved, both inside and outside the classroom. By working with Sustainable Campus, you can make a direct, hands-on impact at FSU. Some of the things you can do with the office are become an EcoRep, get a reCycle Bike, or volunteer.
One of the easiest ways to start volunteering for Sustainable Campus is through the Food Recovery Network (FRN). FRN turns surplus food from on-campus dining locations into community support instead of waste.
Volunteering With the frn
I myself am an active volunteer with FRN. It’s a great way to meet new people, earn volunteer hours, gain experience, and feel like you’re doing something genuinely helpful for the community.
With FRN volunteering, you sign up on the volunteer spreadsheet that’s sent to volunteers every week via email. There are plenty of shifts that you can sign up for throughout the week, making it a super flexible option for those of us with busy schedules. It’s also quite nice because the shifts you sign up for are completely up to you.
After you sign up for a volunteer shift, you’ll meet at Mendenhall Building A. From there, you’ll sign in, and the coordinator will walk everyone through what to do. Then you’ll head to the designated pickup location for that shift, at one of the on-campus dining locations.
There, you recover the food that would otherwise be lost and bring it to the Food for Thought Pantry. On Monday mornings, you’d instead walk to the Thagard Building to drop off the food with Unconquered Scholars. Also, if it’s your first time, you’ll usually be paired with someone who’s volunteered for FRN a few times, and they’ll help you get settled in.
I love volunteering with FRN because, at its core, it’s basically a nice walk around campus, but with a little bit of extra purpose. The community is great, too: you meet people who genuinely care about sustainability. FRN has volunteers come from all kinds of majors, so you also end up hearing different perspectives from motivated students.
In my opinion, if you’re looking for an easy and fulfilling way to get involved in volunteering on campus, FRN is the way to go! To get involved, you can fill out this interest form.
FRN is also currently doing the Bowl to Bracket Bingo event this month through their parent chapter, the National Food Recovery Network. The goal of the challenge is to complete bingo items, prompt food recovery, and help fund FRN chapters across America, including our own.
Ways To Get Involved and Upcoming Events
Besides FRN, you can look into becoming an EcoRep, volunteer at the Seminole Organic Garden, volunteer for G4, host a campus cleanup, or look into getting a leadership position. You can check the site for more information. To learn about upcoming events and volunteering opportunities with Sustainable Campus, you can sign up for their weekly newsletter.
If you’re looking for something to do, need some extra volunteering hours, or want to meet some new friends, I definitely recommend that you try out FRN and see what it’s like for yourself. Getting involved in Sustainable Campus in general is also a great way to be a little more conscious of your own carbon footprint if that’s something that’s been on your mind lately. Chances are, you’ll see me at one of the FRN shifts, too!
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