Category: ARC Session

Yerba Mate—Production Analysis and Education of Sustainable Alternatives

Presenter(s): Cian Whalen—Environmental Studies

Co-Presenter(s): Sarah-Anne Bedrosian, Garren Lum

Faculty Mentor(s): Sarah Stoeckel, Kathryn Lynch

Session: Environmental Leaders ARC

Students at the University of Oregon are highly reliant on prepackaged food and drinks to keep energized throughout the day . Many students consume multiple caffeinated beverages each day, often served in a single use container . Due to its popularity on campus, we are using Guayaki brand Yerba Mate as a case study to exemplify the impact of the high consumption of single use products . We hypothesize when analyzing the environmental harm and pollution created by the production of packaging materials, packaging for loose leaf tea will have an overall lower environmental impact than glass bottles or aluminum cans . Our group will research the production analysis of glass bottles, aluminum cans, and packaging of loose leaf tea looking at the embodied energy, waste materials, and overall environmental impact from production . The research will be presented in a video presentation that will educate the UO population about the production analysis of aluminum cans, glass bottles . We argue consumers should consider purchasing loose leaf Yerba Mate and brewing their own tea instead of creating waste by consumption of the drink in a glass bottle or aluminum can . By exploring the production analysis and the environmental, social, and economic components of the different variations of Guayaki Yerba Mate, we hope to educate the student body on the implications of their consumerism and prompt them to make more sustainable consumer choices .

The T-shirt Problem: Environmental Issues Caused by Fast Fashion and Simple Ways to Upcycle a Cotton T-shirt

Presenter(s): Megan Rangel-Lynch—Environmental Studies

Co-Presenter(s): Grace Kowalski, Freya Rhodes, Isaac Wasserman

Faculty Mentor(s): Sarah Stoeckl, Kathryn Lynch

Session 1: Environmental Leaders ARC

The t-shirt is a clothing item that fills all people’s drawers, but when not sourced or disposed of sustainably, can have serious environmental impacts . This project aims to explain the negative environmental impacts of the fast fashion industry, a system of rapid production of on trend items using low quality materials, focused on high consumption rate . We are focusing on the t-shirt because it is a simple item almost everyone owns, and there are easy ways to use the fabric to upcycle, create new products, and reduce additional waste other products create . Our project will present alternatives to throwing away unwanted clothing items by upcycling shirts into reusable bags and plant hangers . Our tutorials provide a reusable alternative to products that create waste and ultimately emphasize a more sustainable way of upcycling items instead of buying new ones . Through researching the impacts of the T-Shirt and product alternatives such as plastic bags we will represent our research and our solutions through DIY instructional videos and an analysis of the data found from our research . By creating a video that discusses our research and gives DIY alternatives to clothing waste, we hope to educate viewers on the negative implications of buying into the fast fashion industry and prompt them to make choices emphasizing sustainability and upcycling old clothing resources .

Redefining Menstruation: Awareness through an event that creates a tangible reusable menstrual pad while facilitating conversation around stigma, menstruation, and the life cycle of period products.

Presenter(s): Abigail Gravatt—Environmental Science

Co-Presenter(s): Olivia Holah, Payton Lagomarsino, Abigail Daffner

Faculty Mentor(s): Taylor McHolm

Session 1: Environmental Leaders ARC

This project explores and redefines what it means to be a person who menstruates in a society believing that only women menstruate; aligned with a focus on non-reusable menstrual products advertised to women . Through a virtual workshop we will demonstrate that to break down stigma revolving around those who menstruate and single use products there needs to be education and active engagement with the creation of reusable products . Those who menstruate cannot ignore their periods making a zero waste lifestyle challenging . How do we shift from a dependence on single use products to recognizing reusable products? First, education is necessary to deconstruct both the stigma around menstruation, and the cleanliness of reusable products . Second is a tangible reusable menstrual product that will serve as a tool to get people closer to our goal of destigmatizing the uncleanliness associated with menstruation . To achieve these goals, we will create a virtual workshop . We will advertise this through our website and Instagram; increasing our target audience . Putting our video online for the public to view will allow us to reach hundreds of individuals . Out of this digital event we will record information and data on participation, feedback via comments and outreach from viewers, and tangible products created . Ultimately, our virtual workshop will serve as a platform for discussion and inclusivity around reusable menstrual products .

Demonstrating the Importance of Implementing Reusing, Recycling, and Sustainable Practices in Creative and Accessible Ways

Presenter(s): Garrett Bunkers—Computer Science

Co-Presenter(s): Michael Chung, Isabella Flynn, Anna Jatsura, Hannah Weaver

Faculty Mentor(s): Sarah Stoeckl

Session 1: Environmental Leaders ARC

Sustainable and zero-waste lifestyle practices are stereotypically portrayed as expensive, inaccessible, and difficult to maintain . Our project demonstrates that this is not necessarily true — we plan on making a video to teach people how to use discarded, recyclable, household materials as a base in creating personal planters . We will use local recyclable, or unwanted materials of variable sizes and show our own personal decorations . We will include prefered type of soil and a lesson on how to find fertile dirt in your backyard . We will be working in tandem with both the Sustainability Center and the UO Zero Waste program . In collaborating with the Sustainability Center we will have the opportunity to effectively teach the students and families about at-home sustainability and recycling with easily accessible and safe materials such as used containers of varying material types . The UO Zero Waste program can inform us where the recycled materials are transported after they are recycled and provide insight on what material would be best for a planter . We plan to inform friends, families, and classmates about the video we will post . Our goal is to educate people on recycling, repurposing from a creative perspective, and inspiring them to do similar projects at their homes . We believe that people should frequently be reminded about sustainability, and, through environmental consciousness, challenge their creativity . When people are taught to be sustainable while also igniting their imaginations, they can continue to grow into excellent environmental leaders in their household

Yerba Mate—Production Analysis and Education of Sustainable Alternatives

Presenter(s): Sarah-Anne Bedrosian—Environmental Studies

Co-Presenter(s):Cian Whalen, Garren Lum

Faculty Mentor(s): Sarah Stoeckl, Kathryn Lynch

Session 1: Environmental Leaders ARC

Students at the University of Oregon are highly reliant on prepackaged food and drinks to keep energized throughout the day . Many students consume multiple caffeinated beverages each day, often served in a single use container . Due to its popularity on campus, we are using Guayaki brand Yerba Mate as a case study to exemplify the impact of the high consumption of single use products . We hypothesize when analyzing the environmental harm and pollution created by the production of packaging materials, packaging for loose leaf tea will have an overall lower environmental impact than glass bottles or aluminum cans . Our group will research the production analysis of glass bottles, aluminum cans, and packaging of loose leaf tea looking at the embodied energy, waste materials, and overall environmental impact from production . The research will be presented in a video presentation that will educate the UO population about the production analysis of aluminum cans, glass bottles . We argue consumers should consider purchasing loose leaf Yerba Mate and brewing their own tea instead of creating waste by consumption of the drink in a glass bottle or aluminum can . By exploring the production analysis and the environmental, social, and economic components of the different variations of Guayaki Yerba Mate, we hope to educate the student body on the implications of their consumerism and prompt them to make more sustainable consumer choices .

COVID-19, Climate Change, and Collages—A creative analysis disguised as an educational approach to inform about the connection between climate change and COVID-19.

Presenter(s): Alexandra Acosta-Torres—Earth Science

Co-Presenter(s):Jaemie Bynum

Faculty Mentor(s): Sarah Stoeckl, Kathyrn Lynch

Session 1: Environmental Leaders ARC

Being quarantined during the COVID-19 pandemic has left people in a state of desperation to fill their time with entertainment and fulfilling activities . The purposes of our project are to teach about the connections between COVID-19 and climate change and provide a video tutorial on how to make a meaningful collage . Collaging is an accessible, environmentally friendly type of upcycling that can fill that time . The research looks at scientific and social connections between climate change and COVID-19 . The collage created has a collection of themes regarding nature, the use of nature, loneliness, eco-grief, and the impacts of pollution, with the overall goal of visually symbolizing the impacts of climate change and COVID-19 . It is essential for the general public to understand the social and scientific connections between the impacts of climate change and COVID-19 because climate change requires social and scientific awareness in order to be resolved . We teach how to collage and challenge our audience to collage in our YouTube video . Our project aims to create a friendly activity that can be shared with friends while also generating interest in environmental issues and the current pandemic .