Sustainability

What does sustainability mean to me?

Sustainability means maintaining a good quality of life without overtaxing our resources or the environment, while ensuring that people are treated fairly and equitably in society. The goal is to have a world worth living in, and to do so we need a healthy environment, economy, and social justice. My research overlaps with the environmental pillar of sustainability.

I am interested in research dealing with soil erosion and human-dominated landscape change, water use issues, and waste management.

In the Vermillion community, I have worked towards educating the public about climate change and recycling. As a board member of Greening Vermillion (2016-2021) I coordinated a recycling education campaign that included developing a new Recycling & Sustainability Guide and a series of videos on recycling. I currently serve on the Joint Powers Board for Clay and Yankton counties as the Vermillion citizen representative (2021-2023). This board deals with solid waste and recycling issues.

Testing a Information-Motivation-Behavior model to assess curbside recycling habits in Vermillion

Graduate student Anna Moore interviewed residents of Vermillion and collected recycling data to learn about what motivates residents to participate in our city's recycling program.