Sustainability Q&A with Delaney Carr

What is your year, major, or club affiliation at Gonzaga?

I am a Junior Environmental Studies major with a Sustainable Business minor. I am part of Rethink Waste and Food Recovery Network. 

What does sustainability mean to you?

To me, sustainability means to live in balance with nature and our environmental surroundings. It’s to be conscientious of the things we do and acknowledge the fact that all of those things have an impact, however there are many ways to reduce those impacts.

How have you been involved in promoting sustainability on campus?

I’m involved in a couple club’s on campus that focus on waste reduction and more specifically reduction of food waste by redistributing unused food to local community members.

What are some things you do in your personal life to live sustainably?

Second semester of my freshman year I was inspired by my friend, Anna Belinski, to live a zero-waste lifestyle. I’ve really enjoyed this new behavioral change because it allows me to be in control of the things I eat, buy, and use in a sustainable way! Living zero-waste/reduced-waste, I’ve learned how to make small or big changes in my routines through DIY projects, gardening, and cooking etc. While there’s been a lot of trial and error, I’ve loved learning more about my own impact on the environment and how I can reduce that impact throughout my life.

How could Gonzaga continue to improve its sustainability efforts?

I think Gonzaga should continue to support students working on making Gonzaga’s campus more sustainable and collaborating with students in order to accomplish those sustainable goals. Students have a lot of great ideas where Gonzaga can improve in sustainability, and by listening and working with students, it sends a message to encourage students to speak up where they think Gonzaga can improve. Everyone, students, faculty, and staff, want to see Gonzaga thrive and there’s no better way to work towards that then by working together.

How will you continue to promote sustainability at Gonzaga?

Now that I’ll soon be an upperclassman, my personal goals are to set sustainability projects in motion. The first couple years I learned the campus dynamic and gotten to know a lot of new people focused on sustainability, and through those people, I feel as though I can pursue an area in sustainability and work towards it for the remainder of my time at Gonzaga. I also want to keep connecting more students on campus with all the resources that Gonzaga has to help people be more conscientious of their impact on the environment. I think a lot of students care about sustainability but might not know about all the great things Gonzaga has to offer to help!