When the semester ends, it’s a time of reflection, a time when many faculty and staff across campus take a deep breath and think about what’s next. For some faculty, that reflective period took them off campus to The Birmingham Zoo. These UAB Blazers weren’t there to visit furry, scaly or fuzzy residents that call the Zoo home; instead, they gathered at the Birmingham Zoo’s conference lodge to participate in UAB Sustainability’s Red Mountain Project.
UAB Sustainability’s Red Mountain Project is a two-day intensive workshop designed for faculty members across campus to learn how they can make their classrooms more sustainable. Topics of conversation range from public health, ethical supply chains, climate change, land use and sustainable design, and energy, water, and waste systems.
Bambi Ingram, Sustainability Manager, said, “The hope is that faculty and students will broaden their understanding of sustainability and what it means to safeguard human, economic, and environmental resources for current and future generations.” In addition to camaraderie and networking, participants received a $2,000 stipend after submitting their proposal.
Biomedical Sciences (BMD) faculty member Bobby Jones was one of the dozens of representatives sitting at the table. He learned about the opportunity through fellow BMD faculty member and CDS Interim Vice Chair Pamela Hansen. “I wanted my students to have a more hands-on experience,” said Jones. “I want us to get out of the lab and see what Alabama has to offer us.”
One of Jones’s courses is a microbiology lab, an extension of the microbiology course where students gain hands-on experience in the world of microbiology. In the past, most experiments involved students having to observe and identify a variety of microbes. Experiences like this help students identify different bacteria in the lab that they can then transfer to a clinic setting.
Jones thought about the content of his class, and he wondered what students would take away: “I want my students to be able to incorporate sustainability not just in the lab, but into their everyday lives.”
The goal for the fall semester is for Jones and his students to look at the environment and what current microbial species live there, so that participants can understand how microbial resistance occurs and how they are affected by certain pollutants.
Small group conversations turned blooming colleague relationships into friendships. Throughout the workshop, Jones not only learned about ways individuals can expand sustainability efforts on campus, but he also connected with other faculty members who shared a similar mindset
“A lot of us have the same goals and missions,” Jones said. Getting to know faculty members in the College of Arts and Sciences, Collat School of Business, etc., helped break him out of his school-specific shell. “Right now some of us are trying to come up with a working group, which would never have happened without the workshop.”
Jones hopes that these relationships lead to a collaboration between the School of Health Professions and other areas across campus. Interested faculty can learn more about the Red Mountain Project on their website and keep an eye out for next year’s application.
