Tara Scully’s BISC 1008 course teaches students about the evolution of life on earth; the value of other organisms, their role in our world, and how humans can cause harm to this infrastructure. Serving in the local community in a variety of ways, students learn about D.C. and regional ecological issues, such as agricultural challenges related to other organisms, the role oysters play in cleaning the Cheseapeake Bay, or the impact of pollution on the local watershed.
Community Engaged Scholarship at GW
Spring 2023 Project: A Plastics Audit, working with Rock Creek Conservancy and the Kennedy Center
Spring 2023
Students Reporting: 46
Time Reported: 487
This year, students completed a research and advocacy project related to pollution on local rivers. Several community partners worked collectively with Dr. Scully, including Rock Creek Conservancy (RCC) and The Kennedy Center. Students worked collected and audited trash left in Rock Creek Park and on the GW campus, noting particularly the amount of plastics and the proportion of waste related to food delivery (hint: it's a lot). The whole project helped students gain a better understanding of the environmental impact of humans in public natural spaces.
"The Shape of Water" Sculpture, Exhibited at the Kennedy Center
Some students served by washing the collected plastic trash, providing materials for a unique sculpture exhibited at the Kennedy Center. The piece is intended to educate the public about the importance of working together to keep our rivers clean.
This partnership between The Kennedy Center and GW's Sustainability Institute is captured in this story map. Follow the QR Code below to read about the scope and timeline of the project, read student and partner testimonials, and see statistics related to the project.
All Reported Service
| Community Partner | Student Involvement |
| Rock Creek Park Conservatory | As volunteers with the Rock Creek Park Conservatory, students collected trash and catalogued refuse types from Rock Creek Park to gain a better understanding of the human impact on DC's natural areas. The RCC is the only organization dedicated solely to Rock Creek and its parks, and exists to restore the creek and its parklands as a natural “oasis.” |
| FRESHFARM FoodPrints | FRESHFARM FoodPrints integrates gardening, cooking, and nutrition education into the curriculum at partner schools in DC through a model of partnerships, standards-based curriculum, cafeteria connections and food access. Students worked hands-on in community gardens with young students and helped lead lessons on sustainability. |
| Office of Sustainability | Along with the Office of Sustainability, students handed out water bottles to their peers at GW as part of an effort to promote reusable plastics. The campaign, Past Plastic, handed out hundreds of bottles. |
| Trash Pickup | Students partnered walked through neighborhoods around the GW community and pick up/sort through trash left littered around the city. |
Student Comments
"This made me want to continue to actively clean up our earth even when it doesn't count towards service hours."
"I learned about the significant impact that large scale events have on the environment and waste to mitigate these risks in relationship to waste and litter."
"It was really cool seeing how all of many hours of the plastics project turned out and deconstructing and moving everything showed me yet again just how much plastic waste we create."
"Picking up trash around campus has made me realize how there's a lot of little pieces of litter on the ground on campus that never gets picked up. Before doing this, I never really understood how much trash we had on campus until now and from now on, I will be picking up trash around campus when I see it."
"Today was a great way to see how our environment is affected by infrastructure and trash not only in Foggy Bottom but in our general community as well."
Spring 2022
Students Reporting: 47
Time Reported: 720 hours
| Community Partner | Student Involvement |
| Rock Creek Park Conservatory | As volunteers with the Rock Creek Park Conservatory, students collected measurements and samples from rock creek at multiple locations around the city. This was done in order to monitor the health of the creek. The RCC is the only organization dedicated solely to Rock Creek and its parks, and exists to restore the creek and its parklands as a natural “oasis.” |
| FRESHFARM FoodPrints | FRESHFARM FoodPrints integrates gardening, cooking, and nutrition education into the curriculum at partner schools in DC through a model of partnerships, standards-based curriculum, cafeteria connections and food access. Students worked hands-on in community gardens with young students and helped lead lessons on sustainability. |
| Office of Sustainability | Along with the Office of Sustainability, students handed out water bottles to their peers at GW as part of an effort to promote reusable plastics. The campaign, Past Plastic, handed out hundreds of bottles. |
| Trash Pickup | Students partnered walked through neighborhoods around the GW community and pick up/sort through trash left littered around the city. |
Student Comments
“A few of us went to Woodley Park and sampled the water using the different equipment. It was really interesting because we went the day after a lot of rain and so the results were different than the norm.” - A student serving with the Rock Creek Conservancy
“At the start of the two hours, I felt discouraged seeing the sheer amount of styrofoam littered on the river's edge. I felt like no matter how much time we spent picking up trash, we would never make a substantial dent. At the end of the two hours, a man walking his dog thanked us for our service. His gratitude put the whole experience into perspective.” - A student serving with the Rock Creek Conservancy
“It was super fun the open garden hours have been a great way to spend my service hours. We redistributed the compost and planted many things like Swiss Chard, lavender, lettuce, pok choy, and more. I got to help grow fresh food and plants for a local neighborhood.” - A student serving with FRESHFARM FoodPrints
Images courtesy of a student on GivePulse, shared confidentially.
