When people think sustainability, most think of recycling, driving “green” cars or taking shorter showers to conserve water. Unless someone plans to go into environmental science, there seems little practical application for knowledge beyond how one can help on an individual level; However, this is exactly the thinking that many at the UofA have tried to change through sustainability courses and student activism.

With 36 majors from all colleges represented on campus and a record number of student enrollment, the sustainability minor is proof that students as a whole are interested in how sustainability could apply to their future careers, said Director of Sustainability Carlos Ochoa.

“We want to meet people where they are and make sustainable living relevant to everyone,” Ochoa said.

One reason that it appeals to such a wide range of students is the minor is broken into four different systems within the minor. This allows students to take environmental classes that are  put into the context of their interests or major.

“The minor is very interdisciplinary in of itself and people see their interests reflected in that,” said Cassandra Gronendyke, administrative specialist for sustainability academic programs. “We want people to see that each issue can be looked at from many different angles, whether it’s how to design a bridge or pass policies dealing with social justice, sustainability has a place in the discussion.”

Enrollment for the program is at an all time high since its formation in spring 2011, and the department has already submitted proposal to offer a sustainability major.

The most popular system is “social,” which delves into the communications and social side of sustainability, Gronendyke said.

Some may wonder what social disciplines like psychology have to do with environmental science, and the answer is “they play a very important role,” said Kenneth Hamilton, Residents’ Interhall Congress sustainability director and psychology major.

“The thing about sustainability, especially in the South, is that it is a new topic and sometimes a hard one to swallow. You don’t have to go out of your way to do a lot of this stuff. That is one of the big things you have to get through people’s minds,” Hamilton said. “They see sustainability and think huge effort, little reward. Not true. One of my main goals is to get it through people’s head is that you can take small steps and have a big impact. If everyone does something small that grows into something pretty big and amazing.”

While the concept of sustainability has been around since the ‘60s, it has taken time for the idea to spread. Smog in Los Angeles and London, polluted rivers in Ohio and Germany, and oil spills off the California coast have gained great attention, but it comes as no surprise that the worry over environmental issues and their widespread impact took some time to reach the Natural State.

One of the biggest challenges the sustainability department faces is simply gaining students’ attention.

“This office competes for attention and everyone has their own agenda,” Ochoa said. “Within this campus saturated with messages and events, we try to reach students by working with student leaders.”

At the UofA, the sustainability department and housing work together to find creative ways of improving sustainability on campus and getting students, faculty and staff involved through scholarships, competitions and interactive improvements on campus. It is all focused around making environmentally friendly choices more rewarding, Hamilton said.

Hamilton and others are working with residence halls to have recycling bins on every floor.

“The students will no longer even have to walk down to the first floor to recycle,” he said. “One day I hope to see more places for recycling than trash cans, so that people will have to search to not recycle.”

Hamilton also writes articles for the housing website explaining how students can incorporate sustainability into everyday life, he said.

“I try to keep it humorous and a little bit satirical. Not bogged down by numbers,” he said. “I talk about things like how if everyone took shorter showers the university’s water bill would go down and you would have to pay less money, or at least the money would go toward something that you actually want.”

Bringing in psychologists, and those in more humanitarian or liberal arts fields, to tackle these environmental issues is a fast-growing trend, but not an altogether new one, Hamilton said.

“It is picking up a lot of steam,” he said. “Colleges all around are hiring psychologists and individuals in humanities to actually work in sustainability departments. You have to appeal to people. You can’t just hit people with hard science, we need people that know people to make them applicable.”

Even for those not looking for a career in sustainability can benefit from the courses, both in future jobs and in their personal lives, said Gronendyke.

“They usually have to hire an expert in a certain field and then teach them the sustainability aspects. Every business is trying to be more environmentally friendly and also cut costs,” Gronendyke said. “It also just helps you seem creative solutions and look at issues from points of views beyond just your expertise, and that helps you in many aspects of life.”

Many people may ask how can I, as an individual, help the environment, and while that is a good question it may not be the best one, Ochoa said.

“Yes, we should all recycle and try to lower fuel emissions, but this should really be equivalent to basic hygiene – just second nature by now,” Ochoa said. “However, we can’t just be individuals within a system; we have to think about how can prepare for things like climate change. Can we adapt? Will we be resilient and self-sustainable as a society?”