Making sustainability a stitch: Sewing machines for Eco-Reps

Transcription

1 Making sustainability a stitch: Sewing machines for Eco-Reps A. Project Members List a. Jill Burchell, Senior Coordinator of Sustainability Education Residence Life, jillb1@ .arizona.edu b. Julia Rudnick, Office of Sustainability Rudnick1@ .arizona.edu c. Harrison Hughes, Green Team hhughes@ .arizona.edu d. Jamie Verwys, Green Team jverwys@ .arizona.edu e. Brian Pierson, Residence Life Budget and Revenues Manager Pierson1@ .arizona.edu f. UA Community Relations g. Eco- Reps B. Proposal Description

2 As the University of Arizona continues to expand and explore its sustainability programming, the groups working on campus for this cause must think of new ways to address green initiatives. Sometimes, a tried and true, more traditional process of the past can help breathe new life into things that might have been thrown away. The UA s Eco Reps, a sustainability program through Residence Life, is hoping to take a skill once taught in schools to create something new out of UA branded banners taking up space in piles or landfills. Sustainability in a Stitch will become one of Residence Life s newest sustainability programs, engaging students living not only in the residence halls, but also broader campus. We would like to find new uses for some old discarded UA banners and repurpose them by sewing them into wallets, credit card holders, little pouches for reusable silverware, laptop cases, shopping tote bags and whatever else we can dream up and pattern. Though many students today don t know how to sew, it remains a useful skill for people of all ages; and sewing can help reduce the amount of clothes, curtains and more from ending up in the landfill. We are requesting $1,500 to fund this project, which will be housed entirely within Residence Life. We plan to spend $1000 on general supplies, such as thread, cotton webbing for totes, needles, scissors, reusable bamboo silverware, Velcro, and more. Approximately $500 will be spent on three heavy duty sewing machines, which are built to last, rely on a very simple bobbin system and are basic and simple to use. These particular models were vetted through a local sewing shop, selected for their simplicity and durability. There is an endless supply of UA banners for us to use, and UA Community Relations is working with us to ensure the banners come to this project instead of being wasted. They have been excited to help us imagine the new purpose each of these banners might fill. Everything about this project is sustainable, including its longevity. Additional funding from the Green Fund will not required once we buy initial supplies. Funding from Residence Life will be used to pay for any additional thread, bobbins, straps, etc. Julia Rudnick and Jill Burchell will teach members of the Eco-Reps how to use the sewing machines and sew the various types of projects (laptop bags, shopping bags, silverware holders, etc). Once the Eco-Reps have learned, they will pass this skill on to RAs and other residents. The Eco-Reps and Res Life will distribute these repurposed bags and assorted items to students in the Residence Halls to encourage greener lifestyle choices and educate students about ways to reduce waste in their own lives. Though the sewing machines and supplies will live in Residence Life, they can be checked out by anyone on campus. Whether a group of students wants to sew their own clothes, or a club wants to make bags for an event on the Mall, Residence Life will be able to check out the machines to anyone who needs them. When someone checks out a sewing machine, they will also receive brief instructions for use and patterns for the projects we ve come up with. All of the current patterns have been vetted and tested out for ease, and we are confident anyone on campus can successfully learn to sew on these machines. Check out will include signing the machine and any associated supplies out, signing a check out agreement, a short lesson on use of the machine and choosing a pattern(s) to keep if a group or person needs them.

3 Sewing isn t a dying art. We think this is an applicable skill for students trying to save money on new items, repurpose old ones, and generally discard less in the macro sense of the world. As the project moves forward, we may very well find other materials, like the UA banners, which don't have to get thrown away. We can turn these items into something new, something that is a testament to our commitment to our campus and wasting the least amount possible. C. UA Student Involvement/Benefit a. Student Workers: Sustainability in a Stitch will be run by members of the Eco- Reps and RAs in the various residence halls. The students will be required to take a short and simple sewing class, create items from the UA banners to give to residents and will be in charge of checking out sewing machines and supplies. b. Experiential Learner: This project has the potential to reach thousands of students on campus. About 7000 students live in campus housing, among 23 different halls. In addition to the students living on campus, countless others attend UA events and participate in clubs that could potentially use the sewing machines for their own projects. Students who use these branded banner bags on campus will continue to keep this project visible. D. Projected Timeline a. End of April/ early May: Purchase three simple, industrial sewing machines and supplies. b. May-August: Julia Rudnick and Jill Burchell will generate some standard patterns which can be distributed to anyone checking out sewing machines. c. September and on: Once the Fall semester has started, Eco_reps will be taught how to use the machines so they can begin using them. Residence Life, the Office of Sustainability and UA Community Relations will work to get the word out on the sewing machines and how to check them out. Information about the sewing machines will be included on Residence Life s sustainability resources page. E. Marketing a. Marketing for this project will be mostly online at no additional cost. Residence Life will add this to their list of sustainability resources on their website. The sewing machines, and info on how to check them out, will also be promoted through various campus Facebook pages. Any photos or video gathered of the sewing machines in use, or the sewed items created, will be shared online as well. A sewing tutorial video could be made and shared by the Eco-Reps and Residence Life, if time allows. Any mention of the machines will include that the project was funded through the Green Fund. Any sewing patterns given out to people

4 checking out the sewing machines will include the Green Fund s logo and website. We will also place a green Fund logo sticker on all three machines. F. Metrics a. Desired Impacts: The desired impacts of this project are: 1. Repurpose UA branded banners to reduce waste. 2. Motivate UA students to find new and interesting ways to repurpose trash into usable goods. 3. Teach UA students the valuable skill of sewing. 4. Encourage greener lifestyles for students living in Residence Halls. 5. Continue to build up and expand Residence Life s sustainability initiatives, as well as overall UA sustainability initiatives. 6. Provide students with inexpensive items with real, practical uses such as laptop bags, reusable grocery bags and reusable silverware pouches. 7. Support campus creativity through providing sewing machines as a tool. b. Strategy: The Eco-Reps will learn the skills needed for this project from Julia and Jill and will then pass that information along to others. We will ensure that anyone checking out a sewing machine is properly instructed on sewing use and care of the machine to make sure the machines remain in good condition and that machine borrowers can create an end result they are proud of. In addition, handing out completed items to residents will help instill the importance of green lifestyle choices throughout the semester. c. Measurement and Reporting Plan: The Eco-Reps/ Residence Life will keep track of the number of people/clubs who check out sewing machines. They will also encourage people to share their sewing projects in the form of pictures, videos or written descriptions. We will highlight any unique designs, as well as the success of various sewing projects. As time moves on, we may continue to add patterns to our collection, or make a list of other possible materials that could be used for sewing projects. We will track how many banners have been rescued and turned into new items. F. Budget See attached spreadsheet *Computer holder ready to sew.

5