Early in 2025, the School of the Environment awarded Investment Initiative grants to 12 Boise State faculty members. One such grant went to Professor Seth Ashley from the Department of Communication, who used the funds to develop a new approach in his Environmental Communication course this fall.
Students in Environmental Communication partnered with Boise State’s Office of Sustainability to get hands-on learning experience with course topics.
“The idea is that the Office of Sustainability is essentially our client,” Ashley said.
The students worked in groups and used skills learned in class to create and deploy real-world solutions to sustainability issues on campus. Some of those issues included alternative transportation, energy use, landscaping, stormwater runoff, recycling and food waste.
Environmental studies senior Laura Potter was part of one group working with Campus Dining to reduce food waste in Buster’s Kitchen, the main dining hall in the Student Union Building.
“Our goal was to develop a communication campaign that ultimately teaches students and other diners within Buster’s Kitchen about food waste,” Potter said.
Her group worked on a flyer to display on napkin holders in Buster’s Kitchen. The flyer, which is currently in use by Campus Dining, includes facts about food waste and a call for diners to clean their plates.
“I haven’t had any other classes that have given us the opportunity to see results that last,” Potter said. “So that is really cool, to be able to see that tangible impact from our class.”
Staff at Campus Dining also felt the impact.
“The Comm 319 Team has been great to work with,” said Campus Dining Director of Marketing Jen Harris. “Their work included elevating the sustainability section of the Boise State Dining website with research, data, and resources that improved both the user experience and SEO.”
Ashley’s course captures the interdisciplinary nature of the School of the Environment’s curriculum. Some students, like Potter, are environmental studies majors. Others are majoring in communication, environmental science or even biology and health sciences. Students fill the gaps in each other’s knowledge and work together to support their campus partners.
“I’ve gained a lot of knowledge about communication and communication strategies,” Potter said. “And my friends, who majored in communication, have learned a lot about the environmental side of things.”
The School of the Environment Investment Initiative grant helped make this possible by supporting Ashley over the summer as he outlined the course. He was able to meet with Director Amy Parrish from the Office of Sustainability and identify opportunities on campus so the students could hit the ground running once the semester started.
The funding also paid for materials that students used in their projects, like printing the flyers that Potter’s group made for Campus Dining.
“I appreciate the support from the School of the Environment,” Ashley said. “The opportunity to try something I wouldn’t otherwise have tried was really useful.”
Ashley’s project was just one way that the School of the Environment supports research, creative activity and student success at Boise State. Follow the School of the Environment newsletter for more updates on Investment Initiative projects.