Spotlight Organization Spotlight: Chatham Green Team with Taylor Pelow
A new school year is the perfect time to start thinking about what student organizations might align with your passions, interests, and hobbies and luckily Chatham has plenty. To kick off Fall 2020, we’re catching up with student organizations and their leaders to learn more about their 2020-2021 aspirations and what students can look forward to if they join. Next up is the Chatham Green Team, a student founded organization determined to make Chatham an even more sustainable, eco-friendly environment. Founder and Executive President, Taylor Pelow, Chemistry and Political Science ‘21 takes us through the ins and outs of student-led sustainability—
Can you tell us a little bit about the Chatham green team and your goals on campus?
Taylor Pelow: The Chatham Green Team is an organization I started to bring a more sustainable lifestyle to Chatham's Shadyside campus. I created the organization during my first year at Chatham. I made it simply because I wanted to bring more green aspects to Shadyside; that's pretty much the whole premise of the organization. Right now, we've been working to get funding from the Chatham Green Fund to get personal compost bins in all the dorm rooms across campus. We also like to provide education on environmental matters from outside the classroom. We're trying to build a culture of sustainability and help get everyone in that mindset.
So every student on campus Could have their own composting bin?
TP: Yep. They'd be personal compost bins [for your dorm room]. They come with charcoal bags to alleviate the smell. You could just bring them to Anderson Dining Hall or any other compost dump sites.
What are some projects that you guys have worked on on campus and in the community?
Green Team members at a protest
TP: The compost project has been a big one. We've also been working on having Meatless Mondays in Anderson to teach students about how cutting some meat from your diet helps our environment.
What are your responsibilities as president of the green team?
TP: I do a lot of meeting planning and try to facilitate communication between members and the executive officers. I'm very big on group think and web leadership style. I like to have the members create the projects. The composting idea came from a group of first years last year. We just ran with it. I did a lot of the logistical work, but all the planning and ideas came from them. As president, I guide where things go and do the desk work for a lot of stuff.
What other leadership roles are there?
TP: I have a co-president because this is my senior year and I want to make sure that we have a good transition. We have a vice president, historian, treasurer, and secretary. However, I'm not big on hierarchal leadership. I say, if you see something that you want to do, do it. We have those titles because of Chatham paperwork, but we all do a lot of the same work.
What are the benefits of joining the Chatham green team?
TP: It's a really cool way to get involved in sustainability at Chatham. Chatham has so many different things going on on campus. With the Green Team, I try to send my members internships when I find them. You're also surrounded by other people that really want to be around sustainability. I'm a chemistry and political science major so I don't take a lot sustainability classes, but I've taught myself a lot. We have a wide range of majors going on—chemistry, environmental science, political science. We like to promote interdisciplinary learning with sustainability, which I think is really cool. One of the reasons I came to Chatham is interdisciplinary learning. The Green Team really loves to embellish on that.
Green Team members planting trees on campus
What type of student might be interested in getting involved with the Chatham green team?
TP: Any student that has an interest in sustainability and green living. Someone that might be thinking, I think sustainability and saving the planet are really cool, but I don't know where to begin. There are a lot of members who are deep into our sustainability program that can mentor younger students. I’ve learned a lot from the environmental science majors about what I can do with my degree. You can use sustainability to add purpose to any degree. That's always my big reason to get into it. All of us have a ton of plants, most of us are vegetarians if you need any good recipes, that's also a good reason to join.
If a student is on the fence about joining the green team, how would you recommend they learn more about it or explore it?
TP: I always tell people to email me or text me. I like having that conversation about why someone wants to join. If people are joining for a specific reason, we can gear the club towards that. When we originally started it, it was about simple, low-waste living and bringing that into your lifestyle, but then all the members that were joining wanted to get into sustainable policy and do bigger things like bring more composting bins to campus. So then we changed our goals. But if we have a new round of students who want to do more community or environmental justice work, then we can change our goals. It's such a broad organization—as long as we're helping others in a sustainable way, I'm all for it.
What initiatives are you most looking forward to in this new school year?
TP: I'm really looking forward to finally seeing those compost bins. I would just love to physically see them and see students using them. Also, there are so many new first years that are so excited and focused. All the first years I've met have really high hopes and I really want to see what they want to do.
For more information on how to get involved with the Chatham Green Team, follow them on Instagram: @greenteam_chathamu.
