Society of Environmental Advocates

Calling All Northwest Ohio & Southeast Michigan Environmental Companies or Organizations! The The University of Toledo's annual Earth Fest 2025 is happening on Thursday, April 17th, from 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM at the Centennial Mall! This is a great opportunity to connect with students and the community to showcase your sustainability efforts. During last year's Earth Fest, we had 18 organizations attend, and we are looking to grow that number. We are looking for environmentally-minded companies and organizations to table at our event to strengthen our campus connection to the community around us. If you're interested in participating, message us on LinkedIn, and we’ll send you the sign-up form. #EarthFest2025 #Sustainability #EnvironmentalAction #UniversityOfToledo #Networking College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics at The University of Toledo

Yesterday, the Society of Environmental Advocates took a field trip to the Stranahan Arboretum to learn about the science behind maple syrup production. I had the opportunity to lead our members as we collected sap straight from the trees, tracking the flow of sugar water from each tap as part of our data collection efforts. In total, we gathered over 30 gallons of raw sugar water, later to be boiled down into syrup. After collecting, we enjoyed pancakes with maple syrup made from the previous week. Thank you to all the SEA members who came out!

This past Saturday, SEA members explored the Downtown Toledo Farmers' Market! Supporting local vendors and sustainable businesses made for a great morning of community and connection. #FarmersMarket #Toledo

These little green companions will be available at the Catharine S. Eberly Center Global Feminism Event and the Society of Environmental Advocates Earth Fest on April 17th! #emotionalsupportplants

Join us this Thursday, February 13, for a LinkedIn Workshop with Ace Kim, our very own University of Toledo - American Marketing Association President! Ace is a senior COBI student who has successfully navigated multiple internships, built a network of 2,000+ LinkedIn connections, and enjoys helping others grow their network and land internships. ?? We will be sharing tips on how to optimize your profile, stand out to recruiters, and make meaningful professional connections. With the The University of Toledo John B. and Lillian E. Neff College of Business and Innovation Job Fair coming up, now is the perfect time to build your LinkedIn presence and learn how to leverage it to build on connections made at the fair. ??: Thursday, February 13 ?: 7:00 - 8:00 PM ??: Savage Business Complex 2100 Hope to see you there! #UToledoAMA #JobFairPrep #UToledo

Yesterday, the Society of Environmental Advocates held our second meeting of the semester, and we were grateful to welcome four guest speakers: Tony Sherock from University of Toledo Career Center, Erin Stephens from The Andersons, Julie Beaschler from Marathon, and Erin Morrissey from The Nature Conservancy! With over 20 students in attendance, we appreciate our speakers for sharing their time, insights, and experiences in the environmental field. Along with that, I want to give a huge thank you to Joslyne Nelson for helping organize our speakers and logistics of this meeting. I’m excited to see our organization, SEA, continue to grow in this coming semester!

Last night we held our first SEA meeting of the semester! Together, we created 2025 Vision Bingo Cards while drinking hot cocoa. It was an interactive way to display our environmental, personal, and professional goals for the upcoming year. We look forward to seeing everyone at our next meeting on February 10th.

We concluded the semester with our final S.E.A. meeting, where we gathered to play games and officially welcome the Spring 2025 executive team. Thank you to everyone who attended and supported us throughout the semester; your involvement makes this organization possible! Introducing the Spring 2025 Exec Team: Abigail Sowinski - President Olivia Bodziak - Vice President Joslyne Nelson - Event Planner Tyler Smith - Treasurer/Secretary Brooke Terwilliger - Communications Liaison

On Monday, we took some time to slow down and engage with sustainability in a hands-on way. Using materials from Scrap4Art in Maumee, we worked on upcycling scraps into small figurines. The activity was a simple but meaningful reminder of how waste can be repurposed with a bit of creativity and thought. It was great to connect with others who care about reducing waste and finding ways to make a difference, no matter how small. Thank you to Scrap4Art for providing the materials and to everyone who participated.

We were excited to host Angela Crosby at our first professional development event, where she presented her research on beryllium decontamination. A key highlight was her comparison of different decontamination techniques, including scrubbing versus non-scrubbing methods, and the various products available for effective decontamination beyond simply rinsing the site. Her insights provided a comprehensive understanding of the challenges and solutions within this area of environmental safety. Angela also shared her experiences in the industrial hygiene field, emphasizing the crucial role that networking plays in professional growth. We engaged in meaningful discussions about mentorship, highlighting the importance of reaching out and treating everyone with respect, as you never know the connections they may have or the knowledge they possess. We concluded the evening with a presentation on mentorship by our President, Abigail Sowinski, followed by an engaging Kahoot game. This event marks the beginning of SEA’s journey to merge professional development with our passion for environmental advocacy. We are eager to continue creating experiences that empower our members and expand our network.