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Read on to learn about your site leaders and about Environmental Justice.

Eisha 

Contact Information: 
Email: eishabaig1@gmail.com
Phone number: 678-591-2057 (you can also text me...)

Impact Involvement: I was looking for some organization that worked with the community when I came into UGA my freshman year. I met an upperclassman who told me about her experience with IMPACT, and I thought it was really cool how they went to a different place and tackled a social justice issue rather than blindly going to an area and doing any random service act. She had told me that each trip had a specific social justice issue that related to the specific area. I signed up as soon as I heard that application came out and ended up going on the disability/ ability awareness and advocacy trip in Philadelphia. I really enjoyed the trip and learned a lot, but my favorite part about the trip was the fact that my work with disability and ability advocacy did not end in Philadelphia, but more so started there. Each trip to me is just the beginning of learning and understanding all the different injustices in the world. 

Interest in trip focus: I applied to lead a trip on Environmental Justice thinking it was environmentalism, and I thought that would be a cool trip to lead. I spent some time last year trying to get myself adjusted to using reusable straws, and avoiding plastic grocery bags, so to me a trip on environmentalism was perfect. Afterwards though, I realized exactly what environmental justice is and that I had it completely wrong. I did not even think about how much of an issue it was until I started doing my own research about it. It made me realize how little I know, and how much I have to learn. I am ecstatic to be leading this trip, because I am going to learn so much about this topic. 

Fun Fact: I can balance almost anything on my head.
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I swear it's not photoshopped

Aly

Contact Information
Email: shakoor@uga.edu
Phone: 678-468-1893 (don't hesitate to text me about the trip!)

Impact Involvement: I went on my first trip freshman year after hearing never-ending positive reviews. People told me it was the best part of their college experience and there was no way I would regret going on one. So I went to Tuscaloosa for Affordable Housing over winter break, and indeed had a wonderful experience. I walked away with a deeper understanding about social justice, a group of friends, and a desire to give that experience to others. So the next year I applied to be a site leader, and led a trip to Charlotte for Shelter and Resource Access. While I had a different role on this trip and the group was very different, I still got to have that rewarding educational experience, and of course a new batch of friends. Because I think everyone has something more they can get out of an IMPACT trip, I decided to reapply to be a site leader.

Interest in trip focus: This year I wanted to lead a trip focused on an issue I wasn’t familiar with. I applied for an Environmental Justice trip, which I thought had to do with conservation efforts, like recycling or climate change. I quickly realized that Environmental Justice goes far beyond these traditional concepts and that I knew even less about it than I thought. The issue focuses primarily on how our environmental efforts affect different populations disproportionately. Race, socioeconomic class, and other parts of a population’s background often dictate how environmental policies affect their basic living, learning, and working conditions. I’m eager to learn more about the issue alongside my co-site leader, my participants, and the community in South Florida.

​Fun fact: I know how to play Hot Cross Buns, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, and Ode to Joy on the piano (will update this list as I take more lessons)​​
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If I were on death row, Fox Bros BBQ would be my last meal...

What is ~environmental justice~???

Environmental Justice is about the environmental standards that vary from area to area. Typically you’ll find higher environmental standards like cleaner air and water and frequent trash removal throughout a city with a higher socioeconomic status, whereas an area with a lower socioeconomic status is more likely to be near toxic waste and landfills. Worse environmental standards can have significant negative impacts on one's physical and mental health. Our trip will be working outdoors directly with the environment in south Florida, and we can’t wait for y’all to help out!

What will we be doing on our trip?

We will be at the Biscayne and Everglades National Parks for a little over half of our trip, participating in maintenance and restoration as well as hearing from park rangers about how environmental injustice manifests in South Florida. The rest of the trip will be more educational, including a visit to the University of Miami Environmental Justice Law Clinic and a day of cultural exploration in the area.

A note about accessibility: Unfortunately, the service planned for this area requires a substantial amount of physical activity. Neither our housing site nor most of our service is accessible. Please keep this in mind when ranking our trip during applications.

Environmental Justice in Athens
In Athens it is an issue, and there are programs that have been implemented to help with the environment. A major organization is the Athens Land Trust, which serves as both a conservation and a community land trust to provide resources towards sustainable development in the community. Part of this effort includes monitoring and working to improve disproportionate environmental standards in the community. For instance, last year the EPA awarded the Athens Land Trust a $120,000 grant to address environmental justice issues like air and water quality hazards in two historically African American neighborhoods and provide education to community members on how to protect themselves from harmful impacts.

LEED creates environmental minimum standards that the city has to require. It is an initiative taken on by the government and a voluntary program. ​
Meaningful Involvement: Everyone has the right to speak about the environmental issues their community faces, and their concerns should be involved in the decision making of communities
Disproportionate Impact: Communities with larger minority populations or lower socioeconomic status tend to have more environmental risks in their community. This tends to increase health problems in those communities as well 
​Fair Treatment: No person or community should have a higher exposure to environmental risks
Socioeconomic Status: The social standing of a group as a result of education, income, and job
Minority Population: In the United States, people who are not single-race white
EPA: The Environmental Protection Agency, a federal government agency that has an Office of Environmental Justice to further these efforts through community and local government partnerships.

Key Words about Environmental Justice

Additional Information about Environmental Justice

This article is a good quick intro to environmental justice and why it's important (and it's by a UGA professor!) - https://www.forbes.com/sites/marshallshepherd/2019/06/12/not-in-my-backyard-environmental-justice-101/#415dbb13886d

A timeline of environmental justice in America - https://www.arcgis.com/apps/Cascade/index.html?appid=b3ab68df37ff4ec3b8bdd156929174aa

"Race is the biggest indicator in the US of whether you live near toxic waste" - ​https://qz.com/939612/race-is-the-biggest-indicator-in-the-us-of-whether-you-live-near-toxic-waste/

This website shows historic cases of environmental justice throughout the  world - ejatlas.org/country

A glossary of terms from the EPA - https://www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice/ej-2020-glossary

An explanation of socioeconomic status - ​https://www.apa.org/topics/socioeconomic-status/

A video explanation of environmental justice