Co-op Legacy Fellows Maggi Anstett, Margaret Sanders, and Madeline Williams

Connecticut Environmental Action Day Digital Kits: Making a Lasting Impact on Students and the Environment -  Fall 2019 UConn Co-op Legacy Fellow - Change Grant Project

Project Summary

Connecticut Environmental Action Day is an annual conference that seeks to inspire middle school students to create a plan to be more environmentally friendly. Maggi, Margaret, and Madeline worked with their mentors from UConn Extension to create and distribute educational kits to educators and homeschooling parents throughout Connecticut, with the goal of reaching students who could not attend the one-day in-person conference. In total, thirty-two kits were distributed to teachers and homeschooling parents, and an additional four kits were created and distributed to 4-H offices in four different counties in Connecticut.

Click on the presentation for additional details on the project.

Change Grant Recipient Maggi Anstett.About Maggi

Maggi is an Agriculture and Natural Resource major. After graduating with her bachelors, she plans to go into the Teacher Certification Program for College Graduates for Agriculture Education. Maggi has a huge passion for agriculture in the United States. Her goal in life is to educate the future generation of students about the importance of agriculture. Maggi has been involved with the National FFA Organization for the past six years. She is a lifetime member of the organization, was a member of the Utah State Collegiate FFA, was a member of New Century Farmer Conference, and has recently received her American Degree. She continues to manage her family poultry and waterfowl hobby farm. Her favorite animal is the pig, but she loves all animals as well. She has a current independent study with Stacey Sterns and is creating educational flyers and surveys for Connecticut Environmental Action Day. Maggi is very excited to see how effective CEAD and the new Digital Kits would be on the middle school students in 2020. She is very thankful and eager for the variety of opportunities that the UConn Co-op Legacy Fellowship – Change Grant Program is providing her.

About Margaret

Margaret Sanders is a second year undergraduate student majoring in environmental science with a minor in communication. She has passions for sustainability and environmental activism, as well as education and helping others. Margaret aspires to attend graduate school for higher education with a focus on environmental education in the future. Margaret worked as an intern for UConn Extension 4-H this past summer with Jennifer Cushman. Through this position, she was able to work with CT youth in order to gain experience with agricultural education. On campus, Margaret is a coxswain for the UConn Men’s Crew Team and is a mentor for first year students in the Public Health Learning Community. Through this mentorship role, Margaret is able to further her passion for education and helping others. Margaret is excited to help facilitate youth activities for Connecticut Environmental Activism Day and through her Co-op Legacy Fellowship opportunity, Margaret hopes to further her experience with environmental education as well as working with the youth to create a better future, starting with environmental activism.

Change Grant Recipient Madeline Williams.About Madeline

Madeline is a Structural Biology and Biophysics major on the Masters of Public Health fast track program at UConn. After graduating with her BS and MPH degrees, she plans to go to law school to pursue a career in human rights or public interest law. Madeline is very passionate about helping people and making a difference in the world. Both of these passions manifest in the activities she is a part of and in her coursework as she prepares for her future career. Madeline is part of Global Health Spaces on Campus (GloHSOC), she works with the IPM program through UConn Extension, and works part-time as an administrative assistant on campus. In addition to these UConn affiliated programs, she has participated in many service trips and loves to spend time outside whenever possible. She is also a huge animal lover and adores spending time with any type of animal! Madeline is excited about the opportunities provided by the Change Grant and cannot wait to see the finished product of this project!