UNST 224g-001: ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY

Individual Final Paper: This will include (revised and improved) aspects of previous assignments. Paper
should be 5-8 pgs. double spaced, provides background on your sustainability issue, describes the action taken by
your group, evaluates the effectiveness of your approach and makes suggestions for addressing this issue at a
larger scale.

For each section:

20 pts: all aspects completed thoughtfully and with clear explanations; 17 pts: Mostly complete with adequate
explanations; 15 pts: mostly complete, lacks some insight; 10 pts: addressed half of the rubric; 5 pts: inadequate.

_______ /20 Overall quality:

 Completed in full, on time, written with good grammar and spelling.
 Action designed to be significant, thoughtful and likely to have an impact
 Informative, interesting and shows a deep knowledge of sustainability
 Includes at least 3 academic references, all references cited in bibliography are found in the paper and
vice versa.
 Includes a thank you letter to host organization (for volunteer organizations and interviewees, one per
group, not included in page limits).

_______ /20 Introduction:

 Descriptive title
 Statement and explanation of broad sustainability issue at both the global and local levels.
 Use the scholarly literature (i.e., peer-reviewed articles) and other reliable sources to provide background
information.
 Describe some of the current efforts to address this problem at the local scale.
 How effective are these efforts?
 What action did you take to address this issue, in collaboration with other members of your community?

_______ /20 Action taken:

 Describe your methods. What approach did you take? What were your Actions?
 Clear description of your strategy: What was the goal of your project?
Volunteer / community service:
o Provide background on the host organization and describe the role that this organization plays in
addressing environmental sustainability at the local level. What was your role as a volunteer? How
did you evaluate the effectiveness of the volunteer service of the whole group?

_______ /20 Effectiveness evaluation:

 Restatement of project goals
 Quantitative evaluation of your actions. This should include numerical descriptions of your impact;
should include at least one data table or graph. This should provide consistent, unbiased evaluation of
your actions.
 Qualitative evaluation of your action. What did you learn/gain from the experience?
 Evaluate the effectiveness of your approach at local level.
o (Volunteer project: how did your effort relate to the mission of the organization, explain how it
was worthwhile to you, the organization and your main problem in the community)
 Include one or two relevant pictures

_______ /20 Reflections and applications:

 Discuss your experience and outcomes with respect to environmental, economic and social sustainability
concerns.

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 UNST 224g-001: ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY

 Discuss impact and limitations.

 Could your approach be scaled-up to a larger group? How?
 What other types of collective action would be effective over the long-term and at the national or global
scale?

=100 pts