Claudia

Environment & Community

Usually summers and holidays are filled with dread as most of my more able- bodied friends go off and travel, and I am stuck at home without much to do. However, this last summer, I did a variety of things to help me organize my academic plan for the coming years. A small stroke of luck, in the form of a meandering snail, made all the difference.

Going back to school took an enormous amount of courage given my disability. Luckily, as I adapt to my physical condition, more and more I find myself being myself, which is reassuring. This might sound like common sense, but it’s much harder to do than people may realize, especially when dealing with a body that often has a mind of its own.

Recently, I participated in an accessibility review event at our local aquarium to comment on the facility and whether people with disabilities can access the experience. It was busy that day, and usually I avoid crowded areas and large groups, because I know that most of the experience will end up being inaccessible to me. In spite of being used to barriers, this event got me thinking about what it could be like to have equal access and fully experience facilities like the aquarium.

While I was still pondering the aquarium accessibility review, I participated in another event volunteering on a campus-affiliated farm. I found it difficult to volunteer given my physical limitations. There were several things I couldn’t do. I was frustrated, but I thought about this event and the aquarium accessibility review, and it inspired deeper thinking about community and environment.

I was struggling to make progress, but then a lucky thing happened. I was at a public school waiting for my child, and a snail crawled across a patch of newly cleared ground between the school’s garden beds. As I was taking a picture of the snail, the person who built the beds walked up and introduced himself. We ended up talking for a while, and I learned that he teaches biology on my university campus! He built the beds in order to get people involved with nature and excited about biology.

Through that interaction, I realized I’d like to bring together my majors (environmental science resource management and community and environmental planning) by starting a project between the campus farm and the public schools, with an emphasis on integrated community access and participation. I never expected to come up with anything like this at the start of summer. I drafted a plan for my project and hope to implement my ideas and count it as part of my degree requirements. I think I have a great idea for using my STEM education, and I’m excited to bring it to life.