Last weekend, Calvin hosted the second annual Faithfully Advancing Sustainability Together (FAST) Conference. Now in its second year, the two-day FAST conference brings together members of the wider community to learn about and inspire sustainable action.
“It is always such a rich time to get students together from different schools who all care about sustainability,” said campus sustainability program coordinator, Tom Hartzell.
This year the conference had 42 attendees from six different schools across two states. This is up from 29 attendees in 2023. Students from Hope, Aquinas, Indiana Wesleyan, Taylor and East Kentwood High School joined together in workshops and breakout sessions led by industry professionals as well as by students, sharing what they know about sustainability and opportunities to get involved in sustainability work. Workshops encompassed everything from sustainable living on a budget to ecological restoration.
Students shared their hopes, sources of inspiration and their own experiences with climate action together. “There are so many opportunities for students to get to know each other,” said Calvin sustainability fellow Maggie Sytsema.
Stephen Price, an attendee from Hope College said “I came to FAST because it seemed like a really good opportunity to share some of the sustainability things we are looking into at our own campus and explore some new ideas with everyone else.”
This is the first year that Calvin’s Sustainability Fellows Cohort have taken the lead in organizing the conference. “It’s been really good for soft skills and building connections in the professional world,” said Calvin sustainability fellow Ellen Dhaseleer. Sytsema and Dhaseleer described the FAST conference as part academic event, part community event, “bringing the in-class learning outside of the classroom,” said Sytsema.
FAST has three main goals: building connections between students, finding sources of hope and inspiring action, according to Hartzell.
Keynote speaker and 2023 Calvin grad Jamie Butler spoke on her journey into climate action through Evangelical Environmental Network (EEN), and Young Evangelicals for Climate Action (YECA). She spoke on the interconnectedness of community, hope and action, bringing together her experience as a climate activist and the faith-based approach to climate action.
“Walking our talk as Christians is so, so important” said Butler.
Looking to next year, the FAST team is hoping to continue to grow the conference and connect with more high school and out of state students.
