Griz Give and Get: Online Student Exchange

Hello! My name is Sam Sullivan. Welcome to my website!

I graduated the University of Montana's Environmental Philosophy program in the Spring of 2024. UM's Environmental Philosophy program is unique not only because its a masters philosophy program that focuses on environmental philosophy, it also requires students to complete a civic engagement project. This project asks us to make some type of positive impact within our community. My civic engagement project is Griz Give-and-Get, a community of UM students who give away unwanted items and get free stuff.

Contact: sustainability@umontana.edu

Team Code: 6146k0p

Thank you to all those who have made the effort to find and use this page. I hope your visit here is worthwhile.

To use Griz Give-and-Get, go to UM Sustainability's Website.

What is Griz Give-and-Get?

Griz Give-and-Get is an online platform that allows anyone with a University of Montana email account to give away usable items or pick up usable items from anyone within UM’s community. Griz Give-and-Get has three goals: 

  1. To Divert Usable, Consumer Items away from The Landfill
  2. To Reduce Financial Burdens on Students by Giving Them Free Stuff
  3. To Help Build and Connect UM’s Community 

One can learn more about Griz Give-and-Get on our rules and mission page.

Why Reduce Waste?

The average US resident sends 2.5 pounds of trash to the landfill every day. Sadly, much of the “trash” that people send to landfills are still usable items. These usable, consumer goods have often taken resources and underpaid workers from around the world to make. By throwing them away, it forces companies to reproduce the harms that the initial production of that item has caused. Plenty of people struggle to pay the bills or want what others have. Instead of sending a usable item to a landfill where it will be of no use to anyone, why not consider giving it to someone who can use it? I believe anyone who claims to care about the harms caused by industry, climate change, workers rights, and equity have an obligation to reuse as much as they can. Waste causes harm in many communities… including in Missoula. 

Interested to know more? Learn a little more about the harms of waste both inside and outside of Missoula. AND learn about the actions that UM Sustainability and the city of Missoula have taken to try to reduce waste.

Griz Give-and-Get's Relation to Philosophy

A key component to the civic engagement project is to write about how our work relates to the classes that we have taken in environmental philosophy. The department refers to this part of the project as the “theoretical applications.” Below is a summary of my theoretical applications. They aim to provide an overview for how Griz Give-and-Get relates to my environmental philosophy classes. If you want to know more, you can read the full version of my theoretical applications in chapter 3 of my civic engagement project portfolio.

Summary of My Theoretical Applications

I took Dr. Matt Strohl’s Environmental Aesthetics (PHL 524) class in Fall Semester of 2022. Dr. Strohl started the class by exploring common issues and developments within contemporary Anglo-American academic philosophy. The course then narrowed its focus to look at discussions among aestheticians that concern environmental aesthetics. Figures such as Ronald Hepburn and Allen Carlson helped to lead many of the discussions that we had in this class. 

In this portion of my theoretical applications, I argue that my civic engagement project, Griz Give-and-Get, encourages changes to the environment that would make the environment more beautiful. I build my claim using Allen Carlson’s theories about how to appreciate the environment. My argument relies on the idea that actions caused by negative values create an uglier environment. I claim that the disposal of usable goods into a landfill reflects the negative values of waste and selfishness. From this, I argue that if landfills increase because people are throwing away usable items, then this space becomes uglier. Since Griz Give-and Get aims to divert usable items away from landfill space; and by extension, reduce landfill space, it seems that Griz Give-and-Get aims to make an environment that is more beautiful.

Dr. Preston’s Environmental Philosophy class (PHL 422) explores common issues that are explored by Anglo-American environmental philosophers. The course covers everything from environmental virtue ethics, environmental justice, and climate ethics. One of the cornerstone topics in early environmental philosophy centers around whether nature or natural entities have intrinsic value. The course specifically explores the intrinsic value theories from some of Colorado State University’s top environmental philosophers, such as Holmes Rolston and Katie McShane. 

The second section of my theoretical application takes Rolston’s and McShane’s theories to make a stronger argument for why Griz Give-and-Get’s goal to reduce waste is important. I recognize that intrinsic value theories are controversial. While there are many other reasons to support waste reduction (e.g. increase in open space, less pollution, less mining, etc.), I argue that even if waste reduction were to lead to none of these benefits, the mere possibility that natural entities might have intrinsic value make the Griz Give-and-Get project one worthy of my time.

Dr. Preston’s Issues in the Anthropocene class (PHL 515) explores how to conceptualize nature and the role of humanity in an era when it seems that human actions have a massive impact on the entirety of Earth. We explore thinkers such as Bill McKibben who proclaims that we have reached “the end of nature.” We look towards movements such as ecomodernism that attempt to answer what the new role of humans on Earth should be. And we study Steven Vogel’s argument in his book “Thinking Like a Mall.” Vogel not only claims that nature does not exist, but goes further to claim that nature as a thing has never existed. 

Even if Vogel is wrong that nature has never existed, it seems that nobody can deny that human actions are affecting everything on Earth. My final section in my theoretical applications takes Vogel’s argument to highlight how humans must be more thoughtful about how our behavior can have profound impacts on our environment. Griz Give-and-Get aims to change behavior of students at the University of Montana. Specifically, it aims to change the habit of sending usable, unwanted items to the landfill. I hope that this change can help to build an environment with fewer toxins and less waste. 

Making Griz Give-and-Get a Reality

It has taken many steps to make and market Griz Give-and-Get. Some parts of the process have succeeded. Whereas others have failed. I believe the creation and promotion of Griz Give-and-Get can teach lessons to those who wish to lead similar projects. If you are interested, you can read more about the process it has taken to make Griz Give-and-Get a reality.

Recommendations for The Future

One of my main goals in this project has been to put Griz Give-and-Get in a position where it can expand when I leave. For those still on campus who want to help Griz Give-and-Get expand, here are five recommendations for you:

  1. Get a GGG Social Media Page
  2. Start to Promote GGG’s Mysterious “Textbook” Channel
  3. Review Ways to Make GGG More Accessible 
  4. Involve other Offices on Campus in GGG (UM Housing? UM’s Orientation Crew?) 
  5. KEEP PROMOTING

If you want to know more, then you can read more about these recommendations.

Acknowledgements

I must confess I feel a bit silly. Civic engagement implies engaging an entire community. For this reason, to call Griz Give-and-Get my civic engagement project feels like a contradiction. Yet, this website has aimed to highlight my work. But to insinuate that Griz Give-and-Get is mine is wrong. Griz Give-and-Get could not have succeeded without the generous support of many people. Below are a few of the key people who have been instrumental to the creation and marketing of Griz Give-and-Get. 

  • Climate Response Club President Alena Flocchini 
  • Dr. Christopher Preston
  • Dr. Kylla Benes
  • UM Sustainability Coordinator Eva Rocke
  • UM Marketing Brand Experience Manager Karen Schlatter
  • UM Sustainability Engagement Coordinator Tayli Hillyard 
  • UM Sustainability Communications Assistant Zoe Belinda
  • Jenny Nielsen
  • Kyle Wonders
  • Lucille Vanek 
  • Vibi Bakshi 

From those who have shared Griz Give-and-Get with friends, to those who have used the platform, my gratitude extends outwards to all the people who have and (hopefully) will continue to give Griz Give-and-Get a presence at the University of Montana.