I sat down with Billy Park, Vice President of Public Relations of Engineers for a Sustainable World.
Can you give a brief description on ESW and what the organization does?
The way I like to describe ESW is that we are a prof/ social engineering club. We work on 12-14 projects every year, such as solar panels and Bottles to Models, in which we melt down bottles to 3D print stuff. We also do a lot of networking and outreach with local high schools and hold social events every weekend to make more friends. We also go camping every quarter!
How is your organization involved in the sustainability community?
The very nature of our club is being sustainable. We do more looking for ways to spread innovative technologies rather than the political aspect. We also do outreach, and we always do it with the message of sustainability.
How does your club strive to make your events more sustainable?
When we get utensils we come to the SRC, and we always go down to Roger’s garden to get biodegradable containers so that we can compost. We also always do vegetarian food! A big thing for me is that we don’t do flyers when we table, because they’re not sustainable so instead we do QR codes and posters to try and be as zero waste as possible.
Does ESW have any specific goals for the 2019-2020 school year?
Specific goals would probably be increase outreach to high schools. We are planning to network with other universities who have ESW chapters, and we have a networking event(RegCon), where we invite other schools including other schools like SDSU who don’t have ESW. We are also working on sponsorship, and increasing contacts with local industries.
Do you have any advice for how an individual on campus can be mindful of sustainability?
When it comes down to it, you don’t have to use a plastic bottle. Hydroflasks are much cooler anyways. You don’t have to use plastic plates, or plastic cups. It’s so much better to have a reusable plate, you can just wash it! Pick up after yourself, its common decency! If you can, use public transport or bike!
How could someone get involved in ESW?
You can get involved anytime! We have year round recruitments. Follow us on Facebook or Insta, or email us at esw.ucsd@gmail.com. You don’t have to be an engineer! Personally, I’m a Math/ Computer Science major. We are looking for all sorts of people who are interested in sustainability.
Is there anything else you would like people to know about ESW?
Personally, I like to think of ESW as caring about sustainability, but there is a sort of stigma against people who want sustainability, but if you care about engineering or sustainability or making friends, we are all pretty chill, check us out.