Sam Fleckenstein: Sustainability campaigns for a more educated and equitable community
Last summer, University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS) second-year master’s student Sam Fleckenstein participated as one of nine graduate students advancing sustainability-related projects in local Michigan communities as a Catalyst Leadership Circle Fellow. Fleckenstein specializes in the Environmental Justice and Sustainable Systems tracks at SEAS, and comes here with a background working in the professional software development sector and studying computer science at Case Western University. He is particularly interested in pursuing equity-centered local government work after graduating, and gained invaluable professional and networking experience during his time working as a Catalyst Fellow.
The Catalyst Leadership Circle Fellowship, funded by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) and administered through Michigan Green Communities and the University’s Graham Sustainability Institute, provides structure and funding for a summer internship program to select graduate students throughout the state. The program offers opportunities to work on small-scale, local government sustainability projects with mentors representing participating municipalities who can provide guidance and technical expertise. The projects within the Catalyst Fellowship vary by municipality and student interest, but each addresses a specific need in the community that Fellows can work to address.
Fleckenstein’s project was based in Meridian Township, Michigan, and involved creating and circulating educational materials for two wildlife sustainability campaigns. One centered on the importance of native plants and wildflowers, while the second focused on practices and benefits to keeping lakeshores and coastlines healthy and intact. Fleckenstein worked closely with Meridian Township’s Environmental Programs Coordinator LeRoy Harvey to organize, design, and execute these campaigns.
“The campaigns were built around actionable items each resident could take and enact at an individual level,” Fleckenstein said. “Community engagement was a huge part of the project from the very start.”
Campaign actions were delivered monthly and in various forms, including as pamphlets, social media posts, and in the local newspaper.
“I was interested in this project because I’m thinking I want to go into a career in equity-centered local government sustainability work,” Fleckenstein noted. “This project checked a bunch of those boxes, letting me dip my toe in to see if this is something I really want to be doing.” Fleckenstein also was excited about the opportunity because he believes community engagement must be central to any sustainability projects that want to truly champion environmental justice. “[Community engagement] has to be a focus of any work that’s going to be really equitable,” he said.
Fleckenstein’s time working in Meridian also helped him fine-tune some of the skills he picked up at SEAS. His ecology, environmental justice, and policy coursework provided a strong foundation for understanding the content of the native plants and healthy coastlines campaigns he worked on, as well as providing a frame to help understand the impact of his work. He also had the chance to apply professional project management skills, necessary for completing materials on time and ensuring the sustainability needs of Meridian Township were being met.
“I was incredibly lucky to work with the folks I did, and the overall experience was a great opportunity to apply skills I’ve picked up at SEAS and showed me how hard municipal government staffers work to keep small towns and cities running,” Fleckenstein said.
He is excited to take his experiences gained and connections made in Meridian onwards into his career after graduating from SEAS this April.