Final pitches and a recap of the weekend

Today’s final pitches showcased the hard work our student teams have put in over the last three days as they worked through the challenge of developing an original idea for a solution to an environmental problem into a minimum viable product or program. Our panelists for the event were Cornell’s Sustainability Manager and Cornell’s Executive Director of The 2030 Project: A Cornell Climate Initiative.

The projects were (in no particular order):

Root is a carbon emission tracker that helps individuals better understand and reduce or offset their emissions related travel.

Net To Knots is upcycling plastic fishing nets from the Pacific Garbage Patch into hammocks and planters and other household goods.

Symbio Shores is working on a mangrove restoration project in St. John’s.

Justice For Sampson is raising awareness about a landfill gas methane capture project in Sampson County, North Carolina with some very complicated and problematic environmental justice implications.

Shop Green aims to connect eco-conscious consumers with sustainable brands through an app and product marketplace.

All teams learned a lot both from the experience and also from an extended Q&A and individual conversations with our two panelists.

Tomorrow we head off to Watkins Glen State Park for a nice hike through a magnificent gorge.

Here are some photos from the past 11 days.