There has been a clear distance between Greek life and sustainability goals on college campuses for years. One such reason for this issue is that students in Greek life do not have a formalized way of getting involved in sustainability with a group of like-minded individuals. This project seeks to bridge the gap between two groups (sustainability groups, and Greek life) who rarely end up collaborating. We decided to create a two part framework for starting an on campus organization that can be used to connect Greek Life and sustainability at any college across the United States. Our main methodology was recording our actions and resources over the course of two years of creating this organization from scratch. In addition to this, we created data driven results by conducting surveys to gain feedback and knowledge on opportunities for optimization of our organization. Finally, we travelled to University of Texas at Austin to compare our club’s similarities and differences, and optimize using our shared knowledge of Green Greeks. As a result of our research we have created a two part framework consisting of written analysis which contains best practices for this club as well as a corresponding cloud based information drive that contains a systematic approach to starting a successful organization on a college campus. The main implication of this project is to create a network of Green Greeks clubs across the U.S. University system so that Greek students can make incremental changes to their lives to help improve campus sustainability.

Urban agriculture includes both farming and gardening, typically in a community format, in urban areas. Agrihoods are neighborhoods centered around food production and they are becoming more popular residential areas as the local food movement grows. Agritopia is one of these agrihoods; located in Gilbert, Arizona, it contains both an urban farm and a community garden. Agritopia is oft cited for being an exemplary agrihood. This thesis uses Agritopia as a case study for exploring the challenges associated with urban agriculture in the Sonoran Desert.
Most urban agriculture sites experience challenges related to sustainability, but in the Sonoran Desert, even more challenges arise as a result of a unique climate, soil conditions, intense storms, and water scarcity. The objective of this project was to obtain information on common barriers to urban agriculture in the Sonoran Desert, as well as ways to overcome these barriers that will be made public for the purpose of improving sustainability of similar agriculture projects. I used interviews with gardeners and farm staff as my primary research method to gain insight to these barriers and solutions, and I coded their responses relating to challenges according to frequency mentioned. Using my findings, I compiled a thorough list of recommendations that urban agriculture projects in the Sonoran Desert or in similar climatic areas can use to achieve greater success and sustainable outcomes.