Herbicide-Free Campus is empowering the next generation of environmental leaders and creating safer, more sustainable living and learning environments for students and college campuses across the United States. Rex Foundation welcomed this organization to the family of Rex Foundation grantees in 2021, an incredibly tough year for any nonprofit or business. With hard work and determination, Herbicide Free Campus has grown from working within one university to twenty-five since their founding at UC Berkeley in 2017.
One of Herbicide Free Campus’ biggest projects in 2021 was to grow (pun intended) their Herbicide-Free Campus Fellowship. Rex Foundation recently received an amazing update from their team about this new fellowship, and we wanted to share the great news with you!
We are proud to share that we just completed our inaugural Herbicide-Free Campus Accelerator, a one-year fellowship focused on six schools in six states that incorporates advocacy training, leadership skill-building, and one-on-one mentorship to kickstart the transition to organic landcare on campus. Through trainings in environmental justice, team building, narrative development, recruitment, and more, students become empowered environmental change makers ready to take on the myriad of challenges our generation is facing. Through grassroots campaigns, direct action, and collaborative student-groundskeeper weeding workdays, we show that managing the land without chemicals is cost-effective, manageable, and essential for the wellbeing of people and the planet. Our students emerge from the program with tangible organizing skills, a deep awareness of environmental justice, and a steadfast commitment to leaving a legacy of health and safety in their communities and beyond.
By the numbers…in 2021, HFC brought 15 fellows into their accelerator program, hosted 33 weeding work days, 28 student-led events, and involved nearly 200 students with their programs.
HFC is particularly proud of their growth on TikTok…so if you want to stay connected with them, check out their website or follow them on social media by clicking the links below.
