Anna Moore pushes for community

 Anna Moore, a sustainability and environment instructor at the University of South Dakota, advocates for community involvement and the reuse of items. Those interests have influenced her participation in and administration of a Buy Nothing Facebook group.

     Moore was born and raised in Northampton, Massachusetts. She attended Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio, graduating in 2018. After college, she worked as a seasonal sustainability coordinator for concert venues. 

“I knew that job was going to have to come to an end at some point,” Moore said, “It being seasonal and all that.” 

     When Moore saw an email announcing that USD was looking for a campus recycling coordinator to grow and develop its  program, she immediately looked into the opportunity. The position also included a graduate assistantship that allowed her to earn a master’s degree in sustainability while working part time as the campus recycling coordinator. 

     “I had the experience, it sounded interesting,” Moore said. She took the position in 2020 and later became a sustainability support specialist for Sodexo.

     As of 2024, Moore is an instructor at USD. She said her favorite part of the job is mentoring students outside of the classroom as they work to make positive changes. She also helps coordinate and advise the environmental club on campus.

     Moore coordinates the Sustainability Living Learning Community, a newer program on campus that is still being developed. The group has held two successful events. 

     Additionally, Moore advises different sustainability leaders. 

     “I feel like advising [turned] out to be more than simply choosing classes, you know, and so I enjoy it,” Moore said. 

     She helps students find internships, plan for the future and make the most of their time at USD.

     “My whole life I have been interested in change making, specifically around environmental issues and social justice issues,” Moore said. 

     She said those interests contributed to her participation in the Buy Nothing group. 

     Buy Nothing is a Facebook group and app where users can give and receive items and services at no cost within their community. Moore has been a part of a Buy Nothing group since 2018. To join, users must send a request for access to the group serving their community. They are accepted if they live within the group’s designated area. 

     Moore is now an administrator for the Buy Nothing Facebook group in Vermillion and encourages her students to explore what it offers. She also said that she would be willing  to supervise a Buy Nothing-based internship in which students could complete some of the training offered by Buy Nothing and help others join the group.

     Buy Nothing has two key functions; first, it supports reuse, one of the most effective forms of waste reduction. 

     “Reduce is the most effective, reuse is the next most effective and recycle is the last, least effective,” Moore said, “Buy nothing is a way of reusing.” 

     Second, the group connects neighbors.

     “It creates more social cohesion in the community,” Moore said.

     Through the Buy Nothing group, users interact with their neighbors and strengthen their community connections. Users post items on the page and wait for others to comment. The person offering the item then chooses whom to give it to. 

     Moore has both received and given away  items through the group. Recently she needed an outlet adapter and a woman in the group reached out to say she had one. 

     “I have more of a relationship with that person because she gave it to me. And when I use it I will think about her,” Moore said. 

     Several campus resources are similar to the Buy Nothing app.  The Shared Shelf in Akeley-Lawrence 210 and Charlie’s Cupboard allow people to give and receive items. 

     Moore believes the Share Shelf and Buy Nothing create a sense of unity.

     “I think that what sustains both of these systems, all these gift giving systems, is the gratitude that you feel when someone gives something to you.” Moore said.

     She plans to continue working on sustainability projects and opportunities  to connect the campus with the larger community.

      “Sustainability is about making the world a better place,” Moore said, “We have more than enough if we share with one another.”