Barb Stedman, Ph.D, hasn’t always been environmentally conscious. She describes her teenage self as materialistic, shopping at the mall each weekend without a thought about the impact she left on the planet. But all of that changed Stedman’s sophomore year at Taylor University, when she was required to take an ecology course. While enrolled in the course, Stedman started a year’s commitment to not buy a single article of clothing.
“Honestly, I found that course absolutely life changing,” Stedman said. “It changed my perspective on materialism probably more than anything.”
Since college, Stedman, now Director of National and International Scholarships and Honors Fellow at Ball State University, has been involved with various organizations committed to improving the environment. Stedman also is webmaster of the Audubon Society, whose mission is to conserve and restore natural ecosystems, and has previously served as a board member and president. For 17 years, she was involved with the Wildlife Rescue House, which helps protect and rehabilitate species. Stedman’s biggest contribution, however, was founding the Living Lightly Fair.
After attending the Midwest Renewable Energy Association’s Energy Fair, which Stedman calls the “granddaddy” of fairs, in 2005, she conceived the idea of Muncie’s Living Lightly Fair.
“I went to that and came back and started talking to some people in the environmental community here and said, ‘We need this kind of thing in East Central Indiana.’ And everyone nodded and said, ‘You’re right, we do.’ But no one was willing to take the initiative to get it rolling, so I thought, ‘Well heck, I’m going to do this myself, then.’ ”
Stedman began the process by contacting people she knew from the Audubon Society and the Hoosier Sierra Club. She was able to form a group of eight members, which began meeting at 7 a.m. every week to discuss community needs. In June 2007, the first-ever Living Lightly Fair took place in Muncie for two days.
“I had really big visions. It was massive,” Stedman said. “I can’t even remember how many speakers we had throughout the course of those two days. It was a good first year.”
Now in its ninth year, the fair will take place Sept. 19 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Minnetrista just east of campus. A free shuttle will pick up fair-goers at the parking lot between Noyer Complex and the College of Architecture and Planning building and run throughout the duration of the fair.
Stedman, president of the Living Lightly Organization, said each year she loves working with the planning committee and witnessing attendees learn more about sustainable living.
“When I’m walking through the vendor tents at about 1 o’clock in the afternoon, when things are just hopping and people are happy and they’re talking to people who sell products, perhaps that can help them save energy, when I see that kind of energy in the vendor tents, that’s a fabulous feeling,” Stedman said.
Not only does Stedman like working with the planning committee, but its members enjoy working with her. Sheryl Swingley, a journalism instructor at Ball State University and the committee chair this year, said Stedman is collaborative and detail-oriented, making her great to work with.
“I view her as a mentor,” Swingley said. “Without her support, I wouldn’t be serving as the chairwoman of the planning committee. I knew that she would make it pleasant and as easy as possible.”
Part of Swingley’s job was to find speakers for the fair. The featured speaker this year will be Wyatt Watkins, who focuses on the power of storytelling “to sustain us and the Earth in this critical moment of human history,” according to the Living Lightly Fair website.
Swingley said the committee has designed some of the fair’s activities around Watkins’ presentation. For example, there will be a tent set up where attendees can share their own sustainability stories and testimonies.
“We hope to share some of those stories on the Living Lightly website in the future and just start building our own oral histories of important things to people in East Central Indiana,” Swingley said.
This year, the fair will hold a banner contest. The contest was implemented because Ron Rarick, the art coordinator for the fair, wanted to bring more visual excitement to the Living Lightly Fair. The contest will be open to everyone, with competitions for every age group.
The fair also will include new musical entertainment: Tonos Triad, a band from Indianapolis. The band has “an eclectic style they somewhat facetiously call ‘jazzpop/Eurofolk,’ ” according to the Living Lightly Fair website. Additionally, the fair will feature more than 50 vendors ready to speak with attendees about ways to live sustainably.
“It’s a good collection of information in one place that can help you live your life more sustainably,” Swingley said. “Maybe consume less, save money. Those are all important activities for a better future for future generations.”
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This article is part of the Campus Green Guide, a free custom publication of Ball State Unified Media.
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