Pring Your Source for Sustainability
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Summer 2017 Your source for sustainability ells pring Volume I1I No. 4 Newsletter of the Center for Sustainability and the Environment at Wells College. Sustainability Center Fall Activity Schedule We are still looking to add some events and activities Nov. 13—Hope for the Climate (even with a for this fall, but we already have a pretty solid line-up: partisan Congress) Sustainability Perspectives series looks at sustaina- Nancy Jacobson is a member of the Citi- bility from a variety of viewpoints. These talks are held zens’ Climate Lobby, a national, grassroots at 12:20PM Mondays in the deWitt Lecture Room, 106 organization whose citizens have been working Zabriskie Hall. with their members of Congress to embrace a national, bipartisan bill to reduce future climate Sept. 11—Can Psychology Help Promote change. Homeowner Energy Conservation? Results from a town-gown collaborative Sustainable Business series showcases leaders who experiment have integrated sustainability into their businesses. Kathryn Caldwell, asst. professor of Psychology at Tuesday, September 19, 7:00PM Ithaca College, and Elisabeth Harrod, general manag- Extended Producer Responsibility: The Next Fron- Sierra Club has again named er for Snug Planet, are collaborators on a study of tier in Solid Waste Management Wells to its annual list of social marketing techniques to promote homeown- Learn how this concept can increase recy- Cool Schools, citing institu- er energy conservation efforts. cling, create jobs in NY State, and result in more tions with strong commit- Sept. 18– Revitalizing the Environment in environmentally sound products and packaging. ment to sustainability. Sierra Andrew Radin, chair, NY Product Stewardship Council pulled data for its analysis Afghanistan Mariam Raqib ‘97, founder and director of deWitt Lecture Room, 106 Zabriskie Hall from our 2016 AASHE STARS sustainability assess- Afghanistan Samsortya, explains how her organi- Monday, October 23, 7:00PM ment. We scored highly in zation has addressed environmental devastation in her The Great Pivot: Freeing Up Humans to Do academics (#17 overall) and warn-torn homeland, helping communities re-establish Meaningful Work food sovereignty and economic independence. This recruiter, serial entrepreneur, environmental in planning (#16), ranking 150 out of 239 “Cool Sept. 25—Gardening in a Changing Climate policy activist, and author brings a unique perspec- Schools” this year. We ex- Donna Levy, env. ed., Cornell Botanic Gardens tive to career development and supporting hiring pect to do even better next This talk emphasizes how gardening can be managers in the New Green Economy. year, when Sierra uses our used as an educational tool to respond to Dan Smolen, managing director, The Green Suits LLC climate change in our everyday lives. deWitt Lecture Room, 106 Zabriskie Hall 2017 AASHE STARS data. Oct. 2—Sustainability in Practice: The DEC’s Sat. October 14, 2:00—5:00PM In this issue: Approach to Managing NY State’s Waters Sommer Center Anthony Prestigiacomo, research scientist The ultimate DIY experience. We pro- Out and About…. 2 for the Finger Lakes Water Hub, will explain vide all the supplies and equipment—you Inside this issue: his agency’s priorities, plans and efforts to protect provide the creativity. What Wells students did 2 or rehabilitate impaired Finger Lakes water bodies. instead of summer vacation Campus Crunch Oct. 16—A Virginia Master Gardener’s Perspec- Wednesday, October 24 to ??? Summer Swallowwort 2 tive: A Model for Public Education on Environ- The GRIND Café Research mentally Sound Horticulture Practices Starting at Wells TeaTime, Nancy Tillinghast ‘69 will discuss her Virginia We’re cleaning up! 3 pledge to eat locally grown produce and receive a community’s Master Gardener educational program. free, local apple to “crunch” into. Part of a statewide Planting Beauty 3 Oct. 23—Conserving the Lands and Waters of the observance, our Crunch lasts until the apples run out. Composting Picks Up 3 Finger Lakes Andrew Zepp, executive director of the Finger IT goes for the Gold! 3 Lakes Land Trust, will explain how his organiza- Offering More Sustainable 3 tion works cooperatively with landowners ad local Responding to the Trump administration’s decision to Products communities to protect undeveloped land. withdraw from the Paris climate accords, President Gibralter was one of hundreds of signatories to an Emissions are waaaaay down 3 Oct. 30—A Living Experiment: What We Can Learn from EcoVillage Ithaca open letter to the international community and par- Print Releaf Program 3 Liz Walker, co-founder of this internationally ties to the Paris Agreement from U.S. state, local, and Moving Closer to the Sun 3 known co-housing community, will explain more about business leaders. The first paragraph reads: Learning About Invasive living in the world’s largest ecovillage. We, the undersigned mayors, governors, tribal leaders, 4 Species Nov. 6—Building Foundations of Sustainability in college and university leaders, businesses, and investors Kindergarten are joining forces for the first time to declare that Different ways to teach 4 Heather Frost ‘09, outdoor educator for Ithaca we will continue to support climate action Hittin’ one out of the park to meet the Paris Agreement. 4 Montessori School, will explain how teachers can integrate sustainability learning into everyday practice. Learn more about Wells’ climate action; see page 3. Page 2 Academics Wellspring Out and About ... Kent Klitgaard, professor of What Wells students did instead of summer vacation… Economics and Sustainability, A significant number of Wells students conduct internships or do applied research during the summer presented two talks at the months. During the Fall internship fair, we spoke to many who had worked on sustainability-related sum- Eighth Meeting of the Interna- mer projects, including several working with state parks. Shania Dauphinais tional Society for Biophysical ’18 did her internship at Hills Creek State Park in Pennsylvania, where she Economics in Montana: mapped invasive species present in the park, created outreach materials and “Integrating Social Science led two public educational programs about invasive species. Cameron Davis with Biophysical Economics” ‘19 served as a summer Park Maintenance Worker for Stony Brook State Park, and “Towards a Methodology where he assisted in various park projects and learned how much work goes for Biophysical Economics.” into keeping our parks clean and safe for visitors. Zack Simone ‘18 served as Kent and his co-author fin- a Park Ranger at Northhampton Beach State Park, educating the public on park ished the 2nd edition of Ener- rules and enforcing safety practices. Curtis Davis ‘19 served as a Conserva- gy and the Wealth of Nations— tion Steward for Letchworth State Park, doing various Understanding the Biophysical tasks, like supporting ongoing research, public edu- Economy. First published in cation and outreach, and identified invasive species 2011, Kent added chapters on and natural pollinators in the park. David Balcer ‘20 hydraulic fracturing and fossil worked with the Finger Lakes Partnership on Regional fuels and planetary boundaries Invasive Species Management (PRISM) on various re- for this updated edition. gional invasive species monitoring projects. Connor Dunham ‘18 worked with the Cayuga Lake Water- Milene Morfei, professor of shed Network on several outreach and education programs. Connor worked on local outreach related to Psychology and Sustainability, the recent discovery and planned herbicide treatment of a significant infestation of the highly invasive attended the 3-day Sustainabil- aquatic species Hydrilla found just south of the Wells dock. Ashley Lopez ‘19 served as a natural special- ity Professionals Retreat in June, ist for The Fresh Air Fund, where she developed lesson plans for fun, interactive, biology-based outdoor sponsored by the Association activities for campers age 9-15 attending the ABC Camp. Bradlee Sherman ’19 worked as a land stew- for the Advancement of Sustain- ard and educator for the Lime Hollow Nature Center, working to maintain the ability in Higher Education. Center’s 12 miles of trails and supporting on-site educational programming. Milene reported that she of- Shannon Simmons ‘20 worked as a Discovery fered her peers several exam- Guide for the Bronx Zoo, assisting with summer zoo ples about Wells’ successes. day camp animal education programs. Kaitlyn Wells ‘18 participated in research work with an organic chemistry team at the University of New Hampshire, studying antibiotic resistance. Yequarah Conner ‘18 completed two summer internships. She worked with the Myrtle Avenue Revitalization Project, which supports the Farm Fresh Box program to provide low-income households with access to fresh pro- duce grown through a Community-Supported Agriculture model. Yequarah, a business major with minors in Sustainability and Sustainable Food Systems, Jackie Schnurr, professor of also worked at the Green in BKLYN store, which specializes in more sustaina- Biology, presented her re- ble consumer products. She learned about the at- search on “Impacts of pale tributes of “green’ products and how to effectively swallowwort on biotic and market them. Melinda Pitman ’19 abiotic aspects of invaded has been working as the student communities”, for the Ecologi- market manager for this year’s Auro- cal Society of America confer- ra Farmers Market since late May and ence in Portland OR. Jackie has been conducting a related internship