Woodin Colloquium Series

“AI and Climate: Superpowers for Good or Drivers of Destruction?” a Howard E. Woodin Environmental Studies Colloquium Series talk by Tim Profeta, Professor of the Practice, Middlebury College, and Senior Fellow, Duke Nicholas Institute for Energy, Environment, and Sustainability and Vee Syengo ‘25.5, Computer Science and English double major at Middlebury College.

“Forest Recovery from Human Land-Use: Implications for Streams and Carbon Storage” a Howard E. Woodin Environmental Studies Colloquium Series talk by Stephen Peters-Collaer, PhD student in forest ecology in the Carbon Dynamics Lab at the University of Vermont.

Environmental Studies Core Conversations: Time
Daniel Brayton, Julian W. Abernethy Professor of Literature and member of the Environmental Studies Program
Joseph Holler, Associate Professor of Geography
Christopher Klyza, Stafford Professor of Public Policy and Professor of Political Science and Environmental Studies
Monica Przyperhart, Visiting Laboratory Instructor in Environmental Studies

“Regional Trash, Urban Harm: Environmental Justice Dialogue in Greater Hartford, CT” a Howard E. Woodin Environmental Studies Colloquium Series talk by Abigail Fisher Williamson, Associate Professor of Political Science and Public Policy and Law at Trinity College.

“Educating for (Climate) Change” a Howard E. Woodin Environmental Studies Colloquium Series talk featuring:

Bill McKibben, Schumann Distinguished Scholar of Environmental Studies,
Jon Isham, Director of the Environmental Studies Program and Professor of Economics and Environmental Studies
Dan Suarez, C.V. Starr Fellow in International Studies and Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies
Minna Brown ’07, Director of the Middlebury Climate Action Program

ENVS 0401 A Community Engaged Environmental Studies Practicum Presentations: Building for the Future While Navigating Uncertainty

ENVS 0401 B Community Engaged Environmental Studies Practicum Presentations: What Next?

“Here Comes the Sun” a Howard E. Woodin Environmental Studies Colloquium Series talk by Bill McKibben, Schumann Distinguished Scholar Environmental Studies.

McKibben will reflect on the sudden remarkable explosion of renewable energy around the world. The talk will include the climate implications of this development as well as the cultural and artistic meaning of reconnecting humans with the sun.

Bill McKibben is founder of Third Act, which organizes people over the age of 60 for action on climate and justice.

“Exporting Extinction: How the International Financial System Constrains Biodiverse Futures” a Howard E. Woodin Environmental Studies Colloquium Series talk by Audrey Irvine-Broque, PhD Student, University of British Columbia.

Environmental Studies Core Conversations: Success and Failure

Dan Brayton, Professor of Environmental Studies and Julian W. Abernathy Professor of Literature
Molly Costanza-Robinson, Professor of Environmental Studies and Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry
Jeff Howarth, Associate Professor of Geography
Dan Suarez, Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies and C.V. Starr Fellow in International Studies

“Tell Me What You Think – Three Thousand Acres in the Champlain Valley: Middlebury College Lands Planning” a Howard E. Woodin Environmental Studies Colloquium Series talk by Marc Lapin, College Lands Conservationist and Associate Laboratory Professor in Environmental Studies.

“How to Love a Forest” a Howard E. Woodin Environmental Studies Colloquium Series talk by Ethan Tapper, Forester, Author of “How to Love a Forest: The Bittersweet Work of Tending a Changing World.”

In this Howard E. Woodin Environmental Studies Colloquium Series talk students currently enrolled in ENVS 0401 A Community-Engaged Environmental Studies Practicum with present work from their semester long community-engaged projects.

In this Howard E. Woodin Environmental Studies Colloquium Series talk students currently enrolled in ENVS 0401 B Community-Engaged Environmental Studies Practicum with present work from their semester long community-engaged projects.

Toward a More Holistic Land Ethic: Lessons from Pastoralism, a Howard E. Woodin Environmental Studies Colloquium Series talk by Helen Whybrow, Author, “The Salt of Stones: A Shepherd’s World, A Shepherd’s Mind.”

The Guarantees: Building an Inclusive Economy, a Howard E. Woodin Environmental Studies Colloquium Series talk by Natalie Foster, Economic Security Project.

Restoration through Dam Removal and River Reconnection - A Nature Based Approach to Community Resilience, a Howard E. Woodin Environmental Studies Colloquium Series talk by Karina Dailey, Vermont Natural Resources Council.

Environmental Studies Core Conversations: “Contingency and Complexity” a Howard E. Woodin Environmental Studies Colloquium Series talk featuring Middlebury College Professors:
Rebecca Gould, Associate Professor of Environmental Studies;
Christopher Klyza, Robert ’35 and Helen ’38 Stafford Professor in Public Policy, Professor of Political Science and Environmental Studies; 
Peter Ryan, Professor of Earth and Climate Sciences and Environmental Studies.

The Precarious State of Moose in Vermont and the Challenges of Managing Wildlife Under Climate Change, a Howard E. Woodin Environmental Studies Colloquium Series talk by Jed Murdoch, Wildlife and Fisheries Biology Program, University of Vermont.

ENVS 0401 A Community Engaged Practicum Presentations: Flooded.

ENVS 0401 B Community Engaged Practicum Presentations: The Economy of the Future.

“The Intersection of Disability and Climate Change” by David Liebmann ‘91, 2021 Sustainability Fellow, Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Climate change is an existential threat. But for people living with a disability — an estimated 15% of the global population — the threat, compounded by discrimination, marginalization, and other pre-existing inequalities, is even greater. This colloquium will weave together personal and professional stories with a call to action that brings this challenge into focus.

This panel discussion features performing artists from Small Island Big Song to discuss the impacts of climate change and explore how the arts can influence our relationship with the environment. Small Island Big Song is a collaborative multi-platform project uniting indigenous musicians across the Pacific and Indian Oceans through song in the face of climate change and cultural loss.

Moderator: BaoBao Chen (Taiwan), Producer/Manager, Small Island Big Song

Core Conversations: Uncertainty
Mez Baker-Medard, Associate Professor of Environmental Studies, Middlebury College
Kathryn Morse, John C. Elder Professor of Environmental Studies and Professor of History, Middlebury College
Alexis Mychajliw, Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies and Biology, Middlebury College

“Using GIS and Satellite Data to Study Climate, Environment and Social Determinants of Health” by Kevin Lane, Assistant Professor of Environmental Health at Boston University School of Public Health, Interim Director of Environmental Health Doctoral Program, and Chief Data Officer – Center for Climate Health.

“The Rise of a Movement: How Young Activists Transformed Climate Politics” by Nick Engelfried, author of Movement Makers: How Young Activists Upended the Politics of Climate Change.

The Nuts and Bolts of Change: Enacting a Just Transition in Vermont.

From Conflict to Coexistence: Data-Driven Approaches to Human-Wildlife Interactions in Vermont

“Listening to a changing world: what soundscapes can teach us” an Environmental Studies Colloquium Series talk by Megan McKenna, Academic Director of Study Away at Monterey, including California Coast and Climate Semester, Middlebury Institute of International Studies. Senior Data Scientist, affiliate with NOAA National Center for Environmental Information.

“Beavers: A Tremendous Potential Ally” an Environmental Studies Colloquium Series talk by Skip Lisle, M.S. Wildlife, Habitat, and Beaver Biologist, and President of Beaver Deceivers, LLC.

“The Texture of Landscape” Environmental Studies Colloquium Series talk by Nancy Winship Milliken, Environmental Artist.

What is Celebratory Ecology? How do we memorialize a global event, such as climate change, that seemingly has no end? Where are the nature-centric monuments? Nancy shares her open studio approach that holds these questions at the center of her practice.

Molly Costanza-Robinson, Professor of Environmental Studies and Chemistry and Biochemistry
Rebecca Gould, Associate Professor of Environmental Studies
Jon Isham, Professor of Economics and Environmental Studies

Environmental Studies Colloquium Series talk by Christopher Brooks, J.D., MELP, Senior Lecturer in Environmental Policy, University of Vermont Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources.

ENVS 0401 A Community Engaged Practicum Student Presentations: Inclusive Paths Forward: Navigating a Sustainable Decarbonized Future for All

ENVS 0401 B Community Engaged Practicum Student Presentations: Climate Vulnerability and Environmental Health Disparities

“Defending Conserved Land: The Challenge of Data Centers and Energy Infrastructure” by Christopher G. Miller, President, The Piedmont Environmental Council.

“Following Nature: Ancient Philosophy on World Catastrophe” by Christopher Star, Professor of Classics, Middlebury College.

MIDD-ES CORE PANEL DISCUSSION: Restoration

Mez Baker-Medard, Associate Professor of Environmental Studies
Kathryn Morse, John C. Elder Professor of Environmental Studies, and
Professor of History
Alexis Mychajliw, Assistant Professor of Biology and Environmental Studies

“The Progress Illusion: Reclaiming Our Future from the Fairytale of Economics” by Jon D. Erickson, Blittersdorf Professor of Sustainability Science and Policy, University of Vermont.

“Building a Soccer Club driven by Environmental Justice” by Sam Glickman & Patrick Infurna, Co-founders of Vermont Green FC, and Markus Gerke, Visiting Scholar, Department of Sociology, Middlebury College.

“Climate Theatre: Stories of Kinship, Community, and Climate Justice” by Theresa May, Faculty of Theatre, Environment and Indigenous Studies at the University of Oregon, and Artistic Director of the EMOS Ecodrama Playwrights Festival.

“Highways and Habitats – Road Ecology and Habitat Connectivity in Vermont” by Chris Slesar, Environmental Resources Coordinator, Vermont Agency of Transportation.

“Empire of My Fireflies” by Ibiyinka Olufemi Alao, First-Place Winner of the United Nations International Art Competition and Nigeria’s Arts Ambassador to the United Nations and United States.

ENVS 0401 A Community Engaged Practicum Student Presentations: How Vermont’s Environmental Justice Act informs equitable pathways for addressing community climate, energy, and health needs.

ENVS 0401 B Community Engaged Practicum Student Presentations: Cultivating imagination and creativity in the face of intractable environmental challenges.

“The Climate Action Landscape in Vermont: The Climate Council, Legislature, and the Grassroots” by Johanna Miller, Energy and Climate Program Director at the Vermont Natural Resources Council.

“Toxicology and Public Health in Vermont: PCB testing in schools” by Sarah Vose, PhD, State Toxicologist, Vermont Department of Health.

ENVS 0401 A Community Engaged Practicum Student Presentations: Environmental health disparities and climate vulnerability in Vermont.

Offered both in-person and virtually. To join virtually, please use this Zoom link (Password: 050427).

ENVS 0401 B Community Engaged Practicum Student Presentations: Social and environmental justice in the built environment.

Offered both in-person and virtually. To join virtually, please use this Zoom link (Password: 050427).