On Nov. 14, college President Ian Baucom sat down with Jamie Henn ’07, a climate advocate and founding member of the Sunday Night Environmental Group (SNEG). The discussion, held in Wilson Hall as part of the “What Works Now” conference, marked the 20th anniversary of SNEG and echoed the college’s 2005 “What Works” climate summit. The event offered Middlebury the opportunity to publicly discuss its environmental future.
Students, faculty, and alumni gathered at the What Works Now? conference, held November 15–17 at Middlebury College, to reflect on the positive environmental outcomes sparked by the inaugural gathering 20 years ago, and to consider strategies for addressing today’s climate challenges.
The “Educating for (Climate) Change” event was the latest in the Woodin Environmental Studies Colloquium Series and served as the kickoff event for What Works Now, a three-day conference held at the college this past weekend. The conference offered an opportunity to reflect on climate initiatives spearheaded by members of the college community over the years, as well as contemplate future action.
What started in the winter of 2005 as a J-Term class taught by Jon Isham, professor of economics and environmental studies, has progressed into a flourishing student environmental group that is approaching 20 years of sustainable conversation and climate activism. Having begun with environmental conversations in the Chateau basement, Sunday Night Environmental Group (SNEG) now holds weekly meetings where students gather to talk about climate news and various relevant campaigns that they can get involved with.
On Tuesday Oct. 28, prominent environmental activist Tabi Joda visited Middlebury to discuss his work with One Billion Trees for Africa, an organization dedicated to the reforestation of the Sahel, a rapidly desertifying strip of land across Northern and Central Africa. The talk was hosted by a wide range of departments, including Environmental Studies, Anthropology, Sustainability & Environmental Affairs and African Studies.
Although environmentalism and sexual health are not generally considered related topics, SPECS Panther is here to explore how the two are deeply intertwined. Sexual health, justice and pleasure cannot be talked about without including the health of the Earth.
Representatives from Middlebury College, Encore Renewable Energy, and Greenbacker Renewable Energy Company came together October 24 for a ribbon cutting event celebrating the activation of a five-megawatt solar array that provides the College with 40 percent of its total electricity.
In her book “Mother, Creature, Kin,” local Rochester, Vt. author Chelsea Steinauer-Scudder weaves threads of motherhood, ecology, and spirituality together to explore what it means to raise a child in a world facing profound environmental and existential challenges. On April 8, Steinauer-Scudder visited the Ilsley Public Library to read and discuss the book.
Earth Day is celebrated internationally on April 22, but at Middlebury, this year’s festivities spanned the entire month and beyond. Between March 29 and April 30, campus groups including the Sustainability and Environmental Affairs team, the Climate Action Program, the Prism Center and the Knoll hosted over 30 Earth Month-related events.
