College of the Environment

There are many common threads among Helen Poulos’ 2023 publications—exploring how the world heals itself from climate change, noting how fire can be a cleansing and rejuvenating tool in the environment, and predicting which plants will thrive in the Anthropocene. “What I am really trying to understand is how climate change and wildfire is changing our landscapes. Because of fuel buildup in forests from decades of federal fire suppression and the hotter and dryer conditions caused by climate change we are seeing all of these big wildfire events across the West in recent years,” Poulos said. Another important commonality is…

By Maia Bronfman '24 Talia Zitner ’23 organized the Garden Festival under the mentorship of Professor of Physics Brian Stewart as a “non-traditional thesis,” about sustainability and community in recognition of Earth Day, she said. Student performers and bands, including Maganda, High Standards, Noise Baby, Loose Geese, and Lily Gitlitz, played throughout the afternoon and into the evening on Friday, April 21. Zzzahara and Billy Woods, visiting musicians, closed the event in the backyard of Russell House. Zitner—an English and environmental studies double-major—started working on the festival a year ago, but it was inspired by her earlier experience transferring to…

Does theater really change somebody? That is the question that director and Assistant Professor of Theater Katie Pearl always asks herself when she does a show about an issue she cares about. In her most recent work “Ocean Filibuster,” Pearl explores the intimate, critical relationship between humans and the ocean. “I make a play because I want to have a conversation with the topic,” Pearl said. “I like to think of the rehearsal room as a little radical ecosystem. As a director my job is to create a community that is in the conversation that the play is wanting to…

Over the past century, forests across the western United States have become vulnerable to catastrophic wildfires due to climate change. Overall, forest management activities for lowering wildfire risk appear to help, but little is known about how these activities influence forest water availability and water cycling, important indicators of drought. This is the key question that Environmental Studies Professor Helen Mills Poulos and her research team at Northern Arizona University, led by Temuulen Tsagaan Sankey, will attempt to address in a new NASA-funded research project. Poulos and her research team received a $597,000 grant from NASA in November to study…

Krishna Winston, Marcus L. Taft Professor of German Language and Literature, Emerita, and Professor, College of the Environment, Emerita, was recognized with the Tom ODell Distinguished Service Award by the Rockfall Foundation at a ceremony held Thursday, October 6. The award, which recognizes long-term accomplishments in environmental conservation and preservation, was given for Winston's many years of advocacy for the environment in Middletown. Winston's formal service to the City began in 1989 when she was appointed to the task force that designed Middletown's recycling program. When mandatory recycling began in Connecticut two years later, she became the chair of Middletown's…

Barry Chernoff, the Robert F. Schumann Professor of Environmental Studies, has the look of someone who has just received everything they’d wanted - happiness combined with the realization of how much work there is ahead. “Be careful what you wish for,” he said with a laugh while describing the ambitious goals that will be realized by the recent $2 million grant from the Robert F. Schumann Foundation to support sustainability initiatives at the Robert F. Schumann Institute of the College of the Environment, at Wesleyan, and in the surrounding region. The goals include building a network of local community non-governmental…

At the end of the pathway that curves down along the left side of the blue College of the Environment (COE) building at 284 High Street to the back door is WesThrift, where students can pick up a new outfit, a dorm accessory, or even a baseball cap at no cost. Items are in very good condition and displayed as any thrift or consignment store would, on racks and shelves, sorted by dresses, blouses, shirts, sweaters, jeans/denim, fancier pants, purses, and hats. They also have shoes ranging from slippers to boots and dorm items. According to Jen Kleindienst, Director of Sustainability,…

Every year, as Wesleyan students empty their rooms at the end of the Spring semester, they fill dumpsters with usable items – everything from clothing and room décor to small appliances. “There was still more waste generated than we like,” said Hayley Berliner, temporary sustainability director. “We want to divert as much as we can.” Debbra Goh ’24 and Annie Volker ’24, both eco-facilitators for Wesleyan Sustainability, have come up with an idea on how to lessen the waste. The duo will launch WesThrift at 284 High next fall, a free store for clothing and dorm essentials located in the…

The panelists at Friday’s talk at Fisk Hall about the war in Ukraine were in so many ways just regular college students, studying public administration or politics, seeking ways to improve their communities and live their lives. Given recent events, no matter how much they yearn for peace, they may all end up being soldiers. “The people who are defending us are putting up a hell of a fight,” said Daria Bila, a college student speaking from Ukraine. The students joined a discussion via Zoom hosted by the Fries Center for Global Studies called "Ukraine-Russia Crisis: A Series of International…

When not teaching classes on agriculture, sustainability, and the environment, visiting assistant professor of environmental studies Rosemary Ostfeld ’10, MA ’12 can be found working on her sustainable food and farming startup Healthy PlanEat. Healthy PlanEat, based in Lyme, Conn., allows farmers who grow food in sustainable ways to sell their crops directly to both individuals and wholesale customers using an app and aims to increase access to healthy, local, and sustainably grown food. In November, Healthy PlanEat received a $52,000 grant through the Local Food Promotion Program (LFPP) run by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). According to…

For his efforts in creating a public understanding of complex ethical issues in health, health care, science, and technology, Anthony Ryan Hatch has been awarded a Hastings Center Fellowship. He's among only 24 new fellows elected this year from six countries and a range of disciplines, including medicine, nursing, philosophy, law, American studies, and theater. The Hastings Center is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization created from multiple disciplines, including philosophy, law, political science, and education. It's the oldest, independent, nonpartisan, interdisciplinary research institute in the world. Hatch, associate professor and chair of the science and society program, teaches, conducts research, and lectures…

(By Madi Mehta '24) A group of students came together for a unique picnic on the Alpha Delta Phi Lawn on Saturday Nov. 20. On the menu: bugs of all types. Welcome to Wesleyan’s first-ever Bugsgiving. Bugsgiving brought students together for tasty bug dishes prepared by Brooklyn Bugs Chef Joseph Yoon and a host of activities and presentations surrounding the benefits of entomophagy - the scientific term for eating insects. The event was led by Megan Levan ‘22 and sponsored by the Green Fund, the College of the Environment, and the Office of Sustainability. Levan, environmental studies and South Asia…

Research Leads to Student Connection

Garden Festival: A ‘non-traditional thesis’ for Earth Day

Connecticut Premiere of “Ocean Filibuster” Takes Place May 4-6

New Research to Explore Drought Mitigation

Krishna Winston Named 2022 Environmental Champion by Rockfall Foundation

Chernoff Leads Effort to Improve Local Sustainability Networks

WesThrift Promotes Sustainability and Equity

New Campus Free Store Planned for Fall Semester

Ukrainian Students Share Their Stories in New Fries Center Series

USDA Awards Ostfeld ’10, MA ’12 Grant for Healthy PlanEat Startup

Hatch Named Hastings Center Fellow for His Efforts with Health Inequality

Wesleyan Hosts Its First Bugsgiving