College of the Environment

#THISISWHY In this News @ Wesleyan story, we speak with Kate Weiner from the Class of 2015. Weiner is an anthropology and environmental studies major. Q: Can you describe your thesis, “Reciprocity: Cultivating Community in Urban Agriculture”? A: My thesis is an exploration of how community, identity and belonging interact in urban agricultural spaces, with my hands-on fieldwork with East New York Farms! serving as a case study for examining urban agriculture as a political project. Through melding creative non-fiction, feminist theory, community politics and environmental studies, the intention of my thesis is to provide a framework for understanding the various social, natural, socioeconomic…

In honor of Earth Month, Wesleyan will host a series of speakers and films beginning April 14. At 4:15 p.m. on April 14, the College of the Environment will present a talk, "The Tiger in the Smoke: The Aesthetics of Fog in Post-War Britain c. 1945-55," by Lynda Nead, the Pevsner Professor of History of Art at Birkbeck, University of London. The talk will be in 41 Wyllys, Room 112. It is cosponsored by the Allbritton Center for the Study of Public Life; the Mellon Fund for Lectures in Ethics, Politics and Social Issues; Art History; History; and the Science in…

Beginning this month, Wesleyan's College of the Environment, Center for the Arts and other outside partners will present "The Elements: An Annual Environmental Film Series." The first film, Elemental, will be screened at 7:30 p.m. March 30 in the Center for the Arts Hall. The award-winning film follows three activists as they work to protect air, water and earth around the world, and offers a call for global action. The second film in the series, WATERSHED, will be screened at 7 p.m. May 4 in Middlesex Community College's Chapman Hall, 100 Training Hill Rd. in Middletown. Executive produced and narrated by Robert Redford, this film tells the story…

The mysterious disappearance of millions of honeybees - known as colony collapse disorder - has frustrated and worried scientists around the world for more than seven years. The visiting scholar at Wesleyan's College of the Environment explores this mystery in a new exhibit at the Green Street Arts Center that opened Sept. 4. Joseph Smolinski, a noted artist who has exhibited in many venues ranging from MASS MoCA in North Adams, Mass. to the Cleveland Institute of Art , uses 3-D printing, video and other media to show the scale of the honeybee crisis - and note that environmental stressors (more…)

The College of the Environment has teamed up with local singer/songwriter (and mother) Rani Arbo

Humanity is called to imagine an ethic that not only acknowledges but emulates the ways by which life thrives on Earth. How do we act, when we truly understand that we live in complete dependence on an Earth that is interconnected, interdependent, finite, and resilient? – The Blue River Declaration Every year, the College of the Environment gathers a group of Wesleyan faculty, scholars of prominence from outside Wesleyan and undergraduate students into a year-long academic think tank on a critical environmental issue. This year's theme is "Re-Envisioning the Commons." On Oct. 10, the group began engaging with the “Commons”…

Thanks to a new partnership, graduates from Wesleyan’s College of the Environment who meet certain academic standards will be guaranteed admission to Vermont Law School’s prestigious JD (Juris Doctor/Doctor of Law), JD/master’s or master’s degree programs. Vermont’s Environmental Law Program, the largest in the country, is widely considered to be one of the best environmental law programs in the United States. President Michael S. Roth signed the agreement between Wesleyan and Vermont Law School on Wednesday, April 3. “We’re excited to provide this option for students in the College of the Environment to take their interdisciplinary exploration of environmental issues…

Wesleyan’s College of the Environment has appointed faculty members Johan “Joop” Varekamp, Clark Maines, Vijay Pinch and Elise Springer as 2011-12 fellows. The fellows will gather with other Wesleyan scholars and undergraduate students for a year-long academic "Think Tank" on a critical environmental issue. The 2011-12 topic is "Water’s Past, Water’s Future." The aim of the Think Tank is not only to generate a deeper understanding of the thematic issue, but also to produce scholarly works that will influence national and international thinking and action on the issue. Scholars and students in the think tank are expected to produce scholarly (more…)

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Wesleyan, in conjunction with the Price Carbon Campaign, an umbrella organization of climate-policy advocates, is convening a conference to discuss and develop new approaches to pricing carbon emissions that are destabilizing Earth’s climate and driving global warming. “Pricing Carbon: The Wesleyan Conference” will be held Nov. 19-21 at Wesleyan. Headline speakers include climatologist and Columbia University Professor James Hansen, author-activist Bill McKibben, and environmental-justice lawyer and advocate Angela Johnson Meszaros. “Wesleyan University’s College of the Environment was established in 2009 to help students become better stewards of our fragile Earth,” says Barry Chernoff, director of the College of the Environment and professor of biology. “We…

Weiner ’15 Studies Urban Agriculture, Community for Thesis

Earth Month Activities Include Speakers, Films

New Environmental Film Series to be Presented by COE, CFA

COE Scholar Presents Multi-Media Exhibit on “Colony Collapse”

COE, Musician/Fellow Launch Online Environmental Teaching Tool for Kids

“Re-Envisioning the Commons” Theme of COE Think Tank

COE Graduates May be Admitted to Vermont Law School through New Partnership

Ackoff ’11, Bukiet ’11 Receive Distinguished Student Award

COE Faculty Fellows Explore Water’s Past, Water’s Future

Post Quake Haiti Topic of Panel Discussion

Pricing Carbon Emissions Discussed at Carbon Conference

Wesleyan to Host National Conference on Pricing Carbon Emissions