Olivia DrakeThis year Wesleyan will reward administrative offices that go green. The new Green Office Certification Program, overseen by the Sustainability Office, is designed to recognize, support, and promote offices that engage in environmentally sustainable practices. All administrative and academic offices are eligible to become certified. To get started, a department needs to elect an office coordinator who will fill out the Green Office Certification form, coordinate office participation, and review completed checklists with the Sustainability Office. The coordinator will distribute individual checklists to all employees in the office or within a defined space. If at least 75 percent of the…
On April 12, Wesleyan launched a new bikeshare pilot program for the campus community. Spin, Wesleyan's partnering company, has placed 100 orange dockless bikes at multiple locations throughout campus. Anyone with a wesleyan.edu email can borrow a bike for 50 cents for 30 minutes or receive unlimited rides for $14 per month. All new users get two hours of free riding. Anyone without a wesleyan.edu email address can rent a bike for $1 for 30 minutes or $29 per month. To get started, riders can download the app by searching “Spin Bikes” in the app store and signing up with an @wesleyan.edu email.…
Cynthia RockwellSustainability Across the Curriculum, a Jan. 23 workshop organized by Wesleyan's Sustainability Office and the Center for Pedagogical Innovation, provided faculty and instructors with the opportunity to discover ways to integrate sustainability into a variety of courses across academic disciplines. The workshop featured a panel highlighting work by faculty who participated in the first year of Sustainability Across the Curriculum and had integrated sustainability into their own courses, followed by small-group sessions offering brainstorming opportunities. The focus of the SATC program is to amend an existing course to include sustainability, explained Jennifer Kleindienst, Wesleyan's sustainability director, "The groups were divided into individuals…
Whether you live in Middletown or elsewhere in the region, commuting to work is often time-consuming, stressful and costly. Setting up a carpool—an arrangement between people to travel together in a single vehicle—is a great way to save money, connect with coworkers and cut your carbon footprint, explains Sustainability Director Jennifer Kleindienst. The Wesleyan Sustainability Office, in conjunction with CT Rides (a service of CT DOT), is hosting an Employee Commuter Event in February for Wesleyan faculty and staff. This will be a chance to meet other faculty and staff who live near you and potentially find a carpool buddy. CT…
Lauren RubensteinOn Nov. 15, Gary Yohe, the Huffington Foundation Professor of Economics and Environmental Studies, delivered a talk on climate change at the Glastonbury (Conn.) Riverfront Community Center. It was sponsored by the Land Heritage Coalition of Glastonbury, Inc.— a non-profit corporation whose mission is to support farming, open space preservation, and water and wetlands protection—as its annual educational initiative. “As part of our mission, we feel it important to help folks in Connecticut understand the issue of climate change, what the local impacts are, and what we can do in this state,” explained David Ahlgren, LHC co-president. “There’s a lot…
The College of the Environment hosted its 13th Annual Pumpkin Festival Oct. 14 at Wesleyan's Long Lane Farm to celebrate the fall harvest. The Pumpkin Festival provides an opportunity for the Wesleyan and local communities to learn about local organic farming and the politics of food. The event included farm tours, a farmer's market, a bake sale, live music, face and pumpkin painting, free veggie burgers, arts and crafts, bulb planting, and more. Pumpkin Fest was held in conjunction with Campus Sustainability Week. Photos of the event are below: (Photos by Caroline Kravitz '19 and Will Barr '18) (more…)
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The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (STARS) recently awarded Wesleyan with a Silver rating for its 2016 sustainability performance. Wesleyan completed its first STARS report in 2013 and earned a Silver rating with a score of 53.06. Over the past three years, Wesleyan developed a Sustainability Action Plan to address many of the areas of improvement found in the 2013 report, and has increased its score to 58.11. Sixty-five points are needed to obtain the Gold rating, and 85 points are needed to obtain the Platinum rating. Wesleyan’s commitment to sustainability began in the 1980s with…
In recent weeks, Wesleyan has been taking a public stand to fight climate change. President Michael Roth was one of more than 80 university presidents who, together with mayors, governors and business leaders, are preparing to submit a plan to the United Nations pledging to meet greenhouse gas emissions targets outlined in the Paris climate accord, according to The New York Times. This came after U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the international agreement. Roth told The Chronicle of Higher Education: "I think it’s quite extraordinary that supporting a basic commitment to lessen a source of pollution…
The Food Recovery Network recently named Wesleyan's Dining Services "Food Recovery Verified" for donating unsold surplus food to a local charity. The Food Recovery Verified (FRV) program recognizes and rewards food businesses of any type that are working to fight waste and feed people through food recovery. Now in its sixth year, Wesleyan's student-run Food Rescue organization donates its unsold food from Usdan's Marketplace, Summerfields and Pi Cafe to the Eddy Shelter in Middletown, which provides emergency shelter and meals for single adults. Food Rescue is an Office of Community Service program under the supervision the Jewett Center for Community Partnerships.…