Olivia Drake#THISISWHY In this News @ Wesleyan story, we speak with Nicole Stanton from the Class of 2015. Stanton is a College of Letters and Hispanic literatures and cultures major. (more…)
#THISISWHY In this News @ Wesleyan story, we speak with Brent Packer from the Class of 2015. Q: Brent, where are you from and what are you majoring in? A: I was born and raised in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Growing up nearby Amish farms and having tortoises, dogs and a semi-domesticated duck scampering around my house piqued my environmental interests. At Wesleyan, I’m a member of the College of the Environment with a double major in economics and environmental studies. Q: You are the founder of Potlux, an online community where collegiate sustainability initiatives are aggregated and shared. What is the…
The student-run Wesleyan Local Food Co-op sources a large variety of fresh local foods, including Long Lane Farm produce, and distributes them on campus. Besides produce, the co-op distributes fresh dairy products (milk, cheese, yogurt and butter), meat, eggs, tofu, seitan, granola, bread and coffee, all locally grown, roasted or made. The program began solely for students but is now open to staff and faculty participation in the wake of expressed interest. More than 500 members of the Wesleyan community are part of one or more co-ops. Participants pick up shares Wednesday evenings in Usdan and help once each semester…
A new Energy Conservation Policy, adopted by Physical Plant and the Office of Sustainability, will ensure that Wesleyan's energy use is consumed in the most sustainable manner possible while maintaining indoor temperatures that are safe and comfortable for teaching, research and operational purposes. The policy aims to minimize the university’s energy consumption and direct/indirect carbon dioxide emissions while defining standards for reasonably comfortable indoor environments within each building. The policy promotes environmental, financial and social sustainability. (more…)
Following the principles of permaculture, the student group WILD Wes (Working for Intelligent Landscape Design at Wesleyan) has transformed the West College Courtyard — once an eroded hillside with compacted soil and diseased trees — into complex ecosystems that provide food, attract insects and requires minimal resources and maintenance. The students also are working on a terraced garden near Summerfields. Follow the group's progress on their blog. Pictured are summer blooms, berries, bees and other bugs thriving in the garden on July 8. (Photos by Olivia Drake) (more…)
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Since 2006, the Wesleyan Freecycle program has facilitated the opportunity for one person’s trash to become another person’s treasure. Through its own electronic mailing listserv, Freecycle encourages students, staff and faculty to exchange unwanted items, rather than throwing them away. Wesleyan’s program is part of the national Freecycle movement, where people give away things that they don’t need, or ask for items they do need. These items are free and recycled, hence the name Freecycle. Jen Kleindienst, sustainability coordinator, has given and received dozens of items on Freecycle. “Freecycle has definitely helped to build a culture of waste reduction on…
Natalie Robichaud ’14Throughout April, Wesleyan is hosting its second annual Earth Month. On April 12, Wesleyan is hosting a "Climate Justice Conference of Solutions" event. Participants will lay out the organizing, technological, and policy solutions to the climate crisis and explore how taking action on climate can improve social justice, create jobs, grow businesses, and enhance national security. Register for the event here. Other Earth Month events include a Sustainability Career Panel on April 8, Long Lane Farm grand workdays, WILDWes workdays, a Wesleyan Joulebug Competition, an Earth Week Rant with Professor of Physics Brian Stewart, a Mama Earth Fest, a film screening of Victoria Mamas…
Lauren RubensteinGov. Dannel Malloy, Middletown Mayor Daniel Drew, and other state and local officials were on hand March 6 to help Wesleyan celebrate and power up its new microgrid project, the first project to come online under the inaugural round of Connecticut’s first-in-the-nation statewide microgrid pilot program. The group gathered in the lobby of the Freeman Athletic Center, near the site of Wesleyan’s 676 kW natural gas Combined Heat and Power (CHP) reciprocating engines. Using oversized shears, they cut a red ribbon, and Malloy used a computer to start the engines. The generator package will deliver 4,700 mWh annually. In the…
By 2050, the American College & University Presidents' Climate Commitment is requiring that Wesleyan become carbon neutral. To meet this goal, the university needs to reduce its emissions 1,000 tons annually for the next 36 years — the equivalent of the carbon sequestered by 860 trees each year. To help the university meet this goal, Wesleyan's Sustainability Office and the Sustainability Advisory Group for Environmental Stewardship (SAGES) hosted a Sustainability Action Planning Workshop on Feb. 21. More than 50 faculty, administrators, staff and students gathered to brainstorm and develop creative new ideas for Wesleyan’s next Sustainability Action Plan. "In order…