Environmental Studies Blog

The University of Vermont’s Summer University is offering a unique, hands-on experience at our Catamount Educational Farm, where students can earn between 3-13 credits in the course of 12 weeks.  At the core of the Catamount Farm Summer Experience is a 4 credit Sustainable Farm Practicum where students will learn principles and practices of sustainable, diversified vegetable production through a combination of lectures, hands-on fieldwork at UVM’s Catamount Farm, and visits to local vegetable farms. In conjunction with the Sustainable Farm Practicum students have the opportunity to take up to 3 additional courses.  Further details including registration information can found by visiting the following site:http://www.uvm.edu/~summer/catamount-farm/

Pledge to stop buying bottled water and get a free water bottle in the SCC! Keep an eye out for more events like this around campus, sponsored by tapBrandeis!

Conservation Leadership Through Learning (CLTL) is a Master of Science graduate degree through Colorado State University (CSU). CLTL integrates interdisciplinary university education with real-world action. Students learn natural sciences, social sciences, management, and leadership skills both in and out of the classroom. They spend two semesters at CSU, then seven months at a field site in either Belize, Kenya, Peru, and Mexico. The studies include intensive, cohort-based experiences of 20-25 students, allowing for personalized learning.

If you are interested in applying, you can find the CSU Graduate School Application Form online here. The application requires a $50 application fee, GRE scores, official transcripts, letters of recommendation, a resume or CV, and an essay.

Click here for more information!

Dear friends of the BSF,

We are excited to announce the following projects have been awarded funding by the Brandeis Sustainability Fund for the 2013-2014 academic year. Congratulations, student project leaders!

And thank you to the BSF Board members for their participation in this year’s project selection process, as well as other staff, faculty and students students who helped shepherd the projects through the application process.

BSF Co-Chair Flora Wang will be working with the Project Leaders to implement their projects this upcoming semester with support from many of you. Details on each project will be posted soon on the BSF website: go.brandeis.edu/bsf. If you have any questions or comments, please direct them to me and Flora (feurekaw@brandeis.edu) or to student project leaders.

Quick, Bike For Shelter!

Project Leader: Nicholas Medina

Awarded Amount: $25,000

To continue to encourage bicycle use as an alternative and healthy form of transportation, this will fund 3 new bike shelters with racks and 2 bicycle self-repair stations. Proposed locations are the Charles River Quad and the Foster Mods. DeisBikes will promote both the use of the shelters and the “fixit” stands, and develop workshops for bicycle maintenance using the “fixit” stations.

 

Subsidize MBTA Passes

Project Leader: Ameline Limorin

Awarded Amount: $10,000

This pilot project will provide 200 fifty-dollar ($50) MBTA passes to undergraduates as an incentive to use public transportation to travel to and from campus instead of using cars. The goal is to collect information on how to increase public transit use by students and figure out how to scale up the project.

 

TapBrandeis 2.0

Project Leaders: Sara Taylor, Jeremy Goodman, Emma Balmuth-Loris

Awarded Amount: $10,000

Building on the project from last year to encourage use of reusable bottles and discourage single-use plastic bottles, 4 more bottle filling stations will be installed on campus thanks to this BSF project. Locations to be finalized. Students were also granted funding to purchase reusable water bottles for the entire incoming class of 2014.  

 

Dual-Flush Toilets

Project Leader: Anna Bessendorf, Nate Shaffer

Awarded Amount: $16,500

100 toilets in five first year residence hall buildings will be retrofitted with Dual-Flush kits that should reduce water use by 30%. Project leaders hope to get first year students comfortable with this new technology from the very start of their time at the University. The Student Union Sustainability Committee will help to complement the project with educational initiatives to ensure proper use.

 

Little Green Libraries

Project Leader: Jaime Kaiser

Awarded Amount: $425.35

Students will install two Little “Green” Libraries – free book exchanges constructed out of re-purposed materials – to promote the value of recycled, reused, and refurbished products. Locations to be determined.

This Wednesday, the Environmental Internship Symposium will happen in Heller G1 at 6:30pm! For more information, please view the flyer below.

In collaboration with the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore, India, the Office of Study Abroad and the Division of Science, Brandeis is offering an exchange opportunity for students interested in studying biology, chemistry, physics, math, materials, environmental science and computer science beginning in spring 2014.  The undergraduate program offers many courses that will fulfill Brandeis major/minor requirements and a number of elective courses not offered at Brandeis that would complement any science curriculum.

Check out this great opportunity to learn more about our ecosystem and get credit!
Topics in Ecology,BIOL134

Considers the physical, chemical, and biological processes that make wetland ecosystems critically important to human welfare and biodiversity.  Focuses on New England wetlands, including their natural history, management, and conservation. Field trips are an integral part of the course. Weds, 9-11:50am.  See course listing for further detail. Limited to 25 students.

This year, ENVS will be hosting both a reception and a mini-commencement (along with American Studies and Education Studies). The Environmental Studies Reception will be held from 3pm to 5pm, Friday, May 17th at the International Lounge (Usdan), and food will be provided. Your beloved faculty will be there and they are looking forward to saying their farewells and meeting your families. The department’s mini-commencement will be held on Sunday morning (at 8am), at Sherman Hall. We will be hosting this ceremony along with the Education Studies and American Studies programs. Keep in mind that tickets are not needed for both the reception and the mini-commencement, so invite as many people as you want! See you there, Seniors!