coexist – bailey college of the environment @ wes u

A Workshop on Indigenous Food History with Xochitl Garcia

By Ikimot Siyanbola

Note* The terms Native American and Indigenous are used interchangeably in this blog, but it’s important to know that Indigenous is an umbrella term that not all Native Americans may accept.

On September 22nd, Rooted Solidarity was honored to welcome Xochitl Garcia to Wesleyan to deliver a workshop about Indigenous food history. The workshop primarily focused on how Indigenous food history has been hidden, obscuring the crucial contributions of Native people to our food system. Participants included community members, as well as Wesleyan students, faculty and staff. Attendees learned through doing, as the workshop consisted of playing trivia to test our knowledge.

Planting Seeds and Nourishing Community Food Systems

by abisceglia

By Lily Robbins

This summer, the Bailey College of the Environment sponsored eight interns from Wesleyan University, the New London community, and Middletown High School to be a part of the Planting Seeds Internship Program. These interns were matched with four community organizations who have been working on issues of environmental and food justice in Connecticut. Day to day, they took on tasks alongside others at their sites, learning from each other about farming, community organizing, non-profit program development, and intergenerational action. Whether it was learning how to build a beehive or how to have a one-on-one meeting with a community member, the cohort was eager to develop new skills and make connections with new people.

(Pictured left to right: Christine Caruso, Arianna Riabov Hernandez, Chingun Tsogt-Erdene, Lennon Favreau, Malana Rogers-Bursen, Scott Kucsera, Lily Robbins, Mia-Lillian Powell, Sophia Karson, photo by Reggy St. Fortcolin)

garden fest in bloom: a celebration of community & creativity

by pdamato

Garden Fest is more than just an event—it’s a colorful, collaborative celebration where art meets activism, where music fills the air, and where the greater Wesleyan community comes together to celebrate spring!

Now in its third year, Garden Fest started as a senior thesis by environmental studies and English major Talia Zitner ’23 who dreamed up a non-traditional Earth Day honoring the many intersecting aspects of environmentalism. Since then, the tradition has been carried on by the Environmental Solidarity Network (ESN) and the student music collective The Shed, with co-sponsorship from the Bailey College of the Environment and others.

A Watershed Moment: The Second Annual Connecticut Enviro Summit

by sjager

On Saturday, April 5, Wesleyan’s Beckham Hall became a hub of energy, inquiry, and collaboration as the Bailey College of the Environment co-hosted the second annual Connecticut River Valley Environmental Summit. The event, organized by the Connecticut River Museum and cosponsored by the Bailey COE, brought together a broad coalition of local voices—scientists, policymakers, academics, nonprofit leaders, and cultural institutions—all united by one shared goal: protecting the health of the region’s waterways for generations to come.

Between a series of insightful presentations, attendees mingled and spoke with the poster presenters lining the walls, which included Wesleyan students, professors, and marine science educators. The room buzzed with multi-disciplinary energy.

middletown gov guide hopes to increase public participation

by lgorman

This year, I’ve had the opportunity to work in the Wesleyan Sustainability Office as a part of the Sustainable Middletown program, a small but energetic team composed of our Sustainability Director Jen Kleindienst, Professor Emeritus Krishna Winston, co-intern Tamira Le, and myself. Our team has spent the last year revising the Middletown Government Participation Guide, a publicly available document meant to remove barriers to civic engagement by providing residents with clear information about how the City government works, how to participate in public meetings, and how to sustain long-term involvement. By removing those barriers, we hope to empower Middletown residents to make their voices heard in local government.

Two weeks ago, I had the honor of hosting the launch of the newly updated Middletown Government Participation Guide alongside the Sustainable Middletown team and Mayor Ben Florsheim.

pierre Gerard ’16: on a path to Sustainable Commuting

by sjager

Pierre Gerard ’16 graduated from Wesleyan with a degree in environmental studies and earth and environmental science. He is currently the transportation planner at the City of Oakland Bicycle and Pedestrian Program in Oakland, California. We recently spoke with Pierre about his time at Wes and his post-Wes experience!

Can you walk me through how you got from Wesleyan graduation to where you are now?
My first job out of college was an internship with the US Forest Service in Portland, Oregon. I worked out of their regional office for the Pacific Northwest, mostly performing GIS map work, making maps online. I did that for about six months, and eventually found my way over to a contract with Apple, working on Apple Maps––I did not like that. I moved over to another contract job doing more GIS work, decided that I didn’t like that either, and ended up quitting that job to work at a bike shop. And so my story, I think, is essentially me attempting to understand what it’s like to be a technical worker post college, and realizing that I didn’t like it and needed something else.

how to land a green gig: wes students share their stories

by Laurie Kenney

Earlier this semester, the Student Sustainability Internship Advice Panel in Boger Hall brought together students passionate about the planet…and about landing internship and fellowship opportunities that help protect it! Hosted by the Sustainability Office and the Gordon Career Center and moderated by B Frankenstein ’25 and Natalie Sweet ’25, the event featured three insightful panelists: Isadora Leviton ’25, Emma Hotchkiss ’25, and Jonah Yas ’25, who shared their unique paths to landing sustainability- and enviro-focused summer internships!

Spinning the Wheel of Change: the Global Language of enviro justice

by Laurie Kenney

During this year’s Power of Language Week, Usdan was buzzing with conversation—not just about syntax or semantics, but about environmental justice.

As part of Wesleyan’s Student Sustainability Plan (SSP), a team of SSP interns hosted an interactive tabling event titled The Global Language of Environmental Justice. The goal? To spark dialogue about how environmental justice is understood and experienced around the world—and help students see how deeply language and justice are intertwined. We recently spoke with SSP intern Aishlinn Parrinello ’27 (ENVS/PSYC) about this year’s event!

2025 summer fellowship app now closed!

by Laurie Kenney

The Bailey College of the Environment (COE) Research Fellowship Program allows current Wesleyan undergrads to undertake research on environmental topics under the guidance of a faculty mentor, either during the summer or during fall or spring semesters. Projects must relate to any of the broad themes covered by Environmental Studies and the Bailey COE. Fellowships are available to current Wesleyan juniors, sophomores and first-years, regardless of major, and may be undertaken at Wesleyan or anywhere in the world.

Application now closed!

Full summer research fellows will receive a total of $5000. Partial summer & fall or spring fellowships, also available. Deadline for all: February 24!

COE summer fellows find themselves while exploring the world

by Laurie Kenney

Last year, the Bailey COE awarded almost 40 fellowships to Wes students to pursue research opportunities on campus, across the country, and abroad. Learn more about the summer experiences of (from top left): Zoe Todd ’27, Kallan Tripician ’27, Ronan Costello ’25 (AMST, ENVS), Sadie Woodruff ’26 (BIOL, E&ES), Constance Hirwa (NS&B, PSYC), Ava Yuanshun Guralnick ’25 (AMST, ENGL), Jasmine Fridman ’25 (E&ES, STS), & Jeet Patel ’25 (E&ES), below!

Applications for summer 2025, fall 2025 and spring 2026 Bailey COE fellowships are open now! Apply by February 24!

think tank explores agency: affect and action

by sjager

Every academic year, the COE invites a small group of Wesleyan faculty and undergraduate students, plus a noted scholar from outside the University, to gather together for the Think Tank: a yearlong discussion of a critical environmental issue. The 2024-2025 Bailey COE Think Tank feature Sonia Sultan, Alan M. Dachs Professor of Science, Professor of Biology and Environmental Studies; Justine Quijada, Associate Professor of Religion, Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies, and Environmental Studies; and Garry Bertholf, Assistant Professor of African American Studies, alongside undergraduates Maryam Badr ’25, Hannah Podol ’25, and Nic Galleno, ’25. These University fellows will be joined by the 2024-2025 Menakka and Essel Bailey ‘66 Distinguished Visiting Scholar Roxy Coss: Jazz saxophonist and Founding President of the Women In Jazz Organization, as well as a Grammy-award winning musician, composer, educator and activist.

meet our envs class of 2025!

by candersen

Environmental studies (ENVS) is the academic component of the Bailey COE. Offered as a linked major or minor, ENVS current and past students hail from almost every single department and program Wesleyan has to offer: from government, art, and chemistry to economics, English, and earth and environmental sciences to film studies, sociology, and biology. Meet some of our 40 ENVS class of 2025 majors below!

grammy-winner coss joins coe think tank

by sjager

What brought you to the Bailey COE, and what kinds of contributions are you hoping to make here?
I’m officially here for the Bailey COE Think Tank, continuing the tradition to include cross-disciplinary contributors. This year the theme is agency, and the three faculty fellows wanted an artist or musician to complete the team. There’s a biologist [Sonia Sultan], an anthropologist and religion scholar [Justine Quijada], and an African American studies and literature scholar [Garry Bertholf] on the faculty.

podol ’25 finds inspiration connecting to the land

by hpodol

Every year, the Bailey COE awards fellowships to fund summer research opportunities for Wesleyan students across all majors and class years. Most recently, the COE awarded more than 40 fellowships to Wes students. Hanah Podol ‘25 is an environmental studies and anthropology major. For her summer project funded by the Bailey COE, she connected with the land through farming and writing.