climate justice, rooted in community

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By Laura Bither ’18

Laura Bither ’18 graduated from Wesleyan with a degree in environmental studies and biology, with a minor in African Studies. She is currently director of JustME for JustUS, a nonprofit organization with a mission to invest in Maine’s young leaders to create lasting power for their rural communities and the natural environment. Laura shares her journey from Maine to Wes and back to Maine, below!

Whenever someone asks me why I chose Wesleyan, I always have the same response: I felt that it would shape me to be the person I wanted to become. While my exploration took a few turns, I double-majored in Biology & Environmental Studies with a minor in African Studies. My passion for climate justice has been a core part of me since I was 11 and I had a moment of clarity that I wanted to be an “environmentalist” when I grew up. It was only when I got to Wesleyan and learned about climate justice that everything clicked into place. Fall of my freshman year, I took the AMST Intro to Pop Culture and Social Justice course and it blew my mind. I had no idea how all social issues intersect with climate, and learning case studies about the Lower Ninth Ward and environmental racism was the spark that solidified my passion.

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cummings runs for wildlife in guyana

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Anthony Cummings, Wesleyan’s Philip 71 and Lynn Rauch Endowed Professor of Climate Change, Sustainability, and Environmental Management, is an environmental scientist and avid runner. In March, he took on an extraordinary challenge: a Wild-a-Thon designed to spark conversations about wildlife conservation across an entire country. The 2026 Wild-a-Thon Series (March 8–18, 2026), hosted by the Guyana Wildlife Conservation and Management Commission, spanned all ten of Guyana’s administrative regions and combined 13.1-mile runs, primary school art competitions, and secondary school panel discussions under the theme “Our Wildlife and Us.”

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congrats to the class of 2026!

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Environmental studies (ENVS) is the academic component of the Bailey COE. Offered as a linked major or minor, all ENVS linked majors have a primary major (or majors) in another academic department or program. So linked equals more, not less! Our current and past students hail from almost every single department and program at Wes: from government, art, and chemistry to economics, English, and earth and environmental sciences to film studies, sociology, and biology!

As we congratulate and wish all good things for our Class of 2026 ENVS majors, check out how the ENVS major can be linked across natural sciences, social sciences, and the arts and humanities, while learning more about four of our amazing graduating seniors (starting top left, above): FILM/ENVSmajor Chloe Andersen, PSYC/ENVS major Rachel Masterson, STS/GRST/ENVS major Isaac Ostrow, and E&ES/ENVS major Catherine Auerbach!

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sage loomis ’18: from farms to food systems

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Sage Loomis ‘18 is a food and agriculture systems professional passionate about school meals, food access, and social justice. A biology and environmental studies major during her time at Wes, she is currently a graduate student at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts.

Hi, Sage! Looking back, what part of your Wesleyan experience most prepared you for your career?
One of the most directly relevant pieces of my Wesleyan experience was leading a produce co-op! The experience of working with farmers to source produce weekly and distribute it to the student body was similar to the Community Supported Agriculture work I did a few years later. It also gave me experience in basic budgeting and managing volunteers, which are generally applicable skills! The other experience that prepared me for the work I am currently doing was writing a senior thesis. The ability to read and understand scientific literature and then synthesize it is extremely useful in advocacy work. Also, having good writing skills is invaluable!

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schumann institute sponsors local food justice tour!

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by Josephine Almond

The Food Justice Adventurers Set Off
In the early morning hours of April 10, a group of Wesleyan students set off to experience local food justice efforts firsthand. At 9 am sharp (a challenging hour for even the best of Wesleyan students), eight Wesleyan student foodies, activists, and explorers, piled into a Wesleyan van, ready to experience local food justice efforts firsthand. The van was expertly piloted by Environmental Fellow and field-trip coordinator extraordinaire Rory, with our other amazing coordinator Jahlani next to him, riding shotgun. We started our day with a healthy amount of networking and granola bars en route to our first stop, Mi Tierra Tortilla.

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CDMX: Dignity and Possible Futures

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by Basak Kus, Tim Sahay & Mitali Thakor

As part of our Bailey COE Think Tank’s ongoing work on disruption and futures that feel increasingly unpredictable, and more dystopian than hopeful, we (Basak Kus, Mitali Thakor, and Tim Sahay) headed to Mexico for a three-day excursion. The trip was short and intentionally dense. Curated by Tim and Mitali, it involved speaking with people working on climate policy; visiting one of the most discussed municipal experiments in contemporary urban governance—the Utopias initiative, created under the leadership of Mexico City’s widely popular mayor, Clara Brugada; and, last but not least, meeting with the esteemed scholar Paula Ricaurte, whose work on technology, power, and AI has been formative for Mitali’s thinking. As we took off from JFK, we were excited about what lay ahead.

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