events

Wesleyan students organized various events for a day of climate action on September 20, 2019, as part of the week-long Global Climate Strike.

Events kicked off with a Climate Rally outside of Usdan, featuring speeches by students, staff, and other members of Wesleyan’s community. Students from Wesleyan’s Climate Action Group and other environmental groups spoke about the ongoing sustainability and activism efforts around campus and the next steps in the movement. Staff members and Middletown residents, including Professor Anthony Hatch, Chair of the Science in Society Program and COE faculty member; Ben Florsheim ’14, Middletown’s Democratic mayoral nominee; and Nur Fitzpatrick, Middletown resident and activist, also spoke about the importance of the Climate Strike and environmental activism at a local level. The rally was followed by a march around campus. Click here for more photos from the Climate Rally and March.

At 4:30 pm, Professor of Physics Brian Stewart presented his annual Climate Rant on the subject of Tipping Points. He contextualized the talk within the day’s events on campus and the climate action movement on a global and historical scale. Professor Stewart also posted a comprehensive introduction to the Climate Strike events on the Middletown Eye, a community news blog. His post details the science behind climate change as well as both governmental and public responses to the topic.  

Later that afternoon, staff and students met at the front steps of Olin Library for a candlelight vigil, which ended on the corner of Church and High streets. 

Related reading about the events:

• Students Participate in Global Climate Strike on Campus and in Hartford
• Students Participate in Global Climate Strikes

Just coming up on the solstice, the official start of the season, and summer is already well underway at Wesleyan’s Long Lane Farm. After a busy springtime of sowing seeds and preparing plots, the first vegetables of the season are finally ready to harvest. And the first full harvest of the season means it’s time for of one of my favorite tasks at Long Lane—bringing our delicious produce down to the North End Farmer’s Market!

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On April 29, the College of the Environment welcomed Olga Jonas, a senior fellow at the Harvard Global Health Institute, for a presentation on “Pandemics, AMR and Other Microbial Threats: One Health Approaches to Mitigate the Risks in Developing Countries.” Prior to her current position, Jonas worked at the World Bank, where she coordinated the operational response to avian and pandemic flu threats and, with the UN and others, was responsible for monitoring the global response since 2006.

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Wes students & faculty learned about the Green New Deal at a Town Hall event here on campus–one of hundreds of events organized nationwide by Sunrise Movement, cofounded by COE alum Evan Weber ‘13. Last night’s event, organized by WesDivest and Wesleyan Climate Action Group and cosponsored by the COE, featured Sunrise Movement rep Lauren Maunus, a senior at Brown U studying enviro science with a focus in environment & inequality. Lauren is on the leadership team of the Energize RI Coalition and the RI Green New Deal Research Council, and helped start Sunrise RI.

• Click here for more photos from the event.