coexist – Page 18 – bailey college of the environment @ wes u

options for action: students creating change

Visiting Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies Kate Miller is excited to use her class to connect students to actions to influence environmental change.In fall of 2021, she launched an “Option for Action Project” in her Introduction to Environmental Studies class (ENVS197). Through this project, students create tangible action plans for addressing environmental problems that affect them. This year they are sharing their proposed solutions with the whole Wesleyan community through a social media campaign which will run now through the end of the semester.

our coe communications interns: covering all the good green news

by Laurie Kenney

*Ken Wu ’23, Lia Franklin ’24 & Amanda Morris ’24*, our COE communications interns.

This semester, we’ve had good fortune to welcome three new communications interns here at COE: Lia Franklin ’24, Amanda Morris ’24, and Ken Wu ’23. In just a few short months, Lia, Amanda, and Ken have covered myriad people, projects, events, and programs here at the COE. Learn more about all, below!

rogers-bursen joins coe as project coordinator

by Laurie Kenney

Malana Rogers-Bursen has joined the COE as project coordinator for the Robert F. Schumann Institute of the COE, a new position funded by the recent 5-year $2-million grant from the Robert F. Schumann Foundation to focus on the areas of food security, environmental justice, and sustainability.

zepeda ’23: from “wild idea” to successful event

by nzepeda

*Snow Raven (photo by Nélida Samara Zepeda*)

I met Snow Raven after Wesleyan’s shift to remote learning during the spring of my freshman year in 2020. Living and studying at my parent’s home, a tiny house by the Russian River in California, amongst nine other beings who inhabit the home, was not a sustainable option for me. With no room to myself, or privacy, there was simply no space for me to cultivate a healthy learning environment, one of the biggest reasons why I chose to travel 3,000 miles away from home to study in Middletown, Connecticut. Having already built community and relationships in Maui, Hawai’i, during my year off before university, I decided to take a leap of faith. I reached out to some friends, packed a bag, and moved back to the Island.

offshore wind industry provides new opps for students

by rostfeld

From the shores of Block Island, Rhode Island, the United States’s first commercial wind farm can be seen on the horizon. The Block Island Wind Farm is comprised of five turbines that tower over the deep blue waters. Deepwater Wind LLC constructed the 30-MW project which became operational in 2016. Ørsted, Denmark’s largest energy company and world-leader in offshore wind, acquired Deepwater Wind LLC in 2018.

ostrow ’26 reports from cop27

by Laurie Kenney

Isaac Ostrow ’26 recently returned from Egypt, where he met with international climate activists and attended the 2022 UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP27), thanks to support from sources that included the Robert F. Schumann Institute of the College of the Environment.

From Isaac: Thank you to my generous supporters, Wesleyan University’s College of the Environment and Temple Isaiah, for making this opportunity a reality. The views I express here are mine and mine alone, and do not necessarily represent those of the Jewish Youth Climate Movement (JYCM), Hazon, Wesleyan University and/or its College of the Environment, Temple Isaiah, or any other individual, group, or entity.

Hello to all of those following my journey!

intro to enviro studies students serve the community

by Laurie Kenney

Students from Visiting Assistant Professor Kate Miller’s Introduction to Environmental Studies/ENVS197 course participated in two local service events as part of the class this semester: the Source to Sea Clean-Up, organized by the CT River Conservancy, and the roll-out of a Food Waste Collection Pilot Project, sponsored by the City of Middletown’s Department of Public Works and Recycling Program.