Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 47.67
Liaison Holly Andersen
Submission Date Jan. 26, 2021

STARS v2.2

Bennington College
EN-3: Student Life

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.00 / 2.00
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Student groups 

Does the institution have an active student group focused on sustainability?:
Yes

Name and a brief description of the active student groups focused on sustainability:
There are at least two: Student Action for Environmental Justice and The Purple Carrot Farm. SAEJ is committed to eradicating environmental injustice and the structures that create it and to creating a campus culture of education to that end. The Purple Carrot Farm is a student organization with a process driven and experimental approach to small scale agriculture. We strive to engage with our school community and provide a peaceful, accessible, sustainable space.

Gardens and farms 

Does the institution have a garden, farm, community supported agriculture (CSA) or fishery program, or an urban agriculture project where students are able to gain experience in organic agriculture and sustainable food systems?:
Yes

A brief description of the gardens, farms, community supported agriculture (CSA) or fishery programs, and/or urban agriculture projects:
The Purple Carrot Farm is a student organization with a process driven and experimental approach to small scale agriculture. We strive to engage with our school community and provide a peaceful, accessible, sustainable space. The student led farm has existed in many forms at the College, starting with students being required to work on the farm during food shortages in the mid 1900's. The small farm is less than an acre and has a hoophouse, a tractor, and we started construction of our first barn in 2016. (from their website)

Student-run enterprises 

Does the institution have a student-run enterprise that includes sustainability as part of its mission statement or stated purpose?:
No

A brief description of the student-run enterprises:
N/A

Sustainable investment and finance 

Does the institution have a sustainable investment fund, green revolving fund, or sustainable microfinance initiative through which students can develop socially, environmentally and fiscally responsible investment and financial skills?:
No

A brief description of the sustainable investment funds, green revolving funds or sustainable microfinance initiatives:
N/A

Events 

Has the institution hosted a conference, speaker series, symposium, or similar event focused on sustainability during the previous three years that had students as the intended audience?:
Yes

A brief description of the conferences, speaker series, symposia, or similar events focused on sustainability:
https://www.bennington.edu/events/sustainable-working-landscapes-challenges-and-opportunities
https://www.bennington.edu/events/trump-assault-environmental-protection-and-what-you-can-do-about-it
https://www.bennington.edu/events/davis-projects-peace-showcase-and-info-session
https://www.bennington.edu/events/plastics-litter-cleanup-and-brand-audit-bennington-rotary-club
https://www.bennington.edu/events/forgotten-farms-film-screening-and-panel-discussion

Cultural arts 

Has the institution hosted a cultural arts event, installation, or performance focused on sustainability with the previous three years that had students as the intended audience?:
No

A brief description of the cultural arts events, installations, or performances focused on sustainability:
N/A

Wilderness and outdoors programs 

Does the institution have a wilderness or outdoors program that follow Leave No Trace principles?:
No

A brief description of the wilderness or outdoors programs that follow Leave No Trace principles:
N/A

Sustainability-focused themes 

Has the institution had a sustainability-focused theme chosen for a themed semester, year, or first-year experience during the previous three years?:
No

A brief description of the sustainability-focused themes chosen for themed semesters, years, or first-year experiences:
N/A

Sustainable life skills 

Does the institution have a program through which students can learn sustainable life skills?:
No

A brief description of the programs through which students can learn sustainable life skills:
N/A

Student employment opportunities 

Does the institution offer sustainability-focused student employment opportunities?:
Yes

A brief description of the sustainability-focused student employment opportunities offered by the institution:
The Assistant Coordinator for Sustainable Initiatives serves as the lead student coordinator at Bennington College for new and ongoing sustainability initiatives directly tied to campus and community life. This student in this position has a passion for and/or willingness to learn more about volunteer coordination, event planning, conscious consumerism, resource and inventory management, and community partnerships as they pertain to campus wide sustainability efforts.

Graduation pledge

Does the institution have a graduation pledge through which students pledge to consider social and environmental responsibility in future job and other decisions?:
No

A brief description of the graduation pledge(s):
N/A

Optional Fields

A brief description of other co-curricular sustainability programs and initiatives that do not fall into one of the above categories:
---

Additional documentation to support the submission:
---

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.