Green Mountain College
EN-3: Student Life

Green Mountain College offers many opportunities for students to get involved in sustainability outside of the classroom. A number of student clubs and organizations focus on some aspect of sustainability. All of these clubs are student governed: Bio/Enviro: A strong force for environmental action on campus, including raising awareness of issues and implementing solutions for change. Center of the Plate: The COTPC is a club focused on getting more local food into the Chartwells Dining Hall. Through donations, bartering or purchases, local farms give food to the Center of the Plate Club to process in the Solar Harvest Center weekly. The goal is to provide service opportunities for students, create relationships with local farms and enhance the food quality in the Dining Hall. Student Campus Greening Fund: SCGF consists of student representatives who manage a $30,000-$40,000 grant fund for sustainability projects. The money comes from the student activities fee, which all students pay each semester as part of their tuition. SCGF solicits written grant proposals, hears oral defenses of grant requests, and ultimately decides whether or not to approve projects. Bike Shop: The Bike Shop club maintains a bike shop on campus that is free to students, staff, and faculty. People can get their brakes fixed, have tires repaired, or request more extensive repairs with discounted materials purchased from a wholesaler. The bike shop also maintains the bikeshare program on campus and rents out bike trailers so that students can go shopping or take long trips using bikes. Slow Foods Chapter: Slow Food is an international organization, founded in Italy, whose goal is to preserve traditional food knowledge, educate people on the importance of healthy, good food created from sustainable sources, and to nurture the community of people around the world who are passionate about sustainable, healthy food. The club holds bi-weekly meetings with communal cooking and the sharing of knowledge regarding cooking methods, history, and ideas for projects involving both the club and the entire campus. REED Club: This club provides an organization for REED students to further their knowledge on renewable energy and ecological design and promote community interactions and progress. Club members meet regularly in a designated area to express their ideas and opinions on the progression of the group and the REED program. The Club also promotes activities focused on renewable energy and ecological design. Forestry Club: The Green Mountain College Forestry Club is open to all GMC students with an interest in forestry, ecology, botany, wildlife management, outdoor recreation, conservation, and all other aspects of natural resource management. Activities are designed to supplement students’ study of forestry and also to encourage all students to develop practical forestry skills whether for vocational or non-vocational pursuits. In addition, the Club is dedicated to community service activities that promote a greater understanding of forestry and foster appreciation for ecosystems. The Forestry Club pursues working relationships with educational programs such as the Ecological Exposition, an educational field day for middle school students, and Envirothon, a nationwide natural resources management competition for high school students. Club Activism: The mission of Club Activism is to promote awareness and education regarding local and global sustainability issues to both the Green Mountain College campus and local communities through educational documentaries, non-violent direct actions, and awareness-raising events. In 2013, they led a successful divestment campaign resulting in the board of trustees approving divestment from fossil fuels. In 2014, they led a group of over 50 students to New York City to participate in 350.org's climate march. Herbal Tribe: Herbal Tribe promotes knowledge on herbal remedies for practical purposes and helps educate the community about the health benefits of herbs. The group believes in fostering a sustainable, wholesome relationship with local flora. Agriculture Club: The Agriculture Club offers the opportunity for the campus community to become educated about where their food comes from and to gain experience in the operation of a farm. In turn, the Club gives back to the community with the production and sale of produce from GMC's Cerridwen Farm. UNICEF Club: Part of the U.S. fund for UNICEF, the Student Campaign for Child Survival, this club focuses on fundraising to help children from around the world and engages the community in international issues.

The College's 22-acre Cerridwen Farm began as a half-acre garden in 1997. Since that time, it has become an integral part of the college curriculum, food system, and waste management system, involving students in nearly every aspect of day-to-day operations. Production systems are comprised of 3 acres of draft animal and human powered vegetable production, 15 acres of hay field and pasture managed with animal power, a raw milk micro-dairy, pastured pork production, and chickens for eggs and meat. Campus food waste is composted on-site, and renewable energy is integrated into various aspects of the farm including a solar-powered garage and solar heated high tunnel. Meat production, season extension structures, and a commercial food-processing facility enable food from the farm to be served in the dining hall all year. The farm hosts two on-going research trials and is part of the curriculum for well over a dozen classes. For example, the summer farm intensive class hosts over a dozen students each year who work to produce the CSA. Many staff, faculty, students, and community members own CSA shares and are fed by this CSA for five months out of the year.

The GMC Coffeehouse is student governed, managed by four student managers who are advised by a sustainable business faculty member and the director of student involvement. The key values of the GMC coffeehouse are "invigorating, engaging local." The GMC Coffeehouse provides sustainable and local foods to the student body including organic coffee and locally produced soda drinks, pesto, and cheese to the GMC community. Events and activities support local artists and community members and provide opportunities for the members of Green Mountain College and Poultney to build social capital. Events have included open mics, poetry readings, games nights, trivia, and discussions on what sustainability means. Student managers develop skills in sourcing local food and providing it to customers at a reasonable price, providing economic support for students through campus employment, and creating a vibrant social hub.

The Student Campus Greening Fund (SCGF) is a student-run program designed to help put greening initiatives into action that increase awareness about sustainability and decrease the school’s ecological impact. Every GMC student contributes to the fund through a $30 allocation from the college activities fee each year. Students design projects and submit proposals, and awards are based on a student vote. In 2014, over a dozen projects were passed and implemented, including a prominent bike shelter next to the student center, a boardwalk to the natural area on campus, a student-run well-being collective, and a prototype for a new three-bin waste station. The Green Mountain College Campus Greening Fund was one of three programs on North American campuses to receive a 2009 Sustainability Innovator Award from The Sustainable Endowments Institute. The institute publishes an online national report card designed to identify colleges and universities that are leading by example in their commitment to sustainability.

Every year, the College has routine sustainability events, such as a sustainability themed speaker for Convocation held in September, a sustainability themed speaker for the Benson Lecture series held during Earth Week, a conglomeration of active Earth Week events, and a sustainability themed Earth Fair that is held in collaboration between the College and the Town of Poultney. In addition to formal educational venues, the College sponsors regular events and competitions around sustainability themes. In recent years, events that have become traditions include a week long energy efficiency challenge called Do it in the Dark, a week-long event called Carry Your Trash Week (AKA "Trek Ur Trash"), and an invasive species eradication effort on campus. Additionally, the College has hosted community conversations for members of the college community on topics such as the new Sustainability 2020 strategic plan calling for authentic sustainability and the controversial slaughter of the farm oxen, Bill and Lou that made national headlines. SUSTAINABILITY SPEAKER SERIES September 18th, 2014 Yola Carlough Yola Carlough is a senior associate in community development for the B Corporation. She has also served as director of sustainability at Burt's Bees and social mission director at Ben & Jerrys. Her talk was titled "B-Corps - The Power of Business to Solve Social and Environmental Problems". While on campus as a scholar in residence, she also participated in a panel discussion on exploring "Legal & Ethical Challenges and Opportunities for the Sustainable Business Professional". September 11th, 2014 Bernd Heinrich Dr. Heinrich is a faculty member at UC Berkeley and the University of Vermont, where he is currently Professor Emeritus. His rich body of research has dealt primarily with understanding how behavioral and physiological adaptations of animals allow them to negotiate their physical environment. He has published 18 books, many of which translate his science for the popular audience. May 17th, 2014 Senator Patrick Leahy As President Pro Tempore of the Senate, Senator Patrick Leahy is third in the presidential line of succession and has held the office since 1975. His voting record includes many pro-environmental and social justice efforts. He delivered the GMC's 177th commencement address, where he spoke about his recent effort to get the US to sign a treaty banning land mines. April 25th, 2014 Jonathan Lash Dr. Lash is the President of Hampshire College and is an internationally recognized expert on practical solutions to global sustainability, climate change, and development challenges. From 1993 to 2011, he was president of World Resources Institute (WRI), a Washington-based environmental think tank focusing on issues ranging from low carbon development to sustainable transportation. He also co-chaired the President's Council on Sustainable Development, a group of government, business, labor, civil rights, and environmental leaders appointed by Bill Clinton that developed visionary recommendations for strategies to promote sustainable development. Prior to WRI, Lash was Vermont Secretary of Natural Resources. April 24th, 2014 Tatiana Abatemarco Dr. Abatemarco is a Green Mountain College alumnae, who now serves as an Assistant Professor of environmental studies at Paul Smith's College. Her research areas include philosophy and ecofeminism. She delivered a talk entitled: "Women's Sense of Farming: An Ecofeminist Anthropological Project". April 21st, 2014 Bruce Seifer Seifer is the co-author of Sustainable Communities--Creating a Durable Local Economy. He served as Assistant Director for Economic Development for the City of Burlington Vermont for 29 years and was a key figure in Burlington's transformation into a model for sustainable development. April 15th, 2014 Michael H. Shuman Shuman is an economist, attorney, and author/editor of eight books who spoke as the second annual John F. and Dianne S. Brennan Lecturer. His two most influential books Local Dollars, Local Sense: How to Move Your Money from Wall Street to Main Street and Achieve Real Prosperity and The Small Mart Revolution: How Local Business Are Beating the Global Competition articulate the important role of small businesses and local economies in the face of globalization. His talked was titled "Local Investment: The New Key to Rural Revitalization in Vermont." February 28th, 2014 Chuck Ross Chuck Ross is the Vermont Secretary of Agriculture. He spoke about climate resilience and the role that all levels of government can play in response to disasters such as tropical storm Irene. February 17th, 2014 Douglas Gayeton and Laura Howard Gayeton The husband-wife team Douglas Gayeton and Laura Howard Gayeton gave a public presentation for the MSFS residency on art, technology and sustainability. The Gayetons have created award-winning films, information artworks, websites, and branding campaigns for a variety of clients including HBO, AOL, MTV, Napster, National Geographic and PBS. They are currently at work on “The Lexicon of Sustainability,” a multimedia art project to tap into the meaning of sustainability as interpreted by thought leaders around the country. The first part of the project is “Food and farming in America.” November 19th, 2013 Andrew Gunther Gunther is Program Director for the Animal Welfare Approved (AWA) certification program. He spoke about the concepts of “humane treatment” versus “animal welfare.” He also delivered GMC's new AWA certification for dairy cattle and poultry. November 6th, 2013 Jan Spencer Spencer is a well-known permaculture advocate from Eugene, Oregon. As a guest lecturer funded by the Student Campus Greening Fund, he spoke about transforming where we live, including our homes, culture, and economy. October 10th, 2013 Janisse Ray Ray is a writer, naturalist, and activist. She holds an MFA and has written five books and a collection of nature poetry. She spoke about seed-saving and GMOs. She has won several book awards including the American Horticulture Society Book Award and the Nautilus Gold Book Award for Better Books for a Better World in 2013. September 5th, 2013 Robert Michael Pyle Dr. Pyle is the renowned author of 12 books on the natural sciences. He gave the fall convocation address and spoke in several classes about sustainability, his personal pursuit of nature, and how to thrive in a world facing many ecological crises. First-year students as well as many staff and faculty members read his nonfiction book The Thunder Tree: Lessons from an Urban Wildland. May 11th, 2013 Dianne Dillon-Ridgley Dillon-Ridgley is the International Leader in Sustainability, Founding Chair-emeritus of Plains Justice, Chair of the Board of Trustees for the Center for International Environmental Law, National Chair of the Population Connection, Board Member of the Women’s Network for a Sustainable Future, and the only person to serve on all three American delegations to the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, the 1997 Earth Summit+5, and the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development. She spoke at Commencement 2013. April 24th, 2013 An all-day conference on sustainable development called “Poultney 2020” co-hosted by the College and the Town to build the natural, financial, and social/human capital of the town of Poultney. April 23rd, 2013 Dr. William Edelglass Dr. Edelglass, Professor of Philosophy at Marlboro College, spoke on “Green Mountains Walking: Reflections on Buddhism, Embodied Morality, and Places in an Age of Globalization”. April 18th, 2013 Dr. Alan Goldberg Dr. Goldberg, Founding Director, Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, spoke on “Food, Animals, Food Animals: Large Scale Livestock Agriculture”. April 15, 2013 Tom Burrell Tom Burrell, Marketing & Communications Expert, Author of Brainwashed: Challenging the Myth of Black Inferiority, and Member of the Advertising Hall of Fame, spoke on social justice and race, issues that are central to social sustainability. April 9, 2013 Peter Forbes Peter Forbes, Co-Founder for Center for Whole Communities, spoke on whole communities and environmental conflict resolution over land use. March 26, 2013 Dr. William H. Schlesinger Dr. Schlesinger, Sophomore Plenary Speaker and President of Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies spoke on “Climate Change: Causes, Impacts and What to Do.” March 19, 2013 Lesely Nase Lesely Nase, host of Radio Program Books, Yarns & Tales, spoke on Earth Tales for the Storytellers Series. March 15, 2013 David Hinton David Hinton, acclaimed Poet and Translator of Chinese Poetry, spoke on "Deep Ecology and Cosmology: Ancient China, Contemporary Vermont". February 25, 2013 Pliny Fisk III Pliny Fisk III, Co-director & Founder of Center for Maximum Potential Building Systems, spoke on green building design and sustainable systems. February 19, 2013 Dr. Neil Conklin Dr. Conklin, President of the Farm Foundation, spoke on “Developing a Workforce for 21st Century Agriculture”. February 18, 2013 Helene York Helene York, a MSFS Scholar in Residence and Director of Purchasing Strategy for Bon Appétit Management, spoke about sustainability food purchasing policy for major food organizations. January 21, 2013 Migrant Justice Presentation - Migrant farm workers talked about social justice issues related to agriculture and migrant farm workers for Martin Luther King Day. November 28, 2012 Reel Rock Paddling Film Festival highlighted outdoor water adventure, water and nature conservation. November 14, 2012 Keith McHenry Keith McHenry is a co-founder of Food Not Bombs. His student initiated talk was part of his Smashing Hunger Squashing Poverty tour describing the emergence the loose-knit group of independent collectives, serving free vegan and vegetarian food to others to help address the needs of the poor and hungry around the world. November 14, 2012 Keith McHenry Keith McHenry, an artist, author, and Co-founder of Food Not Bombs, spoke on the formation and history of Food, Not Bombs. October, 18, 2012 Kiko Denzer Talk Author and builder Kiko Denzer presented on sustainable building and design using natural materials and biomimicry. September 21, 2012 Artisan Cheese and Craft Cider tasting event featuring local cider producer and regional cheese pairings. THOMAS L. BENSON LECTURE SERIES The Benson Lecture Series, named in honor of former Green Mountain College President Thomas L. Benson, aims to bring visionary speakers of national and international significance to the College campus. Benson was president from 1994-2002 and was the architect of the College’s environmental liberal arts mission. April 18, 2013 Dr. Alan Goldberg Talk Title: “Animals, Food; Food-Animals" Goldberg is professor of toxicology and founding director at the Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. He was a co-author of the important Pew Commission report on industrial farm animal production. The discussion illuminates human attitudes about animals and their roles in research and agriculture. April 19, 2012 James Gustave "Gus" Speth Talk Title: “America the Possible: Realizing a New American Dream" Speth is a professor of law at the Vermont Law School in South Royalton, Vt., and distinguished senior fellow at Demos and the United Nations Foundation. He is the former Carl W. Knobloch, Jr. Dean of the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies at Yale. Speth will also receive an honorary degree from the College.

3/20/2013 Film: Samsara Showing of the film, Samsara. The film’s website offers this synopsis: “Samsara explores the wonders of our world from the mundane to the miraculous, looking into the unfathomable reaches of man’s spirituality and the human experience. Neither a traditional documentary nor a travelogue, Samsara takes the form of a nonverbal, guided meditation." 11/2/2012, 2/9/13, 9/28/13 Collaborative Music Project Student organized music performance where student musicians meet new students and create music productions together as a way of building social capital in the GMC Community. 9/21/2012 Bread and Puppet Theater Performance A student initiated performance, The Bread and Puppet Theater is a politically radical puppet theater, active since the 1960s, currently based in Glover, Vermont. Its founder and director is Peter Schumann. Their performance focused on militarization, fossil fuel use, climate change and participatory democracy. 9/20/2012 Invisible Children Movie A student initiative to show the American documentary film which depicts the human rights abuses by the Lord's Resistance Army in Uganda and increase awareness of this issue among GMC students.

The Green Mountain Adventure Programming Office (GreenMAP) provides recreational and instructional outdoor programs for all ability levels. GreenMAP trips are generally free, student-led outings open to the entire Green Mountain College community. Many of the trips require no prior experience. Student Leaders are trained in trip planning, group management, outdoor ethics, and leadership in the activities they lead. In-house trainings prepare students for nationally recognized certification programs which many trip leaders complete. GreenMAP activities include rock & ice climbing, whitewater and coastal kayaking, canoeing, backpacking, snowshoeing, and backcountry and telemark skiing. Ice climbing, mountaineering, backpacking, tele-ski, rock climbing, and paddling equipment can be rented at any time for only $1 per day. For entering students, GreenMap offers The Wilderness Challenge. This activity provides an excellent way for incoming students to meet new friends and learn more about the Green Mountain Community. The trips are led by trained student and staff leaders from the GreenMap Program. The trips take place in the mountains and waters that surround the college and make New England famous. With programs like backpacking, rock climbing, canoeing, sea kayaking & yoga, there is a "challenge" for every level of experience and interest.

All undergraduate GMC students must complete the 37-credit Environmental Liberal Arts (ELA) curriculum which addresses 23 sustainability-related learning outcomes. The 9-credit first-year portion of this program explicitly focuses on ecological and social dimensions of sustainability in the two-course sequence, Images of Nature and Voices of Community. The summer reading for first year students introduces them to elements of the themes addressed in the first year, and all staff and faculty are also strongly encouraged to read the chosen book in order to participate in an on-going campus-wide conversation about the themes in the book throughout the semester. For example, in the fall of 2013, Michael Pyle's book The Thunder Tree: Lessons from an Urban Wildland was the required reading. Pyles visited campus in September to give the fall convocation address and speak in several classes about sustainability, his personal pursuit of nature, and how to thrive in a world facing many ecological crises. In fall 2012, students in the first-year core Images of Nature course discussed Thomas Thwaites’ The Toaster Project. Thwaites visited campus in the fall to discuss his work in multiple venues.

The most tangible program on campus related to this credit is the Sustainable Living Floor. The Sustainable Floor is a floor of a residence hall designed as an intentional community where students living there aim to live sustainably in all aspects of their lives. Residents cook a community dinner every night with as many sustainable ingredients as they can get, they practice aggressive recycle and reuse strategies, and they maintain a vermiculture bin for compost. Occasionally they also run their own waste minimization competitions. For example, in 2013, they ran a water saving competition where they all tallied their water use for a week. Students have to apply to become a member of the floor.

The Green Job Corps aims to improve the triple bottom line at GMC: to enhance the social, economic and environmental impact of sustainability initiatives on campus and beyond, while also helping students gain marketable skills for the green economy. The Corps consists of work-study jobs in a majority of campus departments and the student workers collaborate between departments on projects that enhance campus sustainability in a holistic manner. Positions within the Green Job Corps include Farmhands, Tour Guides, Resident Assistants, GreenMAP employees, Coffee House workers, Natural Areas Crew, Tutors, Recyclers and Composters. Special management positions as part of the Green Job Corps are available in most departments to student workers who want to improve their leadership and management skills. Past accomplishments include the following: - Researching and pricing options to create a certified composting facility to accept food scraps from the Town - Calculating a cost-benefit analysis of installing three-bin waste stations across campus - Designing and implementing vermiculture system in the residence halls to process food waste - Carrying-out floor activities for annual energy-reduction challenge, Do it in the Dark - Decreasing paperwork & utilizing electronic mailings - Hosting Wild & Scenic Film Festival - Improving Farm Chore system to increase productivity and improve efficiency - Raising awareness about waste reduction through outreach efforts

GMC fosters many co-curricular sustainability programs and initiatives. The Annual Earth Fair is just one example. The Poultney Earth Fair is a completely grassroots event organized by a committee of ten to thirteen people with the intention of educating children and their families about the environment. The theme of the event changes every year. A description of the last two events are highlighted here: Seventh Annual Poultney Earth Fair (April 24th, 2014) This year's Earth Fair, "Powering into our Future" featured over 60 exhibits and demonstrations. Activities celebrated renewable energy, human energy, and the social power needed to create vibrant communities. A kick-off parade, run by GMC's Student Campus Greening Fund led students and staff, wearing large paper mache vegetable heads, from GMC to Poultney High School. Even President Paul Fonteyn wore won of the heads. The event, hosted by Poultney high school, included live music, scavenger hunts, information about solar power, as well as free bike tune-ups and free food, such as bicycle-powered smoothies, sun tea, pizza, and food from Localmotive, the new student-run restaurant at LiHigh School. In addition to students, teachers, community groups, and businesses, other participants included the Poultney Area Artists' Guild, Poultney Historical Society, Spruce Knob Upraising, Green Mountain Power Energy Innovation Center, Same Sun Choice, Positive Energy, the Rutland Area Farm and Food Link, Poultney-Mettowee Natural Resource Conservation District, and the Nature Conservancy among many others. Sixth Annual Poultney Earth Fair (April 25th, 2013) The theme of the sixth annual Earth Fair was “A Balanced Life, A Balanced Earth.” The GMC Sustainability Office supported the Earth Fair committee through coordination, planning, and execution of the event. The Fair brought over 200 members of the GMC and Poultney communities together to collaborate on projects and over 400 participants (including children, parents, family, friends, and college community members) attended the event. Many GMC students were involved with various booths and activities during the event.