Hampshire College
EN-3: Student Life

We have many student groups that focus on sustainability: 1. The NEW LEAF student group focuses on initiatives to increase campus sustainability. New Leaf is leading a campus campaign to eliminate single-use plastics throughout all areas on campus, enhance recycling in collaboration with Post-Landfill Action Network, and increase composting of food waste from student housing. https://hampshire.campuslabs.com/engage/organization/NewLeaf http://www.postlandfill.org/ 2. The Greenhouse Student Group works to upkeep a space in (and surrounding) the Cole Science Bioshelter and the Enfield Solar Greenhouse, facilitating efficient use by the Hampshire community. The Enfield Solar Greenhouse is a student-run community space that nourishes our community, physically and spiritually, through gardening, food, sustainability, and creative expression. https://hampshire.campuslabs.com/engage/organization/greenhousegroup 3. ReHamping is a student-initiated group whose goal is to involve students, faculty, and staff in space-based transformations so on-campus spaces reflect the needs and desires of the community as a whole. Their redesign work reflects our philosophy that many and diverse voices are critical to success proposals and outcomes. https://hampshire.campuslabs.com/engage/organization/rehamping 4. Climate Justice League works in solidarity with local, national, and international movements to avert climate catastrophe and transition towards a sustainable world. CJL collaborates with Five College colleagues to influence their respective administrations to divest from the fossil fuel industry. Hampshire was one of the first schools in the country to commit to doing so. CJL works to block future dirty energy proposals, close those currently in operation, and curtail the power of the fossil fuel industry. CJL organizes with the National Climate Movement, and Hampshire members frequently attend rallies, convergences, and protests nationwide. Note: Climate Justice League was active 2014-2016 but folded itself in to the New Leaf group during spring 2016. https://hampshire.campuslabs.com/engage/organization/ClimateJustice

1. Hampshire College Farm Center: This is a 100-acre farm, a living-laboratory and integral part of Hampshire's campus fostering organic practices. 15 acres of vegetable fields, 60 acres of pastures and hay, and the remaining 25 acres in wildlife habitat. The Hampshire College Farm Center is a working farm and thriving educational center that provides agricultural programs for the College, local community members, and area school groups and camps. The Farm's Community Supported Agriculture program (CSA) provides a model of farming directly linking consumers to farmers. With over 210 share members (feeding over 800 people), the CSA provides fresh organic produce to the campus and local community. Hampshire students from a wide variety of academic fields and disciplines use the Farm Center as a hub to investigate the intellectual, political, and scientific issues surrounding food production in addition to animal behavior and agriculture. Farm Center internships and work-study opportunities afford students the opportunity for experiential, project-based learning. https://www.hampshire.edu/farm/hampshire-college-farm 2. Hampshire Community Garden is located in the heart of campus (1 acre), is managed by students, and provides free open space for students, faculty, and staff to plant their own annual and perennial gardens. https://hampedia.org/wiki/Community_Garden 3. As part of the "Place Petal" standard in the Living Building Challenge, Hampshire's R.W. Kern Center established a new apple orchard adjacent to this certified Living Building. https://living-future.org/lbc/place-petal/#02-urban-agriculture

Mixed Nuts is the longest-running student group on the Hampshire campus. Since 1972, this co-op has provided healthy, socially conscious, affordable, tasty food to the Hampshire community. Mixed Nuts is a storefront and a buyers' club enabling its members to buy food in bulk. Run entirely by student volunteers without any administrative funding, Mixed Nuts is a testament to student dedication and innovation. The store offers students the ability to sell homemade goods on consignment. https://hampshire.campuslabs.com/engage/organization/mixednuts

The Hampshire College Sustainability Revolving Fund (SURF) provides loans for campus improvement projects that benefit Hampshire’s sustainability by improving efficiency and conserving resources. The SURF exists to foster student, staff, and faculty involvement in increasing environmental, social, and fiscal sustainability at Hampshire. Two types of projects can be funded by SURF: Efficiency Projects that have a demonstrable and quantifiable reduction in fossil fuel energy costs, waste disposal costs, and/or water use costs, and Innovation; and Engagement Projects that have indeterminate and intangible cost savings. The SURF is managed by Hampshire's Environmental Committee, which approves projects in consultation with the Business Office and Department of Facilities and Grounds.

Sustainability Events directed towards students, from 2015-2018: 9/29/15: Eat Local Dinner at the Dinning Hall, 100% local food meal prepared by Bon Appetit. 10/24/15: Fall Festival at the Hampshire College Farm celebrated sustainable agriculture and food. "Come down for lunch and enjoy delicious local food available for purchase from Wheelhouse Food Truck and alumni-owned Beets & Barley Catering, featuring produce from the campus farm." 10/24/15: 100% Local Food Challenge Community Forum offered the opportunity to discuss the 100% Local Food Challenge at Hampshire, with a focus on the research conducted over the summer on the subject of accounting systems. Two student interns presented their experiences ranging from researching institutional purchasing and local food systems to interviewing Hampshire's local suppliers and auditing the purchasing records of the Dining Commons. Students then made the case for their recommendations. 11/10/15: "Countdown to the Paris Climate Summit: What's at Stake?" devoted an afternoon and evening to consider the importance of COP-21, the scientific, political, and ethical issues that these negotiations raise, as well as the opportunities for actions. The program consisted of a series of panels led by Hampshire College and Five College faculty, students, and community members. http://sites.hampshire.edu/ecg/countdown-to-the-paris-climate-summit-panel-whats-at-stake/ 12/5/15: The “World on Edge: War and Peace in the Climate Change Era” lecture by Michael Klare tackled these subjects and discussed the likelihood that climate change would lead to increased violence globally. Hampshire professor Klare is a renowned scholar and writer on these issues. https://www.hampshire.edu/news/2015/11/24/annual-pritzen-lecture-to-focus-on-war-in-the-age-of-climate-change 12/8/15: The BagShare Workshop @ Mixed Nuts was an opportunity for community members to make no-sew bags. "We'll provide the sewing machines so you can make your bags from scrap fabric. The Bag Share Project is an effort to prevent landfill of all types of plastic bags. Bring your used rope, scrap fabric, thread, or broken bags that you want to fix. We'll be donating all bags to the Bag Share initiative." 2/3/16 and 3/4/16: The Regenerative Plants and Permaculture Design Workshop was part of the Racial Justice, Regeneration and Permaculture EPEC/Workshop Series that explored the fundamentals of permaculture design, principles, and strategies. Spring 2016: Seed Series "Grow Something This Spring!" 3/4/16: Seed Talk with Science Librarian Heather McCann and Vegetable Grower and CSA Manager Nancy Hanson 4/8/16: Hands-on Workshop for starting seeds with Farm Center Director Nancy Hanson 4/26/16: Transplanting seeds to bed or container, Farm Center Director Nancy Hanson https://sites.hampshire.edu/theharold/2016/02/24/seed-library-and-hampshire-farm-series-spring-2016/ 9/16/2017: "Majora Carter, Bill McKibben, and Jason McLennan Headline R.W. Kern Center Dedication Event on Environmentalism and Environmental Justice, September 16, 2016." This dedication event for the R.W. Kern Center was titled "What Buildings Should Do" and offered day-long workshops for students, staff, faculty, and community members that focused on environmentalism and environmental justice, sustainable architecture, and sustainable farming. https://www.hampshire.edu/news/2016/09/13/majora-carter-bill-mckibben-and-jason-mclennan-to-headline-dedication-event-for https://www.hampshire.edu/alumni/what-buildings-should-do 10/1/2016: "Hampshire College Welcomes Hitchcock Center for the Environment to its Cultural Village. The Hampshire College campus will be a place of learning for some 10,000 more students of all ages each year as the College’s latest Cultural Village partner, the Hitchcock Center for the Environment, celebrates its grand opening on Saturday, October 1, 2016." https://www.hampshire.edu/news/2016/10/01/hampshire-college-welcomes-hitchcock-center-for-the-environment-to-its-cultural Spring 2017: Hampshire participated in the national RecycleMania Tournament. Hampshire ranked in the top 10%, 14th out of 190 colleges, for diversion rate (recycle and compost divided by total waste generated). The College diverted 65.5% of waste toward recycling and compost as opposed to landfill. https://www.hampshire.edu/news/2017/05/08/hampshire-places-high-in-national-recyclemania-tournament 4/15/2017: "HampHack Students Tackle 21st-Century Problems in 24-Hour Challenge." In this student-created and student-led regional hack-a-thon, participants tackled problems in environmental sustainability, brain sciences, artificial intelligence, health sciences, life hacks, and other compelling and current themes. Co-Sponsored by the Roddenberry Foundation grant mentioned in AC-10. https://www.hampshire.edu/news/2017/05/04/hamphack-students-tackle-21st-century-problems-in-24-hour-challenge 10/30/2017: Film Screening: Seed—The Untold Story. "Seed" tells the story of the relatively unknown crisis in seed diversity, its implications for the planet, and what people around the world are doing to solve the problem. The screening will be followed by a discussion with Hampshire alum Rowen White, who is in the movie. The film, which was executive-produced by Marisa Tomei, also features such well-known figures as Jane Goodall, Vandana Shiva, Winona LaDuke, and Andrew Kimbrell." 2/4/2018: Hampshire Community Invited to Celebrate the New Year of the Trees https://www.hampshire.edu/news/2018/01/26/hampshire-community-invited-to-celebrate-the-new-year-of-the-trees 2/24/2018: Telluride Mountain Film Festival on Tour—Mountainfilm showcased nonfiction stories about environmental, cultural, climate, political, and social-justice issues. 3/2/2018: "Slime-Mold Symposium and Reception Presented by Hampshire College Art Gallery" https://www.hampshire.edu/news/2018/03/01/slime-mold-symposium-and-reception-presented-by-hampshire-college-art-gallery

1. The Plasmodium Consortium February 7 - March 9, 2018 in the College Art gallery "Hampshire College is proud to announce the founding of the world’s only academic program for non-human species. The first scholars-in-residence, plasmodial slime molds known as Physarum polycephalum, arrived from Carolina Biological Supply in Spring 2017, and moved into a dedicated office in Cole Science Center. Plasmodial slime molds are renowned for their ability to network, to learn, to survive adversity, and to navigate complex systems in an efficient and equitable way." "The scholars are part of a year-long collaborative project, using their environmental intelligence and optimization skills to help us think through big human questions, from the relationship between self-interest and collective interest, to food scarcity in a time of climate change. Students, staff, and faculty will have various opportunities through courses, workshops and other events to bring their disciplinary perspectives and concerns to the project — from architecture and psychology to economics and photography — consulting the plasmodial slime mold for potential responses and solutions" https://sites.hampshire.edu/gallery/the-plasmodium-symposium/ 2. The Reciprocal Biomimicry Initiative February 9 - March 16, 2018 in the College Art gallery In recent years, engineers have designed body armor based on beetle shells and applied the aerodynamics of kingfisher beaks to bullet trains. Biomimicry is the buzzword, and the principle has served us well, but biomimicry rarely benefits the organisms whose innovations we appropriate. To compensate, experimental philosopher Jonathon Keats has founded the Reciprocal Biomimicry Initiative, a program dedicated to systematically adapting human technologies to benefit other organisms. This exhibition showcases plans and models for several representative innovations aimed at fostering resilience and flexibility. As climate change makes the future less predictable and environmental conditions more volatile, one pilot project provides migratory birds with GPS to find optimal breeding grounds, while another envisions fiber optics for corals in case water turbidity precludes photosynthesis. https://sites.hampshire.edu/gallery/the-reciprocal-biomimicry-initiative-jonathon-keats/ 3. 'Hemlock Hospice: Landscape Ecology, Art, and Design,' a talk with David Buckley Borden (artist) and Aaron M. Ellison (ecologist) Frebruary 2 2018 at 12pm in Cole Science 333. On view through mid-November 2018, this immersive site-specific science-communication project tells the story of the ongoing demise of the eastern hemlock tree at the hands (and mouth) of a tiny aphid-like insect, the hemlock wooly adelgid. While telling the story of the loss of eastern hemlock, the project addresses larger issues of climate change, human impact, and the future of New England forests. The talk includes an overview of the Hemlock Hospice project from the complementary perspectives of science, art, and design, and also addresses the practical challenges of creating and realizing such interdisciplinary projects. http://harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu/hemlock-hospice 4. Wayfinding (featuring work by sculpture professor Bill Brayton and Five College professor of sustainable design Naomi Darling). On display in the R.W. Kern Center Sept 2016 thru 2018. The wall sculptures by Bill Brayton, Professor of Art, currently on view in the exhibition Wayfinding, are inspired in part by Polynesian nautical stick charts — early navigational aids that mapped ocean swells. Brayton sculpted them from locally-sourced steam-bent white oak and a lightweight hybrid concrete of his own devising. Part of the first exhibit in the new R.W. Kern Center gallery, they are presented in dialogue with etchings by Naomi Darling, Assistant Professor of Sustainable Design, in which she layered historical maps and geological surveys of the Connecticut River Valley and Long Island Sound with markers of her own movement and memory in each region. The etchings' frames are made of leftover pine from the Kern Center construction, which, explains curator and Hampshire College Art Gallery Director Amy Halliday, represents Hampshire's ethic of reuse and sustainability. http://www.naomidarling.com/news-1/2016/10/26/wayfinding-exhibition-at-hampshire-college

Hampshire's Outdoors Program/Recreational Athletics (OPRA) engages students in outings and activities such as rock climbing, skiing, kayaking, hiking, whitewater rafting, yoga, and aquatics. Students learn respect for self, others, and the environment (including following the follows Leave No Trace Principles), and have safe, fun, and educational experiences on OPRA's worldwide trips. Developing outdoor leadership skills and opportunities is an OPRA programmatic goal. All OPRA events are substance-free. https://hampshire.campuslabs.com/engage/organization/opra https://www.hampshire.edu/opra/outdoor-programs-recreation-and-athletics

Living and Learning Communities (themed living experiences for first-year students). The living and learning communities provide an opportunity for first-year students with similar interests to live together while being strengthened and led as a community with the support of faculty, staff, and student leaders. 2017-2018 sustainability-related Living and Learning Communities include the following: — Community Engagement for Social Change Living and Learning Community — FARM! The Edible Living and Learning Community — Wellness Living and Learning Community 2016-2017 sustainability-related Living and Learning Communities included: — Environmental Justice and Sustainability Living & Learning Community

1. Greenhouse Mod: Students who live in the Greenhouse Mod have always been responsible for the care and upkeep of the Enfield Greenhouse, a place for growing plants and food, learning about environmental sustainability, and for events that bring the Hampshire community together. Residents are selected through an application process that looks for students who are interested in sustainable living and committed to the goals of the Enfield Solar Greenhouse. 2. Transition Mods: Student apartments dedicated to sustainable living. There are two "Transition Towns" in the on-campus "Mod" apartment complex. Transition Hampshire is a part of the global Transition Town movement to make communities healthier, happier, and more just from the bottom up. We encourage the community to come together across identity and ideology and use our collective power to create the positive, just future that is only possible when we work together to create it. Through a student-led initiative to enhance awareness of sustainable living practices, our admissions tour room (and unoccupied, model space) is equipped with appropriate lighting, a power strip that shuts off, reusable water bottle, energy star refrigerator recommendation, reusable bag slung across the back of the chair, drying rack, and more. http://www.hampshire.edu/admissions/18336.htm 3. Upcycling Mod: The aim of upcycling is to re-purpose something that would otherwise be considered waste, and to "up" its value and quality by doing so. This community creates a sustainable space that provides opportunities to design new products, lessen unnecessary waste, teach, learn and generally promote upcycling. 4. The Environmental Justice and Sustainability Living & Learning Community: This community introduces participating students to the healthy food systems, campus operations, creative curricula, and innovations in campus life that comprise the foundation of the Sustainable Hampshire initiative. Residents are introduced to Div II and Div III peers, faculty and staff, and local community partners connected to this work and to other environmental justice and sustainability efforts in the Pioneer Valley. Regular programming for has included -workshops on mindfulness, resilience and the transition movement -workshop on organic and sustainable soap-making and personal care items -a trip to a local grassroots urban agriculture organization and farm -cooking lessons at Farm Center -a trip to Sirius eco-village and educational center -a special screening of the documentary film Oil & Water

On Campus Student Employment Opportunities: — The Hampshire College Farm Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program employs 4 student intern positions offered every summer, providing hands-on working/learning experience designed for college students interested in sustainable agriculture. Interns work alongside the CSA Manager to carry out the daily operations of organic vegetable production on the Hampshire College Farm. Off Campus Student Employment Opportunities (supported by Hampshire College work-study grants): — American Farmland Trust (AFT) Farmland Protection Intern. Interns research news items for Field Notes, an electronic newsletter for land conservation professionals, policy makers, and activists. — EarthAction Intern. The EarthAction Network is an international organization based in Amherst, Massachusetts. The Network includes over 2,500 civil society organizations in 163 countries. EarthAction carries out global campaigns on environment, development, peace, governance and human rights issues. Visithttp://www.earthaction.org/. — Field to Table (FTT) Student Worker. FTT is a non-profit, collectively managed organization providing professional consulting services for small businesses and sustainable agricultural enterprises. FTT’s diverse and extensive level of experience assists our clients to adapt and succeed in an increasingly challenging marketplace. — Clean Water Action (CWA) Intern. Clean Water Action organizes strong grassroots groups and coalitions and campaigns to elect environmental candidates and solve environmental and community problems. A variety of opportunities exist depending on a students' skills and availability. Specific positions occur in consultation with the student. — The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts. The Food Bank has provided enough food to supply 90 million meals to Western Massachusetts households in need over the past 30 years. Helping staff serve the needs of our member agencies. Student staff will assist with newsletters, developing resource materials, office work, answering phones,helping with organization of food deliveries. — Hitchcock Center for the Environment has a dedicated professional staff who do everything from running the day-to-day business to lecturing, teaching, and programming. In addition to individual projects, staff members collaborate with local experts, professionals, and volunteers to bring a wide variety of activities to the public. Hitchcock Center is seeking students for Garden interns and Teaching Assistants. — Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture (CISA) Food System Intern. CISA, a non-profit group, is one of the leading “buy local” groups in the nation and links farms and communities to strengthen agriculture and enhance the economy, rural character and environmental quality of western Massachusetts. http://www.buylocalfood.org/