Middlebury College
EN-10: Community Partnerships

Partnerships are also a key element of Energy2028’s educational mission. We supported two collaborative J-term internships for students who worked with History of Art and Architecture faculty, Midd’s Sustainability Solutions Lab, MIT’s Sustainable Design Lab, and the Town of Middlebury’s Energy Committee. Using an MIT platform, our students and faculty worked with town officials to build a model including most of the buildings in Middlebury to evaluate the effectiveness of different energy conservation practices. This is an exciting new tool that can be used to test policies and programs to see what could make the greatest impact for the least cost. In 2022 this partnership has been expanded to a second county-wide initiative which is currently underway.

https://www.middlebury.edu/office/energy2028-update
http://www.townofmiddlebury.org/committees/middlebury_energy_committee_(development)/index.php

The Knoll, our campus garden, grows over 1,000 lbs of food each year for H.O.P.E., the local food shelf. At the start of each growing season, our farm manager plans crops and quantities with H.O.P.E.

http://www.middlebury.edu/sustainability/operations-and-action/global-food-program/knoll/past-present-and-future

We were approached by Chief Stevens of the Abenaki Nation in the spring of 2019 as a collaborator for educational opportunities and for growing heritage varieties of Abenaki crops. With a goal of increasing seed stocks, interns grew four varieties of beans and carried out a hand-pollination project for an heirloom corn variety. The hand-pollination efforts required intensive observation and management, and this provided an incredible opportunity for learning. Chief Stevens joined the summer intern crew to share the Corn Mother and the Three Sisters stories, offered an Abenaki blessing on the fields, and offered song and a blessing at harvest. We are deeply grateful to Chief Stevens for sharing his time, knowledge, and traditions in setting the context for the planting of the corn and beans, as well as for the harvest and we look forward to carrying this partnership forward into successive seasons.

http://www.middlebury.edu/sustainability/operations-and-action/global-food-program/knoll/past-present-and-future

Middlebury College partnership with Addison Country Transit Resources:

Middlebury College offers free bus rides to any College member on the local bus operated by ACTR and offsets that cost with an annual donation. ACTR has extended their route to include a stop on the campus to make the bus more accessible to students. We encourage community members to ride the bus rather than taking their own cars when possible through outreach and awarenesses campaigns.