Paul Smith's College of Arts & Sciences
EN-3: Student Life

The Smitty Sustainability Committee meets weekly during the semester, the committee is open to any registered Paul Smith's College Student. The committee is charged with oversight of the Paul Smith's College Sustainability Grant Program, this includes helping students faculty and staff identify, develop and implement campus sustainability projects. The Student group also engages the community by organizing sustainability programming including field trips, speakers, and educational outreach activities.

The Osgood Farm, a living, breathing classroom at Paul Smith’s College of the Adirondacks. Set on the shores of Osgood Pond, the site was formerly a homestead in the late 1800s. Today, Osgood Farm provides a hands on learning experience for students and community members. On the farm we believe in the power of the sun, the horses and ourselves. Today, our climate is shifting, food security concerns have been brought to the table, and how people can adapt to these changes, remains the constant question we ask here at Paul Smith’s College. At Osgood Farm we are throwing around ideas about knowledge, truth, the nature and meaning of life, and discovery. What can we do here on a small farm to make a big difference? Our philosophy is to hopefully to connect, educate, and inspire people to pursue their own interests in small-farm networking. We aim to protect natural resources and to be valued by our community. Impassioning those to care for the soil, water, and air are all goals we strive for here at Osgood Farm. By creating an example of a sustainable agricultural system through the utilization our draft horse team, human power, and solar energy, we hope to engage students and the public interest in backyard gardening. Ultimately, Osgood Farm strives to set the example of how we all can be committed to a higher quality of life through the soil we work.

Every PSC student contributes an annual $30 fee which goes directly into the Sustainability Grant Fund! PSC students, faculty, and staff develop projects and apply for Sustainability Grants. The Sustainability Grant was created by a group of interested students and staff in 2009. Projects must contribute to environmental, social, or economic sustainability of the PSC campus or regional community. Priority will be given to those projects which support energy conservation/renewable energy generation and demonstrate lone-term viability through linkages with student organizations, academic programs, community groups, or the like. Grant Program Goals include: To be a catalyst for initiatives that further campus and community sustainability, goals of the Climate Action Plan, and assist the college in achieving Carbon Neutrality To empower students as agents of change in their community To provide financial support for campus projects To increase student stewardship of campus community (physical and social) To provide a legacy to future PSC students To provide students with the opportunity to design, manage, and implement “real world” projects To demonstrate PSC’s commitment to local and global sustainability To support interdepartmental collaborative projects between Academics, Student Life, and Facilities To increase opportunities for student engagement and place attachment

Sustainability programing on campus includes speakers, film series, and field trips to various locations around the region related to local food, energy, and community development. Most of these events are sponsored by the Center for Sustainability in collaboration with other campus departments. Sustainability speaker series includes climate activists, local activists working on sustainable food system development and/or authors. Field trips have recently included trips to regional conferences including the Adirondack Youth Climate Summit, North Country Food Justice Summit, Sustainability Day 2019. Also trips to local farms such as North Country Creamery and Asgaard Farm Kidding Day.

Paul Smith's Colleges Science, Art, and Music Festival is held every spring at the Paul Smith's College VIC. Over the past 7 years, this event has greatly impacted our on campus community but also our off campus community. Each year, a different scientific theme is chosen and scientists and artists explore this theme and communicate complex scientific topics, the first year the theme was climate change, and even though the theme changes every year, climate change is still a central issue at this event. The goal of this one day annual festival is to raise awareness throughout the North Country that climate change is already affecting people and ecosystems in this region. This event showcases some of many the ways in which the Paul Smith's College community blends the arts and sciences in the service of education, outreach, and the development of a sense of place at a time of historic environmental change. The festival opens with a half-mile "Walk for Science", where participants display signs, dress up, and march in support of science. The event itself includes TEDstyle talks by students and faculty about climate-related topics are interspersed with similarly themed musical performances, film, and poetry by students, faculty, alumni, and others from the region. Climate-Adirondack themed paintings and drawings by PSC students, faculty and Saranac Lake artists will be displayed and traditional folk arts including basketry, woodworking, and maple sugaring are also featured. Scientists use the arts to help convey their messages, and the artists ground their work in the context of scientific evidence that highlights the importance of climate to Adirondack cultures and ecosystems. This unique alliance of science and the arts to increase awareness of the connections between people, land, and climate here is intended to show that economic, environmental, and cultural aspects of this region are not separate and conflicting entities but part of a sustainable whole. https://www.paulsmiths.edu/sam-fest/

The Paul Smith’s College Outing Program is run by current students & employees. It was founded in 1949 and has been operating ever since! Trips are open to all members of the college campus. Trips are scheduled throughout the semester for a variety of activities and abilities. Programs include things like hiking, canoeing, whitewater rafting, cultural city visits, national park trips, rock climbing, skiing/snowboarding, and nature walks. Trip suggestions are appreciated! All activities are run with the “challenge by choice” model and we hope we can inspire students to challenge themselves and try out something new!

The Osgood Pond Semester is a living-learning community at Paul Smith’s College that believes in simple and holistic living. The idea began in 2014, when a group of students voiced that they wanted to live a less cluttered and materialist life while at PSC. Thus, the Osgood Pond Semester was born. "At Osgood, we believe in simplicity. We believe in working with and being mindful stewards of the earth. During the semester, students live in Lambert House, have the opportunity to camp in a Mongolian yurt, design personal projects to enhance our community, practice primitive skills, and tend Osgood Farm. Our mission is to build a sustainable community through hard work and our most renewable source of energy—ourselves."

3-5 Student Employees are hired to work in the Center for Campus Sustainability Annually. Student employees focus on a variety of topics including Farm to Table, Energy Conservation, Sustainability Grant Organizing, and Materials Management. Students work closely with their Campus Sustainability Coordinator to develop and implement programs and projects addressing specific areas of interested related to Sustainability at Paul Smith's College.