Swarthmore College
EN-3: Student Life

1. Animal Allies Club This club is focused on bringing attention to animal rights issues and injustices and strive to combat them through awareness and animal rights advocacy. They screen animal rights films, hold discussions, encourage animal-related volunteering, and provide individuals with informative resources to guide them to lead a more animal-friendly lifestyle. 2. Bird Club A club devoted to the recreational observation of wild birds, primarily in the Crum Woods. Other planned activities include guest speakers and field trips outside the Swarthmore area. 3. Chester Youth Gardening Cooperative To help overcome the serious barriers to fresh food access that exist in the Chester by promoting sustainable food cultivation and preparation as cornerstones of healthy living. Participants in the cooperative have the opportunity to develop gardening and entrepreneurship skills which may help them to obtain and succeed in jobs in the future, and will allow them to take a central role in creating positive change in their community. 4. Earthlust Started in the 1970s, Earthlust is the oldest environmental club on campus. It often functions as the facilitator group or umbrella organization for the other environmental groups on campus, known collectively as ""ecosphere."" Earthlust meets to discuss how we can support other Ecosphere clubs in their endeavors as well as brainstorms new ways to engage with students on environmental issues. Of late we have pushed conversations of how social justice can be incorporated into our focus. Past activities include organizing student participation at the NYC People's Climate March and pushing for Tenured Track faculty in Environmental Studies. 5. E,A,T (Enjoy, Appreciate, Taste) E,A,T (Enjoy, Appreciate, Taste) is a diverse community that promotes the exchange and understanding of different cultures through cooking and eating. We also provide a platform for discussions on the politics, history and science implicated in the production, circulation and consumption of food. With an emphasis on the multiple aspects of food, we also provide a space for students to share and learn from each other's concepts of home through their cooking and dining experiences.       6. Garnet Go Green Student-athletes, coaches, and staff from the Swarthmore College Department of Athletics are working together to reduce the environmental impact of the Garnet athletics programs. The purpose of the Garnet Go Green initiative is to ensure that the Swarthmore College Department of Athletics is doing its part to become more sustainable and environmentally friendly. 7. The Good Food Project The Good Food Project provides a space on campus for students to explore and discuss issues surrounding food production and consumption. We run a student garden on campus, bee hives, and host Swarthmore's annual Meat Day. 8. Mountain Justice A group of students, faculty, and alumni calling on the Swarthmore Board of Managers to divest our endowment from fossil fuels and reinvest in just and sustainable solutions to the climate crisis. 9. Outsiders Outsiders Outing Club is dedicated to giving Swarthmore students across all class years and experience levels the opportunity to explore the outdoors through a wide array of activities, including climbing, hiking and backpacking. 10. Power Push Earthlust and Mountain Justice co-created a project, Power Push: Growing a National Movement for Climate Justice, with aims to connect current Swarthmore students to the growing national student movement and to allow them to serve as visionaries for that movement. The strategies encompassed within Power Push include: building regional networks by connecting with student climate justice activists at nearby campuses, participating in resistance on the front lines of extraction, supporting campaigns to de-finance the industry, and lobbying for regulation of the industry. 11. Serenity Soular Serenity Soular is an initiative of Sustainable Serenity, a coalition of groups and individuals concerned with the preservation and sustainability of North Philadelphia in the face of decades of disinvestment.  Sustainable Serenity is a think tank~act tank rooted in North Philadelphia, and involves allies from the broader Philadelphia region, including institutions of higher education, local churches, and nonprofit organizations. It's goals are to a) make solar affordable for low-income households b) Train North Philadelphia residents for solar jobs (in the process) c) Grow new solar jobs in North Philadelphia

1. The Good Food Project: This group provides a space for students to explore and discuss issues surrounding food production and consumption. We run a student garden on campus, bee hives, and host Swarthmore's annual Meat Day. 2.  Chester Youth Gardening Cooperative: To help overcome the serious barriers to fresh food access that exist in the Chester by promoting sustainable food cultivation and preparation as cornerstones of healthy living. Participants in the cooperative have the opportunity to develop gardening and entrepreneurship skills which may help them to obtain and succeed in jobs in the future, and will allow them to take a central role in creating positive change in their community. 3. Scott Arboretum Community Garden: College owned garden on which plots of land are open to members of the Swarthmore township community. 4. CSA Partnership with RedEarth: partnership with RedEarth farm in which College staff and faculty can purchase shares and receive harvest from the farm. 

Serenity Soular is an initiative of Sustainable Serenity, a coalition of groups and individuals concerned with the preservation and sustainability of North Philadelphia in the face of decades of disinvestment. It is a non-profit enterprise that is a  collaborative effort made up of Swarthmore students, a professor, N. Phila community members as well as a solar non profit organization- REvolv, based in San Francisco. Serenity Soular addresses the compounding threats of gentrification, food deserts, joblessness, housing deterioration, and climate change. To do so, Sustainable Serenity has several main goals and functions: 1. Host community discussions on various topics of social and environmental sustainability. 2. Maintain a community garden. And specific to the Serenity Soular: 3. Make solar affordable for low-income households 4. Train North Philadelphia residents for solar jobs 5. Grow new solar jobs in North Philadelphia. It has so far been successful with several community projects: creating a community garden, employing two community members trained and hired by a solar company, installing solar panels on the roof of the Serenity House (community house in North Philadelphia). It is currently training two more "solar apprentices" and working to solarize a church near the community house. 

Green Initiatives Fund: The GIF was created by the Swarthmore College Sustainability Committee to provide a means for members of the Swarthmore College community (students, staff, faculty and alumni) to initiate projects on campus that contribute to the College’s environmental sustainability. Carbon Charge Fund: The Carbon Charge fund is comprised of a small percentage fee charged on each academic department. It first started in 2016, bringing in  $300k, and will be used for renewable energy installations, energy efficiency upgrades, improved metering, reductions in energy consumption, and education initiatives. Funding for particular projects will be decided on by a new Carbon Charge Committee. Both students and staff have been integral in the planning and implementation of this fund. GIF: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sustainability/green-initiatives-fund Carbon Charge Fund: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sustainability/swarthmore-carbon-charge-initiative

Speaker series and conferences are many and varied, here are a few from 2016: 1. UNFCCC/COP 22 Presentations from students and faculty that attended COP 22, open to campus community. 2. Speaker presentations organized by ENVS department , one by Sacoby Wilson- "The Use of Community Engagement and Citizen Science to Achieve Environmental Justice", another by Eli Clare, "Notes on Cure, Disability, Queerness and Natural Worlds". 3. A "Climate Change, Sustainability & The 2016 Election" panel, 4. A "Climate Change and Vulnerable Populations" panel.

Peterson Toscano visited Swarthmore in January 2017. Looking at the intersections of LGBTQ issues, faith, justice, and climate change, Peterson’s storytelling and facilitation helps bring people together to unearth shared values and concerns. Having straddled multiple worlds that have not always complimented each other, Peterson refocuses the conversation to the people behind the politics. As a character actor, he seamlessly transforms before your eyes, using comedy to take on serious issues.

Bird Club is devoted to the recreational observation of wild birds, primarily in the Crum Woods. Other planned activities include guest speakers and field trips outside the Swarthmore area. 

Green Advisors: The GAs are student workers of the Office of Sustainability who work to encourage sustainable lifestyles among all Swarthmore community members. The GAs facilitate environmentally-friendly behaviors in the residence halls, oversee the campus composting system, serve as liaisons to the Sustainability Guides program, host engaging and educational all-campus events, produce resources to inform the community about best practices, and generally serve as peer leaders. About 23 members. President's Sustainability Research Fellows (PSRF): The PSRF program is a collaboration between the President’s Office, the Office of Sustainability, the Environmental Studies Program, and the Lang Center for Civic and Social Responsibility, that fosters interdisciplinary collaboration throughout the institution. Students learn, lead, and innovate, and apply their knowledge to pressing campus sustainability needs while producing replicable solutions for our campus and beyond. 10 fellows.  Scott Arboretum and Grounds Interns: The Scott Arboretum is located on the Swarthmore campus. The education intern position offers unique work experience on to an individual (students and others) interested in a career in public horticulture. In addition to on-the-job training, the intern has opportunities to meet other professionals in the Philadelphia region, an area rich in public gardens, and to attend educational events at other institutions. This is a one-year appointment. Work activities include assisting the Educational Programs Coordinator with educational programming, special events, publications, interpretation, and volunteer interaction. GAs: www.swarthmore.edu/sustainability/green-advisors PSRF: www.swarthmore.edu/sustainability/presidents-sustainability-research-fellowship Scott Arboretum Interns: www.scottarboretum.org/programs/studentworker.html

1. Green Cleaning Workshop: Staff from the Scott Arboretum share a number of ways to reduce toxic chemicals around your house (and your watershed) by  creating green cleaning kits with/for participants. They make safe products as part of this annual educational experience in this hands-on workshop. This is open to and free for students. 2. Annual Crum Woods Tree Planting: for the past several years the College has been holding an annual tree planting event during freshmen orientation, in which students participate in tree planting in woods on the College campus. 3. United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Participation: for the past 3 years Swarthmore has sent a delegation usually consisting of about 4 students and 2 faculty (each year), to the UNFCCC Conference of Parties (COP) as observers, to learn about the negotiations. Almost always these observers have shared information in some way with campus community upon return. Green Cleaning Workshop (See March 2nd): http://www.scottarboretum.org/calendar/2016-03.html#clean UNFCCC Participation: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sustainability/un-conference-delegation