Trinity College (CT)
EN-3: Student Life

Green Campus is a student group focused on campus-wide sustainability initiatives. The group is focused on increasing sustainability among students on campus by increasing composting and recycling and hosting several educational and fun events including the annual GreenFest.

Trinity Environmental and Climate Justice (TEACJ) is working to reduce environmental and climate injustice both on campus and in the city of Hartford in collaboration with Trinity partners.

Garden Groupies work on neighborhood clean-ups, as well as on- and off-campus gardening projects.

The Trinity Community Garden is an urban community garden located on Broad Street between Vernon Street and Allen Place, started by Trinity College. Its aim is to strengthen the relationship between the college and the Hartford community. This project provides Hartford families with food security by providing them access to nutritious foods at a reasonable price and by promoting healthy practices. Throughout the summer families grew squash, tomatoes, beans and other types of produce. We are currently planning to add more raised beds to the garden to increase our growing capacity. We also plan to add more of an aesthetic appeal to garden so that it can serve as a centerpiece for the surrounding community.

The Coop is a student-run thrift store located in the basement of the Wheaton Dorm. Items left behind by students in the spring are collected by volunteers and re-sold in the store. Proceeds are used to fund the store and the rest is given to charity.

The Underground Coffeehouse - the Underground is attuned to the college’s sustainability efforts; it serves free-trade Omar coffee and composts the coffee grounds. It also offers bring-your-own-mug discounts and promotes the use of in-house, washable mugs. The staff members recycle everything they can in the college’s single-stream recycling program.

"Trinity College Student Investment Fund. Founded in 1966 and rebranded in 2022, the Trinity College Student Investment Fund is an elite student-managed fund organized at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut. The fund holds multiple functions as we manage $700,000 of Trinity’s endowment with an additional emphasis on member education. The fund operates as a buy-side management firm and through mentoring, career advice, and education we aim to provide members with the tools for success in a range of financial careers. Utilizing our Bloomberg Financial Research & Technology Center we enhance members’ aptitude in investing and applying fundamental skills.

Our members begin their experience as an analyst in the Investment Fund branch within Alternative Investments, Domestic Equities, ESG, International Equities, and Fixed Income. Each group is led by a fellow student who holds weekly meetings. Each group is responsible for monitoring the performance of their market positions, identifying new opportunities, and providing buy/hold/sell recommendations. https://tcsif.domains.trincoll.edu/

Practical Sustainability talk with a representative from the Connecticut Sierra Club and CT League of Conservation Voters who spoke about the best ways for students to live mores sustainably and get involved in state level environmental politics.

An Environmental Justice Documentary Screening and Discussion featuring the student filmmaker, a UConn professor, and a Trinity professor discussing environmental justice and how students can be more involved in combatting injustice.

Environmental Advocacy Panel featuring the CT League of Conservation Voters and the CT House Majority Leader discussing environmental bills currently in the state house and how students can make their voices heard.

As part of the Nature and Brain Health course, there was a Fredrick Law Olmsted exhibit in the Mather Hall art space. New science and diverse perspectives have emerged on the role that urban places and wild spaces play in our physical and mental wellbeing. An approximately biweekly series of expert presentations linked history, emerging science and public policy in the context of current Olmsted's appreciation for the immersive and restorative properties of nature.

Trinity Colleges outdoor program is called Quest and we follow the LNT ethics of outdoor travel and living. Quest stewards two parcels:

Caleb’s Peak area on the Appalachian Trail – 2mile stretch from River Rd. to Skiff Mountain Road, where we work with the Appalachian Mountain Club volunteer committee to maintain the trail. We do trail work, clean-ups and help maintain this stretch.
We also steward the Berlin Land Trust’s Alice Fern Bruce Preserve in Berlin, CT. We do similar work closer to campus.

Our first-year seminars are small, discussion-rich classes where students and their professor engage one another and wrestle intellectually with a topic. Driven by a faculty member’s passion for a subject, the seminars cultivate curiosity, introducing first-year students to academic habits of mind. Students practice critical reading and analysis, use writing as a mode of learning, and develop essential skills in research and documentation. The intimacy of a first-year seminar prepares students for becoming active participants in their own learning, fostering the capacity to communicate effectively and collaboratively. Students rank their first year seminar selections and can select from sustainability themed courses such as: "Sustainable Life," "Describing Nature," and "Water Comes and Water Goes."

Eco-Reps are student leaders dedicated to furthering Trinity’s sustainability goals by promoting ways for all members of the Trinity community to adopt more environmentally and socially responsible behaviors.
Eco-Reps are tasked with promoting sustainable practices at Trinity College and encouraging responsible behavior throughout the whole Trinity community. Students are involved in a variety of initiatives ranging from waste and recycling to sustainable food practices, environmental literacy, energy conservation, transportation, and more.