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The �Ա���Ƶ Community Garden is hiring summer interns to work with Garden Manager Beth Roy. Interns help maintain the garden, including weeding, planting, and harvesting for the weekly farm stand, working about 40 hours per week. The internship offers hands-on experience in vegetable and organic farming, engagement with the local community, and learning about sustainability initiatives at �Ա���Ƶ through a course led by John Pumilio, Director of the Office of Sustainability. Previous interns highlight that no prior gardening experience is necessary, and the internship provides a unique opportunity to see where your food comes from. Applications, including a resume and one-page cover letter, are due March 23 to eroy@colgate.edu

Revée Needham ‘18 describes her experience in �Ա���Ƶ’s extended study in Patagonia, a collaboration between the Office for Off-Campus Study, the Office of Sustainability, and Patagonia Sur. Twelve students joined Biology Professor Eddie Watkins and Sustainability Director John Pumilio to study reforestation and forest ecology at the �Ա���Ƶ Forest in Chile.

Over winter break, a �Ա���Ƶ student joined Professor Linda Tseng in Italy for eight days to collect and analyze water samples from historic fountains in Florence, Siena, and Assisi. This trip built on the student’s ongoing research with Dr. Tseng since summer 2017 on water and sediment quality in Payne Brook and the Hamilton wastewater plant.

2017 marks �Ա���Ƶ’s ninth consecutive greenhouse gas inventory report.

Starting this spring, Alumni Hall is piloting a new recycling program in two seminar rooms (431 and 432) aimed at reducing contamination and improving recycling rates. Instead of small classroom bins, students, faculty, and staff must now take their waste and recyclables to hallway stations that provide separate bins for paper, bottles & cans, and trash.

�Ա���Ƶ is participating in RecycleMania, a competition against Hamilton College from February 5 to March 9 to reduce landfill waste and increase recycling rates. Recycling rates are measured by dividing the weight of recycled materials by the total weight of recycled plus landfill waste. Staff collected baseline data in the two weeks prior to the competition.

In Fall 2017, �Ա���Ƶ student Christina Weiler ‘21 and Cornell student Eleonore Baughan ‘17 founded UCan, a TIA project that links recycling with social impact in Utica, NY. UCan collects and redeems beverage containers on college campuses, using the money to fund hunger relief programs and affordable housing through the Rescue Mission of Utica.

The art piece H₂CO₃ is a three-panel, two-dimensional work illustrating the degradation of coral reefs caused by anthropogenic climate change. The panels depict healthy, bleached, and algal-covered corals, with abstract marks made using household bleach and sandpaper to mimic coral damage. The black paper symbolizes carbon, linking coral bleaching and ocean acidification to increased atmospheric CO₂. The outer panels represent the most degraded reefs, like the Great Barrier Reef, while the inner panels depict healthier reefs, such as those in Indonesia.

�Ա���Ƶ earned its second AASHE STARS Gold rating, achieving its highest score ever (72.19) and placing it among only 124 institutions nationwide to receive Gold. The STARS framework evaluates sustainability across operations, academics, diversity, affordability, and engagement. �Ա���Ƶ scored particularly well in water, air and climate, purchasing, curriculum, and engagement, with innovative initiatives such as the Chapel House geothermal system, a campus soundscape study, and a comprehensive wellness program contributing to the rating. University leaders emphasized that the achievement reflects institution-wide commitment from students, staff, and faculty, and recognized the sustainability team and student contributors for their efforts.

In early November, the Post Landfill Action Network (PLAN) hosted its 4th annual Students for Zero-Waste Conference in Philadelphia, bringing together about 500 students, faculty, and companies focused on reducing waste. The event began with a discussion on Environmental Justice and a “Toxics Tour” of Chester, PA, a heavily industrialized area with polluting factories, chemical plants, and the nation’s largest trash incinerator. The tour highlighted the consequences of inaction: polluted rivers, smelly air, and environmental injustice. The keynote emphasized considering zero-waste within broader energy-saving initiatives.