The Environmental Studies (ES) program at Colby is one of the oldest in the country. From understanding climate change to preventing biodiversity loss and unsustainable use of natural resources, environmental challenges are a national and international priority. Our students and faculty are active locally, nationally, and internationally in studying and helping to solve these challenges. ES is one of the fastest-growing programs at Colby and we offer a diverse interdisciplinary curriculum. Our gateway and senior capstone courses are national models. Books and articles authored by Colby faculty are used around the world. We have received major funding from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the National Science Foundation, and many other sources to support our initiatives. Colby was one of the first colleges in the nation to purchase 100 percent of its electricity from renewable energy sources, and we are committed to the goal of carbon neutrality. Our nationally recognized program has won awards from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the State of Maine in recognition of our commitment to environmental sustainability as reflected in our innovative project-based curriculum and for enabling our students to engage with environmental challenges at Colby, in Maine, and around the world. Recent examples of student-led initiatives include establishing an organic garden, developing a climate change action plan for the campus and the local community, and raising awareness at the state and federal levels about the dangers of using hazardous chemicals in personal care products and children’s toys.
The Environmental Studies program offers interdisciplinary majors in environmental policy, in environmental science, and in environmental computation as well as a minor in environmental studies that can be elected by majors in any discipline. Each ES major provides a broad-based course of study and prepares graduates to understand and to address the many complex environmental challenges facing our country and the world.
The interdisciplinary Environmental Policy major provides a broad, interdisciplinary approach to the study of environmental policy at national and international levels. Students combine a foundation course in environmental studies with courses in environmental economics, domestic environmental policy and law, international environmental politics, and courses in environmental science. Diverse electives allow students to explore topics from introductory Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to endangered spe¬cies policy to environmental and human health. Students complete the Environmental Policy Practicum capstone seminar in the senior year. Recent capstone projects have examined environmental issues in Maine from ocean energy to lakes (see: http://wiki.colby.edu/display/stateofmaine2010 for examples) and helped to pass one of the first state laws in the country to protect children from toxic substances.
The Environmental Science major offers an introduction to national and global environmental issues and the opportunity to focus on science and the scientific basis for policy. This interdisciplinary major also begins with a foundation course in environmental studies and is followed by core courses in environmental economics, ecology, chemistry or physics, geology or GIS, and mathematics. Students select a focus area to explore in depth. Current focus areas include conservation biology, marine science, environmental chemistry, and environmental geology. Many of these focus area courses have significant field components. Students can also propose well-structured alternative focus areas. The senior capstone seminar provides a hands-on approach to environmental science research. Students, acting as an environmental consulting firm, collaborate with the Maine Department of Environmental Protection and lake association members to investigate the impacts of land use patterns on a local lake chosen each year (see: www.colby.edu/biology/BI493/BioLakeStudies.htm).
This major provides an introduction to environmental studies as a discipline as well as training in computational techniques used in environmental policy and science. Students begin with the foundation course in environmental studies followed by core courses in ecology and environmental economics. Additional courses in environmental studies and computer science, and a senior project enable students to become familiar with quantitative tools used to investigate environmental problems, especially GIS and remote sensing.
The ES minor may be elected by majors from other departments and consists of seven courses. After an introductory foundation course, students choose a two-course couplet from a selection in both the social and natural sciences and two courses from a selection complementing their area of interest.
Each year environmental studies students take advantage of Colby’s January Term to explore field study courses, conduct independent research or group research projects on or off campus, or undertake an internship with a scientist, company, nonprofit organization, or government agency. The ES Program provides a limited number of stipends to assist students in undertaking approved environmental studies internships.
Environmental studies students participate in study abroad programs all over the world. Recently, we have had students studying in or returning from Namibia, Denmark, Australia, Botswana, Tanzania, Madagascar, Switzerland, and many other locations. Colby also maintains affiliate status with the School for Field Studies. Our faculty assist students to identify study abroad programs that complement their academic goals (see: www.colby.edu/environ/beyond/notable.html.
Colby places considerable emphasis on integrating student research into the curriculum. Our foundation course in environmental studies (ES118) includes a significant research component, and the senior capstone courses (ES493/ES494) facilitate semester-long independent research. ES students participate in research in many of our courses in addition to honors projects, independent projects, and senior scholar projects. Many ES students participate in the annual Colby Undergraduate Research Symposium. Summer and academic-year research assistantships enable students to work with faculty on specific environmental research projects. The ES Program is also affiliated with the Goldfarb Center for Public Affairs and Civic Engagement, an innovative initiative designed to engage students and faculty in projects in the local, state, national, and international communities where they study (see: www.colby.edu/goldfarbcenter).
Colby’s ES Program Coordinator and program faculty help students to match internship opportunities to individual academic programs. Stipends from the ES Program and the College are available to support these opportunities. For more information on internship opportunities see: www.colby.edu/environ/intern/.
Colby is a national leader in campus sustainability and recently committed to reaching carbon neutrality by 2015. Our students are some of the most active on campus and provide leadership on environmental issues through groups like the Environmental Studies Club, the Environmental Coalition and the Organic Garden Club. Colby has an active Environmental Advisory Group that was formed by President William Adams to advise him on issues associated with campus sustainability. Members of the Environmental Studies Program (both students and faculty) are active members of this committee and participants in Green Colby initiatives. (For more information see: www.colby.edu/green). Colby is building a biomass boiler to replace over one million gallons of oil with sustainably harvested wood each year as part of our carbon neutrality goals.
The entire Mayflower Hill campus has been designated as a State Wildlife Management Area. The 128-acre Perkins Arboretum is a designated wildlife sanctuary. The College also owns the Colby-Marston Preserve in the Belgrade Lakes area, a 34–acre tract containing a kettle-hole bog, which has been classified as a Registered Natural Landmark by the US Department of the Interior. Students have access to excellent, well-equipped laboratory and GIS facilities in the science complex and in the Diamond Building. Please see: www.colby.edu/academics_cs/gis/.
Major corporations, federal and state agencies, private and public organizations, educators, and consulting and legal firms employ our ES graduates. Our majors provide students with the necessary background to succeed at elite graduate programs, and approximately 70 percent of Colby graduates eventually undertake graduate study.
Steve White
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