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Upcoming ES Events: The Future is in the Dirt; Lunch with Island Institute staffer; Amphibians and Multiple Stressors; Upcoming events
Around Campus: Plastic Ocean, Captain Charles Moore; Environmental Education volunteers needed; Earth Week events
Beyond Campus: MCHT Land Trust Conference- full scholarships available for students; Food Studies Interdisciplinary Conference; NRCM Earth Day event on solar panels; Food First/Institute for Food and Development policy summer trip
In the News: Monsanto Threatens to sue VT; Ticks warm up to Maine's mild spring
Scholarships, fellowships, graduate opportunities: EPA fellowship
Jobs and Internships: Land use internship (MA); Program Assistant Casco Bay Estuary Project (ME); Environmental Educator (ME); Kennebec Land Trust summer internships (ME); Environmental Defense Fund summer internship (DC); International Food Policy internship (DC)
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Upcoming ES Events
The Future is in the Dirt: Digging into the Potential for local food systems to revitalize community and economy
Ben Hewitt, Farmer and author
Tuesday, April 10
7:00 pm, Page Commons, Pulver
For more information
***Counts towards 402
Lunch/lecture with Nick Battista, Director of Marine Programs for the Island Institute
Nick will be visiting Prof. McClenachan's Marine Conservation and Policy class on Tuesday morning and there will be a lunch in the Bullock Room that students are welcome to attend. Students are also invited to sit in on his class lecture. Please email Prof. McClenachan if you are interested in either, lemcclen@colby.edu
Class- Diamond 223, 9:30-10:45
Lunch- Bullock Room, 12:15
Amphibians and Multiple Stressors
Megan Gahl, Visiting Prof., Bates College
Wednesday, April 11
11:30 lunch, 12:00 lecture, Fairchild
For more information
***Counts towards 402
Upcoming events
Final ES Lecture for Spring 2012
Rabbi Michael Cohen
"The Environment as a Bridge to Peace in the Middle East"
Tuesday, April 24, 7pm, Olin 1
Colby Undergraduate Research Symposium
April 25-27
Come hear this years ES honors students present the results of their thesis research! It is a great opportunity to support your peers and also see what opportunities lie ahead for you.
Stay tuned for more details!
http://www.colby.edu/sturesearch/ressymposium/
Around Campus
Do you love kids? The environment? Maybe both? We want YOU!
On Friday April 13th, seventh graders from Waterville will be coming to campus to learn about the environment and the impact we can have on it. ED316 students have planned a day of educational games and activities, but we need your help. Volunteer for an hour or two-- not only is this a chance to give back to our Maine community and play some games, but free tshirts and good Friday-the-13th-karma will also be included! To sign up or ask questions contact Adele at arpriest@colby.edu
Plastic Ocean: How a Sea Captain's Chance Discovery Launched a Determined Quest to Save the World's Oceans
Thursday, April 12, 4pm
Ostrove Auditorium, Diamond
Captain Charles Moore was on a return voyage from Hawaii after testing a new mast in the Transpacific Yacht Race when he began to notice scraps of trash floating by every time he came on deck. His now famous discovery led Moore to become a scientist-activist investigating what others had passed over -- the "confetti" created from our floating plastic discards by ultraviolet sunlight and the turbulent waters of a salty sea.
Earth Week Events Coming Up
Events coming up as part of the Earth Week celebration include: Campus Consciousness Tour, a trash audit, tours of Colby's biomass plant, local foods cooking event, a natural history walk, garden and work party, removal of invasive species from the arboretum, Camp Out for the Climate, Earth fair and maybe even a tree planting. Stay tuned for details.
A shout out to EnviroCo for coming up with a great schedule, special kuddos to Erin Love and Avery Beck!
Beyond Campus
Maine Land Conservation Conference- Full scholarships available for students (Great networking opportunity!- President of MCHT is a Colby ES alum) Maine Coast Heritage Trust is again hosting the Maine Land Conservation Conference on Saturday, April 28th in Topsham. This conference is attended by over 400 people interested in land conservation, and includes over 30 workshops and presentations. A generous donor has offered to pay for the registration (which includes lunch) of students from any Maine college or university, and we hope that you can spread the word about the Conference and this offer. Complete information about the conference can be found here: http://www.mltn.org/meetings/conservation-conference.php To register, contact Donna Bissett at dbissett@mcht.org, who will provide the students with a code to receive free registration.
FOOD STUDIES: AN INTERDISCIPLINARY CONFERENCE
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL, USA
Thursday & Friday, 10/4-5
This conference will address contemporary food challenges from interdisciplinary perspectives by exploring new possibilities for sustainable food production and human nutrition. The aim is to consider the dimensions of a 'new green revolution' that will meet our human needs in a more effective, equitable and sustainable way in the twenty-first century. Proposals: We welcome presentation proposals which range from broad explorations of theoretical, methodological and policy questions, to proposals which present finely grained evidence of the connections of economics, public health, government and community practices, sociological, medical and educational perspectives of food in our societies. Presenters will have the option to submit to be published in the refereed 'Food Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal.' For full submission and registration details, including an online proposal submission form, please visit the conference website. http://Food-Studies.com/conference
NRCM Solar Panel Event
Ever think about “Going Solar” and no longer paying CMP every month for pesky, polluting kilowatt-hours? Join in the celebration and learn some things too, as the Natural Resources Council of Maine unveils its new solar-powered, electricity-producing “photovoltaic” array. This free public event will take place on Friday April 20, 2012 from 12:30-1:30 in Augusta at NRCM’s offices on 3 Wade Street. We’ll provide some tasty desserts and beverages, and present a talk by ReVision Energy about how solar energy can work for you. Register online at http://supporters.nrcm.org/site/Calendar?id=101041&view=Detail or contact Leisa at 430-0111 or leisa@nrcm.org
Join Food First/the Institute for Food and Development Policy
to examine the social and ecological impacts of climate change in the Andes. This delegation will take you through diverse agro-ecological zones of Bolivia (altiplano; Lake Titicaca; subtropical "yungas" and inter-Andean valleys), to meet with climate change experts, agro-ecologists, activists and peasant farmers. Highlights include: an excursion to the tropical glacier Huayna Potosí, the largest source of drinking water and hydroeloctricity for the city of La Paz; a homestay with farming and fishing families on the shores of Lake Titicaca; and hike through spectacular coca terraces of the traditional coca-growing region.
Dates: July 21 – August 1, 2012
Cost: $2350*
*Scholarships available for qualified applicants on a first-come, first-served basis
For more info, see:
http://www.foodsovereigntytours.org/international-tours/bolivia/bolivia-and-climate-change/
In the News
Monsanto Threatens to Sue Vermont if Legislators Pass bill requiring GMO food labeling
http://www.alternet.org/food/154855/monsanto_threatens_to_sue_vermont_if_legislators_pass_a_bill_requiring_gmo_food_to_be_labeled/?page=entire
Ticks warm up to Maine's mild spring
http://www.pressherald.com/news/ticks-warm-up-to-maines-mild-spring_2012-04-09.html
Scholarships, Fellowships, and Graduate School Opportunities
RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP - ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (EPA), ARLINGTON, VA
Successful candidates will have an interdisciplinary background or interest in a wide variety of natural/environmental sciences, including aquatic ecosystems, urban systems and planning, water resources, land use change, climate change, etc.; strong analytic capabilities, particularly in spatial analysis of large datasets within a GIS environment; strong interest in applying GIS tools to a variety of global change assessments; interest in GIS scripting and tool development, for example using Python; excellent communication skills including cartography. The work is highly interdisciplinary and interactive with applicability to EPA and other agency programs. We are looking for a highly motivated individual with excellent skills in geography, urban planning, environmental science, natural resources, or related fields. For details on the ORISE fellowship, see: http://orise.orau.gov/epa/description.aspx?JobId=1200
Jobs and Internships
SMART GROWTH LAND USE AND ENVIRONMENTAL INTERN - METROPOLITAN AREA PLANNING COUNCIL (MAPC), BOSTON
For details, see: http://tinyurl.com/d33yjd6
Casco Bay Estuary Partnership Seeks Tidal Barrier Assessment Program Assistant
http://www.cascobay.usm.maine.edu/employment.html
Georges River Land Trust / Medomak Valley Land Trust Environmental Educator
The Georges River Land Trust (GRLT) and Medomak Valley Land Trust (MVLT) are currently seeking an Environmental Educator for Summer 2012. This is an AmeriCorps/ Maine Conservation Corps-administered position and applicants are required to apply through this program. The Environmental Educator will be assigned to several project areas, splitting time between both organizations. While with the Georges River Land Trust, the Environmental Educator will help maintain the Georges Highland Path, a 40-mile, low-impact hiking trail, coordinate volunteers across all GRLT conservation programs, and assist with community education and outreach activities and events. Specifically, this includes: • Georges Highland Path: Perform routine trail maintenance, lead school and community service groups on trail work projects, organize and participate in natural resource-based educational activities for children and adults. • Volunteer Coordination: Assist with volunteer recruitment across all GRLT programmatic areas, and communicate with volunteers regarding opportunities, activities, and events. • Education and Outreach: enhance current outreach methods (print, web, social media), and plan and participate in GRLT activities and events. The Environmental Educator will work with Medomak Valley Land Trust to raise awareness of the Medomak River through education programs, stewardship projects, and a partnership with the Alewife Enhancement project. Specifically, this includes: • Alewife Count: Coordinate volunteer activities, fish count schedule, community presentations, outreach and field visits. • Summer Trail Project: Recruit volunteers, create work schedule, and participate in trail work days. • River Festival: Recruit volunteers, coordinate children’s educational activities, coordinate the 5k race, and oversee registration for the market and conservation fair. The schedule for the Environmental Educator will be: • May - Alewife Count coordination (MVLT) • June - Alewife Count coordination (MVLT); Trail work/volunteer coordination (GRLT) • July - Trail work/volunteer coordination (GRLT) • Aug - Trail work/outreach (GRLT); One-week trail project (MVLT) • Sept - River Festival coordination (MVLT); Trail work/volunteer coordination (GRLT) • Oct - Trail work/outreach (GRLT) Requirements • Four-year college degree (environmental) or equivalent experience. • Demonstrated ability to manage multiple projects, track details essential to project completion, analyze information for its relevance and impact and meet deadlines. • Demonstrated ability to perform tasks independently as well as part of a cooperative team. • Willingness to work outdoors in all weather conditions, requiring good physical condition. • Skilled use a variety of hand tools (saws, loppers, hammer, etc.). • Ability to deal enthusiastically and responsibly with supporters and volunteers. • Interest in performing community service. • Display a non-judgmental attitude and sensitivity to others. • Strong oral and written communication skills. • Computer skills including Internet and Microsoft Office software package. • Personal transportation for travel within the state of Maine. For more information on the AmeriCorps/Maine Conservation Corps program, or to obtain application materials for this Environmental Educator position, visit http://www.maine.gov/doc/parks/mcc/smeevl.html. You may also request information or an application from Georges River Land Trust (207-594-5166; info@grlt.org) or Medomak Valley Land Trust (207-832-5570; mvlt@midcoast.com).
Kennebec Land Trust Summer Internships
Spring through Fall 2012 (Extended) KLT is seeking summer interns to work on trail maintenance and construction, surveying, invasive plant control, educational programming, and general office work such as writing press releases and sending out mailings. Interested applicants should be willing to learn basic plant identification skills, be able to perform physically demanding field work, be comfortable multi-tasking in the office, and have an interest in land conservation. Independent Research Opportunities: In addition to our Summer Internship Program, KLT provides opportunities for students to conduct independent research focused on wildlife and plant ecology, land use history, and conservation and resource management. This summer we are specifically looking for students to conduct studies focused on 1) the social, agricultural, and land use patterns of a historic Town Farm in Readfield, Maine 2) the ecological functions and characteristics of mature growth forests 3) the economic and conservation benefits of a local woods market. In addition to these topics, we welcome other project proposals. Students’ studies have the potential to enhance KLT’s educational offerings, and to inform property management plans and our Strategic Conservation Plan. KLT will help students frame research questions and identify properties on which to conduct research. We ask that students work with an advisor from their college or university on their independent projects, and that they submit a final report to KLT upon completion of their summer research. Rate of pay: Internships with KLT are unpaid. Interns and students conducting independent research projects are encouraged to apply for grant funding or work study funds from their college or university to compensate their time with KLT. KLT will provide mileage at IRS rate for summer interns. Housing is not provided. KLT supervision: Theresa Kerchner, Executive Director, Kennebec Land Trust Justin Schlawin, Conservation Assistant, Kennebec Land Trust Hours: Flexible hours; 25-40 hours a week; May/June-August; some weeks will consist of more work hours than others. Qualifications: • minimum of one year of college, with preference to students working towards degrees in education, environmental science, biology, land surveying or related degree (or equivalent experience); other majors will be considered • ability to work independently and as part of a team • strong organizational and time management skills • ability to perform moderately strenuous manual labor • comfortable working outside • valid drivers license To apply: Please send a cover letter, resume, and list of two references to the address below by April 28, 2012. Both academic and prior work references are accepted. For additional information please contact: Theresa Kerchner, Executive Director PO Box 261 Winthrop, Maine 04364 207-377-2848 tkerchner@tklt.org www.tklt.org
Environmental Defense Fund Opportunities
Internship in membership and activism
http://www.edf.org/jobs/intern-membership-and-activism
Outreach Coordinator- Good Foods Movement
http://www.edf.org/jobs/outreach-coordinator-edf-goods-movement-program
Many other positions listed at their offices around the country, take a look!
International Food Policy Research Institute Summer internship
http://www.ifpri.org/careers
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