Spring 2006 Colloquia
Choose one of the following links for a specific lecture series

Download Fall Schedule for Evening and Lunch Speakers (PDF)

Hollis Lectures in Environmental Studies

Environmental Studies Evening Colloquium Series

Environmental Studies Lunchtime Colloquium Series

Other Related Events

Requirements for the Senior Colloquium in Environmental Studies

February 8
Noon in the Fairchild Room in Dana
4:00 pm in Olin 335
Round River Conservation Studies On Campus

Round River Conservation Studies, is a non-profit conservation research and education organization. Round River specializes in working with local, indigenous communities to develop and implement landscape-scale conservation strategies using conservation biology, while additionally providing opportunities to train local biologists and small groups of 5 to 8 undergraduate students. Participating students receive college credit while attending these programs. A representative from Round River will be on campus Wednesday, February 8 to speak about research opportunities for undergraduate students in Namibia, Ecuador, and British Columbia. Nicole Nielsen-Pincus will offer a presentation from Noon to 1:00pm in the Fairchild Room in Dana, and a second presentation from 4 to 5pm in Olin Room 335. Students from all majors with an interest in conservation and traveling and studying abroad are encouraged to attend.
If you are interested but unable to attend at that time, Doug Milek, program director with Round River, can be reached at dougmilek@roundriver.org or 801-694-3321.

March 2
4:00 pm in Olin 234
Learn Organic Agriculture in Maine through the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association's FARM APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM

Information session with Andrew Marshall, Education Director

An informal, experimental education program that connects people wanting to learn organic farming with experienced farmers willing to share their expertise. The typical arrangement involves an exchange of labor for room, board, a stipend, and intensive training and experience in farming. Apprenticeships provide opportunities for training in the following:
-Organic vegetable, herb, and flower production at many different scales
-Marketing techniques, including Community Supported Agriculture
-Raising cattle, goats, sheep, horses, pigs, and poultry
-Using draft animals for cultivation and woods work
-Homesteading skills: housebuilding, food preservation, alternative energy
-Dairy farming and cheesemaking with cows, goats, or sheep
-Maple sugaring, orchard pruning, cider pressing, and meat processing
-Seed saving
-Making value-added products with farm resources
-Grass-based and intensive rotational grazing farm systems

For more information, visit www.mofga.org/apprinfo.html or come to the March 2 info session.

March 7-10
Sponsored by the Goldfarb Center with additional support for Dr. Gupta's visit is provided by the Environmental Studies Program

Dr. Anil Gupta, a professor at the Indian Institute of Management, has developed an international reputation for his work in discovering, encouraging, and supporting "green" grassroots innovators and inventors as a means of creating fair and sustainable progress.

Dr. Gupta's workshop at Colby will focus on his experience in the development of a global initiative to strengthen the capacity of grassroots-level innovators and inventors engaged in conserving biodiversity to (a) protect their intellectual property rights, (b) experiment to add value to their knowledge, and (c) enrich their cultural and institutional basis of dealing with nature and modern science.

Workshop participants will travel to various locations in Maine to talk to local innovators committed to conserving biodiversity and developing eco-friendly solutions to local problems.

UNIT 1: TUESDAY, MARCH 7. Departing by 9:00am and returning by 2:00pm. Two Loons Farm, China.

UNIT 2: WEDNESDAY, MARCH 8. Departing by 9:00am and returning by 2:00pm. Mineral Springs Mushroom Farm, Newport.

UNIT 3: THURSDAY, MARCH 9. Meeting at 9:00am and departing afterward; returning by 2:00pm. MOFGA Headquarters, Thorndike.

UNIT 4: FRIDAY, MARCH 10. Departing by 8:00am and returning for dinner at Colby. Four Season Farm, Harborside, and Dennis King, Penobscot.

Sunday, March 12
7:30 pm in Olin 1
School of the Americas Teach-in

Seven Colby students attended the School of the Americas (SOA) conference/protest this past November. They have put together a brief introduction on the history of the SOA and protester rights, as well as filmed and edited a short documentary from their experience. Professor Lesley Gill will be the featured speaker. Professor Gill teaches anthropology at American University. She has conducted research in Latin America for many years. Her most recent book is the School of the Americas: Military Training and Political Violence in the Americas (Duke). The School of the Americas (SOA), in 2001 renamed the "Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation," is a combat training school for Latin American soldiers, located at Fort Benning, Georgia. The students of the SOA have been major actors in many of the human rights abuses in Latin America. Please come to learn more about the SOA and its implications for Latin America.

Saturday, May 6
8:00 am - 3:45 pm
Energy Management Forum

On Saturday, May 6 the Environmental Studies Program and the Goldfarb Center for Civic Engagement and Public Affairs hosted an Energy Management Forum for teams from area high schools and middle schools to help young people cultivate responsible attitudes toward energy use. Jennifer Andersen from the Natural Resources Council of Maine kicked off the event with information and activities teaching students how to advocate for green energy. Peter Zack and Jeremy DuBois from the Maine Energy Education Program then led the students through hands on lessons that illustrated the effects of energy consumption on the environment and made the connection to global climate change. ES students and members of the Green House toured students through our model dorm room and talked with the students about leading a sustainable lifestyle. Each team shared an energy project that they had been working on -- including a solar car! This event was made possible by generous funding from the Kendall Foundation.

Wednesday, May 10
5:30 - 7:00 pm in the Parker-Reed Room of the Alumni Center
ES End of the Year Celebration Dinner

Join fellow ES students and faculty for our third annual end of the year dinner celebration, hosted by the ES Club.

1. Participants in this course are required to attend six of the scheduled presentations each semester. A minimum of three of these presentations each semester must be part of the Environmental Studies Evening Forum series.

2. For each of the six presentations attended, a typed, summary of and reflection on the presentation is required (normally in the neighborhood of 500 words).

This summary should include, a) the title of the presentation, b) the speaker's name and affiliation, c) a description of the main points of the talk including, e.g., the nature of the problem under study, the objectives of the research, the results, and possible conclusions or directions for further study and (d) a brief reaction to the talk. Were there parts of the talk you disagreed with? Why? Were there parts that you found particularly valuable? Why?

3. The reflective summaries are due to Professor Tietenberg by 5:00 PM Friday following the presentation.

4. Summaries found to be cogent and to satisfy the criteria outlined in #2 above will be assigned a grade of "PASS". Summaries that are deficient and fail to satisfy the criteria outlined on #2 above will be assigned a grade of "FAIL".

5. Six summaries with the grade of "PASS" must be completed each semester in order to successfully complete ES 401-2. Participants will receive one credit upon successfully completing both the fall and spring courses.

6. Students in this course will also be involved in helping faculty to host speakers during their visits to Colby. When possible small group dinners will be set up to provide informal opportunities for discussions of contemporary environmental issues with the speakers.

For events and lectures from previous semesters click here