Sierra Magazine has awarded Bowdoin an honorable mention for being one of America's most environmentally conscientious colleges.
The magazine, published by the Sierra Club, issued its first-ever ranking of "cool colleges" in its November/December installment.
Bowdoin was one of eight schools to receive an honorable mention. Two of Bowdoin's NESCAC rivals cracked the top ten rankings, with Middlebury College taking sixth place and Tufts University earning eighth-place honors. The country's most environmentally responsible college, according to the magazine, is Oberlin College in Ohio.
Keisha Payson, the coordinator of Sustainable Bowdoin, said she hopes that by strengthening the College's reputation as an environmental beacon, the Sierra Magazine honor will prompt more Bowdoin students to exercise environmentally conscientious behavior.
"I feel that the College has been doing a lot over the past couple years to garner that honor," she said. "That said, there's always more to do...I'd love to see us move up that ladder."
Payson said waste output remains an issue at Bowdoin. She said that while students have been improving their recycling habits, the volume of waste the College produces has risen.