How to get from place A to place B may seem like a mundane consideration, but a panel hosted by the Office of Sustainability asked the Bowdoin community to approach choices about transportation more critically.
The panel, “Wheels in Motion: Exploring Transportation for a Sustainable Future,” was the second in a series of sustainability-focused panel discussions organized by the Office of Sustainability’s Civic Engagement team.
Environmental conservation appears a simple enough concept until one must reconcile it with other considerations like development, justice for Indigenous lands and the economic interests of Americans whose income stems from the depletion of natural resources.
Last Friday, members of the Bowdoin community gathered in a bustling Smith Union for the Blueberry Extravaganza. The event intended to educate students about pollination, sustainability, general wellness and, of course, blueberries—one of Maine’s most important crops.
On Monday afternoon, President Clayton Rose announced the College’s “Sustainable Bowdoin 2042” plan in a message to the campus community. The plan aims to transition the College to entirely clean energy over the next two decades.
Last week, the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) recognized Bowdoin in the organization’s annual Sustainable Campus Index. The College received a gold Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS) rating.
As established by the Sustainable Campus index, STARS is a robust and widely-used system by higher education institutions.
The Bowdoin Sustainability Office is building on its work from last semester to promote environmental awareness and sustainable practices in an extraordinary campus environment. COVID-19 guidelines restricting in-person dining and large gatherings have created new challenges for the office in reducing waste, organizing programming and spreading its messaging to the student body.