Stories about "Sustainability"
Spring at Bates (No. 2): It’s Commencement, time for the annual annual plantings around campus

Wednesday, May 25, 2022 12:46 pm

Aided by seniors keen on making the campus look great for their graduation, the Bates grounds crew plants annuals here and there, including an iconic Commencement location.

Ecorep Tamsin Stringer ’22 of Bloomington, Ind., poses at the new electric charger stations behind Underhill in the Merrill Gym parking lot.“Underhill Electric Vehicle Chargers Project “Bates has installed other EV chargers in the past. This project will be different for three primary reasons. First, we have already received a grant from CMP for the make-ready infrastructure portion of the project, which has historically been the bulk of the expenses for EV charger installations. Secondly, this project will include installing level 2 chargers for the first time at Bates, which will allow for monetary collections for charging, tiered charging for different kinds of customers, and incentivize to move one’s car once it's fully charged. Finally, this project allows for future EV charger installations in the same location for much lower cost, because the make-ready infrastructure for more EV chargers will be easily accessible.
Bates College announces plan to become climate positive by 2030

Wednesday, March 16, 2022 10:04 am

Meeting the goals of the Bates Sustainability Roadmap will "touch and enrich our lives here on campus," said President Clayton Spencer, while also furthering the college's stated mission of "to prepare leaders with a commitment to responsible stewardship of the wider world."

“We’re at the Bates Garden and we’re doing something different this year, which is just cultivating a third of the garden with butternut squash and cherry tomatoes. The rest we’re just leaving to cover crop so we’ve planted oats and peas, and that will keep the weeds down amd also put a lot of organic material back into the soil.What we’ve also done differently is we’ve let a lot of stuff become wildflowers, and it’s really neat. It’s the most insect life I think I’ve ever seen in the garden. So we’re thinking about doing that going forward.The butternut squash we’re growing because it basically takes care of itself. Aaprt from Hermione, whose been volunteering every weekin the garden, we don’t have any paid student gardeners this year.This year we’ll probably send the cherry tomatoes to dining. A lot of the squash we’re going to send to St. Mary’s Food Bank.”Tom Twist, Sustainability ManagerFacility Servicesν “It’s just cool spending time with Tom and gardening. Quarantining can be kind of isolating so it’s nice to be out here and do some physical work, something that’s physical in the garden. And it’s nice to see them grow that fast. And we’ve got berries down there as well: strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries. And apple trees.”Environmental studies major Hermione Zhou '21 of Shenzhen, ChinaTom says: “The blackberries are wild. Everything else we put in.” And they’ll be picking them too!
How’s Bates doing in sustainability? The answer is Gold

Friday, November 19, 2021 9:13 am

One of 10 "Top Performer"s in the country, Bates earned a Gold rating for excellence in sustainability performance from an international benchmarking organization.

Slideshow: Students’ dazzling Trashion Show outfits — and a professor

Wednesday, November 17, 2021 12:21 pm

Introducing the creative teams of the 2021 Trashion Show, including a Bates professor modeling COVID lounge wear made from face coverings.

Ecorep Tamsin Stringer ’22 of Bloomington, Ind., poses at the new electric charger stations behind Underhill in the Merrill Gym parking lot.“Underhill Electric Vehicle Chargers Project “Bates has installed other EV chargers in the past. This project will be different for three primary reasons. First, we have already received a grant from CMP for the make-ready infrastructure portion of the project, which has historically been the bulk of the expenses for EV charger installations. Secondly, this project will include installing level 2 chargers for the first time at Bates, which will allow for monetary collections for charging, tiered charging for different kinds of customers, and incentivize to move one’s car once it's fully charged. Finally, this project allows for future EV charger installations in the same location for much lower cost, because the make-ready infrastructure for more EV chargers will be easily accessible.
Student energy puts a charge into new electric-vehicle stations

Thursday, November 11, 2021 2:07 pm

One finding from a Bates survey on electric vehicle use gave Tamsin Stringer '22 a jolt: Bates needed more EV plugins, so she set out to help.

Video: It’s go time for the Bates ginkgo tree

Wednesday, November 10, 2021 3:54 pm

“I had a feeling that today would be the day,” said Emma Christman ’22, a biology and geology double major who stopped to watch the ginkgo’s bright yellow leaves cascade to the ground. “It’s cold enough.”

Otis Lecturer Winona LaDuke: ‘You need to make a choice between two paths’

Friday, November 5, 2021 10:47 am

What do hemp, centuries old squash seeds, and a lake of carefully tended wild rice have in common? The future, according to environmentalist, economist, writer, and activist Winona LaDuke.

Bates bio students join greenhouse-gas project to help squelch the bovine belch

Tuesday, June 8, 2021 2:14 pm

In partnership with a Maine research lab, an innovative Bates biology course gives students up-close experience with cows and dung — all in service to a project to reduce greenhouse gas.

Zoe Knauss '23 of Buffalo, N.Y., who will declare as an ES major, and ES major Sam Gilman '22 of Mendham, N.J., , dig for soil in a field.Prof of Environmental Studies and Christian A. Johnson Prof of Interdisc Studies Holly Ewing and Lecturer in Environmental Studies & Learning Associate in Environmental Studies Camille Parrish take students in the Soils/Lab course for a field trip to Pettengill Farm in Freeport, Maine. A nineteenth century salt-water farm on the estuary of the Harraseeket River, the farm is owned by Freeport Historical Society(FHS). It includes a saltbox house (ca. 1800) on 140 acres of fields, woods, antique apple orchards and salt marsh. Most interesting are the etchings (sgraffitti) found on the plaster walls in the upper chambers of ships, sea monsters, longboats and animals. The farmhouse remains without plumbing, central heat and electricity and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Mildred Pettengill was its last resident and lived in the house until 1970.The students are digging up soil and making observations (soil profiles) before putting it back where it came from.ENVR 310 - Soils/LabDepending on one's point of view, soils are geological units, ecosystems, the foundation of plant life, a place for microbes to live, building material, or just dirt. This course takes a scientific perspective and explores the genesis of soils, their distribution and characteristics, and their interaction with plants. Field studies emphasize description of soils, inferences about soil formation, and placement within a landscape context. Labs investigate the chemistry of soils and their role in forestry and agriculture.
Picture story: “Thankful to get off campus and my hands dirty”

Thursday, October 8, 2020 4:01 pm

Follow along as Bates environmental studies students go off campus and dig into the science of dirt at a stunning coastal Maine site.

Slideshow: See how students’ internships become life-guiding forces

Tuesday, August 18, 2020 12:30 pm

From studying the diets of sea urchins to working with Lewiston's immigrant communities, Bates students forged their way into the world this summer with Bates-funded internships.

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