Page 8 - newsletter-v3.pptx

The'Water'Resources' IniOaOve' (WRI) " at" Skidmore" College" br ings" together" students," f a c u l t y , " a nd" c ommun i t y" partners"to"inves?gate"our"local" watershed." " Through" courses" and" research," WRI" helps" us" beRer" understand" the" mul?ple" perspec?ves"that"inﬂuence"how" we" interact" with" our" water" resources" on" both" a" local" and" global" scale." " The" ES" Capstone" focuses" on" issues" within" the" Saratoga"Lake"/"Kayaderosseras" Watershed."

The Environmental Studies class of 2012 was one of our largest. With modest mentoring from Professors Karen Kellogg and Josh Ness, 24 students completing 12 fascinating projects on a variety of themes.

The intersections of Green Architecture and Green Business were explored by Trisha Carile and Ian Bain. The implementation of Green policy , at local and state levels, was explored by Kelly McDonnell and Will Moseley, and Sam Glickman and Drew Levinson, respectively.

Tessa Leverone and Olivia Berry linked fluctuations in the meta-population in a local endangered species to habitat characteristics and climatic variation. Paige Reeves and Sarah Hunter explored the toxicology of herbicides as perceived by aquatic organisms, and demonstrated that experimental exposure to copper sulfate (the algicide used for Loughberry Lake) altered the metabolism and lifespan of aquatic snails, leeches, and dragonflies.

Two teams took diverging approaches to evaluating solar power as an energy source. Rachel Chalat and Leandra Cooper examined the technological and financial feasibility of solar installations for the Sports Center and the Van Lennep Riding Center, whereas Pia Ruisi-Beasares and Peter McInerney produced bio-ethanol by culturing native algae on a diet of wastewater effluent. Jackie Slocombe, Roz Freeman and Eva Fillion took a third approach to solar power; they quantified how much carbon sequestration occurs annually in the 200 forested acres recently donated to the College.

Three capstones teams explored the potential for forests and wilderness spaces to act as resources for environmental education . This theme was one component of the work by Slocombe, Freeman and Fillion (see above); they evaluated the educational and recreational value of the newly donated landscape and offered recommendations to balance effective use and preservation of property. Adam Schmelkin and Charlie Glassberg interviewed stakeholders and fostered a community dialogue regarding Skidmore’s North Woods , and that consultation informed recommendations to promote the long-term preservation of the forest and balance individual use, scholarly use, and potential development plans. Sara Velardi and Adam Cohen analyzed thirteen local elementary schools to explore the relative importance of adjacent landscapes, school resources, and teachers’ initiative as drivers influencing the inclusion of outdoor experience in science lessons.

Two capstone projects focused on greening the minds and bodies at Skidmore. Will Dowling evaluated the desire of the College community to pursue a CSA ( Community Supported Agriculture )- style agreement with local farmers. Gordon MacPherson and Alex Ethier focused on environmental messaging . They worked with student artists to create a campus-wide photo installation to raise awareness of College sustainability initiatives and produced two radio stories to measure the power of narrative in engaging and educating listeners.

- Josh Ness

Skidmore Supported Agriculture: Bringing More Local Food to the Skidmore College Community

The current industrial agriculture system in the US has damaged the environment and distanced people from their food and farms. The organic and local food movements have arisen in response. Through programs such as Community Supported Agriculture, people are gaining access to wholesome, local food while reconnecting with their food and communities. This project seeks to provide the benefits of this service to the greater Skidmore community.

SEQRA: The Construction of Effective Change

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation is process of creating a set of proposed revisions to the documents associated with the New York State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA). We conducted a stakeholder analysis to evaluate the effectiveness of the SEQRA process. We then compared our findings with the proposed revisions to determine if these changes are addressing the identified inadequacies within the SEQRA process.

The Homeowner's Guide to Green Building

Buildings in the US are responsible for a significant fraction of our overall water consumption, energy use, greenhouse gas emissions, and waste production. By combining new interview data with data from a previous capstone project, we identified several persistent challenges to increasing green building in Saratoga County, including costs and client awareness. In response, we created an online sourcebook of regional green building techniques and products for homeowners.

The Gift That Keeps on Giving: Skidmore College's New Land Skidmore College recently received a gift of 200 acres of forest just north of the College’s riding stables. We investigated the educa-tional and recreational value of the new land, estimated the carbon sequestration capacity of the forest within the context of the greenhouse emissions by the College, and explored whether peer colleges have comparable forests (and, if so, how they use them). We offer recommendations to balance effective use and preservation.