Sustainable Living at Wellesley

Sustainable Move-In/Move-Out

The one thing better
Than a waste-less move-out is
A buy-less move-in.
–R. Ely

 Sustainable Move-In and Move-Out has become Wellesley’s annual tradition since the spring of 2010.

Every year in May, the Office of Sustainability puts out large orange bins in each residence hall for students to donate their belonging that they no longer need or cannot bring home with them. The donated items are then resold to students at the beginning of the fall semester, at an event commonly known as the “rummage sale,” at prices lower than their retail costs. Items include containers, furniture, refrigerators, lamps, hangers, electronics, books, bags, toys, school supplies, home décor, kitchen supplies, and more.

All profits from the event are put into sustainability projects on campus, and the items not resold are donated to charities in the area, such as the Big Brother Big Sister Foundation and Rosie’s Place in Boston. 7,360 pounds of clothing were donated to the Big Brother Big Sister Foundation in 2010, and 14,563 pounds of clothing were donated in 2011.

It is not only a great opportunity to save money on dorm items, especially for first years, but also a great way to reduce unnecessary waste and consumption, become more environmentally conscious, and make the Wellesley community more sustainable.

Bike Share Program

Wellesley College has launched a new bike share program on September 12, 2012. This program allows students to borrow bikes with no cost, and has become an example of sustainable transportation on campus.

The bikes can be picked up and returned in the parking garage near the Wellesley College Police Station. Students must fill out a release form and activate their OneCard at the police station. Once they are entered in the database, students can take the bikes out for use on and off campus, for 24 hours at a time.

The self-serve bike repair station for personal bikes has also been installed at the garage space, benefitting students who have been riding their own bikes as well.

The idea of bike sharing originated from the Outing Club’s Revolution pink bike program. Under the old program, the Outing Club took bikes that people no longer wanted and marked them with pink ribbons so that people in the community could use them. The students made a proporsal to the Sustainable Advisory Committee, received a grant from The Class of 1957 Green Fund, and launched On Bike Share’s bike share program.

Wellesley College officially became Green Power Partner at a ceremony on September 4, 2012. The Town of Wellesley is one of the first communities in the nation with all of its institutions of higher education (Babson College, Massachusetts Bay Community College/Wellesley Campus, and Wellesley College) named Green Power Partners by the Environmental Policy Agency (EPA).

Questions about the program or sign-up should be directed to sustainabilitywc@wellesley.edu.

Environmental Studies

Environmental Studies is an interdisciplinary program offered at Wellesley College. Through coursework, field trips, internships, and directed research, students develop the knowledge and skills needed to address various contemporary environmental issues, such as the biodiversity crisis, the collapse of oceanic fisheries, toxic waste disposal, global climate change, green building design, and the inequities and causes of environmental degradation. The department also works closely with the college administration and student organizations to promote sustainability on campus.

Major and Minor

Because of the interdisciplinary nature of environmental issues, the program draws upon courses from multiple departments. Each student will choose electives in consultation with her advisor to help focus her studies on an issue or approach that interests her.

Environmental Studies Major Requirements

There are three components to the 10-course major

1. Three core courses:

• ES 101: Fundamentals of Environmental Science with Laboratory
• ES 102: Environment and Society: Addressing Climate Change
• ES 300: Environmental Decisionmaking

2. One course in each of these categories provides breadth:

• Science: ES 201 or BISC 201 or ES 220
• Social Science: ES 214 or ECON 228 (which requires ECON 101 as a prerequisite)
• Humanities: ES 203 or ES 207 or ES 215 or ES 299 or PHIL 233

3. Four electives from ES courses and the list of courses for credit toward the major, at least two of which must be at the 300 level. Only one elective at the 100-level elective may count towards the minimum requirement of four elective courses (students are encouraged to take more than four electives). ES 350 courses may not be used to fulfill the minimum requirement that two electives be at the 300-level.

Environmental Studies Minor Requirements

There are three components to the 5-course minor

1. Core course:

• ES 101: Fundamentals of Environmental Science with Laboratory OR
• ES 102: Environment and Society: Addressing Climate Change

2. One course in each of these categories provides breadth:

• Science: ES 201 or BISC 201 or ES 220
• Social Science: ES 214 or ECON 228 (which requires ECON 101 as a prerequisite)
• Humanities: ES 203 or ES 207 or ES 215 or ES 299 or PHIL 233

3. One elective from ES courses or the list of courses for credit toward the major:

• ES 300 may be chosen as the elective
• Courses taken at MIT, Olin College, Babson College, and Brandeis University may be counted as credit for your Wellesley College ES major. Be sure to consult with your advisor or the ES director before enrollment to determine how courses at these schools will be counted towards your Wellesley degree.
• Students may count no more than one course taken away from Wellesley towards the environmental studies minor.
• AP credit in Environmental Science cannot be used to replace any Environmental Studies requirements.

To see the list of ES courses and courses for credit toward the major/minor, click: http://new.wellesley.edu/environmentalstudies/curriculum/courses

Courses from Away

• Courses taken at MIT, Olin College, Babson College, and Brandeis University may be counted as credit for your Wellesley College ES major. Be sure to consult with your advisor or the ES director before enrollment to determine how courses at these schools will be counted towards your Wellesley degree.
• Students may count no more than one course taken away from Wellesley towards the environmental studies minor.
• AP credit in Environmental Science cannot be used to replace any Environmental Studies requirements.

Sustainability Certificate Program

Sustainability Certificate Program is a tri-campus program of Wellesley, Olin, and Babson Colleges. It integrates business, engineering, and the liberal arts in the service of environmental sustainability, and provides students with the cross-disciplinary academic preparation and the cross-campus cultural collaboration experiences needed to approach environmental issues holistically.

Requirements

There are three components to the 6-course certificate program:

1. Introductory Course (SUST 201: Introduction to Sustainability)

2. Synthesis Course (SUST 301: Sustainability Synthesis)

3. Four electives from the list of Courses for Credit Toward the Certificate Program.

Those four electives must include one course in each of the three disciplines – business, engineering, and the liberal arts – and must include a course taken at each one of the three institutions.

For more information about program admission and course of study, contact Professor DeSombre at edesombr@wellesley.edu.

For detailed information about courses offered at Olin and Babson College, visit their course catalogues: https://fusionmx.babson.edu/CourseListing/index.cfm?fuseaction=CourseListing.CourseCatalog

http://star.olin.edu/StudentRecords.cfm

Clubs and Organizations at Wellesley

You can also raise awareness about environmental issues and sustainability by becoming part of various clubs and organizations at Wellesley.

SCOOP

Scoop is Wellesley’s only sustainable living cooperative. Members of the co-op live in a consciously sustainable and thoughtful manner, by growing and cooking food for themselves, educating the community on the environmental and sustainability issues, working to bring sustainable action and understanding within and outside of Wellesley community.

Links:
http://wellesleyscoop.tumblr.com/
https://www.facebook.com/wcscoop
https://twitter.com/WellesleySCoOP

WEED (Wellelsey Energy and Environmental Defense)

WEED promotes and enhances environmentally friendly practices on campus, coordinates a standardized recycling program, addresses campus environmental issues in order to lessen Wellesley’s impact on the environment, and seeks out to bring about changes in Wellesley’s environmental policy. It also coordinates a number of campus wide events and demonstrations, hosts a month long inter-dorm competition, and invites speakers onto campus.

Link:
http://cs.wellesley.edu/~weed/home.html

REGENERATION FARM

Regeneration is a farm started and maintained by Wellesley College students, in an effort to farm organically, advocate food justice, and raise awareness about sustainable agriculture in the community.

Links:
http://regenerationfarm.tumblr.com/
http://www.facebook.com/regenerationfarm
https://twitter.com/WCRegenFarm