Spring 2013 Events
Invited Speaker: David Gessner
Thursday, February 28th, 4:30PM, Location TBA
Author of “My Green Manifesto” and “The Tarball Chronicles,” will speak to students. This event is co-sponsored by the the Writers@Drew Program and ESS.
Invited Speaker: Karl Jacoby
Tuesday, March 19th, 4:30PM, Location TBA
Jacoby is author of “Crimes against Nature: Squatters, Poachers, Thieves and the Hidden History of Conservation,” and “Shadows at Dawn: A Borderlands Massacres and the Violence of History.” The presentation is co-sponsored by the Humanities program and ESS.
Fall 2012 Events
FAIR FEST 2012!
Thursday, December 6th, 7:00-9:30PM, Crawford Hall in the EC
Free catered food from local shops and restaurants! Free Fair Trade coffee and tea! Free Fair Trade chocolate! There will also be craft/ornament making activities, an open mic space for all those who want to show off their talents and a performance by All of the Above! Sponsored by Students for Sustainable Food (SFSF).
Evening of Food Justice with CATA
Monday, December 3rd, 6:00PM, McLendon Main Lounge
Oraganizers and activists from CATA (farm workers support committee) are coming to discuss the Agricultural Justice and how Drew Students can get involved. There will be FREE fair trade coffee and cookies for all who attend! Sponsored by Students for Sustainable Food (SFSF).
“Sourlands” – Film Screening
Wednesday, November 28th, 7:00PM, Hall of Sciences 4
Free film screening and pizza – sponsored by Drew Sustainability Office, DEAL, ESS and Eco Reps. Learn about stories in the fight for sustainability in NJ.
GIS Day
Wednesday, November 14th, 3:30-4:30PM, EC
Come learn about GIS and GPS, and participate in a campus-wide geocaching experience. Faculty, staff, and students are invited.
ReStart: Sponsored by Earth House, Art Club, and DEAL
Saturday, October 27th, 1:00-5:00PM, Hoyt Lawn
Come hang out and make art out of recycled materials and listen to live music. Food will be provided for those who participate. Feel free to bring any recycled objects (furniture, bottles, cardboard, sheets, etc.).
FOOD DAY: Sponsored by Students for Sustainable Food (SFSF)
Wednesday, October 24th, 8:00PM, McLendon Main Lounge
Food Myth Busters Screening, Pizza, and so much more!!!
Environmental Experiences and Opportunities
Tuesday, October 23rd, 7:00-8:15PM, HS 244
Come hear Drew students speak about internships, research, and international experiences.
Environmental Studies and Sustainability Major – Info Session
Monday, October 22nd, 4:30-5:30PM, BC 101
Meet and greet faculty and other interested students; get the inside scoop on spring courses and the major.
State of the Planet Conference
Thursday, October 11th, 9:00AM, Columbia University
Join fellow ESS students on a trip to New York for the annual State of the Planet Conference.
Food Systems Working Group
Thursday, October 4th, 4:00PM, EC 145
The food systems working group is a project of the University Sustainability Committee. It is tasked with implementing the Real Food Campus Commitment. The working group meets monthly. Stop by or contact Sarah Wald if you are interested in participating.
Spring 2012 Events
“Crude Impact” – ESS Film Series
Monday, February 6th, 4:30PM, Hall of Sciences 4 (HSC4)
“Crude Impact” is an award-winning documentary film that explores the interconnection between human domination of the planet and the discovery and use of oil.
ESS Information Session
Friday, March 23 12:00 noon, Hall of Sciences Room 3 (HSC3)
Come and learn about the ESS program from current students, faculty and staff. Pizza will be served!
“Small Farm Rising” – ESS Film Series
Wednesday, March 28, LC 28, 5:30PM
Right now, in our back yards, a new generation of farmers are redefining agriculture in America. Small, modern, sustainable and rooted in the community, these local farms are in the forefront of a movement growing across the nation. A family owned and operated farm produces award-winning goat milk cheeses; a farm powered solely by horses provides members with a full diet year-round; and two youthful entrepreneurs run an organic vegetable farm.
Small Farm Rising invites you to explore the sustainable practices, creative business models and deep connections to the communities of these three small farms in the shadow of the Adirondack Mountains. Experience one full growing season through the eyes of first-generation farmers as they enrich and enliven their rural environments.
Question and answer session to follow with the film’s Director and Cinematographer, Ben Stechschulte, husband of Professor Rebecca Soderholm (Art: Photography).
Fair Fest
Thursday, March 29, Baldwin Basement, 6:00 – 8:00pm
Learn what “fair trade” goods are and enjoy fair trade snacks and the musical stylings of Drew’s a cappella singing groups, On a Different Note and All of the Above. You’ll also have the chance to purchase crafts made by Drew student artisans. Hosted by Students for Sustainable Food.
DEAL Presents a Stream Monitoring Workshop
Friday, March 30, McLendon Conference Room 116, 1:00 – 3:00pm
Have you ever wondered how our rivers and streams are monitored? Well now you can learn! Become a volunteer monitor by learning how to perform a visual stream assessment! We will use the pond at Zuck Arboretum as our case study. Please RSVP to DEAL via email at [deal@drew.edu].
Volunteers Needed! Tree and Shrub Planting Day in the Zuck Arboretum
Saturday, March 31, Zuck Arboretum, 10:00am – 3:00pm,
Drop in any time between 10:00am and 3:00pm to help bring back native species and ecological diversity lost over the years to invasive vines and overabundant deer. Meet at the far corner of the baseball field at the Arboretum sign – just follow the sidewalk that curves around the outfield to find it.
ESS Film Series – “Call of Life”
Tuesday, April 3, 4:30pm, Hall of Sciences Room 4 (HSC4)
If current trends continue, scientists warn that within a few decades at least HALF of all plant and animal species on Earth will disappear forever. This is the first documentary to investigate the growing threat to Earth’s life support systems from this unprecedented loss of biodiversity. The film explores the causes, the scope, and the potential effects of the mass extinction, but also looks beyond the immediate causes of the crisis to consider how our cultural and economic systems, along with deep-seated psychological and behavioral patterns, have allowed this situation to develop, continue to reinforce it, and even determine our response to it.
Fern Fest
Friday, April 20, Mid-day, in front of the Ehinger Center
Join students, faculty and staff in this annual planting event. Get your hands dirty helping plant native flora outside the new Ehinger Center to restore ecological diversity to our university in the forest! Drop in any time starting mid-day and wear clothing suitable for serious gardening.
Fall 2011 Events
SEPTEMBER
“The Garden” – ESS Film Series
Wednesday, September 21st, 7:00pm, HSC 4
Introduced by Dr. Sarah Wald
The fourteen-acre community garden at 41st and Alameda in South Central Los Angeles is the largest of its kind in the United States. Started as a form of healing after the devastating L.A. riots in 1992, the South Central Farmers have since created a miracle in one of the country’s most blighted neighborhoods. Growing their own food. Feeding their families. Creating a community. But now, bulldozers are poised to level their 14-acre oasis. The Garden follows the plight of the farmers, from the tilled soil of this urban farm to the polished marble of City Hall. Mostly immigrants from Latin America, from countries where they feared for their lives if they were to speak out, we watch them organize, fight back, and demand answers. If everyone told you nothing more could be done, would you give up?
“Crude: The Real Price of Oil” – ESS Film Series
Thursday, Sept 8th, 7:00-9:00PM, Springfield Public Library, 66 Mountain Ave., Springfield, NJ, 07081
“Crude: The Real Price of Oil” provides an inside look at the infamous $27 billion “Amazon Chernobyl” case. The plaintiffs claim that Texaco – which merged with Chevron in 2001 – spent three decades systematically contaminating one of the most bio-diverse regions on earth, poisoning the water, air and land. The plaintiffs allege that the pollution has created a “death zone” in an area the size of Rhode Island, resulting in increased rates of cancer, leukemia, birth defects, and a multiplicity of other health problems. They further allege that the oil operations in the region contributed to the destruction of indigenous peoples and irrevocably impacted their traditional way of life. Chevron vociferously fights the claims, charging that the case is a complete fabrication, perpetrated by “environmental con men” who are seeking to line their pockets with the company’s billions.
The screening and discussion will be facilitated by Sarah Wald, Andrew W. Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow in English and Environmental Studies and Sustainability at Drew University.
This screening was made possible by the New Jersey Council for the Humanities, a state partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities or the New Jersey Council for the Humanities.
Tree Dedication Ceremony Honoring Dr. Fred Curtis
Monday, September 26th, 4:15pm, Lewis House
The University Sustainability Committee invites you to join us on Monday September 26th at 4:15pm in front of Lewis House as we dedicate a Sugar Maple in recognition of Professor Fred Curtis’s contributions to sustainability at Drew University. Following years of work to establish a University Sustainability Committee, Professor Curtis served as its inaugural chair. While Professor Curtis will remain on the Sustainability Committee, he recently stepped down as chair. Under his leadership, Drew University has made great strides to increase its sustainability. Thanks to his hard work and dedication Drew University now has a Climate Action Plan and is pursuing carbon neutrality.
OCTOBER
“Fresh” – ESS Film Series
Monday, October 3rd, 4:30pm, HSC 4
Introduced by Dr. Nancy Noguera
FRESH celebrates the farmers, thinkers and business people across America who are re-inventing our food system. Each has witnessed the rapid transformation of our agriculture into an industrial model, and confronted the consequences: food contamination, environmental pollution, depletion of natural resources, and morbid obesity. Forging healthier, sustainable alternatives, they offer a practical vision for a future of our food and our planet.
Among several main characters, FRESH features urban farmer and activist, Will Allen, the recipient of MacArthur’s 2008 Genius Award; sustainable farmer and entrepreneur, Joel Salatin, made famous by Michael Pollan’s book, The Omnivore’s Dilemma; and supermarket owner, David Ball, challenging our Wal-Mart dominated economy.
Guest Lecture: Dr. Marion Nestle
Wednesday, October 5, 12:00-2:00pm, Location TBA
Dr. Nestle is the Paulette Goddard Professor in the Department of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health (the department she chaired from 1988-2003) and Professor of Sociology at New York University. She is the author of “Food Politics: How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition and Health” and “Safe Food: THe Politics of Food Safety.”
“Mann vs. Ford” – ESS Film Series
Thursday, October 6, 5:00pm, HSC4
Produced by Jamie Redford, the stepson of Drew Alumnus George Burrill (CLA ’65), “Mann vs. Ford” chronicles the Native American Ramapough people’s battle against the toxic legacy of the Ford Motor Co., right here in New Jersey. A question and answer session with co-producer and director, Micah Fink, will follow the screening. Pizza will be served.
Visit the HBO web site for a synopsis of the film.
Environmental Studies and Sustainability Student Information Session
Tuesday, October 18, 4:30pm, BC 120
If you’ve had questions or have been considering picking up Environmental Studies and Sustainability (ESS) as a major or minor, this is the place to be. Join current ESS majors, minors and faculty members in a discussion about the ESS program and their experiences with internships and other learning opportunities. Pizza provided.
Guest Lecture: Melvin Visser, “The Dirty Dozen Pollutants: Forgotten, but not Gone”
Thursday, October 20, 4:30pm, HSC4
In the 1960s eagles, pelicans, and other wildlife mysteriously disappeared. Because of wildlife damage or suspected human carcinogenicity the “dirty dozen” persistent organic pollutants (POPs,) PCBs and chlorinated pesticides, were banned in the 1970s and 80s. Research in the 1990s found these chemicals to be endocrine disruptors and immune system suppressors. They remain in our environment at unhealthy concentrations. Toxaphene, the pesticide that replaced DDT, causes Lake Superior’s Lake Trout to be North America’s most toxic fish. Their “edible flesh” would be called hazardous waste if it was dirt in any developed country. Our response to this continuing poisoning has been to stop assaying for toxaphene in foods and eliminate its mention from fish consumption guidelines. Continuing use in developing countries, the POPs source to our waters, remains unaddressed while we waste billions addressing residuals in sediments and landfills. Policy approaches need drastic change as we deal with a world we have made economically flat and environmentally warped.
Melvin J. Visser is the author of Cold, Clear, and Deadly: Unraveling a toxic legacy (Michigan State University Press.) Mel comes to Drew University from the International Joint Commission meeting (Oct. 12-14) where he proposed changes in PCB remediation policy and fish consumption advisories. See his web site, coldclearanddeadly.com.
Food Week Events
Faculty, Student and Community Panel on the State of Our Food
Tuesday, October 25, 7:00 – 8:30pm, Mead Hall – Founders Room
A panel discussion about food justice, the environmental impact of food production, what Drew community members are doing, and how we fit into the national food movement.
GROW! Documentary Screening
Wednesday, October 26, 7:00 pm, McLendon Main Lounge
A new film highlighting the next generation of young farmers in Georgia and what sustainable food means to them.
Students for Sustainable Food Open Meeting
Thursday, October 27, 9:30pm, Baldwin Basement
Open to everyone! Come hear what students are already doing on campus and join the campus food movement!
CHOPPED!
Friday, October 28, 12:30pm, Upstairs in the Commons
Student cooking competition featuring local, organic, and humane ingredients courtesy of the Commons Dining Hall.
Student Garden Work Day
Friday, October 28, 2:00 – 4:30 pm
Student Presentation on Summer Research and Internships
Monday, October 24, 6:30pm, HSC4
Students will give brief presentations about their summer experiences.
NOVEMBER
New Jersey Landscape Photography Exhibit
November 7-December 2, Rose Memorial Library Exhibit Space
Three outstanding NJ photographers will exhibit photographs of New Jersey ecosystems. A related panel discussion on environmental policy and conservation will take place on Thursday, November 17 (see the description below for details).
GIS Day
Wednesday, November 16, 11:00am – 1:00pm, Writing Center (across from the Brothers College Café)
Come and explore projects by students, faculty, and staff using Geographic Information Systems technology to map everything from historic Black Methodist churches to the human impact on the world’s oceans. Enjoy light refreshments and talk with GIS Day participants.
Protecting the Land: Environmental Conservation and Policy in New Jersey
Thursday, November 17, 4:30pm, Brothers College 201
Join our panel of experts in discussing New Jersey natural resource conservation in the context of public policy and advocacy. Julia Somers, Executive Director of the NJ Highlands Coalition and Carleton Montgomery, Executive Director of the Pinelands Preservation Alliance will answer your questions, provide insight and enumerate the challenges to New Jersey’s culture of conservation. Join us for this important, informative event!
Mountaintop Removal Road Show – To Be Rescheduled!
Date, Time and Location TBA
In West Virginia and Kentucky coal companies blast as much as 600 feet off the top of the Appalachian Mountains, then dump rock and debris into mountain streams. Over 300,000 acres of the most beautiful and productive hardwood forests in America have been turned into barren grasslands.
Mountaintop removal mining impoverishes the Appalachian people as it increases flooding, contaminates drinking water supplies, cracks the foundations of nearby homes, and showers nearby towns with dust.
In West Virginia, student activists are actively confronting the destruction by climbing trees next to the mine site – coal companies are prevented by law from blasting the mountain when people are nearby.
The Mountaintop Removal Road Show features a beautiful and thought-provoking multimedia show. Kentucky environmental activist Dave Cooper will explain what it is like to live near a mountaintop removal mine, and Squirrel Bracken will talk about her 30-day tree sit this summer.