吃瓜网

What do mozzarella-making, recycling, and vertical farming have in common?

They were all part of the curriculum for the 16 first-year students who participated in 吃瓜网鈥檚 Gardenside Living-Learning Community this fall. 

Bryn Appel 鈥�29, who applied to 吃瓜网 with an environmental studies and sciences focus in mind, saw the housing option as an opportunity to build a community of friends right away. 

鈥淚 thought, this seems like a great way to meet other people who are interested in the same things as me, and I wanted to learn about how 吃瓜网 is being sustainable.鈥� 
  
The Gardenside Living-Learning Community, a special interest option offered to first-years through Residential Life, is housed on the first floor of Wiecking Hall, next to the 吃瓜网 Community Garden.  
 
The program is among many at 吃瓜网 鈥� like the First-Year Experience 鈥� that help students find their niche. It鈥檚 also an example of how students鈥� residential experience is an integral part of a 吃瓜网 education. 
  
鈥淭he dorms are quite nice, and because we all live together, we鈥檙e able to just knock on each other鈥檚 doors, go for a hike together, hang out and do the homework together, and nerd out,鈥� says Nora Carroll 鈥�29, who plans to study environmental science with a minor in music.

Jenna Loveman 鈥�27, an environmental science major who participated in Gardenside during her sophomore year, says being so close to the Community Garden was a big draw for her. 鈥淚 like to help out in the garden, and there were a lot of opportunities to get involved.鈥� 
  
Students in the program take a one-credit course through 吃瓜网鈥檚 Sustainability Office that meets weekly in either the Wiecking basement common room or at a field work location elsewhere on campus. A few field trips take them off campus as well. 

Director of Sustainability and Environmental Initiatives Tarah Rowse and Sustainability Coordinator Celia Darling lead the class, teaching fundamental sustainability concepts while emphasizing College efforts and experiential learning opportunities.  
  
鈥淲e鈥檙e familiarizing students with the system of campus sustainability,鈥� says Rowse. 鈥淲ho are the partners? What are we working on? What are the challenges? How do you do this work in an integrated way? It鈥檚 everything from education and engagement to the planning and policy and action projects.鈥� 
  
Along with weekly mini-lectures and discussions, students participate in tours and hands-on 鈥渨orkdays鈥� in the North Woods, Community Garden, and on-campus compost site.  
  
鈥淭he class is really well structured,鈥� says Carroll. 鈥淲e learn about a topic and then we鈥檒l do something hands-on that relates to it. For instance, we learned all about composting and then we turned the compost here on campus.鈥� 
  
Appel agrees. 鈥淚t鈥檚 nice to see that the community I鈥檓 in at 吃瓜网 is doing a lot toward sustainable goals.鈥� 

They鈥檝e also enjoyed meeting student leaders and mentors, like the 吃瓜网 Community Garden manager and the North Woods stewards.

鈥淭hey鈥檙e very approachable and I liked being able to meet them in class,鈥� says Appel. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a good environment.鈥�

The class also asks students to examine their own personal and collective behaviors, on campus and in their residential experience, while building a shared sense of community and contributing to student-run programs. 
  
鈥淲e talk a lot about choices and what individuals can do, but then there are also the systemic and structural changes that need to happen,鈥� says Rowse.

We want students to think about our campus system, how they are a part of it, and what we can do as a community to foster a more sustainable and just world."

Tarah Rowse

Director of Sustainability and Environmental Initiatives

Local field trips 鈥� to a materials recovery facility, sustainable vertical container farm, and hydroelectric plant 鈥� are also part of the curriculum. 
  
The materials recovery facility (MRF) was especially memorable for Appel, Carroll, and Loveman, who were excited to see the concept of recycling in action, on a grand scale. 
  
鈥淭he MRF very much feels like 鈥楥harlie and the Chocolate Factory,鈥� but for recycling,鈥� says Sustainability Coordinator Darling. 鈥淭here are a lot of cool machines.鈥� 
  
Overall, Loveman says, being part of the Gardenside Living-Learning Community was a great way to meet other people who are interested in sustainability and discover opportunities to further those interests. She has since worked as a Community Garden assistant and will become a Community Garden manager next year. She also joined EcoMore, which plans and facilitates many sustainability-related events on campus. 
  
鈥淚t just feels all encompassing,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 awesome that at 吃瓜网 you can connect different areas.鈥� 
  
Appel, a member of the JV polo team, has also been enjoying courses outside the sciences 鈥� like Fantasy and Worldmaking through the English Department. 鈥淚鈥檝e been trying different things out, which has been fun. One of the reasons I picked 吃瓜网 is because I鈥檓 not hemmed into one specific area.鈥�

Carroll, an experienced violinist and member of 吃瓜网鈥檚 Small Strings Ensemble alongside her strong interest in environmental science, has found motivation through both Gardenside and her first-year Scribner Seminar, Pollinators in Peril. 鈥淚n that course, we made a pollinator garden, so that has really inspired me to want to improve the campus鈥檚 native plant selection even more,鈥� she says. 
  
The connections, friendships, and support she has already found at Skidmore are exciting, Carroll reflects. 
  
鈥淏ecoming part of the sustainability community right away has been a really great head start.鈥�