Environment
The Future of Environmental Leadership
Posted by Georgy Cohen in Blogs, Environment, Faculty, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences on September 23, 2011
Julian Agyeman, professor and chair in the Department of Urban and Environmental Planning at Tufts, recently blogged about scaling up inclusion and diversity in environmental organizations:
How should conservation organizations in the U.S. and elsewhere respond to the demographic and cultural shifts that are unfolding and will gain pace? What strategies for the inclusion of a more diverse base should be developed now that this is not only a moral question, but one of organizational effectiveness and even survival?
Agyeman is a member of the Stewardship Council of the Masschusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation.
The Young Urban Unprofessional
Posted by Eugene Buonaccorsi in Alumni, Blogs, Environment, School of Engineering on September 8, 2011
Michael Brown (E10) is currently working on a 30 day challenge he is calling “Life Without A Landfill,” and tracking his progress on his blog The Young Urban Unprofessional. In his own words:
I am a young 20-something who was born and raised in small-town Maine and then educated in big-city Boston. These days I have a hard time coming to terms with what it means to be a young urban professional (yuppie) since lately I find myself fitting the characteristics. (…) I will be engaging in a series of self-selected, 30-day life experiments designed to challenge the status quo that comes with the yuppie territory. In the end it is my aim to challenge myself on a daily basis and to help redefine what it means to be young and successful.
“Life Without A Landfill” is his first endeavor and his goal is not to purchase or consume anything that must be thrown away. In his latest post, he describes a weekend trip to Maine:
I made the mistake of bringing the heaviest Tupperware I own (pyrex), not the best idea when backpacking. The rest of my pack was super light anyway so it wasn’t a huge deal.. I also had previously bought a large bag of trailmix from Shaw’s which came in a recyclable ziplock bag. The bag said “Please Recycle” with a recycle sign on the back however it did not include the number (1-7). I am not sure how the recycling center will know how to sort it once I “recycle” it. I’ll recycle it anyway but I’m skeptical that it won’t end up as trash in the end.
Tufts Gets Green
Posted by Eugene Buonaccorsi in Blogs, Environment, Staff on September 7, 2011
The Office of Sustainability has spent the month of August writing about awards, job openings, events and much more over at their blog, titled Tufts Gets Green. According to their site, the Office of Sustainability serves as a resource, a catalyst, and an advocate for environmental sustainability at Tufts. The blog has posts in many different categories, as well as an environmental events calendar. Most recently they posted about Eco-Ambassador Laurie Sabol receiving the Bridge Builder award at the 2011 Tufts Distinction Awards, saying:
On being an Eco-Ambassador, Laurie says she really enjoyed networking with people she otherwise would not have met. She found the session on “Social Marketing and Communicating Change” most helpful because she found that the biggest challenge is convincing people to actively participate in sustainable initiatives.
Read all their posts at Tufts Gets Green and check out their Facebook page and their Twitter account
Tara Anasti on Beyond the Farm
Posted by Eugene Buonaccorsi in Alumni, Blogs, Environment, Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy on August 23, 2011
2010 Tufts School of Nutrition graduate Tara Anasti is a writer for the Seeds for Learning program’s blog “Beyond the Farm.” Seeds for Learning is a program dedicated to creating school-based farms in Philadelphia along with community outreach and entrepreneurial education. Anasti’s most recent post is about planning for the coming fall season in the garden:
Here at the farm, we are watching our summer crops become exhausted and beginning to prepare spent beds for fall planting. Using our crop plan from the last year’s season, we rotate the location of our fall plantings. Crop rotation is a critical technique for organic agriculture. Rotating crops prevents crops from depleting the soils of the same nutrients.
She also wrote about students’ classroom experience:
Our high school students gained much experience in growing, cooking and selling food to their community this summer and our K-8 campers learned about climate science in their new outdoor classroom space at the farm. For the fall, Seeds for Learning will continue to educate our student farmers about food justice and the food system.
Capturing Community
Posted by Georgy Cohen in Active Citizenship, Community, Environment, School of Arts and Sciences, Video on May 17, 2011
“Capturing Community: Fishing, Farming, and Canning in New England,” an exhibit organized by graduate and certificate students in the Exhibition Planning course of the Museum Studies Program, recently opened at the Tufts University Art Gallery in the Aidekman Arts Center. The exhibit, which features the documentary photography of artist Markham Starr, tells the story of three struggling and rapidly disappearing New England livelihoods. It will run through May 22, 2011.
This video features some of Starr’s images from the exhibit:
Tufts Professor on the Wonders of Silk
Posted by Georgy Cohen in Active Citizenship, Environment, Faculty, International, Research, School of Engineering, Video on May 11, 2011
Tufts professor of biomedical engineering Fiorenzo Omenetto joins the ranks of fellow thought-leaders such as Bill Clinton, Al Gore, Richard Dawkins and Bill Gates as a TED (Technology Entertainment and Design) Talk speaker. TED is a global set of conferences owned by Sapling Foundation, a non-profit that has provided a forum for thinkers to share their vision with the public.
In this video, Omenetto discusses his work with silk, telling audiences about all its wonderful uses and the hope the material holds for a more environmentally sustainable world, better access to health care and many other needs we face today:
Tufts for Japan
Posted by Georgy Cohen in Active Citizenship, Environment, International, School of Arts and Sciences, School of Engineering, Students, Video on April 20, 2011
This video was produced by the Tufts Japanese Culture Club and Asian American Alliance to raise funds for relief efforts in Japan:
Tufts for Japan from Jason Moloney on Vimeo.
Greening the Curriculum
Posted by Georgy Cohen in Active Citizenship, Community, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, Environment, Faculty, Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging, Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences, School of Arts and Sciences, School of Dental Medicine, School of Engineering, School of Medicine, Student Experience, Students, The Fletcher School, Video on April 12, 2011
Tufts graduate student Elizabeth Mahaffy (A’11) and recent alumni Joseph Cutrufo (A’10) created a video called “Greening the Curriculum.” The video, which was produced in partnership with Tufts Institute of the Environment for the Tufts Environmental Literacy Institute, features conversations with students on the Medford/Somerville and Boston campuses about integrating environmental issues into Tufts classes. Both Mahaffy and Cutrufo are of the Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning program at Tufts.
Here’s the video:
The Boston Tree Party
Posted by Georgy Cohen in Active Citizenship, Blogs, Environment, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Student Experience, Students, Web on April 8, 2011
Lisa Gross (G’11), a graduate student at Tufts in Studio Art, is the Chairman and Founder of the Boston Tree Party, a “collaborative campaign to plant 100 pairs of heirloom apple trees in civic spaces across Greater Boston.” The Chief of Operations of the project, Maura Schorr Beaufait (G’09), is also a Jumbo: she holds a dual-Master’s degree from Tufts in Community Health and Agriculture, Food and Environment. Their Tree Party Inauguration is this weekend at the Rose Kennedy Greenway.
In addition to the Boston Tree Party, Lisa Gross pioneered the Urban Homesteaders’ League, “a community venture dedicated to inspiring and empowering individuals and communities to shift from a lifestyle of passive consumption to one of active participation, creation, and connection.”
Tufts Bikes
Posted by Georgy Cohen in Active Citizenship, Blogs, Environment, School of Arts and Sciences, School of Engineering, Student Experience, Students, The Fletcher School, Uncategorized on March 17, 2011
Tufts Bikes seeks to provide free bike sharing for the Tufts Community. “Getting Tufts going on two wheels,” Tufts Bikes is in partnership with Tisch Library, Tufts Crafts Center, and Tufts Office of Sustainability. Additionally, Tufts Bikes has a blog where you can enjoy weekly featured bike videos, updates and pictures. A recent post reads:
A lot of people know about Tufts Bikes as the organization that is starting a bike share at Tufts. We are actually doing a whole lot more. We are working to create a whole bike culture at Tufts. Bike share, bike rides, and a bike shop!”