Dear Members of the Barnard Community,
After another summer of increasing heat and unstable weather, it is heartening to return to campus and see the inspiring range of climate and sustainability initiatives at Barnard. Faculty are incorporating climate into such varied courses as Environmental Humanities in the Global South with Yvette Christianse, Climate Change, Global Migration, Human Rights in the Anthropocene with J.C. Salyer, Politics of the Arctic with Kimberly Marten, and Environmental Data Analysis with Elizabeth Cook.
Barnard’s commitment does not stop in the classroom. Below are just a few highlights from the summer, plans for the coming year, and opportunities to get involved.
New York Climate Week 2023
- On Sunday, September 17, kick off Climate Week with Barnard and Columbia students, faculty and staff at the March to End Fossil Fuels; Barnard sophomore Daniella Rivera-Agudelo is convening a group to march together.
- At 10 am on September 20, roll up your sleeves with President Rosenbury, Columbia President Shafik, Teachers College President Bailey, and NYC Council Member Shaun Abreu at the Great Broadway Sweep, a Climate Week partnership between the NYC Sanitation Foundation and We Love NYC to collect litter along the entire length of Broadway from Lower Manhattan to Inwood. Meet at 615 West 129th Street to volunteer along our shared stretch of Broadway, the "World's Most Famous Street;” for more information and to register to participate, go here.
- The Columbia Climate School is once again the official University partner for Climate Week; numerous events and opportunities can be found here.
Summer Food Institute 2023
This summer marked the second year of the Summer Food Institute. Barnard offered a new course, Food Journeys in the New York Metropolitan Region: Towards Sustainable Farms, Healthy Communities, and Just Policies, co-instructed by Natalie Greaves-Peters, a doctoral candidate in the Health and Behavior Studies department at Columbia’s Teachers College, and Cynthia Rosenzweig, senior research scientist of the Climate Impacts group at the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) and winner of the 2022 World Food Prize. Over the six weeks, students had a chance to take a deep dive into sustainable farming practices, waste management, and food systems solutions to climate change. Many of their weekly sessions — which included visits to the Bruckner Mott Haven Community Garden and the Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture — culminated in a shared meal that students cooked and enjoyed together.
Grounds
Barnard’s grounds are home to an ever increasing range of native and pollinator-friendly species, thanks in large part to the work of Head Groundskeeper Keith Gabora, along with the Garden Club and other student teams who planted rain and pollinator gardens last spring. Keep your eye out for echinacea (cone flowers), black-eyed susans, and milkweed, or taste the rosemary, basil, and peppers in the edible planters; you will also notice the bees and other pollinators thriving on our grounds.
Barnard’s Pathway to Net Zero
The design for the Roy and Diana Vagelos Science Center is moving forward, with plans well under way for a fully electrified heating and cooling system that will reduce Scope 1 emissions by as much as 27% campus-wide. Planning for the next phases of campus decarbonization will continue during this academic year with the newly formed Senior Staff Sustainability Steering Committee, including new AVP for Capital, Facilities, and Sustainability Juan Plasencia, playing a key role.
This year’s move-in Green sale of gently used dorm supplies served over 1,500 students; reuse and sharing among students, faculty and staff will continue throughout the year on Barnard’s free reuse platform, Rheaply.
The campus is humming with bees, sharing of everything from mini-fridges to ideas, and plans for a sustainable future. Thank you for all you do, and I hope to see you on Broadway at 10am on September 20 to keep our shared bit of Broadway looking beautiful!
Sincerely,
Sandra Goldmark
Associate Professor of Professional Practice
Director of Campus Sustainability and Climate Action, Barnard College
Senior Assistant Dean for Interdisciplinary Engagement, Columbia Climate School