Timeline of Environmental Milestones

2009

RecycleMania
Connecticut College ranked 27th in the Per Capita Classic competition of RecycleMania with a cumulative recycling rate of 42.44%.

2008

RecycleMania
The College participates in RecycleMania 2008,  for the third year in a row, finishing first among its peers in the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC), and beating rivals Amherst, Williams, Tufts, Middlebury, Bowdoin and Colby. Connecticut College also edged out Yale, Princeton and Harvard. 

Environmental Sustainability Baseline Assessment
Connecticut College hired a consulting firm, Woodard & Curran, to undertake a comprehensive environmental sustainability baseline assessment (ESBA) in the fall.  This study included data-gathering and analysis of energy, water and other resource uses; sourcing and purchasing; solid and hazardous waste generation and management; greenhouse gas emissions and more.  A campus sustainability plan is one of the next steps in the College’s efforts toward sustainability.

2007

On-campus Composting Initiative
With one big grind, Connecticut College officially began composting in November 2007, as the college community gathered for a celebration and demonstration of the college's two Earth Tubs, commercial-sized compost units that will reduce the college's food waste by up to 35,000 pounds a year.

Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions
In January, 2007, President Higdon became a Charter Signatory of the American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment (ACUPCC).  This nationwide effort for campuses to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions recognizes the role America’s higher education institutions can, and should, play in decreasing contribution to global warming. To date, the number of signatories is about 440. Connecticut College has inventoried its GHG emissions from 1990 to the present. A comprehensive plan in accordance with this initiative is being devised by the Presidents Climate Commitment Committee comprised of students, faculty and staff.

RecycleMania
The College participates in RecycleMania for the second consecutive year, placing 24th out of 201 competing colleges and universities

2006

RecycleMania
The College participates for the first time in this national recycling competition, placing 5th out of 94 competing colleges and universities

2005

Sustabinable Garden Initiative
Students begin Sprout!, the College's first sustainable gardening initiative. Beginning in the 2004-2005 academic year, students prepared a small plot of land on campus. During the spring of 2005 the first crops, including tomatoes, swiss chard and radishes, were planted. Sprout! has since expanded dramatically in activity, size and production.

Campus Environmental Coordinator
As part of the Strategic Plan adopted by the College in 2005, the Campus Environmental Coordinator position was upgraded to a full-time administrative staff position. The purpose of this position is to lead the college in environmental sustainability initiatives including recycling, conservation of energy and materials, renewable energy, and “green” building projects.

Energy Conservation & Efficiency Fund (ECEF)
As part of continuing efforts to reduce energy consumption, the College created the Energy Conservation & Efficiency Fund (ECEF). The ECEF provides the capital necessary to make improvements in energy efficiency and to run effective energy conservation efforts in the form of a revolving loan fund.

Green Building Policy
In 2005, Connecticut College adopted a green building policy that will work to incorporate sound environmental practices into siting, design, construction, maintenance, renovation, and eventual demolition of campus buildings. By implementing this policy it is hoped that the college will be able to provide better quality of life while at the same time saving money and conserving resources such as water and energy.

2004

Light Bulb Exchange
In an effort to educate the campus community about electricity use while at the same time increasing energy efficiency, the College sponsored a light bulb exchange. The old incandescent light bulbs were turned into art, which was then sold. The proceeds from this artwork were used to provide continued funding to the light bulb exchange program.

Renewable Energy Policy
In order to ensure continued progress on energy issues, the Renewable Energy Club, the Student Government Association and the Environmental Model Committee worked together to develop the College first Renewable Energy policy.

2003

Green House Gas Emissions Inventory
Working in conjunction with Clean Air-Cool Planet, the College compiled an inventory of its green house gas emissions for the 1990-2003. This inventory was updated again during the summer of 2005 and will continue to be updated each year.

2001

Renewable Energy
In the spring of 2001, Connecticut College students led a campaign to switch the campus to 22% renewable energy from the standard supply, which includes a high percentage of nuclear power. The student body agreed to pay an extra $25 a year in their tuition in order to make this happen. This made Connecticut College the first school in the country to purchase a significant portion of its energy from clean, renewable sources. Student establish a Renewable Energy Club.

1999

The Park Residence Hall Solar Array
When Park residence hall was renovated in 1999, a 10 kW array of solar panels was installed on the roof. The electricity generated by these solar panels is used to offset the power required by a boiler plant that was installed that same year. Savings from the combined reduction of having a new smaller, more efficient boiler plant and from the solar array amounts to 90,769 kWh per year. The amount saved is approximately what one dorm would use in an academic year.

Carbon Offset Project
In August 1999, CC became the first college or university in the United States to address its carbon emissions, a primary cause of global warming, by joining the “Klinki Program.” In collaboration with a non-profit organization based in Mystic, Connecticut called Reforest the Tropics, Inc., the college agreed to work with farmers in Costa Rica to plant enough fast growing trees, including the Klinki (Araucaria huntsteinii), to compensate for the 593 tons of carbon dioxide emitted annually by the electricity use in the Crozier-Williams College Center over the next 30 years. For more information about how you can offset your carbon emissions, see Reforest the Tropics, Inc.

1994

Environmental Coordinator position created
In an effort to better organize environmental efforts on campus, the Environmental Coordinator position was created. This position was as an academic year internship for a recent Connecticut College graduate who had been involved in environmental activism as a student.

Earth House
The Connecticut College Earth House started as a residential community of campus activists living in North Cottage. Formed in 1994 by six students (Erin Corcoran '95, Jens Hilke '96, Brooke Loder '95, Mark Lucey '95, Jake Marin '97 and Heather Montgomery '95),  Earth House to this day acts as a vehicle for coordinating student activism on issues of sustainability on campus. Earth House also acts as a resource for campus activists and as a model for environmentally and socially conscious living.

1993

Goodwin-Niering Center for Conservation Biology and Environmental Studies
In 1993, the Goodwin-Niering Center for Conservation Biology and Environmental Studies was established to promote more effective and cohesive collaboration between many different people and departments concerned with environmental issues. As an academic center, CCBES supports research and education, oversees an undergraduate certificate program, and sponsors conferences and lectures.

1970

Recycling Program Begins
In 1970, Connecticut College became one of the the first colleges in the nation to to establish a campus-wide recycling program. The program began by recycling old newspapers. The program was expanded in 1984 to include glass bottles and aluminum cans, and again in 1989 to accomodate office paper, plastic and other metal cans.

1969

Environmental Studies Major
In 1969, Connecticut College became one of the first undergraduate schools in the nation to offer a major in Human Ecology. Over time, this program evolved into the Environmental Studies program. The focus of the environmental studies major is to encourage an examination of environmental science and policy using a multidisciplinary approach integrating classroom, laboratory, field and study-away experiences.

1931

Connecticut College Arboretum
The Connecticut College Arboretum was established on 60 acres west of the main campus. Since then it has been expanded to include the entire 750 acres of College property. The campus grounds crew and the Arboretum staff collaborate to maintain the entirety of the campus using environmentally sound techniques. The Arboretum was one of the first to be dedicated to growing and studying native plants, and it now protects hundreds of acres of wild lands including tidal and freshwater marshes, swamps, fields and forests. The Arboretum serves as a “living laboratory” and classroom for teaching and research, as well as a place for recreation.

Last Modified: Friday, January 08, 2010 11:22 AM