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Welcome and Welcome Back for Fall 2025!

Posted on by Mia Pierce

From everyone here at the Environmental Stewardship Center, welcome and welcome back to Kalamazoo College for the fall 2025 trimester! In honor of the new term (and our new first years), we’ve put together a list of what the ESC has to offer, events you can expect from the ESC this term, and resources to get involved!

The Environmental Stewardship Center

The Larry J. Bell ’80 Environmental Stewardship Center (ESC) houses all things sustainability-related on the Kalamazoo College campus. Here, you can find information about the various green spaces on and off campus, the Environmental Studies concentration, the Hoop House, the Composting program, and the Lillian Anderson Arboretum. Additionally, a large part of what we do here at the ESC involves the Climate Action Plan, a framework of policies and guidance on how to create a greener, carbon-neutral campus.

Sustainability is one of the core values of the ESC, and we work to ensure that that value is interwoven throughout campus life for students, faculty, and staff alike. If that sounds like you, come find our interns and director in Dewing Commons, located on the first floor of the Dewing building, or email us at environmentalstewardship@kzoo.edu! You can also find us every Wednesday of even weeks during common time (11:00-11:45AM) for our Sustainability Chats! We hope to see you there!

Upcoming events to look out for: We have two FYE events coming up where we will be giving a tour of all four on-campus green spaces. These tours are Wednesday 9/1 and Tuesday 9/14, both at 4:30pm.

The Lillian Anderson Arboretum

The Lillian Anderson Arboretum is our one off-campus green space, located roughly 5 miles from K’s campus. It is roughly 140 acres, contained marshes, pine forests, and meadows, all interconnected through miles of trail pathways. The arboretum is an integral component to living green here at K. Not only is it used by classes as a learning lab (like the Arboretum P.E. class running this fall), but the arboretum has also been the source of numerous SIPs throughout the years and is continuously maintained by our student Arb Crew. Additionally, it’s enjoyed by the public and students in their free time; in fact, the arboretum is open from dusk to dawn!

Upcoming events to look out for: There is a Trip to the Arb scheduled for Wednesday 10/8 from 4:10-6:15pm – transportation provided!

Composting

One of the major components of the Climate Action Plan is promoting zero-waste on our campus, and the most important way we do that is through our composting program! With the support of the ESC and Facilities Management, the composting program is run by students who are a part of the Compost Crew. These students help collect food waste from students, faculty, and staff with their green compost buckets stationed throughout campus – you’ve probably already seen one!  

You can find the composting program in the Grove, the wooded area located next to the Living Learning houses and the Dewaters residence hall. Feel free to stop by, pick up your free compost bucket, and help our campus strive towards being zero-waste!

Upcoming events to look out for: Smashing Pumpkins, a Halloween-themed event where students are encouraged to smash old, leftover pumpkins from the fall season (and the scraps are then composted!)  

Composting shed with bucket drop off and pick up signs

Hoop House

Through student initiative and faculty support, our campus is lucky enough to have our very own hoop house, a type of unheated greenhouse! Located behind the Fitness and Wellness Center, the Hoop House has been the source of SIPs, classroom activities, club events, and more! Here you can visit during open hours (every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 4:30-6:00pm) to learn more about growing fruits and vegetables, get your hands in the dirt, take some fresh produce home, or just to enjoy the company of other sustainability-minded students! 

Upcoming events to look out for: the annual Harvest Festival, where current students, faculty, and staff can mingle with alumni and community members to celebrate the Mother Corn grown at the Hoop House, enjoy some fresh food, and build bridges with the great K community!

2025 Sustainability SIP Symposium

Posted on by Emerson Wesselhoff

What is the Sustainability SIP Symposium?

The Sustainability SIP Symposium is an annual event held by the Environmental Studies Department and the Larry J. Bell ’80 Environmental Stewardship Center. The Symposium brings together senior students from departments all across campus, who have completed their SIP on a topic related to sustainability, climate, or the environment! The event includes a keynote speaker and project presentations, and serves to celebrate our wonderful seniors while also showing the intersectionality of environmental education at K.

2025 Symposium Recap

This year’s Symposium was a special one! Over 100 K students, faculty, staff, and Kalamazoo community members packed the Arcus Center to enjoy the evening’s events. Delicious, farm-to-table food was catered by a K alum, and the evening was bustling for the full duration of the event!

Highlights include keynote speaker Ben Brown, a local environmental activist, urban farmer, and pioneer in the Kalamazoo sustainable housing and vehicle movement. Ben gave an unforgettably passionate and humorous talk, and answered questions about his journey as a Black farmer, the resident of Kalamazoo’s first legal tiny home, and as a gardener who loves to share his harvest with friends and neighbors.

Seniors had the chance to present to members of local climate groups including the Kalamazoo Climate Crisis Coalition and the Ardea Youth Climate Coalition, as well as parents, friends, professors, and fellow students. A monumental thanks is in store for all who came to support these seniors, and environmental education at K during the Symposium – without you all, events like this would not be possible! We are so grateful!

Senior Shout-out

Of course, we want to give a special thanks to our thirteen seniors who presented at the Symposium. They represent the important work being done to make sure that students at Kalamazoo College, and around the world, have a sustainable future to call their own. They are an incredible group, and they are not the last of their kind! There will be more phenomenal seniors in the years to follow, so please continue supporting the Symposiums next year and beyond! For a list of all the seniors and their projects, please refer to the list and photos below.

  • Noah Pyle: Thermal biology of PAH-tolerant Atlantic killifish under constant and fluctuating temperatures
  • Sofia Fleming: The Impacts of Invasive Squirrel Diet and Personality on Native Ecosystems
  • Tali Deaner: Beyond the Kitchen Table: Food Access and the Systems That Shape It in Kalamazoo 
  • Emma Frederiksen: Thermal Trade-offs and Genetic Rescue in PAH-Tolerant Atlantic Killifish
  • Ava Loncharte: Adaptive Multi-Paddock Grazing and Soil Health
  • Sage Lewis: An Economic Analysis of Sustainability Transitions For K-Metro
  • Brooke Dolhay: Long-Term Monitoring of Marine Ecosystems at the Institute for Marine Research in the Philippines
  • Ivy Walker: Land Protection and our Global Future: An Imperative Nexus
  • Westin Grinwis: Embracing Kinship: Integrating Traditional Ecological Knowledge into Outdoor Orientation Programs
  • Mart Klenke: Sleeping Bear Wildlife Fund: Wildlife Rehab, Outdoor Education, & Stigmatized Species in Northern MI
  • Lucas Priemer: Evaluating Land Cover Area Classifications and Species Composition in the Lillian Anderson Arboretum
  • Mairin Boshoven: Enhancing Demographic Understanding Of The Survivorship And Threats To Circium Pitcheri Seedlings
  • Emerson Wesselhoff: A Place on the Corner: A Socio-ecological analysis of urban green third places

Supporting Sustainability at K

As we wait another year for the 2026 Sustainability Symposium, there are still many opportunities to support sustainability and environmental education at K. For a full list of ways to get involved with the Environmental Stewardship Center, and all the events we have coming up, check out this page! Make sure to follow us on Instagram @envirostewkzoo and @kzooarb, or stop in to see us in Dewing Commons offices 100 and 101. Every other Wednesday, drop into Dewing Commons for our Sustainability Chats at 11 (these are 6th, 8th, and 10th week). We hope to see you around, and supporting environmental action on campus!

Winter in the Living Learning Labs

Posted on by Emerson Wesselhoff

Lillian Anderson Arboretum

Winter can be one of the most beautiful times to visit the Arboretum! With pine trees blanketed in snow and the stillness of frozen ponds, you’ll get to see all kinds of winter nature and wildlife. It’s the perfect season for a chilly hike with a warm drink – you can walk, hike, and run all year long in the Arb!

This winter, you might run into some of our ongoing projects and programs! A carbon sequestration survey is currently taking place at the Arb. Part of a project that occurs every 5 years, this survey will help us better understand how trees utilize atmospheric carbon, and how the Arb functions as a carbon sink. You might also wander past folks with maps and compasses – don’t worry, they’re not lost! They’re just participating in a map and compass workshop put on by the Outdoor Leadership Training Center.

Be sure to layer up! In the colder weather, consider bringing an extra warm layer, hat/gloves, and shoes with good traction. All trails are open and operating as normal regardless of condition, unless otherwise noted. The Arb is open for normal hours, from dawn to dusk.

The Grove

The weather might be cold, but the compost piles are still warm and working hard! Thanks to the efforts of the Compost Crew, composting is available all winter long. Drop by the Grove (located behind the Living Learning Houses between Monroe and Lovell St) to pick up a compost bucket. Simply fill it up, drop it off, and pick up an empty one again!

The Hoop House

The Hoop House is still operational, even in the winter! We’re busy prepping flats and preparing for spring. Stay tuned for more info on a few open hours in late February and early March, and then get excited for full open hours to resume every MWF in April, 4:30-6pm!

Jolly Gardens & Dow Wildflower Garden

The Jolly Gardens and Dow Wildflower Gardens are getting through the winter season! While we might not be able to see the plants while walking by, this cold spell is helping prepare them for the next growing season. The leftover stems and plant matter we can see through the snow makes a great habitat for overwintering pollinators and other helpful insects!

Sustainability Chats with the ESC!

Posted on by Emerson Wesselhoff

As we dive back into another winter quarter, we at the Environmental Stewardship Center want to highlight one of our favorite ongoing events: our bi-weekly Sustainability Chats!

Sustainability Chats are a continuation of a longstanding K tradition. Before COVID, students, faculty, and staff interested or involved in sustainability would meet for breakfast in the cafeteria. They’d share a meal, stories, ideas, and advice with each other, hoping to build connections and work together to make sustainable progress on campus. Starting this fall we’ve made an effort to bring those moments back to campus, in the form of Sustainability Chats!

Anyone interested in the world of sustainability, environmental science, climate action is welcome! You don’t have to have any prior knowledge, involvement, or connections. The goal of these chats is to meet people, bounce ideas off each other, provide support, and share a social space. They’re super casual – you can duck in and out, eat your lunch, and bring a friend!

In the past our talks have taken a range of directions, anywhere from tackling recycling on campus, climate-related class projects, brainstorming environmental events, community connections and research opportunities, and more! We welcome all additions and ideas that are brought to the table.

Sustainability Chats will take place every even week Wednesdays (1/15, 1/29, 2/12, 2/26, 3/12, 3/26), in Dewing Commons from 11-11:55! We can’t wait to see you there!