The Bard CEP Eco Reader

Watershed Management through Ecosystem Services–by Lindsey Drew

This past January, I and my fellow Bard CEP classmates went on a two week research trip to Oaxaca, Mexico. During our time in the Sierra Sur region of Oaxaca, we visited the town San Miguel Suchixtepec, where we spent time at a local public school with a high regard …

It’s Not Just Adobe, It’s Superadobe–by Holly Kistner

It’s been two weeks since I returned from the Bard CEP field course on watershed management in Oaxaca, Mexico, and the trip feels surreal now. Surrounded by snow andpreoccupied by schoolwork, sometimes I catch myself daydreaming about the beautiful Sierra Sur mountains, my favorite place from our journey. We spent …

A New Kind of Japanese Farming

By Shannon Dixon If you ever find yourself in rural Japan living with a Buddhist monk, try not to bring flowers as a housewarming gift. I was told it was out of the normal for Japanese people to exchange Carnations to one another, and doing so will probably prompt a …

Community-based watershed restoration in Oaxaca, Mexico

As I reflect on my recent field work in Oaxaca, Mexico with the Bard MBA in Sustainability I am most struck by the work grassroots groups are doing to develop community-based solutions to the environmental and social issues they face. Due to the lengthy dry season from November through June, …

Peace Corps Fiji: Sustainable Thinking from the Hudson Valley to the South Pacific–by Maya Whalen-Kipp

    Top three things I have learned from living in Fiji for five months: there is never a bad time for a nap, the Pacific Ocean is arguably the most powerful thing on the planet, coconut trees are arguably the most useful things on the planet. A few months …

Bard CEP’s New ListServ: Hudson Valley Sustainability Network

The HVSN listserv is provided as a service to the Hudson Valley Sustainability community by the Center for Environmental Policy at Bard College. Membership on the list is open to anyone with an interest in social justice and sustainability. The purpose of the list is to share information about events …

Fight, but be sure of what you’re fighting for

Over the first six months of my employment at Pace Energy and Climate Center, one of my most challenging, but eventually rewarding, projects has been helping to design time-of-use (TOU) electric rate pilot programs in Maryland. Pace is funded by Earthjustice to represent a group of clients in the Maryland …

Tropical Forests are Crucial to Managing our Climate: Deborah Lawrence Speaks with the National Climate Seminar

Tropical forests have a lot to offer: the richest concentration of biodiversity on the planet, a home for indigenous peoples, and the plants that are used to create many modern pharmaceuticals. In negotiations leading up to the UN Paris Climate Agreement, tropical forests were also formally recognized for their key …

Make Food, Not Waste

This past July, I played a large role in the planning and execution of the first-annual NYC Food Waste Fair, but it definitely was not a solo effort! Louise Bruce, Senior Program Manager, NYC Organics, Elizabeth Balkan, Director of Policy and Senior Advisor, Office of the Commissioner, Marcel Howard, fellow …

Growing Up in New York City

Since my last post, my internship has moved from the Manhattan Borough President’s Office to Agritecture. Yes, you are reading that right. It’s a play on agriculture and architecture. Agritecture is a small company based out of Brooklyn with a mission of integrating agriculture with the built environment. In other …