Jancely Arias
Advisor: Mary Ann Cunningham—Second Reader: Jeffrey Seidman
Public Waste and Littering in the South Bronx

Rosemary Bain
Advisor: Pinar Batur—Second Reader: Lynn Christenson
Levees Made of Letters: 3.11, Disaster Literature, and Japanese Cultural Resilience

Ava Casalino
Advisor: Pinar Batur—Second Reader: Deon Knights
The Unseen Enemy: Dust Pollution, Urban Air Policy, and Disinvestment in New York City and Copenhagen

Alanah Cohen-Tigör
Advisor: Lynn Christenson—Second Reader: Meg Ronsheim
Assessing the Effects of Wildlife Provisioning on Animal Population and Composition in Greater Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Cael Cosby
Advisor: Mary Ann Cunningham—Second Reader: Kirsten Menking
Environmental Consulting Report: An Overview of Japan’s Geologic, Social, and Political Relationship with Geothermal Energy Production

Sasha Fuller
Advisor: John Elrick—Second Reader: Kirsten Menking
River Clean Ups and the Class Divide: The Case of the Hudson River

Glenna Gomez
Advisor: Katie Gemmill—Second Reader: Meg Ronsheim
Dig In, Dig Out: An Anthology of Personal Plant Biographies

Katie Halston
Advisor: Alison Keimowitz—Second Reader: Deon Knights
Investigating hydraulic fracking fluid additives for the removal of As(III) and As(V) from flowback water

Nima Heffelfinger
Advisor: Ashanti Shih—Second Reader: Katie Gemmill
A South Asian Ecofeminism

Kyra Hoffman
Advisor: Deon Knights—Second Reader: April Beisaw
A Dam Solution: Understanding the potential of beavers in stream restoration in the Casperkill watershed

Breille Irahoza
Advisor: Alison Keimowitz—Second Reader: Leonisa Ardizzone
Integration of Chemistry and Storytelling in an Ecofriendly Mancala Game

Sadie Krichmar
Advisor: Katie Gemmill—Second Reader: Kirsten Menking
Music in Place: an exploration of nature, the built environment, and memory

Joseph McMahon
Advisor: Claire Sagan—Second Reader: John Elrick
Aestheticizing the Factionalism of Modern Ecological Sabotage Movements Towards a Posthumanist Future

Jaclyn Narleski
Advisor: John Elrick—Jill Schneiderman
The Ironbound Unbound: The Role of Community Groups in Achieving Environmental Justice

Anikka Reinwand
Advisor: Yvonne Elet—Second Reader: Jeff Walker
The Water and Landforms of Springside Historic Landmark in Poughkeepsie, New York Past, Present, and Potential Contributions to the Community

Jordan Shamoun
Advisor: Pinar Batur—Second Reader: Deon Knights
The Big Apple Is Heating Up: How Can Proper Policy Improve Human Health Outcomes During Extreme Heat Events in New York, NY?

Marina Smith-Hanke
Advisor: Dianne Pater—Second Reader: Meg Ronsheim
Photosynthetic characteristics of invasive Ampelopsis brevipedunculata: a case-study on social and ecological approaches to managing invasive species

Nathan Strope
Advisor: Ben Ho—Second Reader: Josh de Leeuw
Statistics or Stories? The Identifiable Victim Effect & Climate Justice

Naomi Taylor
Advisor: Jill Schneiderman—Second Reader: Kirsten Menking
Chinook salmon as symbols of indigeneity: How the decrease in Chinook population and size in the Yukon River threatens notions of sovereignty for indigenous communities in Alaska.

Adam Vazquez
Advisor: Lynn Christenson—Second Reader: Jeffrey Seidman
Rewilding the California Condor

Duvan Andres Aaron Lopez
Advisor: Lynn Christenson—Second Reader: Mary Ann Cunningham
Analyzing the relationship between Resource Extraction and Noise Pollution. What are its Consequences?

Kaitlin Birnbaum
Advisor: Daniel Mendiola—Second Reader: Dianne Pater
Palm Oil Plantations in Colombia: Killing People and the Planet

Martin Burstein
Advisor: Jan Andrews—Second Reader: Pinar Batur 
Cause for Alarm: Using Moral Reframing to Increase Concern about Climate Change among American Conservatives

Georgia Q. Calvert
Advisor: Jeff Walker—Second Readers: Simona Bondavalli, Lizabeth Paravisini-Gerbert
An Exploration of Volcano-Human Relations: The Aeolian Islands

Jason Cooper
Advisor: Lynn Christenson—Second Reader: Mary Ann Cunningham
Modeling Moose Habitat Preferences at Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest

Eleanora Dyer
Advisor: Pinar Batur—Second Reader: John Elrick
Dissenting from the Corporate Food Regime: An Analysis of Urban Farms and Food Movements

Mark Fossesca
Advisor: Mary Ann Cunningham—Second Reader: Carolyn Palmer
Opening Our Ears: Raising Awareness for Terrestrial Noise Pollution

Ella Foster
Advisor: Paul Kane—Second Readers: Katie Gemmill, Jeff Walker
Sowing Community Connections: A Poughkeepsie Based Seed Library Project

Sari Gubar
Advisor: Leonard Nevarez—Second Reader: Randolph Cornelius
The Challenge to Establish Racial Justice: A Coordinated Effort for Resilience Between Vassar College and Poughkeepsie

Ariana Henry
Advisor: Mary Ann Cunningham—Second Reader: Pinar Batur
Mapping Materials Management in the Hudson Valley: Assessing Missed Opportunities for Regional Collaboration

Anna Kaufman
Advisor: Kirsten Menking
Growing Toward Sustainability? The Logging Predicament in Clatsop County, Oregon

Max Lawrence
Advisor: Myra Hughey—Second Reader: Mary Ann Cunningham
Gaps in the Forest Edge: An Adaptive Management Project Developed for the Vassar Preserve

Olivia MacDonald
Advisor: Mary Ann Cunningham—Second Reader: Thomas Parker
Glacial Retreat and Public Perception of Climate Change in the Arve Valley

Emily Maiello
Advisor: Jodi Schwarz—Second Reader: Lizabeth Paravisini-Gerbert
Bocas del Toro and the Struggle for Environmental Equity: An Evaluation of Marine Protected Area Structures and Governance and Proposal for Improved Equity in the Parque Nacional Marino del Isla Bastimentos

Ethan Nurick
Advisor: Timothy Lampasona—Second Reader: Lynn Christenson
Feed Garbage to Worms, Feed Worms to Fish, Save the World: An Assessment of Yellow Mealworm Larvae’s (Tenebrio molitor) Potential as a Protein Source for Aquaculture Feed when fed an Industrial Compost Diet

Meg Ritzau
Advisor: Lynn Christenson—Second Reader: April Beisaw
Traditional Knowledge in Forest Management: History, Challenges, and Ways to Move Forward

Meg Rumplick
Advisor: Meg Ronsheim—Second Reader: Jill Schneiderman
Beech Leaf Disease: The Historical Significance, Current Implications, and Future Problems of this Foliar Epidemic at Vassar College

Stella J. Schram
Advisor: Mary Ann Cunningham—Second Reader: Jeffrey Seidman
Solar Energy on Farmland: What Do New York Farmers Have to Gain and What is Standing in Their Way?

Naomi Tomlin
Advisor: Jean Kane—Second Reader: Pinar Batur
Pest Problems: A Queer Ecocritical Exploration of Kafka’s The Metamorphosis and Camus’ The Plague

Celeste Weidemann
Advisor: Candido Diaz—Second Reader: Zachary Cofran
Impact of Human Generated Dust on Spider Web Adhesion

Jane Ahn
Advisor: Randy Cornelius—Second Reader: Leonisa Ardizzone
The Temporalities of Climate Violence: Mindfulness and Attention, the Many Facets of Violence, and Our Dying Planet

Kathryn Antonatos
Advisor: Meg Ronsheim—Second Reader: Mary Ann Cunningham
Learning to See, Seeing to Learn; Fostering A Deeper Knowledge of Nature Through Portraits of Hudson Valley Plants

Amelia Boyd
Advisor: Mary Ann Cunningham—Second Reader: Meg Ronsheim
Mapping Vassar College Sustainability: Building a Dynamic, Student-led, and Institutionalized Sustainability Communication Resource

Lucy Brown
Advisor: Meg Ronsheim—Second Reader: Yvonne Elet
An Ecological Landscaper on Campus: A Proposal to Address Restorative Land Practices in Vassar’s Climate Action Plan

Bailey Carrillo
Advisor: Lynn Christenson—Second Reader: Pinar Batur
From Invasives to Cosmetics: Issues with Resource Extraction and Sustainability Within the Beauty Industry

Liam Condon
Advisor: Randy Cornelius—Second Reader: Himadeep Muppidi
For You and Your Country: How the Civilian Climate Corps Reconceptualizes Climate Policy

Katie Doroski
Advisor: Alison Keimowitz—Second Reader: Pinar Batur
Electrodialysis Desalination with Ion-Exchange Membranes and the Potential for Implementation in the Los Angeles Region

Danielle Douglas
Advisor: Kirsten Menking—Second Reader: Randy Cornelius
Investigating the Effects of Glacier Retreat in Glacier National Park, Montana

Eric Feeney
Advisor: Chris Bjork—Second Reader: Laura Haynes
Science Is for Everyone: Designing and Leading Biogeochemistry Activities for Elementary Students Across Spaces

Skylar Herrera-Ross
Advisor: Mary Ann Cunningham—Second Reader: Kirsten Menking
Box It Up: Imagining a Long-Term Reusable To-Go Food Container Program at Vassar College

Chloe Kellner
Advisor: Jeff Walker—Second Reader: Pinar Batur
Intentional Communities: A Utopian Reimaging of Green Building

Taber Kremer
Advisor: Laura Haynes—Second Reader: Yvonne Elet
Rock, Water, and People: Nature Sports and Community

Jack McGlinchey
Advisor: Leonard Nevarez—Lynn Christenson
Reimagining Suburban Lawns: A Guide to More Sustainable and Productive Yards

Jameson McLennan
Advisor: Pinar Batur—Second Reader: Lynn Christenson
Exploring the Efficacy of Blue Bonds as a New Financial Tool for Conservation and Sustainable Development

Jack Oliver
Advisor: Mary Ann Cunningham—Second Reader: Leroy Cooper
Food Deserts in Poughkeepsie: Origins and Implications

Madelaine Pelletier
Advisor: Jodi Schwarz—Second Reader: Yu Zhou
Ecologically Sustainable and Economically Profitable Seaweed Mariculture in the United States: Lessons from Maine and China

Clara Pitt
Advisor: Jeff Walker—Second Reader: Yvonne Elet
Wasteful Thinking: An Exploratory Study of Student Behaviors Towards Food Waste on the Vassar College Campus

Charlotte Rhoads
Advisor: Pinar Batur—Second Reader: Molly McGlennen
Abstraction and Relation: How the Land Frameworks of the Penobscot Nation Deconstruct Settler Colonialism

Charlotte Schulman
Advisor: Pinar Batur—Second Reader: Lynn Christenson
Is “Natural” The Best Case Scenario? An Analysis of The Natural Cosmetics Industry from An Environmental and Laborer Health Perspective

Ethan Skuches
Advisor: Meg Ronsheim—Second Reader: Mary Ann Cunningham
Identifying Opportunities and Pathways to Increase Carbon Sequestration through Reforestation on the Vassar Ecological Preserve

Madio Wallner
Advisor: Mary Ann Cunningham—Second Reader: Kirsten Menking
Mapping the Distribution of Litter in the Lake Tahoe Basin

Maria Ziaja
Advisor: Paul Kane—Second Reader: Charles Arndt
The Soul of a Nation: Russia’s Omnipresent Forests

Samirah Aziz
Advisor: Lisa Paravisi—Second Reader: Himadeep Muppidi
Sustainable Fashion: A Shift in Conscience and A Segway into Resistance

Zoe Camhi
Advisor: Jill Schneiderman—Second Reader: Randy Cornelius
Can Board Games Save the World? Gaming for a Sustainable Future

Nicoletta Dinelli
Advisor: Andrew Davison—Second Reader: Lisa Paravisini—Consultant: Rick Jones
Placemaking in Crisis: Preserving Relationship to Place in Times of Pandemic & Climatic Change

George Edison
Advisor: Joe Nevins—Second Reader: Katie Hite
The 1944 U.S.-Mexico Water Treaty and the Americanization of the Borderlands

Claire Furtwangler
Advisor: Jon Chenette—Second Readers: Lynn Christenson, Jeff Walker
Shackled Waters: Illuminating the Movement to Breach the Lower Snake River Dams through Music, Story, and Song

Perri Goodman
Advisor: Samson Okoth Opondo—Second Reader: Lisa Paravisini
The Coloniality of Conservation: Slow Violence and the Dispossession of the Ahwahneechee in Yosemite National Park

Morgan Hayman
Advisor: Justin Touchon—Second Reader: Mary Ann Cunningham
Earth, Rain & Fire: the Matrix of Sediment Transport in the Pacific Northwest

Skylar Herrera-Ross
Advisor: Mary Ann Cunningham—Second Reader: Kirsten Menking
Box It Up: Imagining a Long-Term Reusable To-Go Food Container Program at Vassar College

Erica Hertzberg
Advisor: Pinar Batur—Second Reader: Alison Spodek
Techno-racism: The Toxic Treadmill of the Digital Era

Melissa Hoffmann
Advisor: Mary Ann Cunningham—Second Reader: Ashley Fent
Stopping the Expansion of Fossil Fuels in the Hudson Valley: The Strategies, Organizations, and Actions Needed to Make the Hudson Valley Fossil Free

Jacob Hunter
Advisor: Pinar Batur—Second Reader: Claire Sagan
Approaching Catastrophe: An Exploration of Jewish Environmental Thought and Its Place in the Contemporary Climate Movement

Rachael Kraft
Advisor: Pinar Batur—Second Reader: Mario Cesareo
A Movement Divided: The Latin American Fight Against Climate Change: Argentina’s Youth Movement

Madison Maguire
Advisor: Lisa Paravisini—Second Reader: Meg Ronsheim
People, Places, and Spaces of Vassar

Jack McGlinchey
Advisor: Leonard Nevarez—Lynn Christenson
Reimagining Suburban Lawns: A Guide to More Sustainable and Productive Yards

Greta Nelson
Advisor: Lisa Paravisini—Second Reader: Jodi Schwarz
Seaweeds and the Seascape: An Anthology for an Undecided Future

Bronwyn Pappas-Byers
Advisor: Pinar Batur—Second Reader: Lynn Christenson
Food for Thought: How Land Justice, Seed Sovereignty, and a Food Consciousness Rooted in Knowledge Justice Form the Foundations of a Food Sovereignty Transformation

Willow Parchment
Advisor: Lisa Paravisini—Second Reader: Pinar Batur
Internalized Racism and Environmental Degradation in Jamaica: Connections and Hypotheses

Leanna Tang
Advisor: Tom Parker—Second Reader: Lisa Paravisini
Environment, Economics, and Equity: Sustainability Challenges and Proposals in Côte d’Ivoire’s Cacao Sector

Isabel Urbanski-Farrell
Advisor: Adedoyin Teriba—Second Reader: Zach Cofran
Sustainability in Vernacular Architecture: Lessons From Passive Ventilation in the Traditional Architecture of Damascus and Ghadames

Vanessa Vazquez
Advisor: Pinar Batur—Second Reader: Lisa Paravisini
An Exploration of the Violent Connections Between Environmental Racism and COVID-19 on Marginalized Communities

Benjamin Volk
Advisor: Judy Linn—Second Reader: Zach Cofran
Anthropocene

Tamika Whitenack
Advisor: Pinar Batur—Second Reader: Diane Pater
The Climate Crisis and Sustainable Agriculture: Impacts and Possibilities for Small Farms in Northern California

Cutler, Savannah
Advisor: Kirsten Menking—Second Reader: Lisa Paravisini
Diatom Response to Changes in Water Chemistry During the Last Glacial Maximum in Estancia Basin, New Mexico

Gordon, Lucas
Advisor: April Beisaw—Second Reader: Lisa Paravisini
The Poughkeepsie Riverfront Project

Greenlees, Kai
Advisor: Randy Cornelius—Second Reader: Joe Nevins
Panarchy on the Peninsula: Rockaways’ Risk, Response and Resilience Following Superstorm Sandy

Guo, Shijie
Advisor: Lynn Christenson—Second Reader: Mary Ann Cunningham
GIS-Based Wildlife Activity and Habitat Modeling Using Wildlife Cameras: A Study of the Hubbard Brook’s Moose

MacEwen, Adele
Advisor: Pinar Batur—Second Reader: Lisa Paravisini
Sitting with The Oaks: A Journey Towards Greater Ecological Intelligence

Pierce, Ethan
Advisor: Lisa Paravisini—Second Reader: Chris Bjork
A River’s Role in Climate Justice Education

Rodas, Sofia
Advisor: Pinar Batur—Second Reader: Jodi Schwarz
The Fate of Oysters in a Time of Climate Change: How Cascading Impacts of Climate Change Are Forcing Oyster Aquaculturalists Into the Front Lines of Climate Change Opposition

Zenni, Wyn
Advisor: Myra Hughey—Second Reader: Lisa Paravisini
Speaking for the Frogs: Exploring Seasonal Variation in the Presence of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) in New York State

Julia Blass
Advisor: Joe Nevins—Second Reader: Jamie Kelly
The Evolving Political Economy of Food Waste: Emerging Experiments in Combating Urban Food Insecurity

Sophie Cash
Advisor: Jodi Schwarz—Second Reader: Pinar Batur
Climate Inclusion and an Inclusive Climate: The Why and the How of Integrating Climate Change in Higher Education

Haley Cubell
Advisor: Lisa Paravisini—Second Reader: Martha Kaplan
Artist, NGO, and Corporate Environmental Activism Through Creative and Artistic Expression

Mitchell Davis
Advisor: Lisa Paravisini—Second Reader: Kirsten Menking
City and Sea: Connecting the Urban and Natural Environment in Red Hook, Brooklyn

Stephen Kovari
Advisor: Meg Ronsheim—Second Reader: Mary Ann Cunningham
Using Camera Traps to Study Carnivores and Engage the Public in Conservation

Joan Krickellas
Advisor: Paul Kane—Second Reader: Lisa Paravisini
The Kyllini Hairbrush: A Pre-Teen Novel on the Climate Refugee Experience

Elise Matera
Advisor: Paul Kane—Second Reader: Pinar Batur
Non-Zero Stuff I Accumulated in 2017

Mirit Rutishauser
Advisor: Meg Ronsheim—Second Reader: Lisa Paravisini
Depicting the Destructive Beauty of Invasives

Thomas Schindelman
Advisor: Lisa Paravisini—Second Reader: April Beisaw
Silences, Symbols and Solutions: Understanding the American Environmental Imaginary of the 21st Century Through Eco-disaster Dystopian Film

Morrigan Turner
Advisor: Pinar Batur—Second Reader: Meg Ronsheim
Growing Together: Bridging Human and Nature Connections at the Old Garden Art Space

Brendan Wirth
Advisor: Alison Keimowitz—Second Reader: Joe Nevins
Mad Hatters of the Tioronda Hat Works: Legacies of Capitalist Enterprise and Environmental Inequity Stemming from the Hat-Making Industry in Beacon, New York

John Ammondson
Advisor: Joe Nevins—Second Reader: Jeff Walker
A River Runs Through It: Ecological Crisis, Environmental Justice, and Discourses of Salvation in the California Delta

Anna Beeman
Advisor: Mary Ann Cunningham—Second Reader: Paul Ruud
Valuing the Co-Benefits of Safe Harbors Green: How Valuation Can Inform the Implementation of Green Infrastructure

Eilis Donohue
Advisor: Stuart Belli—Second Reader: Mark Andrews
Natural Disaster Preparedness in the Anthropocene Case Study: Hurricane Sandy and New York City

Fiona Lunt
Advisor: Lynn Christenson—Second Reader: April Beisaw
Science, Subjectivity, and Seeds: Development of a Conceptual Framework for Ecological Restoration through an Experimental Investigation and “Restoration” Project on the Vassar Farm and Ecological Preserve

Clare McClellan
Advisor: Erin McCloskey—Second Reader: Mary Ann Cunningham
Expanding Environmental Education Programs: Evaluating and Developing Environmental and Outdoor Education Field Experience Programs With the Prairie Wetlands Learning Center in Fergus Falls, Minnesota

Nick Olkovsky
Advisor: Pinar Batur—Second Reader: Mary Ann Cunningham
Food Sovereignty as a Process: Exploring the Multiple Dimensions of Food Sovereignty in Venezuela and Maine

Clara Pomper
Advisor: Stuart Belli—Second Reader: Leonard Nevarez
An Examination of the Implications of State and Local Environmental Regulations for Grassroots Green Efforts

Jessie Prutisto-Chang
Advisor: Meg Ronsheim—Second Reader: Mary Ann Cunningham
A Proposal for the Replacement of Ash Trees in Poughkeepsie Parks

Gregory Suplinskas
Advisor: Lisa Paravisini—Second Reader: Stuart Belli
Producing Possibilities: Nature as a Transforming, Contested, and Coercive Agent in Queer Identity Production

Fate Syewoangnuan
Advisor: Meg Ronsheim—Second Reader: Zach Cofran
Mapping and Managing the Ecological Communities of Vassar College’s Campus

Jessica Cervantes
Advisor: Joe Nevins—Second Reader: Jeff Walker
The Ecological Colonization of Kern County: Fracking, Colonization, Nature and Violence

Elise Ferguson
Advisor: Jill Schneiderman—Second Reader: Rick Jarow
Problematizing “Mother Nature”: How Fear of the Feminine Has Ramifications for Women, Animals, and the Environment

Lydia Gold
Advisor: Erin McCloskey—Second Reader: Meg Ronsheim
Path to Nature Stewardship: Creation and Implementation of a Multi-Sensory Nature Trail at the Vassar Farm and Ecological Preserve to Promote Cognitive Development and Nature Positive Behavior in Young Children

Rachel Marklyn
Advisor: Meg Ronsheim—Second Reader: Chris Bjork
Environmental Education Through Signage on the Vassar Farm and Ecological Preserve

Addison Tate
Advisor: Leonard Nevarez—Second Reader: Mary Ann Cunningham
Poughkeepsie Produce and the Potential for Food Justice in the Hudson Valley

Lucy Brainerd
Advisor: Lynn Christenson—Second Reader: Marque Miringoff
Bull’s-Eye: An Interdisciplinary Study of Lyme Disease at Vassar College and in the Dutchess County, New York Area

Colin Cederna
Advisor: Mary Ann Cunningham—Second Reader: Stuart Belli
The Water Lords

Samantha Crane
Advisor: Pinar Batur—Second Reader: Stuart Belli
Wastelanding the South Bronx: Compounded Racism, Slow Violence, and Possible Rejuvenation

Sarah King
Advisor: Peter Antelyes—Second Reader: Randy Cornelius
The Climate of Vulnerable Spaces: An ENST Thesis Project

Benjamin Lehr
Advisor: G. Borradori—Second Reader: R. Edwards
Derrida on the Buffalo Commons

Ariel Looser
Advisor: Pinar Batur—Second Reader: Mark Andrews
Taking Stock: Considering Value in the CSA Farm Share

Jackson Miller
Advisor: Paul Ruud—Second Reader: Mary Ann Cunningham
The Push for Solar Energy at Vassar: Working towards Carbon Neutrality with the Vassar Solar Initiative

Maria Morris
Advisor: Paul Kane—Second Reader: Jeff Walker
Nature Experience as Sacred Experience, and the Production of Natural Places as Sacred Spaces in Contemporary America

Sarah Muskin
Advisor: Pinar Batur—Second Reader: Kirsten Menking
Outdoor Education as Ecocide Resistance: A Case Study of the Country School in Madison, CT Used to Examine Environmental Education Within an Outdoor Education Program

Sacha Pfeufer
Advisor: Joe Nevins—Second Reader: Paul Kane
The Nature of Resiliency: Urban Farming and the Negotiation of Difference in a Boston Neighborhood

Liliana Sabsowitz-Silverman
Advisor: Leonard Nevarez—Second Reader: Mark Schlessman
Waste Wonders: The Hidden Flows, Politics and Culture of Food Waste

Naomi Sudo
Advisor: Meg Ronsheim—Second Reader: Mary Ann Cunningham
Native Pollinator Restoration Within the CSA Model

Taylor Vann
Advisor: Pinar Batur—Second Reader: Elisabeth Chaves
Environmentalism at a Crossroads: Characterizing the Political Spectrum of Environmental Law and Practice

Kristianna Weber
Advisor: Pinar Batur—Second Reader: Stuart Belli
Postcolonial Ecologies of South Pacific Atolls: Climate Change, Vulnerability, and Global Responsibility