Curriculum
Courses & Requirements
Academic requirements, majors, correlate sequences, and approved courses are available in the Vassar College Catalogue.
This program invites students to explore environmental issues through a wide range of perspectives in the social and natural sciences as well as the humanities and the arts. Students combine work in a particular field of their choice with multidisciplinary courses, often team-taught, in the program. The major involves field experience undertaken in regional settings (such as Vassar’s 416-acre ecological preserve and urban ecology projects in New York City) and through international programs. Introductory and senior seminars frame the major, which also includes a senior project or thesis of the student’s own design.
Declaring an ENST Major
If you are interested in declaring an Environmental Studies (ENST) major, you should contact the program office or director to plan your course of study.
- The director may recommend ENST participating faculty with expertise in your area of interest, and you will then meet with those faculty members to talk about structuring a sequence of specific courses for your major.
- With the assistance of the director or an ENST faculty member, you will complete the major plan of study. You will also write a 500-word essay describing your academic goals and explaining how you have structured your major to meet those goals.
- You will submit your major plan of study to the director. At the next ENST steering committee meeting, your proposal will be discussed, and the committee will provide feedback on your proposed set of courses and potential advisors.
- You may then submit the forms through the registrar’s office to declare your ENST major!
After declaring your ENST major, you will meet regularly with your major advisor to discuss your course selections. If substantial changes in your planned course of study occur, you will need to discuss them with the ENST director. The ENST steering committee will then review the changes and give you additional feedback on your proposal.
ENST Correlate
ENST houses two correlates: a general ENST correlate as well as a climate change correlate. Courses accepted for these programs are maintained in this list. Students interested in either of these programs should meet with the director to discuss their plan of study. After the plan has been submitted, the steering committee will discuss it and provide feedback. Once the student receives approval on their plan of study, they may submit the relevant form to the registrar’s office.
Requirements and Forms
- Environmental Studies Major Plan of Study Form
- Environmental Studies Correlate Plan of Study Form (PDF, 35KB)
- Climate Change Correlate Plan of Studies Form (PDF, 81KB)
- Environmental Studies and Climate Change Correlate List
If you are interested in declaring an Environmental Studies (ENST) major, you should contact the program office to connect with a member of the major subcommittee during your first or sophomore year to plan your course of study. The ENST major plan of study has the following main parts:
ENST Courses
This section of the major emphasizes the multidisciplinary nature of the field. Required ENST courses include:
- ENST 124: Essentials of Environmental Science. This course provides an introduction to the issues and methodologies of environmental science and is ordinarily taken in the first or sophomore year.
- ENST 125: Environmentalisms in Perspective. This course covers core humanities and social science issues in environmental studies, and includes guest lectures from many participating faculty. It is typically taken in the first or sophomore year.
- ENST 260, 270, or another 200-level course. Majors are also required to take one more 200-level ENST course that emphasizes the multidisciplinary nature of environmental issues (specific courses vary yearly).
- ENST 291, 292, or another field course. All ENST majors must have at least 0.5 units in a course that provides substantial field experience. ENST 291: Field Experiences in the Hudson Valley is recommended, but many other courses, including some taken while abroad, may fulfill this requirement. Students should speak to their advisor or the program director regarding fulfillment of this requirement.
- ENST 303 & 304: The senior thesis/project. The major culminates in a thesis or project in which students use their acquired knowledge and methods to conduct research and construct an individual thesis paper or project.
To see the diversity of previous ENST thesis and project topics, browse the thesis titles and areas of concentration of graduated ENST majors listed under “Theses and Projects.”
Disciplinary Concentrations
Students are required to take three courses from within two departments or programs, one within the natural sciences (including mathematics), and one from outside the natural sciences. These courses should build from the introductory level to the advanced level and allow students to develop a strong understanding of themethodological approach to the discipline; the courses should also be relevant to the students’ environmental studies learning. Only one of these courses may be at the 100-level. In one of these two concentrations, the student must also take a 300-level seminar relevant to the sequence. Students are welcome to exceed the three and four-course requirements within their disciplinary concentrations. The thesis or senior project should be relevant to at least one of the disciplines.
Theses and Projects
The senior theses and projects developed by Environmental Studies (ENST) majors reflect their diverse interests and areas of focus. For example, students may conduct field or laboratory research, explore policy issues, develop educational plans for local schools, conduct historical analyses, or develop a creative project in literature or art. Students develop close working relationships with their thesis advisor and second reader, who are ENST participating faculty typically from departments in different divisions of the College.
Sophia Espiritu
Advisor: John Elrick—Second Reader: Ashanti Shih
Towards Protecting an Enduring Sense of Place: A case for the Lahaina Community Land Trust
Isabelle Hartman
Advisor: Lynn Christenson—Second Reader: Deon Knights
Deer Management and Forest Community Response: How Experimental Deer Exclosures Can Help Inform Future Management Practices
Maya Lopez
Advisor: Kirsten Menking—Second Reader: Joseph Nevins
Land Use and Water Access in Xochimilco’s Suelo de Conservación
Noe Perry-Greene
Advisor: Timothy Lampasona—Second Readers: Lynn Christenson; Katie Gemmill
Nature Feeds No Favorites: A Speculative Fiction on a Post-Insect World
Lily Shimpach
Advisor: Kirsten Menking—Second Reader: Pinar Batur
Anticipating the Flood: Framing Priorities of Climate Communication in Copenhagen’s Plan for Sea Level Rise
Zoe Thompson
Advisor: Justin Touchon—Second Reader: Zachary Cofran
Primates, You, and the Zoo: How zoos contribute to the conservation of our closest living relatives
Talia Yustein
Advisor: Meg Ronsheim—Second Reader: Claire Sagan
Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration: A Conceptual Framework for Community-Engaged Resource Management
Kae Czesak
Advisor: Thomas Parker—Second Reader: Leonard Nevarez
Hard Cider Terroir in the Hudson Valley
Willem Doherty
Advisor: Michelle Tebolt—Second Reader: Alison Keimowitz
Capturing Sequence Stratigraphy with Oblique Drone Photogrammetry: A Case Study in the Book Cliffs
Zahara Goldkin
Advisor: Myra Hughey—Second Reader: Mary Ann Cunningham
Effects of urbanization on the abundance and diversity of birds in wetland habitats
Riley Heine
Advisor: Pinar Batur—Second Reader: Lisa Paravisini
Achieving Food Sovereignty Through Aloha ʻĀina In Hawaiʻi
Ray Hovis
Advisor: Katie Gemmill—Second Reader: Deon Knights
“The Loss and the Hope”: Changing Land in Contemporary Appalachia.
Clio Maya-Johnson
Advisor: Katherine Hite—Second Reader: John Elrick
Expanding Sustainability: Creating Relationships for Meaningful Food Recovery in Poughkeepsie, NY.
Rebecca Middlen
Advisor: Kirsten Menking; Pinar Batur—Second Reader: Alison Keimowitz
Nags Head, North Carolina, has a choice: Move inland or adapt to rising sea levels.
Sara Reisman
Advisor: Leonisa Ardizzone—Second Reader: Laura Haynes
Re-Examining Environmental Education in the Context of Our Climate Crisis
Charlie Rodhouse
Advisor: Jeffrey Seidman—Second Reader: Ben Ho
The Role of Green Hydrogen in a Decarbonized Economy
Leo Rothstein
Advisor: Meg Ronsheim—Second Reader: Katie Gemmill
Managing Our Weeds of Today and the Future: A Reexamination of Weed Science from a Biological and Cultural Lens
Madilyn Sandy
Advisor: Myra Hughey—Second Reader: David Kennett
Asthma in the Air: Environmental Injustice and Climate Impacts in Poughkeepsie
Ellinor Sheik
Advisor: Mary Ann Cunningham—Second Reader: Timothy Lampasona
Covercress and Camelina Adoption in the Midwest: Farmer Challenges and Solutions
Tilden Skoble
Advisor: Keri VanCamp—Second Reader: Lisa Collins
Wish for the World: The Phenology of Trout Lily and the Roles of Art, Community, and Citizen Science in a Changing Climate
Rebecca Weinstein
Advisor: Mary Ann Cunningham —Lisa Paravisini
A Bitter Cup: Producing Climate Vulnerability of Small Coffee Farmers in the Blue Mountains of Jamaica
Sophia Wigington
Advisor: Myra Hughey—Second Reader: Mary Ann Cunningham
Ecological Implications of Invasive Flora for Native Fauna: How Trapa natans Affects the Development of Lithobates catesbeianus Tadpoles
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