Fall 2022 Newsletter
Colorado College Environmental Science and Studies
Letter from the Director
Dear Alumni and Friends,
I hope this newsletter finds you well!
It has been a very exciting Fall semester here in the CC Environmental Studies & Sciences Program. For Homecoming/Family Weekend, we were joined by five CC grads; Meriwether Hardie (EV Science, Class of 2009), Gina Jozef (EV Science/Physics, Class of 2018, Nathaniel Pearson (EV Policy, Class of 2013), Stephen Rijo (EV Policy, Class of 2013), and Zoe Zwecker (EV Science, Class of 2021). To a room packed with EV students and their families, the alumni discussed their current work, their career trajectories, and what about their EV majors have proved most useful in the years since graduation. We hope to make this panel an annual event, so if you you’re going to be at Homecoming next fall and are interested in participating, please reach out! We’d love to have you join us.
Director of the Environmental Studies and Science Program, Corina McKendry
We were incredibly fortunate to be able to sponsor two amazing speakers this fall! The first was world-renowned photographer James Balog, who since the 1980s has been using photography to study the relationship between humans and nature. This event was co-sponsored with the El Pomar Foundation, the Nature Conservancy, and the CS Downtown Partnership and was well attended by students and community members alike. Seeing his amazing photographs on the huge screen of the Celeste Theatre was incredibly powerful.
The second speaker, who was able to come to CC thanks to the ongoing generosity of the Linnemann family through the Timothy C. Linnemann lecture series, was Robin Wall Kimmerer. Dr. Kimmerer is a Distinguished Teaching Professor of Environmental Biology at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Biology. She is an enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation and the founder and Director of the Center for Native Peoples and the Environment. She is the author of numerous scientific articles and books, most famously Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants (2013), and a 2022 winner of the MacArthur “Genius” Grant. If you have read Braiding Sweetgrass, I can tell you that in person she is just as kind and thoughtful as she seems in those pages, as well as an inspiring speaker. She was also incredibly generous with our students, having lunch with the Native American Student Union and dinner with EV seniors. And here is a treat for you, our wider EV community! We were very fortunate to be able to record her lecture, which she gave to an at-capacity Kathryn Mohrman Theatre. You can access her talk through the link mentioned below in the ‘Department Updates’ section of the newsletter. Thanks again to the Linnemann family for their generous gifts that have enabled us to bring Dr. Kimmerer and other amazing speakers to campus over the years.
In final news, we are currently in the process of hiring two new environmental science faculty. Check our website this fall to meet the new scholars will be joining our Program! We have been growing rapidly the last several years (we have 65 seniors graduating this year!), and these new faculty will help us continue to provide the well-rounded, hands-on environmental science education that we are known for.
That’s all my news from Tutt Science. Please keep in touch with us! We always love to hear from alumni, and hope that next time you’re in town you swing by and say hello! Best wishes to you and your loved ones this holiday season.
Sincerely,
Corina McKendry
Director, Environmental Studies Program
Associate Professor of Political Science
Department Updates
Linnemann Lecturer: Dr. Robin Wall Kimmerer
We were very fortunate to welcome author and speaker Dr. Robin Wall Kimmerer as our 2022 Linnemann Lecturer. Below is a clip from her talk but click the button below to access the entire video. We thank Dr. Kimmerer again for her inspiring words as well as the students and community for packing the auditorium!
Faculty Updates
Below are some brief updates from some of our core EV faculty here in Tutt Science - featuring many many cute kiddos
Charlotte Gabrielsen: GIS/Landscape Ecology
I've been enjoying my second year as a tenure-track professor in the EV Program. It's been wonderful to see familiar faces in my classes, and I'm enjoying teaching Ecology this winter (including a chilly trip up Pikes Peak) and am looking forward to Environmental GIS and co-teaching Synthesis (with Dr. Perramond) this spring, among other things. On the research front, I recently submitted a report to the US Fish and Wildlife Service that summarizes my ongoing work modeling connectivity across Alaska and the Yukon under projected climate change. As I look ahead to the summer field season and hopefully getting back into studying wetlands here in the West, I've also been beginning to set up my research lab, which has been an exciting side project alongside teaching and thesis advising. My biggest highlight in the past 6 months, though, has been welcoming my second child, Leo (born this June). Finally, my personal goal is to complete my summer project (painting the exterior of our house) before the next newsletter!
Miro Kummel: Ecologist
Teaching wise, this past year was awesome. It feels so good to be back in the classroom and in the field with my classes. Particular highlights were EV209 in Costa Rica in Block 6 and Nepal in Block A. I am already planning the next Ecology in Costa Rica for Block 3 2023. Sadly, this past summer was likely the last time I taught in Nepal, but I am planning a lake ecology class in the Czech Republic. Research-wise we are wrapping up the treeline work and building up student-faculty collaborative research in desertification and pattern formation in shortgrass prairies southeast of town. I have a sabbatical next semester to write the treeline work up! Life updates. My kids are both in college, and I got seriously into ornithology (in addition to ceramics). My voice gave up in the summer with a paralysis of the vocal cords. I am re-learning to talk, and sometimes sound like Darth Vader (which can be quite challenging when I teach --- thank you to all the students and colleagues for being patient with me). It should take me a year to fully recover, but I am making progress.
On the left is Miro with students on his Himalayan Odyssey Summer Course in Nepal, hiking up to Larke Pass
Mike Angstadt: Global Environmental Policy and Law
I'm grateful for many things that the past few months have brought. After two pandemic years, my Global Environmental Policy students were again able to teach climate policy and facilitate climate negotiation simulations at a local high school this October. In all, they engaged with approximately 180 high school students and did a great job. Second, with support from a good friend and colleague at Lund University, I was also able to share initial results from a project that I conducted this past spring with 5 CC students; we are working to examine domestic climate lawsuits from around the world. Like Prof. Charlotte, though, the true highlight of the past half-year has been welcoming Leo and watching him get to know Linnea, Shay, our chickens, and Colorado! In the coming months, I'm excited to use my pre-tenure sabbatical to balance lots of Leo & Linnea time with research (examining climate law, environmental courts, rights of nature, and some new ideas) and personal goals (dusting off my trombone and playing more bass!).
Lynne Gratz: Atmospheric Chemistry
On the academic front, I’m back from a year-long sabbatical, enjoying getting back into the classroom and still hard at work on my research project at Storm Peak Lab. Zoe Zwecker was my inaugural student working on this project – she finished her thesis and presented at the American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting in December 2021. I mentored three more students on that project and they are all hard at work on their senior theses this fall. Brandon Chan (’22) will finish his thesis this week as a December graduate. Ellie Derry (’23) and Nicholas Hoch (’23) will also present their thesis projects at the upcoming meeting of the American Meteorological Society in Denver (January 2023). Next year I hope I can work more towards some publications on all the great work we’ve done as a team! Meanwhile I also received an award from the NSF to take my Atmospheric Chemistry class up to Storm Peak in Block 6 – I’m excited to introduce even more CC students to this facility and the great team of researchers working up there.
On the home front Alma (5) and Oscar (8) are in kindergarten and 3 rd grade, respectively at Steele elementary. They are growing fast and enjoying trying dancing, tumbling, soccer and art!
Homecoming Career Panel
In early October, we had 5 wonderful CC alumni join us on homecoming weekend for an EV career panel where they provided valuable insight and advice for our current students
Gina Jozef (EV Science/Physics, Class of 2018), PhD Student in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences at University of Colorado Boulder
Meriwether Hardie (EV Science, Class of 2009), Chief Operating Officer at Bio-Logical Capital LLC
Nathaniel Pearson (EV Policy, Class of 2013), Recovery Officer at Colorado Department of Natural Resources
Stephen Rijo (EV Policy, Class of 2013), Principal City Planner at City and County of Denver Dept. of Transportation & Infrastructure
Zoe Zwecker (EV Science, Class of 2021), Energy Analyst at Black Bear Energy in Boulder, CO
Throughout this panel they described the ways in which CC prepared them for their careers, the challenges they have encountered in entering these fields, advice on how to manage the challenges, and what they’re doing to boost environmental and workplace justice.
They provided examples of how career interests can change over time and that there is value in a liberal arts education. These alumni also illustrated the importance of finding a job where you not only feel capable, but also fulfilled and invigorated. Thanks again to those who joined us for this uplifting event!
Block 1
Block 2
Blocks 3 and 4
Student Summer Research
We had over 30 EV students doing internships or research this past summer, below are a couple examples of what the students worked on!
Soumya Keefe : Intern for Harvest Pierce County
I worked as an Intern for Harvest Pierce County, the branch of Pierce Conservation District that is involved with the urban food system. HPC aims to help everyone in Pierce County have access to healthy, affordable fruits and vegetables. HPC does this through many different programs and avenues, supporting community gardens, gleaning, farm training, native plant sales, and cultural ambassadors. I worked most closely with the community gardens, gleaning, and farm training programs.
Every Friday morning, we would go to Early Bird Farms in Puyallup WA and glean produce that would otherwise be wasted. We took that produce to the Puyallup Food Distribution Center where it was distributed to community food banks.
On the left I am harvesting scallions and on the right is an example of the kinds of produce we gleaned and brought to the distribution center.
Congresswoman Kim Schrier visited Goss Farms, Harvest Pierce County’s incubator farm as part of her campaign’s focus on urban agriculture. This is a place where new farmers can access land close to the city without the typical barriers associated with having to buy or lease land. We showed her around and explained how Goss Farms fills a need in the food system for accessible land in peri-urban spaces that can be used for CSA based agriculture.
On the right is one of the community gardens I visited during the summer, Patch on Pearl. A large part of my job was to conduct site visits at some of the 90+ gardens that Harvest Pierce County works in partnership with. I would check in with the garden leads to see what support we could provide and what they would like to see from us in the future in terms of resources, events, or anything else.
Gila Goodwin: Intern at Round River Conservation Studies, Darhad Valley of Northern Mongolia
Over the summer of 2022 I had the wonderful opportunity to conduct research in the Darhad Valley of northern Mongolia with the Ulaan Taiga Strictly Protected Area Administration and Round River Conservation Studies. Throughout the program, myself and six other undergraduate students assisted national park rangers in environmental research projects deemed important by the Mongolian Ministry of the Environment.
In response to poaching in the area, we monitored wildlife population levels and species richness using camera traps placed throughout the park. Additionally, we examined the abundance and distribution of Daurian pika, a burrowing, semi-desert, steppe-dwelling mammal that is considered a keystone species in the Mongolian steppe ecosystem.
Our third project was in relation to monitoring population levels of Vansemberuu, a sacred and endangered plant species typically used in Chinese medicine that is experiencing population declines due to poaching. Historically utilized by Mongolians to treat digestive issues, our research aimed to inform future levels of sustainable harvest for community use.
While much of our time was dedicated to field work, we were able to spend significant time with local rangers and herders learning about nomadic pastoralism, herding practices, environmental conservation in Mongolia, and future impacts of climate change. Overall, it was an incredible experience in which I developed a greater understanding of environmental conservation in Mongolia, the diversity of human-nature worldviews, and how the needs of humans can be integrated in the application of conservation.
What are CC Alumni up to?
Add to our Alumni Map!
We are working on building an interactive alumni map to increase networking among our Environmental Studies and Science community: if you are willing to share a bit about yourself and your work, please fill out the survey below and a pin with the attached information will pop on the map for other EV alumni to see!
Alumni Networking Survey
Click around on the map below and pins to not only see where CC alumni are living but a little bit about their careers and lifestyles!
Alumni Networking Map
