Environmental Science

Welcome!

Welcome to the Environmental Sciences Department of Goshen College. We believe that the environmental needs in our world require education that links people with scientific information; nurtures relationships between people, locally and globally; and connects our communities with the land on which we are dependent as part of God's creation. Program highlights include:

• Students have opportunities to become environmental scientists by doing science.

Our curricula provides extensive opportunity for students to engage in field work through labs, to participate in collaborative research with faculty, and to gain field experience through internships and the summer Maple Scholars research program.

• Goshen College manages an outstanding collection of field stations and natural areas

The Merry Lea Environmental Learning Center provides a 1,189 acre field laboratory which serves students in most field classes and offers the chance for residential programs during May-term and summer courses. Rieth Village is a Platinum certified LEED building that includes offices and student cottages and models innovations in sustainable design. The college also owns and manages a Marine Biology Field Station in the Florida Keys where students take classes and perform research in marine systems during May-term.

• Our faculty bring a wealth of interdisciplinary knowledge related to addressing solutions to environmental challenges

Addressing solutions to environmental problems requires an integration of multiple disciplines. Goshen College currently has scholars studying ecological economics, environmental history, and the sociology of food production. Environmental Science students join a community of students and professors committed to fleshing out God's call to live at peace with one another and the creation for which we are called to care.

Prairie researchers wanted; summer 2009 Maple Scholar applications are now OPEN

Environmental Sciences students may be interested in a Tallgrass prairie research project at Merry Lea. Ryan Sensenig will be leading two Maple Scholars in assessing how deer affects prairie forbs. Students will also help in some bird-banding. If interested in more details contact Ryan.

Check out the Maple Scholars webpage for details of how to apply. Applications are due on Feb. 1, 2009. Click here to see all the faculty research projects.

Apply NOW to be on the Ecological Stewardship Committee!

The Ecological Stewardship Committee has another opening for a student representative. If you have interest in applying please fill out an application and submit it to ecostewardshipgoshen.edu. The opening is restricted to first or second year students in order to maintain continuity through the next several years. This is your chance to get involved in a diverse array of activities and projects that seek to Green our campus and promote environmental stewardship.

For more information about the Goshen College Environmental Science program contact the director:

Ryan Sensenig, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Biology
Lindsey Fellow, Merry Lea Environmental Learning Center
574-535-7489
rlsenseniggoshen.edu

Current Events

Joel Salatin "Local Food, Local Economies"

January 20th, 7:00 pm, Old Goshen Theater

"The Joel Salatin family farm, Polyface Inc. (“The Farm of Many Faces”), has been featured in SMITHSONIAN MAGAZINE, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC, GOURMET and countless other radio,television and print media. Profiled on the Lives of the 21st Century series with Peter Jennings on ABC World News, his after-broadcast chat room fielded more hits than any other segment to date. It achieved iconic status as the grass farm featured in the NEW YORK TIMES bestseller OMNIVORE’S DILEMMA by food writer guru Michael Pollan."

Sponsored by the Goshen Community Sustainability Project

Tuesday January 20 7:00 pm, Old Goshen Theater, 216 South Main Street, $15 / $5 for students with ID.

Bill McKibben "Deep Economy: The Wealth of Communities and the Durable Future"

March 11th, 7:00 pm, Sauder Music Hall, Goshen College

Nationally known writer, Bill McKibben, will be speaking on campus on Wednesday March 11th. McKibben will discuss his recent book published in 2007 of the same title. "Bill McKibben is an American environmentalist and writer who frequently writes about global warming, alternative energy, and the risks associated with human genetic engineering. Bill is a frequent contributor to various magazines including The New York Times, The Atlantic Monthly, Harper's, Orion Magazine, Mother Jones, The New York Review of Books, Granta, Rolling Stone, and Outside. He is also a board member and contributor to Grist Magazine. Bill has been awarded Guggenheim and Lyndhurst Fellowships, and won the Lannan Prize for nonfiction writing in 2000."

Sponsored by the Goshen College Yoder Public Affairs Lecture Series

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