Three Seniors Leave Their
(Green) Mark On Campus
Members of the Class of 2010 entered Smith College at a seminal time in the history of higher education, marked by a surge in awareness about sustainability and the critical
role that institutions play in battling global climate change. Students were critical in leading many of the college's efforts. Three seniors in particular have been at the forefront of "greening" Smith.
Wolfe is a founding member of Smith Community Garden, which last summer sold its produce on campus. She began the garden on a nearby parcel in a residential area, then successfully campaigned for its relocation to the center of campus. Wolfe also led the Bike Kitchen from 2007 to 2009, quadrupling the campus bike rental fleet. As an intern in the Office of Environmental Sustainability, she helped develop Smith's greenhouse gas inventory and the college's Sustainability Plan. Much of Wolfe's senior year was spent in the Smith College archives developing an honors thesis "Sustaining Smith, an environmental history of food at Smith College, 1875-2010."
As a member of the college's Committee on Sustainability from 2006 to 2008, Miller led the effort to encourage President Carol Christ to sign the President's Climate Commitment. Miller also helped organize Smith's participation in the International Day of Climate Action in 2009. An active member of Smith's Green Team, Miller worked on finding solutions associated with the waste generated by our grab-and-go dining option. She and other students interviewed users of the grab-and-go program, took that data and, with another student, used it as the basis for her capstone project for the environmental science and policy course.
As Morrow House president, Kaelin promoted an increase in sustainable practices. She asked her 82 housemates to pledge to give up taking plastic bags at stores. And she began a publicity campaign to remind housemates about sustainable options and practices, including those surrounding water and electricity consumption. Kaelin also organized a campuswide light scavenger hunt in which participants spent an hour turning off lights in administrative, residential and academic buildings.
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