Urban Sustainability Archives - ��ճԹ�

Reinventing What’s Next

Susan Landers — Mon, 04 May 2026 16:23:22 +0000

Data analytics students

By fall 2023, about one-quarter of all students—and a significantly higher share of graduate students—were studying fully online. In response, colleges and universities are redesigning degree offerings with adult learners in mind, expanding fully online master’s programs, hybrid course models, accelerated and stackable credentials, and year‑round scheduling that better fits work and family responsibilities.

For ��ճԹ�’s graduate students, college is not a beginning, it’s a return.

Students arrive with résumés, responsibilities, and a clear-eyed sense of urgency. They want education that respects their time and opens the door to meaningful work. To meet those realities, we have created a variety of flexible pathways that help adult learners reinvent their careers without putting the rest of their lives on hold.

Across business, education, journalism, and urban sustainability, the college has rolled out and expanded programs that can often be completed in a year, taken online or in the evenings, and closely align with workforce demand. Together, they reflect a strategic shift rooted in ��ճԹ�’s long-standing mission of access and rigor, updated for a world of nonlinear careers.

Credentials Built for Working Lives

“We’re seeing students who already have careers, or who started one path and realized it wasn’t right,” says Professor Seungho Baek, who directs the M.S. in Finance program. “They don’t want to start from zero. They want something efficient, rigorous, and directly connected to opportunity.”

That thinking drives the M.S. in Finance, which can be completed in as little as one year and is offered both online and face‑to‑face. Students choose between specializations in quantitative finance and risk management or investment management and asset valuation. The program’s in‑person courses are held at 25 Broadway in Lower Manhattan, a deliberate decision intended to bring working professionals and industry experts into the classroom.

“We wanted to make it easy for people who are already working in the financial sector to participate,” Baek says.

Professor Seungho Baek leads the new finance master’s programs at ��ճԹ�.

Industry professionals teach select courses, grounding theory in real‑world practice. Beginning next fall, eligible undergraduates will also be able to opt into a 4+1 pathway in finance, earning both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in five years by taking graduate‑level coursework during their senior year.

The business school has applied the same model to accounting, launching a fully online M.S. in Accounting that can also be completed in a year, an especially appealing option for professionals seeking a credential with clear licensure and career outcomes.

Meeting a Citywide Need, One Teacher at a Time

In education, many graduate students are working professionals for whom flexibility can be the difference between persistence and attrition.

According to María R. Scharrón-del Río, dean of the School of Education, ��ճԹ�’s approach has been shaped by both student realities and the urgency of citywide need.

“New York City Public Schools is facing a massive staffing challenge,” she says, pointing to that will significantly reduce class sizes by 2028. “That means thousands of additional teachers will be needed, far more than the current pipeline can provide.”

��ճԹ� has long partnered with the city through Teaching Fellows programs, but in recent years those pathways have expanded and evolved. New alternative‑certification initiatives, including , are designed to help paraprofessionals and substitute teachers—many already working in classrooms—become certified teachers of record while completing their degrees.

“These are adult learners who know exactly what they’re getting into,” says Roberto Martínez, who oversees the Teaching Fellows and Ed Prep programs. “They’re already in schools. They’re parents. They’re career‑changers looking for stability and meaning.”

A key factor in ��ճԹ�’s success, Scharrón-del Río notes, is modality. ��ճԹ� was the only CUNY campus to offer its Ed Prep programs fully online (with required in‑person fieldwork), a distinction that quickly translated into demand.

“By word of mouth and because of the quality of our programs,” she says, “we received more applications than all the other CUNY campuses combined.”

The School of Education has also launched a new online advanced certificate program in reading science, designed to be completed in a year. The program responds to growing demand for teachers trained in evidence‑based literacy instruction, particularly in early grades—another area of acute need.

Katie Pace Miles, director of the Reading Science program, which addresses the growing demand for teachers trained in evidence‑based literacy instruction.

The Fast Track to a Master’s

Beyond education and business, ��ճԹ� has expanded accelerated options in fields tied to civic life.

A 4+1 in journalism allows students to earn a master’s degree in one additional year, while a newly launched 4+1 partnership in city planning with Baruch College creates a streamlined pathway for ��ճԹ� urban sustainability majors to earn a master’s in city planning.

“A lot of our students are returning students,” says Professor Tammy Lewis, who heads the urban sustainability program. “They’re here because this work matters to them. The master’s degree opens up more opportunity.”

Tammy Lewis shown here with students participating in the Tow Mentorship Initiative.

While each program is distinct, the common thread is intentional design: online delivery where possible, evening schedules, accelerated timelines, and curricula shaped in conversation with employers and communities.

Taken together, these programs signal an evolution in how ��ճԹ� understands its role—not just as a place of first chances, but of second and third ones, too.

“People are reinventing themselves multiple times now,” Martínez says. “��ճԹ� has always made that possible. We’re just building clearer, more flexible routes to get there.”

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Mapping ��ճԹ�’s Trees

Susan Landers — Mon, 04 May 2026 16:12:05 +0000

Michael Menser (second from left) with students from his environmental ethics class.

On a spring morning in 2025, students in ��ճԹ�’s Urban Sustainability Capstone course fanned out across campus with measuring tapes, field guides, and tablets in hand. Their assignment posed a deceptively simple question: How healthy are the trees on ��ճԹ�’s campus?

The answer, it turns out, is more than an inventory of trunks and canopies. What emerged was a living portrait of the campus itself—its past, present, and future, captured through student research that bridges environmental science, campus history, and public service in the heart of New York City.

Partnering with the NYC Parks Foundation, Capstone students designed and carried out a comprehensive tree-mapping initiative, inventorying and digitally documenting the campus’s diverse urban forest. Along the way, they gained hands-on experience identifying tree species, assessing tree health, and using geographic information systems (GIS) to collect and manage ecological data—practical skills aligned with careers in urban planning, sustainability, and environmental science.

But the project’s significance extends far beyond the classroom.

Contributing to a Greener City

The tree-mapping initiative connects ��ճԹ� to , a citywide effort to expand New York City’s tree canopy from roughly 20% to 30%, with particular focus on neighborhoods that have historically lacked green infrastructure.
While the city regularly surveys trees on municipal property, CUNY campuses are not considered city-owned and are therefore excluded from official canopy inventories.

��ճԹ�’s size, location, and ecological diversity created a rare opportunity to help fill that gap.

“With this project, students are generating data that didn’t exist before,” said Michael Menser, associate professor of philosophy and one of the faculty leaders of the initiative. “They’re contributing real information that can influence how we think about urban forests—both on campus and beyond.”

Rooted in Campus History

As students moved across the campus and quiet garden paths, their research also took them decades, sometimes nearly a century, into the past.

The land on which ��ճԹ� sits was founded as an arboretum, with its original landscape intentionally designed to integrate nature into academic life. In the 1930s, a greenhouse located behind Ingersoll Hall near Campus Road served as a botanical hub for students and faculty until it was later demolished during campus expansion.

As part of the Capstone, students conducted archival research into this landscape’s history, uncovering original arboretum-era tree lists alongside inventories and maps created over the past 30 years. The material revealed how the campus grounds have evolved in step with the surrounding Flatbush neighborhood.

“The trees tell a story,” Menser said. “They reflect planning decisions, social changes, and what a public urban campus has valued over time.”

228 Trees—and Counting

To date, students have identified, assessed, and mapped 228 trees across the campus. The inventory ranges from stately Siberian elms on the Quad, to cherry trees lining the back of the library, to a rare dawn redwood growing beside the koi pond.

Each tree was documented with species data, precise location, and health indicators, creating a foundation for long-term campus planning and care.

Informing the East Quad Renovation

The timing of the project is especially significant as ��ճԹ� moves forward with a major renovation of the historic East Quad, one of the most iconic and heavily used spaces on campus.

The renovation aims to create a safer, healthier, and more sustainable landscape while preserving the Quad’s historic character. Plans include replacing aging or hazardous trees with disease-resistant plantings, repairing underground infrastructure, improving stormwater management, and modernizing lighting and electrical systems.

Student-collected data provides valuable context for this effort—connecting archival history, present-day conditions, and long-term environmental goals. Together, the renovation and the tree inventory reflect a shared commitment to stewardship and resilience.

Sustainability Across Disciplines

The tree-mapping project mirrors the college’s broader strength in interdisciplinary sustainability education. Across campus, students and faculty are engaged in hands-on initiatives linking environmental science, public health, infrastructure, and social impact.

“��ճԹ� is uniquely poised to lead in this space,” Menser noted. “We bring together health, soil science, urban ecology, social research, and community engagement in one place. Students don’t have to imagine what sustainable cities look like—they’re studying them and helping to build them here.”

Looking Ahead

The Urban Sustainability Capstone has positioned ��ճԹ� as the first CUNY campus to create a comprehensive, GIS-based tree inventory, contributing valuable data to New York City’s evolving urban forest planning efforts.

Faculty are now working to connect additional courses to the initiative through the Campus as a Living Lab program, ensuring that the data continues to grow and inform future instruction, research, and campus decision-making.

At a time of climate change and environmental inequity, ��ճԹ�’s trees—anchored in history, studied through student research, and renewed through strategic investment—stand as living proof of how urban public institutions can lead by example, one branch at a time.

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Faculty Publish New Edition of Leading Text in Environmental Sociology

Richard Pietras — Wed, 17 Dec 2025 16:44:59 +0000

��ճԹ� sociology professors Kenneth Gould and Tammy Lewis, widely recognized as campus leaders in advancing sustainability initiatives, have released the fourth edition of their acclaimed co-edited volume, Twenty Lessons in Environmental Sociology. This text is celebrated as the leading undergraduate resource in the field nationwide, and it continues to enrich both the Urban Sustainability Program and the Department of Sociology at ��ճԹ�.

First published in 2009, the book has become a cornerstone in environmental sociology curricula. It has been used in 41 states—as well as in Washington, DC, and four Canadian provinces—and at more than 170 colleges and universities, including Brown, UC Berkeley, Cornell, Northeastern, Columbia, Stony Brook, Vanderbilt, Tulane, UNC-Chapel Hill, Notre Dame, University of Colorado, Washington State University, University of Oregon, and John Jay College of Criminal Justice of CUNY.

Unlike traditional environmental studies texts, Twenty Lessons in Environmental Sociology adopts a distinctly sociological perspective, offering twenty carefully curated case studies authored by experienced educators and researchers. The result is a lively, adaptable collection that distills the core ideas of environmental sociology into concise, accessible chapters—making it suitable for students across diverse academic backgrounds.

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��ճԹ� Celebrates 10 Years of International Climate Resilience Partnership

Richard Pietras — Mon, 29 Sep 2025 20:21:57 +0000

��ճԹ� celebrated a decade of transformative collaboration between New York City and Copenhagen in climate resilience, highlighting the role of higher education in driving global solutions to urban environmental challenges.

At a celebratory event held during New York City Climate Week on September 25, speakers reflected on the success of the partnership, which began in 2015 and has since evolved through formal agreements and renewed commitments. Central to this collaboration is the integration of research, innovation, and workforce development—anchored by ��ճԹ�’s (SRIJB)—and its academic counterparts at the Technical University of Denmark.

The symposium was co-organized by the SRIJB, the city’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), the City of Copenhagen, Ramboll Water (SRIJB’s industry partner) and C40 Cities, with additional support from the . This collaborative effort builds on the 2024 partnership between ��ճԹ� and Ramboll, which focuses on addressing urban water challenges and climate adaptation.

��ճԹ� Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences Jennifer Cherrier served as a lead organizer for the event, with Associate Professor Brett Branco lending his expertise on a panel session. Branco serves as the executive director of the SRIJB and Cherrier as its associate director for integrated water research.

In addition to the September 25 event, the SRIJB organized further meetings with administrators from the Technical University of Denmark, CUNY, and the Advanced Science Research Center at the CUNY Graduate Center to explore a potential partnership aimed at enhancing urban storm resiliency and adaptation efforts.

The day also saw a new three-year memorandum of collaboration executed between New York City and Copenhagen at the Danish consulate. This latest step named CUNY as the lead academic partner in New York City and the efforts run through the SRIJB.

“This partnership has demonstrated the incredible power of international cooperation,” said ��ճԹ� President Michelle J. Anderson. “From knowledge-sharing to the implementation of practical solutions like the Cloudburst Programs, our cities are stronger and more resilient because of this work.”

The initiative has created a unique learning environment for students, blending academic inquiry with real-world application. ��ճԹ� SRIJB Fellows are active participants in the Technical University of Denmark’s . This year, students from ��ճԹ� joined peers from Colombia, Denmark, Kenya, and South Africa to present their summer water case assignments at NYC. In November, the cohort will travel to Copenhagen with Cherrier to present their findings at the Digital Action Summit.

��ճԹ� continues to serve as a hub for inclusive innovation, public service, and experiential learning. Its commitment to accessible education and social impact positions the institution as a leader in preparing the next generation of climate resilience professionals.

“Our students are at the heart of this work,” Cherrier said. “They’re gaining invaluable hands-on experience that prepares them to lead future innovations in sustainable urban development.”

Graduate students in the earth and environmental sciences non-thesis track are currently developing year-long capstone projects focused on urban climate resiliency at the watershed scale, with New York City serving as the client.

The college has also forged strong ties with industry partners such as Ramboll, ensuring that academic research translates into actionable solutions. Through continued partnership, innovation, and education, ��ճԹ� remains committed to building a more resilient and sustainable future for all.

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��ճԹ� Recognized as Green Campus

Richard Pietras — Mon, 02 Dec 2024 16:50:58 +0000

��ճԹ� was recognized in The Princeton Review’sBased primarily on surveys the company conducted in 2023–24 of administrators at nearly 600 colleges and analyses of more than 25 survey data points, the guide profiled 511 schools which were selected for their exceptional programs, policies, and practices related to sustainability and the environment.

Sustainability is a stated value in ��ճԹ�’s Strategic Plan 2024–2029. From research assessing climate impacts to flood-prone communities, curriculum development that emphasizes the campus as a living lab, facility upgrades, and numerous student initiatives, the college is committed to a transformative educational experience that emphasizes sustainability and providing a safe and sustainable campus.

Stalin Espinal, sustainability coordinator from the Office of Environmental Health and Safety, and Yarnelle Bauzil, coordinator for the college’s community garden, separated trash at the college’s first large campus waste audit in April 2024, which assessed recycling practices.

Most recently, the college’s Office of Environmental Health and Safety released a that highlighted composting opportunities and the impact of single-use plastics. The office also released its Annual Impact Report on Campus Sustainability that highlighted several benchmarks from key focus areas—campus operations, environmental justice, engagement, waste minimization, academics, nutrition, and others—while offering forward-thinking plans for the future.

Some areas where the campus shined include:

• Just Transitions: Continued progress on BuildSmart 2025 Goals through improved accounting of energy savings by project, with 10 energy conservation projects completed, representing one million kWh saved. Collaborating with New York Power Authority and Sustainable CUNY, launched a project to build a decarbonization roadmap while reducing impacts to the local community and increasing resiliency.

• Increased Student Engagement: More than 252 volunteers contributed 454 hours to sustainability initiatives.

• Waste Reduction: Released guidelines for green events and achieved a 27.7% waste diversion rate through increased recycling and composting initiatives.

• Improved Campus Operations: Converting to LED lighting in 20% of re-lamping locations, which represents 37 tCO2. Partnered with NYC Parks to establish a native plant bed. Piloted a food waste collection program.

• Reduced Reliance on Bottled Water: Installed an additional five water bottle refilling stations, with more than 375,000 plastic bottles diverted from landfills.

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Kenneth Gould Takes Environmental Expertise Abroad

Richard Pietras — Wed, 13 Nov 2024 15:15:49 +0000

Professor of Sociology Kenneth Gould served as the visiting Seelye Fellow in the Faculty of Arts at the University of Auckland from October 5 to 19.

During his residency at the prestigious public research university, Gould gave a public lecture on Oct. 15. The lecture, examined how governments make decisions about investment after coastal disasters created by climate change.

Gould also lectured at the University of Auckland’s School of Social Sciences on “Climate Change, Disaster Capitalism & Environmental Justice: Some Implications for Island Nations” and ran workshops for graduate students and early-career faculty on socio-environmental research design, and career development. While in New Zealand, Gould also gave a lecture for science faculty at Victoria University of Wellington.

Watch an interview on climate change and the ecological crisis with Gould and Professor Luke Goode from the University of Auckland .

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Bridging Passion and Purpose

Susan Landers — Tue, 05 Nov 2024 21:28:18 +0000

Paul Gertner ’66 has always been fascinated by how people move through New York City.

The building industry executive and former city planner recalls how as a child he rode his bike all over ��ճԹ�, from his Midwood neighborhood to Marine Park, Prospect Park, and beyond. When he wasn’t biking, he’d ride public transportation, mainly the subway, far and wide. Gertner also loved geography, an atlas being his top pick at a grade school book fair. It is no wonder that when he reached ��ճԹ�, he was one of the first students to graduate with a degree in urbanism, or what is now known as urban sustainability.

Today, Gertner is a passionate advocate and supporter of sustainability efforts in New York City. His dedication to improving New Yorkers’ quality of life includes substantial gifts to his alma mater.

One such gift, initiated in 2021, is the Paul S. Gertner Student Internship Fund, which places sustainability students into internships at organizations in the field. Another, the Paul S. Gertner Fund for Urban and Environmental Studies, funds a full-time director and part-time college assistant at the college’s Center for the Study of ��ճԹ�, where interdisciplinary research about ��ճԹ� is conducted. These investments have allowed students to enter the world of urban and environmental advocacy, preparing them to be leaders in the field.

Becoming His Own Boss

After graduating from ��ճԹ� and earning a master’s in regional planning from Cornell, Gertner became a county planning director in rural Colorado. Moving to the West Coast, he worked as an energy planner for the California Energy Commission, assessing emergent energy technologies and electric cars long before they became commonplace. After nearly a decade, he returned to ��ճԹ� and took the helm of the family business, Starborn Industries, a manufacturer and distributor of fasteners and other building-related products that his parents started in 1961.

“I loved my career in California, but I wanted to come back to ��ճԹ� and be my own boss,” says Gertner.

Under his direction, the business grew. Patents were filed for new products, always with an aim, he says, to help people build better dwellings and to provide contractors with better ways to do things. The company became increasingly successful, and Gertner found that he had time to get involved in nonprofits. Besides his interest in urban planning, he has, for the last two decades, been a board member of Roulette Intermedium, a ��ճԹ� based organization dedicated to supporting emerging musicians and dancers.

He also turned to something that had always been on his mind: transforming New York City streets into more walkable, bikeable, sustainable spaces.

“Transportation connects everybody to the environment and our life in the city,” says Gertner, who believes a livable city goes hand in hand with sustainability. An idea he had to build a bike path over the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge grew into a plan to open a 60-mile route around New York Harbor. To accomplish that, Gertner founded Harbor Ring, an advocacy group dedicated to this goal. Today, the route integrates more than 28 miles of existing shared-use paths and bikeways and more than 20 miles of bicycle-friendly streets.

Bringing in ��ճԹ�

Starting in 2020, Gertner, as a board member of the tri-state Regional Plan Association (RPA), an organization that focuses on quality of life and the economic health of the New York metropolitan area, funded three important studies for the association. He turned to his alma mater for the third, an extensive study of the effects of e-commerce, bringing ��ճԹ� students on board to work as interns for RPA.

“It was a class project amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and they did a marvelous job creating a presentation; it was a great contribution to the RPA conference on e-commerce issues,” says Gertner.

Out of that emerged the idea for an internship fund to support ��ճԹ� students studying transportation, the environment, and urban sustainability. Gertner turned to Professor of Sociology and Urban Sustainability Ken Gould, then director of the Urban Sustainability Program, to help establish the Paul S. Gertner Student Internship Fund. Seeing a need to supplement the school’s Center for the Study of ��ճԹ�, Gertner worked with the center’s director Sociology Professor Gregory Smithsimon to establish the Paul S. Gertner Fund for Urban and Environmental Studies.

“My first love has always been to try to make the world a better place to live. ” says Gertner. “Coming back to ��ճԹ� after all these years, it’s emotional for me, especially seeing the students and how much they want to serve society, not just themselves—how they want to make the borough, the city, our country a better place.”

In just a few short years, the internship fund has provided students with opportunities to gain experience at organizations devoted to sustainability, such as Harbor Ring, RPA, Transportation Alternatives, Riders Alliance, the ��ճԹ� Greenway Initiative, and Open Plans.

“Mr. Gertner’s support has been transformational in connecting me with an internship at Open Plans, where I was able to engage in safe streets advocacy and public space management through tabling and public presentations,” says senior Wil Kitcher. “It allowed me to engage with the community in spreading awareness for environmental justice issues. I’m thankful for his invaluable support.”

“It’s a very exciting time to be working on sustainability issues in New York City. Paul’s support allows students to gain real experience with some of the city’s most important planning issues and new initiatives,” says Professor Smithsimon. “We’ve been fortunate that Paul had developed relationships with environmental, planning, and transit organizations; that has allowed us to have access. He is passionate that our students have these experiences.”

Addressing Real-World Challenges

Gertner knows how valuable paid internship opportunities can be, for students’ career prospects and the city’s future.

“It’s important that our students get out into the environment, not just seeing what an urban planner does, but doing things like testifying in front of the MTA or attending hearings to see what happens when you’ve done the research, have a plan, and present it,” says Gertner. “What are the real-world challenges? While I loved my career in urban planning, I would have liked the kind of exposure to real life planning work environments we’re trying to give students now.”

As a ��ճԹ� native, Gertner says that his deep love of the borough underpins his extensive commitment to the college’s sustainability programs.

“Our students are from here. They have families here. They have a vested interest. So many want to find solutions to problems such as congestion, air pollution, and flooding,” he says. Significant strides have been made to convert ��ճԹ�’s former industrial waterfronts into green spaces, yet Gertner is keen on getting those kinds of “amenities” deeper into the borough.

He is enthusiastic about students leading the way.

“[��ճԹ� students] can be a bridge from the advocates to the residents and the politicians.”

When asked about the next big thing that will improve the quality of life and contribute to sustainability in New York City, Gertner does not hesitate. “One thing I’ve been trying to bring attention to is this idea of eVTOLs—electric, vertical takeoff and landing aircraft. They are about to come to New York and displace a lot of very noisy helicopters that are taking off from downtown. But if the technology becomes widespread there could be concerning unintended consequences.”

And about the future? Gertner is confident the city will be in good hands with ��ճԹ� students at the helm. “Hopefully, one of our students will become the head of the Department of Transportation or the Parks Department,” he says.

And with supporters like Gertner, this vision can become a reality, enabling New York City to thrive, sustainably, for a very long time.

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Lighting the Spark

Communications — Wed, 19 Apr 2023 16:01:12 +0000

As a child, Alison Derevensky loved going to the beaches in and around the Sheepshead Bay neighborhood where she grew up. It was within this unique backdrop—of breathtaking nature among urban sprawl—that Derevensky began to develop what would become a lasting interest in nature, and the people within it.

While a student at LaGuardia High School, Derevensky enrolled in AP Environmental Science and cultivated a passion for the discipline. She also realized that she could use her own career as a path toward enacting change, so she searched for colleges that offered earth and environmental science-related programs. A friend of her mother recommended the Macaulay Honors College. Subsequently Derevensky discovered ��ճԹ�’s urban sustainability degree program—at that time, the only one of its kind in the city and one of only a couple in the country with a multidisciplinary bent. She knew exactly where she wanted to be.

By addressing the three pillars of sustainability—society, the environment, and the economy—the urban sustainability program “looks deeply at the societal and environmental issues that lead to climate change,” Derevensky says. Combined with the curriculum offered by the Macaulay Honors College, which includes a certification program in New York City studies, Derevensky cultivated an environmental science–focused, public-facing, and ethics-minded education that further inspired her to continue her studies at the graduate level, with the goal to prepare herself for work in the public or federal sector.

While conducting graduate research in crowdfunding at SUNY Binghamton—where she received a double master’s in sustainable communities and public administration with a certificate in nonprofit administration—she discovered BlocPower, a Black-owned, ��ճԹ�-based company specializing in energy efficient technology. She now works for BlocPower as the community coordinator for the Electrify Ithaca program. BlocPower won a competitive Request for Proposal from the city of Ithaca to assist in the city’s goal to completely decarbonize all buildings by 2030.

Derevensky views the future of urban sustainability in electrification, or the replacement of appliances that use fossil fuels and with electric-based ones. But this movement, she says, needs to be done in such a way that simultaneously “brings these benefits and technologies to the people most impacted by climate change” while not “pricing people out of their communities by doing so.”

With BlocPower, Derevensky collaborates with stakeholders, community members, and building owners to make them aware of the costs and potential incentives of electrification, and also works to ensure that the local community is involved in the overall outreach of the program as much as possible.

“We’re learning more about the things in our home every day, and figuring out how to make things better,” she says.

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It Ain’t Easy Being Green

Jamilah Simmons — Fri, 14 Apr 2023 18:15:29 +0000

There’s an agricultural paradise in the middle of bustling Queens complete with a barn, greenhouse, orchard, and poultry house. It’s land maintained by John Bowne High School, which boasts a nationally recognized agricultural program. It was there, as a student, that Christopher Arias nurtured an interest in nature that blossomed into a serious passion for urban sustainability and the environment.

Arias is now a senior at ��ճԹ�, where he majors in urban sustainability. Over the years, he has built upon his on-the-ground experiences through a number of academic fellowships and mentorship programs—most notably the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship Program, the Tow Mentoring Initiative, and the Kurz Undergraduate Research Assistantship, researching environmental justice, self-determination, resilience, and post-disaster recovery.

After working with faculty and mentors through these programs, Arias fell in love with academic scholarship and now has his sights set on continuing his education with a doctoral program in environmental social sciences. He also thinks it’s necessary to supplement his academic career with activities outside of the classroom. As president of the Puerto Rican Alliance, Arias cultivates a welcoming space for students of color and queer people to come together in community.

Arias also connected with GrowNYC, a New York City–based environmental organization that provides green spaces, food-scrap drop-offs, fresh food access via its Greenmarket network, and sustainability-related educational opportunities. When the organization expressed interest in building a compost site near campus, he reached out to them, stayed in touch, and put in his application when the time came for the organization to put out a call.

Now a compost coordinator for the organization, Arias sets up food-scrap drop-off sites throughout the city while speaking with members of the community about composting, sustainability, and any other environment-related topics that arise.

“I try to meet people where they’re at,” he says, describing his interactions with the people he encounters on site.

Though he observes that the culture of sustainability in New York is not as strong as it is in other places in the country, he says that the potential challenge makes him “more excited to have this opportunity to reach people and connect with them. I believe everyone has a relationship to the environment, whether they actively think about it or not.”

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Highlighted Faculty – Prof. Rebecca Boger

Susan Landers — Mon, 18 Apr 2022 13:29:34 +0000

Let’s congratulate our new Fulbrighter! Associate Professor Rebecca Boger of the Earth and Environmental Sciences department and Director of Urban Sustainability has been awarded a Fulbright award for the 2022-2023 academic year. The prestige of the Fulbright cannot be overstated. The Fulbright Program is the world’s largest and most diverse international educational exchange program and is devoted to increasing mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries. Fulbright alumni have become heads of state, judges, ambassadors, scientists, teachers and Nobel Laureates.

The overall goal of Prof. Boger’s project is to create digital geospatial tools for the digital public goods initiative to create a more equitable world. She will spend her time in Kenya and work with the United States International University Africa and the Kenya Agency to develop flexible education modules, create a Kenya-tailored citizen science app, and collect environmental data.

Let us once again congratulate Rebecca and wish her a wonderful and productive Fulbright experience. Congratulations!

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Urban Sustainability Archives - ���ճԹ�