Environmental Science and Studies Programs

The Environmental Science & Studies majors culminate in a capstone experience (EVST 400) that encourages students to integrate and apply their skills and knowledge to advance campus sustainability initiatives. This course is always co-taught by a STEM faculty member paired with a faculty member from the social sciences or humanities. After reading "The Sunflower Forest: Ecological Restoration and the New Communion with Nature" by William Jordan, EVST 400 students in fall 2022 proposed student learning outcomes for a Sustainability attribute for the Common Course of Study (CCS). The CCS includes the outcomes-based general education requirements for all Lafayette students. To advertise and promote environment & sustainability in the academic core, EVST 400 students also created an art installation - an interactive web suspended by campus trees to encourage mindfulness and reflection on the interconnectivity and unity of all life on Earth.

The Community Garden & Working Farm is a site for teaching, research, outreach, growing healthy food, and building community. Our daily work and our long-term goals aim to build an understanding of the critical role of food and farming in environmental stewardship.

Sept 2016. As part of our ongoing efforts to address ecological sustainability, EVST students recently planted native perennials (Little Bluestem, Obedient Plant, Grey-Headed Coneflower, and Indian Grass) along the buffer area and drainage swale at LaFarm. The project was funded by a grant from the Lehigh Gap Nature Center's Landscaping for Communities and Wildlife program. Past ecology projects at LaFarm have included installation of a bee hive, bluebird boxes (a local Eagle scout project), plantings that attract pollinators, and protecting milkweed from mowing.