Welcome to the Zilkha Center for Environmental Initiatives, Williams' sustainability office.
The Zilkha Center advances sustainability at Williams College in collaboration with operational departments, faculty, students and partners outside the college. Our key focus areas include:
How does the Zilkha Center fit into the campus ecosystem? Campus sustainability is everyone’s job, but the Zilkha Center exists to support and keep the work moving forward. The Center focuses primarily on improving campus operations while engaging students in the work.
Academic courses around sustainability and the environment fall under the Center for Environmental Studies (CES). Students interested in majoring in environmental studies or the research and internship opportunities CES provides should reach out directly to CES.
NEWS & UPDATES
The ZC has teamed up with the Center for Learning in Action (CLIA) to share some information on how to get involved with the Northern Tier Passenger Rail Project (NRPP). To learn more about the project, check out the Northern Tier Rail Restoration Project page on the Williams website (https://learning-in-action.williams.edu/community/northern-tier-rail/)!
The ZC has teamed up with the Center for Learning in Action (CLIA) to share some information about the Northern Tier Passenger Rail Project (NRPP). The rail could be an opportunity to provide students with means to travel easier while bolstering local economies! To learn more about the project, check out the Northern Tier Rail Restoration Project page on the Williams website (https://learning-in-action.williams.edu/community/northern-tier-rail/).
There are 15 categories of scope 3 emissions! Air Travel is one of Williams’ primary Scope 3 emissions sources, including student transportation to and from campus. 🛬
What are ways for us to reduce our Scope 3 Emissions? Let us know in the comments!
Thanks for a great Earth Week! The events finished out with this MinCo/WoC/ZC collaboration. DM us your Earth Week photos for a chance to be highlighted on our Insta!
Earth Week events are underway!
Photos are from:
-A WOC & talk collaboration between MinCo groups, WOC, and Zilkha to talk about BIPOC experiences in the outdoors, hosted by EcoRep Yunae and Poppy Miller
-Two kindergarten classes visited the ‘66 Envi Center to learn from garden interns Fiona, Uhart, and Mercy
-Earth Day Jamboree, which hosted earth-themed boba and environmental groups tabling, hosted by EcoReps Sonia, Sean, and Yunae
Have you ever wondered where the college’s waste (including yours!) goes? Introducing Part One of the EcoReps’s Earth Week Video Series! EcoRep Sean Morrissey ’24 breaks down where our waste ends up and includes some facts on why it’s so important to reduce waste!
Happy Earth Week! Here are some sustainability-oriented challenges or goals for this week (and beyond). 🌎
The Zilkha Center wishes you all a Happy Earth Day! Be on the lookout this week for a video series related to Earth Week created by our EcoReps. ❤️ 🌎
Our Scavenger Hunt has BEGUN!!! Yesterday’s lucky person got a pack of raspberries. Today`s winner could be YOU! Find us around campus everyday until April 26th to win ice cream, fresh fruit, boba, and more! 🍓🥭🍦
🌎 Earth Week is approaching quite soon! Here`s the official lineup of events happening for Earth Week. There`s something for everyone—lectures, food, hikes, and so much more. Be sure to check them out! 🌎
🎞️ Enjoy Earth Week with free movies! Images Cinema is hosting free screenings of environmentalism-themed films from April 19 to the 25th. Visit imagescinema.org for the full lineup of films, as well as extra events and shorts! 🎞️
Caught in the act - The Mount Greylock HS Youth Environmental Squad hosting a cleanup near Cole Field! Thanks so much for your service to our community!
Keep your eyes peeled for our SCAVENGER HUNT starting April 19th! Solve puzzles (like this!) on our story to win ice cream, fresh fruit, boba, and more! 🍓🥭🍦
Williams is committed to an ongoing effort to decarbonize its operations and reduce its scope 1 and 2 emissions by 80% (against a 1991 baseline year). You can learn more on the Zilkha Center’s website (link in bio)!
🗣 With Earth Week rolling around, you may see terms like "green" or "sustainable" tossed around. But what do they all mean, and how do we know if they actually benefit the earth? Here`s a guide on how to spot trustworthy terms. 🗣
Notice anything unusual in the second image? Yup, the eclipse confused the solar trackers, making them point in the precise *opposite* direction of the sun. They must have heard you’re not supposed to look directly at the eclipse 🤷🏼♀️
🏡 Over break the Zilkha Center hosted two groups for a tour of the `66 Environmental Center - a sustainable architecture class from Colgate University and a kindergarten class from Williamstown Elementary School. Very different tours, but both great groups. Thanks for visiting! 🏡
Shout-out to Doug Schlaefer and Jason Moran for sharing the inner workings of both the Envi Center and Garfield with the Colgate group!
Join the ECGO Earth Month Challenge, starting today, April 1st!
Recycle and compost through the app to get gift card and discount rewards!
To get started, use the link in our bio to download the app! (use your phone - clicking from a desktop will just take you to the general ECGO website)
Can you be-leaf we have over 550 maple trees on campus?! Which species do you recognize? Check out our other tree species in the Data Dash (link in bio)!
Pursuing Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is critical for creating a just and livable future! This stacked chart shows the primary listings of sustainability classes that also fulfill Diversity, Power and Equity (DPE) course requirements. Read more about sustainability curriculum on the data dashboard (link in bio).
Transportation, including college-sponsored air travel, accounted for 12.6% of Williams College’s greenhouse gas emissions in fiscal year 2023. We’re working to actively encourage more sustainable modes of transportation – learn more on our Data Dash (link in bio)!
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