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Welcome to the Zilkha Center for the Environment

Zilkha Center for the Environment (ZCE) oversees campus sustainability efforts, manages Hopkins Memorial Forest in partnership with a committee of researchers and other stakeholders, offers time-honored co-curricular initiatives such as the student summer grant program, Log Lunch, and Maple Fest, and is the administrative home of the Environmental Justice Clinic.

Protecting the environment and building sustainable societies and economies takes all of us. The ZCE works to achieve Williams College's strategic sustainability goals. We emphasize engaging students in this work and—through our co-curricular programs and management of the Hopkins Memorial Forest—extend the opportunities for experiential learning, applied research and community engagement beyond our campus borders.

For academic courses on environmental and sustainability issues, the environmental studies major and concentrations, and senior thesis, please visit the Environmental Studies Program.

I have been asked about the orange ‘X’s popping up on trees around campus. The orange ‘X’ is a mark to indicate that the tree is being removed. When a tree must be removed on campus, it is not a decision taken lightly. It is decided only after tree assessments are conducted by a trained professional and when there are no practical alternatives to retain the tree safely.

Many of the trees marked for removal are ash (Fraxinus spp.) trees that have been attacked by an invasive species, the emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis), which eventually kills the tree. Other species marked for removal are significantly compromised for a combination of reasons, typically decay and structural concerns. The safety of the Williams community is our highest priority.

The impact is far greater than beautiful or interesting landmarks suddenly missing from the landscape. Trees make measurable contributions to their surroundings, including the number of species of caterpillars, butterflies, and moths they support, the amount of carbon they store, or the number of gallons of rainwater diverted from storm drains.

Although the loss of beautiful veteran trees deeply saddens me, I am delighted at the new opportunity it presents: planting new trees! In the spring 40 new trees will be installed on campus. The new plantings play a role in planning a resilient and diverse campus community forest for future generations. As the popular expression goes “[t]he best time to plant a tree was 30 years ago, the next best time is now” … or May of 2025.

To learn more about the campus community forest check out the online inventory in our Linktr.ee in our bio!

- Felicity Purzycki, Williams Landscape Ecologist Coordinator
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