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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.

Happy Pi Day from the ZC! Join us for the next two weeks as we dive into our newly-launched Sustainability Data Dashboard (link in bio) and share more about our progress through numbers!

In the meantime, enjoy our pie 🥧 chart from the Dashboard featuring the College’s 2021 Scope 1 greenhouse gas emissions — which includes emissions from combustion boilers, furnaces, and college-owned vehicles combustion as well as refrigerants and fertilizer use.
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The annual Hopkins Forest Maple Fest hosted by the Center for Environmental Studies is tomorrow, Saturday March 9th from 10am to 1pm. Head over to Hopkins Forest for tree tapping, sap evaporating, and lots of maple syrup! ...

🍂 Today we celebrate World Wetlands Day! To learn more about wetlands in our area and the people working to protect these critical ecosystems, check out the local non-profits Hoosic River Watershed Association (HooRWA) and Williamstown Rural Lands. 🍂 ...

In case you missed it - we’re drilling for geothermal at the site of the new WCMA museum. It’s all part of the Energy and Carbon Masterplan (ECMP) that is working to get our campus off fossil fuels. One step at a time! ...

Quick! What`s the name of this building? (Hint - it`s not the Zilkha Center...)

In case you missed it, this is the Class of 1966 Environmental Center!

Built in 2015 by retrofitting & combining the historic (1794!) Kellogg House with a new half of the building, this space is designed to be net-zero water via rainwater collected on the roof, and net-zero energy from the multitude of solar panels around it. It`s part of the Living Building Challenge, a certification that goes beyond reducing the negative environmental footprint of a building by increasing the positive impact as well.

Want to learn more? Join us for a tour of the `66 Envi Center on Wednesday, January 17th at 4pm!
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🪱 Compost collection is expanding across campus!🪱

On December 1st, compost bins were added to strategic, high-traffic locations around campus such as near Sage, Currier quad, Garfield (home of the Sustainable Living Community) Frosh Quad, Sawyer, in front of the ‘66 Envi Center, and soon there will be one at the new @williamsdaviscenter

See the link in our bio for what you can, and can`t, put in campus compost.

Want a mini compost bin for your dorm kitchen? Contact the @williams.slc to request a small kitchen bin that you can bring to one of the larger bins around campus. Shout-out to Facilities for expanding compost collection around campus, and to @rebekah.lindsayy (post photo) and @gusdemerath for starting the dorm kitchen composting program as part of the SLC last year!
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🎁 Wondering how to be more sustainable in your gift-giving? Beyond Plastics put out a great guide on how to reduce plastic in your giving this holiday season! 🎁 Link in bio ...

🌼 The Zilkha Center is hiring! Whether you’ve just returned from being abroad, or have a better sense of your time commitments for the spring and are ready to take on something new, this semester-length internship is a great way to see what it’s like to work in sustainability. 🌼

Interns work 5-8 hours per week and receive project mentorship, (paid!) professional development, and the opportunity to learn how to make change on campus.

Application link in bio!
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Apply now to be a ROOT Leader for the Class of 2028! ROOT, an Ephventure founded by the Davis Center and Zilkha Center, focuses on welcoming new students (Rooties) by exploring topics related to social justice, identity, and sustainability. As a ROOT Leader, you have the opportunity to lead conversations on these topics, build community, and support first-years. If you have any questions about the program or application, do not hesitate to reach out to the ROOT Co-Directors, Aashi Mittal (unix: am1) and Bekah Lindsay (unix: ral2)! ...