On May 2nd, Log Lunch goers gathered for the final lecture of this academic year, given by Williams seniors Grace Carter and Marta Symkowick. Each presented on their year-long theses with the Environmental Studies Department, focusing on areas in their discipline both local and distant: while Carter has studied debris… Continue reading »
On Friday, April 25, the Log Lunch community gathered to hear from mycologist Sue Van Hook. Sue worked at Ecovative Design, a materials company that uses mushrooms technology to create sustainable alternatives to plastics and polystyrene foams, from 2007-2016, and founded the company MycoBuoys, of which she is… Continue reading »
On April 18th, Log Lunch goers heard about how to take climate change seriously from Williams College graduate Ben Longstreth ’93. After law school, Longstreth worked at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and currently works as an environmental consultant. Introduced by his daughter Elka Longstreth ’25, herself a current… Continue reading »
On Friday, April 11, the Log Lunch community gathered to hear from Katy Lawson ’14 about her work at the New York Natural Heritage Program. She has worked at the Smithsonian Institute and she just defended her dissertation at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry in… Continue reading »
On one of the first true spring afternoons, Log Lunch-goers welcomed speaker Britton Rogers, the Executive Director of Yestermorrow Design/Build School in Waitsfield, VT. With a masters in environmental design from Yale, Rogers now heads Yestermorrow, which offers hands-on courses in architecture and contsruction craftsmanship for all… Continue reading »
On Friday, March 7, the Log Lunch community gathered to hear from Zak Podmore about his book Life After Dead Pool: Lake Powell’s Last Days and the Rebirth of the Colorado River. Zak gave a Log Lunch talk 12 years ago on his film… Continue reading »
On February 28, Log Lunch welcomed Elizabeth Kolbert to speak about her latest book, H is for Hope. The Pulitzer Prize winning author of The Sixth Extinction and staff writer for The New Yorker, Kolbert is also affiliated with the Williams College Environmental Studies department. In introducing her book to… Continue reading »
The community gathered for the first Log Lunch of the spring semester to hear from Visiting Professor in Environmental Studies Lindi Von Mutius ’03, who has also served as the director of Harvard’s Climate Action Accelerator and the Chief of Staff of the Sierra Club, in conversation with… Continue reading »
Every three years, the Zilkha Center for the Environment’s (ZCE) campus sustainability team takes a deep dive into the recesses of the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System, more commonly referred to as STARS, and the 300+ pages of the STARS Technical Manual. While the manual may not be a… Continue reading »
On January 24, Log Lunch attendees enjoyed a talk given by Molly Comstock, farmer and owner of Many Forks Farm. Molly hails from a small town in upstate New York, and after receiving her Bachelor’s degree in photography, she worked as a photographer before realizing that farming was her calling. Continue reading »
As snow fell over Williamstown on January 17, Log Lunch goers gathered over warm bowls of borscht soup and crispy potato latkes to hear from Jess Vecchia and Isabelle Morley of Roots Rising–a program based out of Pittsfield whose mission is to empower youth and build community… Continue reading »
On Friday, January 10, the Log Lunch community gathered for the first talk of 2025 to hear from Robin McGraw and Sergeant Jason Turner who are the founder and supervisor, respectively, of the Berkshire House of Corrections Aquaponics Lab. The talk kicked off the month-long series of Log Lunches focused… Continue reading »
On Friday, December 6 the Log Lunch community gathered for the last lunch of the semester to hear from Meaghan Boehm ’25, Brodie Leo ’25, and Yaroslava Yashchuk ’26 about their work doing public outreach for Pownal’s town forest in ENVI 402: Environmental Planning Workshop. Last year, the town of Pownal… Continue reading »
Before the Fall Break and Thanksgiving holiday, Log Lunch goers gathered to view short films by the students in the Environmental Ethnography senior seminar. This particular meal featured a special annual Log Lunch dish: squash fondue! The chefs cooked up butternut squash boats filled with three types of cheese and… Continue reading »
Sophia Schmidt ’17 returned to Williamstown to give the first Log Lunch talk of November, describing her coverage of climate change on Philadelphia public radio. Professor Sarah Gardner introduced Schmidt as one of her former students, an Environmental Studies and Biology double major who worked as a Log… Continue reading »
On October 26th, Log Lunch welcomed Dan Lashof, the Director of the World Resource Institute along. Williams Professor of Environmental Law and Policy Lindi Von Mutius ‘03 welcomed those who made the journey for parents weekend, before introducing Lashof. An old acquaintance and colleague, Von Mutius described Lashof… Continue reading »
On Friday, October 18, the Log Lunch community welcomed student speakers Emma Nathanson ’25 and Campbell Leonard ’25 to discuss their experiences working with local farms, funded by the Center for Environmental studies summer grants program. Emma, a history major, spent the summer collecting oral histories from farmers… Continue reading »
On Friday, October 4, the Log Lunch community gathered to hear from three student speakers — Sam Samuel ’26, Zee Taylor ’27, and Lana Mahbouba 26’ — about their summer research and internships with funding from the Center for Environmental Studies summer grants program. The funding is awarded… Continue reading »
Barton Jones Championing Nature’s Legacy Bart Jones has been President of the Cornwall Conservation Trust since 2011 and a board member since 2009. An all-volunteer board runs the organization, supported by a small part-time staff. CCT was accredited in 2016 and its accreditation was renewed in 2021. Under Bart’s leadership,… Continue reading »
On Friday, September 20, the Log Lunch community gathered to hear from the first speaker of the year — Jessica Bravo, Deputy Chief Environmental Officer at Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management is an agency within the U.S. Department of the Interior that… Continue reading »
On a beautifully sunny Friday, May 3, the community once again gathered for Log Lunch. As the last Log Lunch of the 23-24 year with a guest speaker, people were excited. The meal provided by the student cooks only added to the excitement, consisting of focaccia with wild… Continue reading »
On Friday, April 26, the community gathered for another excellent Log Lunch meal and speaker. On this day, the student cooks prepared a delicious meal of a chickpea coconut lemon curry, samosas, naan, garlic-chive chutney, a yogurt sauce, a crisp apple, snap pea, cucumber salad with mint, and… Continue reading »
On cloudy and quite warm Friday, April 19, the community gathered for another delicious Log Lunch. Today, the student cooks prepared an excellent meal consisting of chive pancakes, “build your own bibimbap” with crispy tofu, soft-boiled eggs, spicy sesame shredded vegetables with onions from Caretaker Farm, shredded cabbage… Continue reading »
On April 14, students, faculty, and community members were joined by Christina Rosan ‘96, an associate professor of Geography and Urban Studies and Environmental Studies at Temple University, for her talk titled “Climate Change Planning in Low-Wealth Philadelphia Communities: Reimagining Sustainable Cities.” The log lunch chefs served delicious… Continue reading »
An unexpectedly snowy Friday, April 5 brought the community together for Log Lunch, and spirits were high as the student cooks prepared a perfect meal for the day. Today’s menu consisted of carrot ginger soup with maple syrup from Hopkins Forest, a radish pomegranate salad, crispy Spanish patatas… Continue reading »