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Charles Van Rees (Class of '10) shares his research on Hawaiian Gallinules

4/28/2018

 
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On Wednesday, April 25th, GNCE alum Charles Van Rees (Class of 2010) returned to campus to give a talk in the Biology Seminar. Charles has just completed his PhD in Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior at Tufts University. He has also just received a Fulbright grant to continue his work on bird conservation next year in Seville, Spain. Charles's dissertation research focuses on the Hawaiian gallinule (or `alae `ula), an endangered waterbird with very specific habitat preferences. The birds live in fragmented coastal wetland areas on the island of Oahu, areas that are threatened by coastal development and likely sea level rise. Charles's research uses a combination of methods--including banding and direct sighting, genetic sequencing, and GIS mapping--to try to understand the relationships among those seemingly isolated populations. One finding that he reported was the the birds seem to like to travel along freshwater pathways, such as canals and drainage ditches. Charles is also an advisory ecologist with a non-profit conservation group, Livable Hawaii Kai Hui.

Lear Lecture: "Free For All At the Factory Farm"

4/12/2018

 
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L to R: Carole Morison, Michele Merkel, Jane Dawson, Derek Turner
On Thursday, April 12th, the Goodwin-Niering Center  hosted two speakers who gave a tag team Lear Lecture. Michele Merkel is an environmental attorney, and co-director of Food and Water Justice, the legal arm of Food an Water Watch. Carole Morison is a farmer/activist from Maryland's eastern shore. She was featured in the documentary, Food, Inc., and has written here about regulation of the poultry industry. They spoke to a packed house in the Chu reading room in Shain Library. Together, Merkel and Morison described how a small number of corporations have come to control the poultry industry on the DelMarVa peninsula, a situation that is pretty bleak from environmental, public health, and animal welfare perspectives. But they also described some victories, such as getting arsenic banned from chicken feed in Maryland. And Morison shared the compelling story of her transformation from an industrial farmer with a contract with a major poultry producer to a smaller scale independent farmer and political activist. We are grateful to Linda Lear, whose support for the Goodwin-Niering Center made this incredible event possible. 

Jean Thomas Lambert Lecture: "Can a Corrupt Company Be Green?"

4/9/2018

 
On March 1, 2018, the GNCE hosted Jack Ewing, from The New York Times, who has reported extensively on the Volkswagen emissions scandal. Ewing is the author of Faster, Higher, Farther (W.W. Norton, 2017), which tells the story of the VW scandal. In his lecture to a packed house, Ewing discussed the history of Volkswagen, and he told the story of how researchers first discovered that the company was cheating on emissions tests. He joined the Center students and fellows for discussion over dinner, and also held a book signing after the lecture. 
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Students from the Class of '18 Share their Research

4/7/2018

 
At Connecticut College, the new Fran and Otto Walter Global Commons provides a great space for sharing research and talking shop. Nine of our seniors recently represented the GNCE at an all-Centers research session the most representation of any Center! They offered updates on projects ranging from urban forestry in New London Connecticut to the history of anti-nuclear activism at Rocky Flats, Colorado. 

Sustaining Pollinators

4/7/2018

 
In February 2017, we brought in four guests for a symposium on Sustaining Pollinators - our first ever Lear-Conant Symposium. Our title, "Sustaining Pollinators," was a double entendre: we wanted to spend the day learning about how pollinators sustain us, but also what we can do to help sustain the pollinators that we depend on.
This time, we opted for a more modest event than our ambitious (hugely successful, but impossible to replicate) 2015 food conference--just one day, with fewer speakers, and more time built in for discussion and intellectual exchange.

At right: Center Director Jane Dawson with several GNCE students.
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​Alexandra Harmon-Threatt, an entomologist and ecologist at the University of Illinois, spoke about her research on prairie restoration, and how to design restoration projects that are maximally beneficial for pollinators. Rachael Winfree, a pollinator researcher at Rutgers University, shared some of her findings about pollinator diversity and what it means for agricultural crops. Sam Droege, who works with the US Geological Survey, described his experience trying to set up a native bee inventory and monitoring program. Droege is also an incredible photographer, and we enjoyed some exquisite images of bees. Finally, Simon Potts, Director of the Centre for Agri-Environmental Research at the University of Reading, UK, brought an international perspective on pollinator conservation strategies. Potts was a contributor to a major recent report on pollinators by the Intergovernmental Science Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). It was an intense day, capped off by a panel discussion and a banquet. Thanks to our fabulous guests, as well as support from friends on campus and beyond, the symposium was a wonderful success. We especially appreciate having so many guests from New London and Southeastern Connecticut.
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Left to right: Alexandra Harmon-Threatt, Simon Potts, Sam Droege, Center Director Jane Dawson, Associate Director Derek Turner, Rachael Winfree

Chelsea Parish '14 Making Her Way in the Legal World

4/7/2018

 
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iChelsea began her legal career as a legal assistant working at Dinsmore & Shoal in Philadelphia, PA, with Conn alumna Alyson Ricker McBride. After moving to Dallas, TX, she worked for Girder Wynne Sewell. Chelsea began attending Southern Methodist University's Dedman School of Law in 2016 as a Dean's List Scholarship recipient. Currently president of the Real Estate Law Association, Chelsea was an in-house legal summer intern with Capital Title of Texas, a title company. When she graduates in 2019, Chelsea hopes to pursue a career in real estate law.

Raymond Palmer '13 Leads International Cyber Security Team

4/7/2018

 
"Cyber security is high stakes for everyone -- but you have to keep calm," says Raymond Palmer '13. At a digital forensics and cyber security company, Palmer manages sales partnerships in the Asia-Pacific region, strategizing with his partners, while switching from Mandarin to Japanese at the drop of a hat. Educating local salespeople in 20+ countries, from New Zealand to India, Raymond swoops in as needed to create consensus among his partners and customers. While his favorite part of the job is traveling, Palmer also secures funding and organizes trade shows in Asia to promote his company's products. Outside of work, he tutors at the Los Angeles Public Library, helping adult Angelenos read. "I know it's cheesy, but literacy is power. I see their eyes light up when they recognize a word, and I know I'm doing the right thing."
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Palmer with his team at a recent trade show in
​Guangzhou, China.
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    The Goodwin-Niering Center for the Environment at Connecticut College

    a special community of students, faculty and staff that promotes student led and faculty guided interdisciplinary research on environmental issues

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