Sustainability

Shelley Levin
Class of 2010

Posted May 14, 2010

Class Year: 2010

Major(s)/Minor: Environmental Studies and English / Biology

Hometown: Woodacre, California

Leadership on campus: EcoRep '07-'08, Outing Club Leader, Outing Club Secretary '09-'10

Environmental Mission: To foster in others a love of the outdoors and our environment that leads to the understanding of the need for a more sustainable lifestyle.

How have you been involved in sustainability efforts on campus?

My first year, I became interested in sustainability efforts here when I started taking Environmental Studies courses and did a few events with Sustainable Bowdoin, like doing trail work for EcoService Day. The next year I became an EcoRep for Sustainable Bowdoin, leading Coleman Hall and my EcoRep Action Committee in events all year. I've continued working at Sustainable Bowdoin as a Sustainability Assistant since then, except for the semester I was abroad in Ecuador studying Comparative Ecology and Conservation, where I learned more about conservation and sustainability efforts in developing countries.

What course or professor helped you to connect with sustainability on campus?

My first year, I took Perspectives in Environmental Science with Professors John Lichter and Dharni Vasudevan. In the class we learned a lot about the history of the Androscoggin River, right next to campus, looking at pollution, fisheries, and recovery. Studying something so close by got me interested in how local sustainability efforts could be, and how Bowdoin students could get involved in the community. Then this past fall, I took Telling Environmental Stories with Professor Anthony Walton, in which I did a semester-long project with the Cathance River Education Alliance, an environmental education and conservation non-profit in Topsham. I learned a lot about local efforts in conservation and education, and how big a part education plays in learning about sustainability, on and off Bowdoin campus.

Did you study abroad? Were environmental topics a part of your program?

In the spring of 2009, I studied abroad in Ecuador with the School for International Training. My program was titled Comparative Ecology and Conservation. I learned a lot about how conservation efforts are different-and similar, in many ways-in a developing country where oil companies make up nearly half of the economy. I got to do an independent study project for a month on the coast in a small fishing village called Puerto Lopez, where I looked at how growth, tourism, and changing feelings of responsibility towards the beach were impacting the ecology and species diversity of the area.

How do you think will you remain involved in sustainability efforts after graduation?

For me, sustainability is definitely a lifestyle commitment, not just a job or class. No matter what I do, I hope I am educating-and learning from-those around me about how we can better take care of our environment. Next year I'll be doing Teach For America in Eastern North Carolina, teaching middle school science, where I hope to foster in my students a love of and feeling of responsibility toward our environment as I teach about them the science that governs it.

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