Sustainability

Andrew Cushing
Class of 2012

Posted February 14, 2011

Name: Andrew Cushing

Class Year: 2012

Major(s)/Minor: Environmental Studies and History / Earth and Oceanographic Science

Hometown: Grafton, New Hampshire

Leadership on campus: Residential Life, Green Global Initiatives, Eco Rep ‘09-10

Environmental Mission: Promote sustainability in the built environment.

How have you been involved in sustainability efforts on campus? I definitely felt intimidated when I first came to Bowdoin when it came to getting involved. After joining my dorm’s eco-action committee, I decided to become an eco rep and join Green Global Initiatives—a club that brings professionals with green careers to talk to students about their experiences in the “real world.” I’ve participated in eco service days, helped to weatherize local homes through Habitat for Humanity, and currently work for Sustainable Bowdoin (I’m the guy who gets to make the Installments!)

What course or professor helped you to connect with sustainability on campus?  Professor Wiebke Theodore’s Architectural Design class allowed me to conceptualize Brunswick’s railroad freight shed as a year-round farmer’s market. All of my science classes (especially Dharni Vasudevan and John Lichter’s Perspectives in Environmental Science and Phil Camill’s Biogeochemistry classes) have had substantial research topics that focus on water quality, forestry, and climate change.

For fun, I took Anthony Walton’s Telling Environmental Stories the fall of my sophomore year. As a result I enjoy dabbling in the creative nonfiction realm of English.

Have you been involved in a summer research fellowship? What did that entail?  I had a glorious summer working for New Hampshire’s Land and Community Heritage Investment Program (LCHIP). Pretty much I helped the organization monitor grant projects that involved land conservation and historic preservation; I met with many organizations in the state that work on conserving land and protecting historic assets. I feel like a proud dad when I mention it because I really enjoyed the opportunity to meet people all over my state who are so dedicated to saving the resources their towns consider essential to set aside for perpetuity. 

How do you think you will remain involved in sustainability efforts after graduation?  I plan to study historic preservation in graduate school, and I would love to incorporate the ideas of green architecture and sustainability into that field.

Besides work, I like to think of myself as environmentally conscious. It’s not me I’m worried about, though. Confronting neighbors and colleagues about recycling and using reusable water bottles is more difficult than confronting fellow Bowdoin students…if you know of any tactful methods of passive-aggressively reminding people to turn off the lights, let me know.

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