About Us

Through research, contemplation, and action, the Institute for the Environment strives to prepare students to think and act critically and creatively, evolve the culture of sustainability on campus and in our community, and foster connection between students and career experts. The Institute for the Environment is not one place; it exists everywhere. It is within our residences, our classrooms, our offices, our campus footprint, and extends outwardly to include our alumni and their lives, workplaces, and communities.

The Institute for the Environment is a hub: a place to engage, grow, experience, and make a difference. Because the “environment” spans both a depth and breadth of content, the Institute used Saint Michael’s College’s core curriculum and liberal arts approach as a lens to focus their teaching, learning, and institutional stewardship in five areas:

• Environmental Education
• Ecological Restoration
• Sustainability
• Farm & Food
• Environmental Analysis

Exploration of these content areas happen in the traditional classroom and the campus-wide laboratory. Students’ learning and experiences have impacts on six different “classrooms” on campus:

• The 360-acre Natural Area
• The 1.75 acre Farm
• Environmental Analysis labs
• The Teaching Gardens
• The campus (inclusive of the Pollinator, Raised Bed, and Tree Nursery gardens incorporated into the landscape of main campus)
• The Lake Champlain watershed

This work is done in collaboration with groups and programs across campus, led by the Institute for the Environment Steering Committee, and inclusive of the Sustainable Campus Team, Green Up, as well as the Environmental Studies and Science, Biology, Chemistry, Education Departments, and many other individuals and offices.

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Meet some of the students that make the Institute for the Environment possible:

Julia Murdick, ’25 – Farm & Food: Maintenance & Operations Coordinator, Farm Intern: Education & Outreach
Theresa Hoar ’25 – Ecological Restoration: Education & Outreach Coordinator
Anna McNulty, ’25 – Green Up President
Olivia Record, ’27 – Ecological Restoration: Maintenance & Operations Coordinator
Leaf Reiderer, ’26 – Ecological Restoration: Maintenance & Operations Coordinator

While elements of The Institute for the Environment can be found everywhere from the mailroom, to the dining hall, to the on-campus tree nursery, the Institute’s offices can be found on the first floor of St. Edmunds Hall. Please see the contact information below if you would like to learn more about the Institute for the Environment and how to get involved: