My Global & Environmental Identity
I grew up in a family that valued education, social service, and outdoor activity. Given these family values, my parents chose to send me to a small private school called Dutchess Day School from kindergarten to eighth grade. At DDS, I had many opportunities to build my environmental identity; I explored environmental sciences through place-based environmental curriculum like a week-long field trip to Cape Cod; I similarly explored global studies through classes like French and Model UN. Again, my early experience at DDS was a reflection of my family life. Growing up in a Catholic family I was taught the importance of gratitude, hard work, and engaged citizenship. Guided by this early environmental identity, in high school, I joined many environmental and service oriented activities, including the Pelican Service Organization, E-Proctor, the Norton Fellowship, Gilchrist Environmental Fellowship, and Model UN.
My Goals for GESC this Year
1. Learn about the history of environmentalism and tree life at campus, especially as it relates to my GERP Arboretum Project. I was to know more more about how our current landscape was shaped by previous school events and traditions, such as the annual Arbor Day celebration.
2. Use what I have learned through my first goal to teach our school community about the history of tree life and environmental stewardship at Loomis through my GESC capstone project.
Global & Environmental Resume
GESC-designated Courses
- World History
- CL European History
- Comparative Religion
- College Level Environmental Science
- Climate Change
- Sustainability
- College Level Guided Research Projects in Environmental Sustainability
- Graphic Design and Digital Art I
- College Level English IV: Literature and the Environment
- Chinese I - IV
- College Level Statistics
GESC Experiential Education: Scandinavia Trip with a focus on Green Cities and Innovation
For my experiential education trip, I went to Denmark and Sweden to study innovation and sustainable cities. In Copenhagen, we explored sustainable architecture and green transportation. On Samso Island, we toured organic farms and wind farms, looking into carbon-neutral living and sustainable agricultural practices. From this trip to Scandinavia, I wondered about the ways that I could live more sustainably in my daily life. Further, when I noticed how the the culture in Denmark and Sweden that value environmental stewardship more than the United States, I was inspired my Norton Fellowship Project where I taught environmental education to kids in my local community.
Additional Electives
- Environmental Proctor: I participated in maple sugaring and hydroponics. In these activities, I learned about plant growth and food systems.
- Model UN: I traveled to various universities to debate solutions to global issues, such as migration, sustainable development, and educational access.
- Gilchrist Environmental Fellowship: For my first GEF project, I planted trees by the solar fields to support the wellbeing of bees and pollinators on campus. For my GEF/ GERP project I helped Loomis Chaffee achieve Level 1 Arboretum Certification with ArbNet.
Learning Artifacts
GESC Coursework
Water Resources Journal (CL Environmental Science)
This assignment on water resources focuses on tributaries, pollution, droughts, and invasive diseases. Through creating this story map, I engaged with the Alvord Center Matrix under the sectors "Seek Knowledge" and "Enhance Understanding." As I learned about safe water access and shared water resources, I realized that the United States' lenient environmental policy and United States-based companies were contributing to global warming, water pollution, and water source depletion in a way that disproportionately impacts low-income communities, minorities, and people living in the South U.S. and Mexico. As I investigated the connections between large-scale exploitation of environmental resources and the suffering of communities living in a drought, I developed sympathy for these communities and their experience. These lessons on environmental injustice connect to the following GESC seminars.
GESC Seminars
During the field trip to the Connecticut Museum of Culture and History, I developed sympathy for people who choose to immigrate. For an activity at the museum, we were each assigned a family and a problem. We were then asked if we wanted to immigrate or stay where we were. When placed in the position of choosing to endure persecution, famine, conflict, or other, we often chose to leave the country where these problems occurred. That puts into perspective why some many people choose to immigrate. I further examined cultural and environmental circumstances during the travel box activity. In groups, we were tasked to create a display using the objects from theoretical family's suitcase. It was impactful to read the letters and hold belongings of family who immigrated, as those items represented that family's values and struggles. This activity enhanced my understanding the history of immigration in United States. After this trip, I want to learn more about how children are supported through the immigration process in our Nation and in Connecticut, especially in the current political system. I wonder what programs and activities school systems provide to help children through the transition to a new environment?
AnaAlicia and NourishmySoul took action against food injustice by creating community gardens, junior cooking classes, and student farming opportunities to teach children and adolescents healthy eating habits. AnaAlicia previously worked as a medical dietician. She primarily treated people with Type 2 diabetes and heart disease. These conditions can be treated or prevented with lifestyle and diet. She “sought knowledge” to understand the local and national environmental and societal trends that were increasing rates of obesity and diet-related medical conditions in her area. When AnaAlicia realized that people in low-income communities have less access to healthy foods and receive less education on healthy diets and habits as children, she “took action” to create opportunities for young people to learn about farming and cooking. Following the talk, Ana Alicia brought us to the Clark kitchen to prepare snacks. We used local ingredients and whole foods to make a lemon-ginger drink and a fruit-based dessert. Her talk reminded me of the work that Grace Rodner does at Loomis. She spends a lot of time educating the community on the benefits of adopting a vegan diet, and she teaches cooking classes to encourage students to follow a more plant-based diet. When you want to encourage change in your community, it is best to call people in and give them an opportunity to make a change in their own lives. AnaAlicia’s work with NourishmySoul is advancing food sovereignty and environmental justice in the Connecticut area.
From the Evening of Science presentation by Dr. Rob Stevenson, I learned about the importance of citizen science in environmental and biological fields. Dr. Stevenson promoted the BioBlitz challenge in coordination with iNaturalist, discussing how civilian observations of local biodiversity efficiently gathers millions of datapoints for scientists' use. This Evening of Science connects to the Alvord Center Matrix sector "Seek Knowledge," as it encouraged us to be aware and curious citizens as we identify life on campus and upload it to the dataset. Further, Dr. Stevenson spoke on the importance of observing our environment in context; we must analyze how our observations in the natural world connect to broader climate events and life cycles. This presentation encouraged me to enhance my understanding of the local environment as it relates to both regional and global climate trends.
GESC Electives
In my four years of Model UN at Loomis Chaffee, I travelled to conferences around the United State, debating topical global issues, such as sustainable development and conflict resolution. In MUN, I have adopted new perspectives, researched international politics and issues, and collaborated with my peers to create resolutions to these problems. In this way, I engaged with the Alvord Center Matrix by applying a global lens to critical thinking and problem-solving exercises, thus developing empathy for other perspectives.
GESC Experiential Education
Capstone Project
Ghost Trees: the story of historic tree life on the Loomis campus
Project rationale
While designing a tree walking tour for the Loomis Chaffee Arboretum in the Guided Environmental Research Class, I learned about the stories of trees that previously lived on campus from members of the Alvord Center and the LC Grounds Crew. From their stories, I realized that tree life could significantly interact with school culture and traditions. So, in the Loomis Chaffee Archives, I investigated the stories of past tree life on campus. I gained the inspiration of a "Ghost Tree" exhibit from a meeting with Dr. Morrell and his Vanderbilt professor Steve Baskauf, when they spoke about a Halloween-themed arboretum tour that had Mr. Baskauf previously provided. I wanted memorialize the trees that once lived on the Loomis Chaffee campus, telling the both a story of environmental changes and community initiatives.
Target Audience
My target audience was students, faculty, and alumni at Loomis. I wanted to teach members of our community about how the tree life on campus has changed since the school's chartering in 1874. I hoped to demonstrate the value of tree life on our campus and community culture so that students and faculty may gain appreciation for the current tree landscape that gained Loomis Chaffee arboretum certification this year.
Project Process
To complete this dining hall display on "Ghost Trees," I went to the Loomis Chaffee archives to gather images, log articles, and letters that revealed information about past tree life on campus. I concentrated on four specific stories: two trees outside of the Phelps House, the willow trees planted by Osbert B. Loomis, the American elm trees that lined the senior path, and the copper beech tree outside of the dining hall. Once I gathered my archival information, I wrote about the stories of each of these trees and why they were significant to the Loomis Chaffee school and its history. I then designed posters on Canva to celebrate the launch of the Loomis Chaffee Arboretum and the Ghost Tree exhibit. Once I completed the writing and selected photos for the display, I printed these materials and mounted them to foam board in the PHI. I then worked with the Alvord Center to layout the display and hang it in the dining hall.
Visual Interests
Project Reflection
My GESC project connects to the Alvord Center Matrix through the sectors "Develop Skills" and "Seek Knowledge." Completing this capstone project allowed me to develop my communication and collaboration skills because I needed to ask for support from teachers to work in the archives, hang the display, and edit my writing. Further, I developed my ability to apply an environmental lens to historical documents. Oftentimes, I pieced-together the stories of tree life through documents that incidentally mentioned the tree that I was researching. This dining hall exhibit on Ghost Trees relates to the Alvord Center Matrix through Seeks Knowledge as it could help students to reimagine and re-examine their understanding of Loomis Chaffee's history, especially as it relates to our local landscape. I believe this project has impacted the community because many students and faculty have approached me to ask continue the conversation about past tree life on campus after viewing this exhibit.
GESC Reflection
After rereading my GESC Statement of Intent, I feel that I accomplished my goals in the program. I had hoped to focus on the educational sector of environmentalism through my capstone project, GESC seminars and the global learning through my foreign language class and my religion classes. For my capstone project, I worked in the archives to explore this history of environmentalism at Loomis Chaffee, centering around a personal educational endeavor to learn more about past tree life as it related to my Guided Environmental Research Project— getting Loomis certified as an arboretum. This year, from the GESC seminars, I expanded my knowledge of local environmental and global stories, especially as they relate to global trends. Most memorably, we visited the Connecticut Museum of Culture and History; there, we discussed the history of mass domestic and international migration to the Hartford region when groups of people suffered from poverty, conflict, or other in their home land. Further, we developed empathy for others when we discussed food justice and food deserts with AnaAlicia Cruz. In her cooking class, we improved our ability to prepare fresh and low-climate-impact meals for ourselves. Finally, I explored global education through my senior year course load, which included Advanced Chinese 4, Comparative Religions, and Literature of the Bible. In Chinese, I pushed myself to understand a culture that is different from my own through studying both the language and the history of China with my class. In my religions courses, I deepened my knowledge of my own religion through a close-reading of the Bible and I expanded my understanding of Islam and Hinduism and the beliefs of people following those religions. These two classes benefitted my ability to understand history, conflict, and culture around the world, seeing how religion can integrally guide a person's actions and lifestyle. From GESC, I learned to seek understanding of beliefs or practices that I am unfamiliar with, to challenge my initial presumptions, to analyze local environments within national and global trends, and to work through challenges in my work through communication and dedication.