Among the dozens of Experimental College courses available to students this spring semester, one was brought about by the Tufts Office of Sustainability. Sustainable Spring is a one-credit introductory course taught by professor Ann Ward, the education and outreach specialist in the Office of Sustainability. The office team, including Ward, assembled this course as a way to teach first-year and sophomore students about sustainability at Tufts.
“The point of the class is really just to introduce students to all the different kinds of components of the sustainability community on campus,” Ward said. The class, which runs for an hour and 15 minutes every Friday, includes a mix of guest speaker panels and class field trips to different places around campus.
Ward came to Tufts in 2021 with a rich background in sustainability research and activism. She received a doctorate in Sociology from Brandeis University last August and decided she wanted to create a way to have a more direct impact on students.
“I took this job because I felt like I could take my dissertation research on young climate activists and try to [program] around some of my findings,” Ward said. “One of my findings is that young people are nervous about the climate crisis, but when they’re in community with each other, they report feeling better.”
There are many opportunities for students to get involved with sustainability on campus outside of the classroom. They can work for the Office of Sustainability as a Sustainable CORE Fellow through the Cultivating Our Resilient Environment program, or as a Sustainable Solutions Fellow.
Ward and the Office of Sustainability team wanted to create an opportunity for underclassmen students who may not already participate in sustainability groups to hear about all of the options for engagement at Tufts.
“Our office as a whole is really trying to think about: How do we make Tufts, as a community, a more sustainable place?” Ward said. “This [course] is like an on-ramp for people that aren’t already involved.”
Jessica Ji, a sophomore currently enrolled in the course, expressed her interest in the class when it was first announced.
“I have always been super into sustainability, and I feel like I haven’t had many opportunities to get involved on campus,” Ji said. “When I heard this class was going to be offered … I thought it would be a good way to learn more about what I could do.”
The class structure switches between panel sessions — which are always accompanied by pizza — and trips to different spaces around campus.
The panels consist of students or community members who talk about the work or internships that they do in sustainability. After the panel, students are able to network with the speakers.
The panels stood out as a positive experience for Ji.
“Definitely don’t be afraid to put yourself out there, especially the internship panel that we just had, everyone was emphasizing that, which I thought was definitely really helpful,” Ji said. “Seeing and listening to students who have experience within the field of environmental studies and focusing on sustainability … has been really helpful.”
Another aspect of the class is the mentor assignments. Each student is paired with a Sustainable CORE Fellow as their mentor, who can help guide the student in understanding sustainability options both during college and as a career.
The course’s teaching assistant, senior ShaSha Kingston, has been involved with the Office of Sustainability since the spring of her first year on campus. Kingston helped Ward create this course, and by the end of the planning process, decided that being a TA would be helpful for everyone involved, as she had already contributed heavily to the work and class structure.
Kingston is happy to be able to provide students with a taste of organizations working in sustainability both on and beyond campus.
“The Mystic River Watershed Association is [going to] come to speak in a week or two. They’re a nonprofit organization in Arlington, but they’re focused on environmental justice and bigger themes within sustainability, so I’m really excited for them to speak to everyone,” Kingston said.
While environmental work is already a huge part of many students’ experience at Tufts, Kingston stressed that involvement can be for anyone.
“I hope that [students] feel like they can connect with sustainability in any way and that you don’t need to be a major or invest your life or career into it. It’s something that's easily accessible and welcoming, and anyone can find a place,” Kingston said.
Kingston also noted another benefit of the class: extending the Office of Sustainability’s reach and engaging more students of all backgrounds when it comes to climate action.
“It’s cool to build in more of the complex nuances to sustainability, such as environmental justice and how [Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice] overlaps with the course,” Kingston said. “Sustainability isn’t just a space for rich and white people. It’s also a space for everyone. And there’s some really big, greater themes about accessibility within the space too.”
Beyond the environment, Ward hopes students use the class to self-reflect on how they want to participate in initiatives on campus in general.
“I want students to walk away from the class feeling like they know the direction of travel for themselves,” Ward said. “Hopefully, the class provides them with opportunities to explore that.”
But most of all, Ward wants students to know that they are not alone in caring about making Tufts and the wider world a more sustainable and environmentally friendly place.
“There’s a community of people that are working really hard to think about how to make Tufts a sustainable place. You’re not alone in trying to think about those questions of ‘How do we deal with climate change?’ and ‘How do we decarbonize?’” Ward said. “There are tons of people who are thinking about it, and we'd love to welcome you into that community and find ways for you to plug in where it makes sense.”
