News and Events

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Bard College Receives $1 Million Grant from Burpee Foundation to Support the Creation of the Burpee Trial Garden at Montgomery Place Campus

Bard College has been awarded a $1 million grant to be paid over four years toward supporting the Burpee Trial Garden, which will be located at the Montgomery Place Campus. The trial garden will revitalize the fallow lawn beds at Montgomery Place that historically grew vegetables and flowers and will engage Bard students in horticultural research and hands-on scientific investigation with real-world applications. Trial gardens measure how well a specific cultivar or variety will perform in a specific area or growing condition. These trials evaluate new varieties compared to an industry standard plant from germination to maturity or from seed to harvest. Bard students will design and evaluate the cultivation of new and experimental seeds and plants and explore climate-resilient plant introductions and adaptations at the Burpee Trial Garden. Students will utilize the scientific method, plant and insect identification, pests and diseases, genetics, biology, plant breeding and propagation, and the effects of climate on plant vigor. This project will help to determine how these plants perform in our mid-Hudson River Valley growing conditions, inspire the gardening public to explore new varieties and plant combinations, and educate the professional horticulture industry and garden visitors about its findings and recommendations.

The Burpee Trial Garden at Montgomery Place campus gives Bard students the opportunity to learn how to design, plan, and execute a planting schedule, develop skills to maintain display-quality working gardens, and interpret them for visitors on a public site. This opportunity further instills a passion for plants in students, inspires their commitment to nurture their environment, and opens up knowledge of plant-related careers.

“We are thrilled that the Burpee Foundation will help Bard restore and revive the historic formal gardens at the Montgomery Place campus, since they have been left fallow for decades. The new Burpee Trial Garden will showcase various varieties of vegetables and flowers that will be open to the public and act as a unique educational opportunity for students interested in research, horticulture, agriculture, and ecology. We are very excited to begin work on enhancing and using the gardens and reporting and sharing the results. Additionally, the grant award allows Bard to show their unwavering commitment to the stewardship of the campus landscape with a dedicated arboretum director and additional gardener positions,” said Bard’s Director of Horticulture and Arboretum Amy Parrella ’99.

Comprising more than 1000 acres along the historic Hudson River, the Bard Arboretum serves as both a place for enjoyment as well as a living classroom. Working to promote environmental and social justice, the Arboretum engages with the ecological and horticultural biodiversity of the Hudson River Valley as well as the political narratives that have shaped the land.

The Burpee Foundation is committed to reducing hunger and promoting well-being through investment in horticultural and agricultural projects across the US and around the world. The Foundation was established in 2003 by George Ball ’73, when he became the sole owner of W. Atlee Burpee Company, the innovative and iconic American horticultural company whose beautiful mail order catalogues, along with Sears Roebuck’s, were the mainstays of American farms and homes during the late 19th through the mid-20th centuries. Since its inception, the Foundation has made approximately $6.5 million in gifts consistent with its mission to more than 75 charitable organizations.



Post Date: 06-18-2024

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Professor Susan Fox Rogers Leads Community Birding Walks on Cruger Island Road as Profiled in the Daily Catch

This spring, Susan Fox Rogers, visiting associate professor of writing, is leading Monday morning birding walks from 7 to 9 am down Cruger Island Road on Bard College’s campus. The walks, which will continue through May 27, draw an intergenerational audience and are part of a greater environmental education initiative at the Red Hook Public Library, where Rogers is the inaugural Ascienzo Naturalist in Residence. Typically, participants will spot at least four of the Hudson Valley’s most common birds: robins, chickadees, tufted titmouses, and white-breasted nuthatches. On occasion, birders will spy more unusual specimens. “On these morning walks, we have seen eagles and listened to winter wrens, spied a rare rusty blackbird with its blazing white eyes, and delighted in the wood ducks crying as they take flight,” Rogers says. Biology major William Mennerick ’25, who took up birding during the pandemic, enjoys the walks. “I love birds,” he said. “I savor the weekly evolution of the landscape over spring. It’s amazing when vegetation starts to come in and then we wait for the spring chorus of songbirds, all at once.”

Post Date: 04-16-2024

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Bard Is One of Two Colleges in the US to Be Certified as a National Wildlife Federation Plastics Reduction Partner

Bard is pleased to be one of the first two US colleges certified as a Plastics Reduction Partner by the National Wildlife Federation (NWF). The NWF awarded bronze-level certifications to Bard College and California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt, for their efforts to reduce single-use plastics on campus. This certification acknowledges work by the Office of Sustainability, student advocates, and community partners to demonstrate significant action across four broad categories: education and awareness, behavior change, operational change, and institutional change. “Bard students are eager to defeat the monster that plastic has become,” said Laurie Husted, chief sustainability officer at Bard. “Next steps will be to fill some of the gaps we identified, including creating a Green Events Guide in collaboration with our new campus dining partner and continuing advocacy work.”

Post Date: 04-11-2024

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Bard College Receives $69,300 Grant from New York State Department of Conservation Hudson River Estuary Program

Bard College has received a $69,300 grant from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s (NYS DEC) Hudson River Estuary Program. Bard’s grant is part of $1.8 million in total awards recently announced by Governor Hochul for 26 projects to help communities along the Hudson River Estuary improve water quality, enhance environmental education, and advance stewardship of natural resources. Funding will support Bard’s project to develop a “River Harmful Algal Blooms Watershed Characterization and Communication Toolkit,” which includes a Watershed Characterization report and communication materials focused on harmful algal blooms (HABs) in the Walkill River, an emerging water quality issue that can impact public health.

The Bard College Community Sciences Lab will partner with the Wallkill River Watershed Alliance, Hudson River Watershed Alliance, and Riverkeeper to develop a public-facing HABs Watershed Characterization report for the Wallkill River, a Wallkill River HABs Communications Toolkit to help coordinate effective public communications about future HABs, and a broader Water Issue Communications Framework for watershed groups or municipalities across the region to guide communications planning for HABs or other emergent and emergency conditions that affect public health.

“This funding is an important investment in community-directed stewardship of Hudson River waterways, and I applaud the DEC for recognizing this,” says Bard Associate Professor of Biology and Environmental and Urban Studies M. Elias Dueker, who is also codirector of the Center for Environmental Sciences and Humanities, and head of the Community Sciences Lab. “With the increased pace of climate change, current policies regarding nutrient loading, stormwater management, and wastewater treatment simply are not keeping up with the increasing likelihood of algal blooms in our waterways as temperatures rise and precipitation regimes shift. Community scientists with a true sense of connection to these resources are a vital bridge between on-the-ground, real-time realities and the capacity for regulatory agencies to keep communities local to vulnerable waterways like the Wallkill safe. Community science is key to true climate adaptation and resilience, and I am thrilled to be part of this collaboration.”

Executive Director of Hudson River Watershed Alliance Emily Vail said: “The Hudson River Watershed Alliance is excited to be collaborating with scientists, local and regional organizations, and community members on this challenging and important issue. Harmful algal blooms can put people and pets at risk, and are an emerging threat in lakes and rivers. We’re looking forward to better understanding the latest science and communication strategies to keep people informed.”

Science Director of Riverkeeper Shannon Roback said: “Harmful algal blooms can pose health problems for both humans and animals who are exposed. As climate change progresses, we expect this risk to increase as blooms become more common. Effective public communication will be essential in reducing the harms. We are very excited that the NYS DEC Hudson River Estuary Program has funded our proposal to develop strategies to improve public outreach, communication and education around HABs, which we expect to have significant impacts to public health.”

“New York State is investing in projects that will improve resiliency and protect our natural resources both in the Hudson River Valley and across the state,” Governor Hochul said. “These 26 local grants will provide dozens of communities support to improve recreation, expand river access and education, and preserve and protect this iconic river for future generations of New Yorkers.”

Now in its 21st year, the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Hudson River Estuary Grants Program implements priorities outlined in the Hudson River Estuary Action Agenda 2021-2025. To date, DEC’s Hudson River Estuary Program awarded 643 grants totaling more than $28 million. Funding for DEC’s Estuary Grants program is provided by New York State’s Environmental Protection Fund (EPF), a critical resource for environmental programs such as land acquisition, farmland protection, invasive species prevention and eradication, recreation access, water quality improvement, and environmental justice projects. Governor Hochul’s proposed 2024-25 Executive Budget maintains EPF funding at $400 million, the highest level of funding in the program’s history. 

Post Date: 03-05-2024

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Bard College Continues Switch to Geothermal

Bard College has commenced construction of a new state-of-the-art geothermal heating and cooling project that will replace the aging, fossil fuel–fired system currently in operation in the Charles P. Stevenson Jr. Library. “Bard College has been an early adopter of geothermal, with some systems on campus dating to the late 1980s. It is the default for all new construction projects, and nearly 38% of the campus building area utilizes the technology. However, converting the rest of the existing building stock is an entirely new set of challenges, especially when infrastructure is 50 to 100 or more years old,” said Bard Energy Manager and Special Projects Coordinator Dan Smith. “We are excited to partner with Brightcore and to tap its technical and financial expertise for this crucial step on Bard’s path to achieve carbon-neutrality.” Brightcore is serving as the turnkey provider of the project, delivering a full scope of services, from the feasibility and design, drilling and ground loop installation, mechanical connections, incentive procurement, and upon completion, ongoing system performance monitoring. The Stevenson Library’s new geothermal heating and cooling system further progresses Bard’s mission-driven focus on sustainability efforts. Through its Office of Sustainability, the College has pledged to achieve carbon-neutrality by 2035 and has made significant and measurable progress in meeting that commitment. 

Post Date: 02-28-2024

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Bard College Institute for Writing and Thinking Hosts Conference on “Climate Change in the Classroom: Embracing New Paradigms” on April 26

Bard College’s Institute for Writing and Thinking (IWT) will host its annual April Conference and welcomes educators of all disciplines on Friday, April 26 from 9:30 am to 4:30 pm. This year’s IWT conference will focus on “Climate Change in the Classroom: Embracing New Paradigms.” The conference will be hybrid, and participants can join online or in person at Bard’s Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, campus. Participants can learn more about the conference and register here.

The rate and severity of extreme climate events can bring on a feeling of numbness and resignation rather than catalyzing responsive resilience in the classroom. How can we refocus the conversation from crisis to education and adaptation? The 2024 IWT April Conference will conduct a deep dive into layered and often contradictory pedagogies about the natural world. This day of shared writing and reflection invites participants to join together in small, interactive workshop groups in order to explore a range of written, audio, visual, and hybrid texts—on topics from manifest destiny to global climate strikes—that are creating a new ecology of education.

The day will feature a plenary conversation by two Bard colleagues on the topic of climate change in the classroom from the perspectives of the humanities and STEM, respectively. Visiting Writer in Residence Jenny Offill is the author of three novels, Last Things, Dept. of Speculation, and most recently, Weather, which was shortlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction. Eli Dueker is associate professor of biology and environmental and urban studies at Bard, codirector of the Center for Environmental Sciences and Humanities, and head of the Community Sciences Lab. 

Tuition fees are from $450 to $575, with Early Bird (before March 26) and Group discounts. Scholarships are available by application here. The IWT conference is Continuing Teacher and Leader Education 5.5 credit hours. Register here.

Post Date: 02-20-2024