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Sustainability News

Bard College’s Center for Curatorial Studies Receives 2025 Frankenthaler Climate Initiative Grant

The grant, in the amount of $75,680, will support CCS Bard’s Envelope & Air-sealing Upgrades Project, a series of energy efficient upgrades at Bard’s Hessel Museum of Art.

Bard College’s Center for Curatorial Studies Receives 2025 Frankenthaler Climate Initiative Grant

Students stand in the lush green surroundings outside a gray modern building

The Hessel Museum of Art.

Bard College is pleased to announce that the Center for Curatorial Studies (CCS Bard) has been announced as a recipient of a 2025 Frankenthaler Climate Initiative (FCI) grant. The initiative is a program of the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation, established and managed in partnership with RMI, the leading global expert in clean energy, and Environment and Culture Partners, a nonprofit driving the US cultural sector’s sustainability efforts. The grant, in the amount of $75,680, will support CCS Bard’s Envelope & Air-sealing Upgrades Project, a series of energy efficient upgrades at Bard’s Hessel Museum of Art.

These upgrades to building infrastructure will both increase overall energy-efficiency and reduce fuel oil consumption. Building upon the success of the Museum’s former 2022-23 Frankenthaler-supported Technical Assistance project—which included a suite of air infiltration and envelope diagnostic testing across the facility—Bard operations and museum staff have utilized that information to identify a new scope of air-sealing measures. The new project aims to reduce air-infiltration rates by 15% through a host of measures, thereby reducing the energy required for space heating and cooling, humidification and dehumidification, and fresh air ventilation for occupants.

“The FCI grant will enable CCS Bard and the Hessel Museum of Art to take climate action by allowing us to make our building more energy efficient, lowering our carbon footprint," said Tom Eccles, executive director of CCS Bard. “Not only will this contribute to Bard College’s campus-wide sustainability initiatives and goal to achieve climate neutrality by 2035, but it will also be deeply meaningful to our students and the broader community of artists, curators, scholars, and educators who care passionately about these issues and address them in their work.”

The Frankenthaler Climate Initiative is the first nationwide program to support energy efficiency and clean energy use for the visual arts and the largest private national grantmaking program of its kind for cultural institutions. Launched in 2021, the initiative funds energy efficiency programs and clean energy projects at visual art organizations, including art museums, art schools, non-collecting arts institutions, and nonprofit art events.  

“The Foundation is proud to continue supporting visionary projects that are reshaping the way arts institutions operate,” said Elizabeth Smith, executive director of the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation. “FCI’s fifth cycle highlights a new level of strategic thinking among applicants—one that seamlessly integrates creative practice with environmental responsibility. By extending this initiative, we reaffirm our belief that the arts can play a meaningful role in shaping our shared future.”

Kingston Air Quality Initiative at Bard College Reports After Five Years of Monitoring

The Center for the Environment Sciences and Humanities at Bard College (CESH) is pleased to announce the findings of the Kingston Air Quality Initiative (KAQI) after five consecutive years of research and data collection.

Kingston Air Quality Initiative at Bard College Reports After Five Years of Monitoring

Two people installing air quality monitoring equipment on building rooftop.

Bard Community Sciences Lab Tech Julia Beeman (masked) and SUNY Albany PhD student James Nimo (from Dr. Aynul Bari’s lab) install monitors measuring air quality on Kingston’s Andy Murphy Neighborhood Center roof. Photo by Desirée Lyle

The Center for the Environment Sciences and Humanities at Bard College (CESH) is pleased to announce the findings of the Kingston Air Quality Initiative (KAQI) after five consecutive years of research and data collection.

KAQI began in January 2020 as a partnership between Bard’s Community Sciences Lab and the City of Kingston Conservation Advisory Council’s Air Quality Subcommittee. Since then, Kingston residents and Bard College students, staff, and faculty have facilitated both indoor and outdoor air quality monitoring projects throughout the Hudson Valley. The first air quality study of its kind in Kingston, KAQI’s monitoring efforts focus on a regional assessment of air pollution as measured from the rooftop of the Andy Murphy Neighborhood Center on Broadway in Kingston.

“As a compact urban city, with a large percentage of our community living in either disadvantaged communities designated areas and/or potential environmental justice areas, we are acutely aware of the localized impacts of air pollution on our community members and quality of life,”said Julie L. Noble, sustainability coordinator for the city of Kingston. “The partnership we have had with Bard has been tremendously positive for us, providing sound, local data that we have been able to share, in real time, with our residents, to help them stay safe, plan accordingly, and make better choices for their own health and for the health of our environment.”

This is the first year that Hudson Valley Air Quality Coalition (HVAQ) has joined in producing the report, marking the first ever “Kingston Community Air Quality Report,” which is based on data produced through the Hudson Valley Community Air Network (HVCAN), a regional, community-powered outdoor air monitoring project. The newly released Community Air Quality Report for Kingston will be used as a model for other municipal areas where HVCAN has sensors. These annual air quality reports are intended to emulate the Drinking Water Quality reports that are issued by municipalities every year.

“Kingston residents should feel proud that we are one of the rare US communities that produces an annual report on the air we breathe! The information it contains may be new to many people, such as the outsized effect woodburning has on our air quality, our health and the climate,” says Lorraine Farina, long-time community scientist and HVAQ Coordinator. “This report, along with the extraordinary partnership between HVAQ and the Bard Community Sciences Lab and the new JustAir alert system will help us make well-informed decisions that are within our local control to preserve and improve our air quality.”

Additionally, Bard’s Center for Environmental Sciences and Humanities, through the Community Sciences Lab, is excited to announce that the success of KAQI has led to an expansion of air quality initiatives in the Hudson Valley, including the recent launch of a new online tool that allows people in the Hudson Valley community to have better access to information about their air. CESH has partnered with JustAir, an environmental justice tech start-up, to create the Hudson Valley Community Air Network x JustAir platform that gives direct access to real-time, validated air quality data in an accessible format. Air quality monitoring is critical to people’s knowledge of what they are breathing, and the more hyperlocal data, the better. Both street level data and regional data are essential for a complete picture of air quality.

“The Just Air app is an exciting next step in our collaborative efforts to protect air quality, residents' health, and the health of our environment,” said Farina. “During these times of increased wildfire activity, knowledge is increasing that fine particulate matter, from wildfires and from local wood burning, are major challenges to these goals. This app will make it more apparent and easier for people to keep track of their air quality and to recognize we have control of local contributions to poor air quality.”

KAQI’s main monitoring efforts focus on a regional assessment of air pollution from fine particulate matter (PM2.5), made up of microscopic particles from burnt fuel that are released into the air from oil burners, gas burners, automobiles, cooking, grilling, and both indoor and outdoor wood burning. PM2.5 particles are so tiny, they stay suspended in the air for long periods of time, allowing them to travel long distances before depositing. When these particles are inhaled, they can enter the bloodstream through the lungs, creating or worsening health issues. There is no safe level of exposure. The World Health Organization (WHO) states that “small particulate pollution has health impacts even at very low concentrations – indeed no threshold has been identified below which no damage to health is observed.”

Residential wood burning is the largest source of PM 2.5 in Ulster County. It is responsible for more than half of emissions from all sources combined (including all types of vehicle emissions and all types of fuel source emissions). Burning wood is more polluting than burning oil, gas, or coal.

After five years of comprehensive monitoring in Kingston, we continue to uncover valuable insights into our air quality and its connection to our daily activities and decisions as citizens. Kingston air quality in 2024 slightly improved from 2023 (based on PM 2.5 concentrations). This was likely due to a decrease in ground-level Canadian wildfire smoke, although we detected increased wood smoke pollution during several Ulster County wildfires in November 2024.

We also found that air quality measured from a rooftop is helpful as a regional air quality indicator, but that street-level air quality often has worse air quality, since PM 2.5 and other air pollutants can settle and move more slowly amongst city buildings. This phenomenon has confirmed our need for more street-level sensors in all Kingston area neighborhoods to be able to help our community make informed decisions when it comes to air quality. Having this public information would allow us to protect ourselves and our families when air quality worsens, and also allow us to make informed decisions about helping to improve air quality during those times.

One consistent observation over the past five years is the seasonal trend of higher PM 2.5 concentrations in the winter and summer months, likely attributable to wood and fuel used for heating and recreation. Another critical factor and ongoing research subject is atmospheric inversions and their implications for ground-level air pollution in Kingston. These events occur when the temperature of the atmosphere increases with altitude and surface level air parcels are unable to rise up, trapping air pollution at ground level. Given Kingston's location in the Hudson Valley, where air circulation is restricted, awareness of these events is crucial for informed decision-making to mitigate air pollution.

As we continue to research the complexities of air quality management, it's essential for Kingston residents to stay informed and engaged. By adopting sustainable practices, supporting clean energy initiatives, and advocating for policies that prioritize air quality, we can work together to create a healthier environment for all. More details about KAQI’s findings can be found at the Center for Environmental Sciences and Humanities website: https://cesh.bard.edu/kingston-air-quality-initiative-kaqi/

“This unprecedented partnership with the city of Kingston is a model for Hudson Valley cities building resiliency in the face of climate change,” said Eli Dueker, associate professor of environmental studies and biology, and director of the Bard Center for Environmental Sciences and Humanities. “By monitoring our own air quality, we, as a community, can together make decisions about the air we breathe. As last year’s Canadian wildfire smoke, and Ulster County wildfires reminded us, we cannot take clean air for granted. The air we breathe relates directly to our health, and it is important that we as a community ensure that everyone has access to clean, healthy air. Each of us can contribute to this effort, by making decisions about what we contribute to the air, including respecting city laws related to outdoor woodburning in city limits, decreasing indoor woodburning (particularly during inversion events), biking and walking more, and participating in city-led efforts to move to sustainable (and less polluting) energy sources as we further climate-proof our city.”

“At the Community Sciences Lab, democratizing access to local, real-time and historical environmental data is what we do, said Desirée Lyle, Community Sciences Lab Manager at Bard College. “And working to make that data digestible and actionable is a critical step toward environmental justice and empowering communities to protect their health, improve and extend their quality of life, and advocate for a safer, more resilient Hudson Valley.”

The Center for the Environment Sciences and Humanities at Bard College, through the Community Sciences Lab, has been working on a handful of air quality related projects centralized around community needs and concerns. These include:

Neighborhood-level air quality monitoring, through the fast-developing Hudson Valley Library Air Quality Network. Using outdoor real-time air quality monitoring devices stationed at public libraries, air quality data is free and accessible online. If any libraries are interested in joining, please reach out to [email protected].
In partnership with SUNY-Albany and the EPA, conducting indoor and outdoor air quality monitoring in homes with woodsmoke, mold and structurally-related air quality challenges.
In partnership with SUNY-Albany, tracking air pollutants such as Ozone, Black and Brown Carbon, and VOC’s from HVCAN’s four Hudson Valley regional air quality stations.

For more information or ways to get involved, please visit https://cesh.bard.edu/kingston-air-quality-initiative-kaqi/

Further coverage:
Bard College expands Hudson Valley air monitoring initiative, details findings in Kingston (WAMC)
How's the Air? How's the Water?? (Radio Kingston)
Bard College measures air quality in four areas of region (Mid Hudson News)

Post Date: 06-26-2025

Bard College Launches New Online Platform in Partnership with JustAir to Give Public Access to Real-Time Hudson Valley Air Quality Information

CESH has partnered with JustAir, an environmental justice tech start-up, to create a platform that gives direct access to real-time, validated air quality data in an accessible format.

Bard College Launches New Online Platform in Partnership with JustAir to Give Public Access to Real-Time Hudson Valley Air Quality Information

Person installing monitoring equipment on building rooftop.

Bard Community Sciences Lab Manager Desiree Lyle installs an air quality monitor for the Poughkeepsie Regional Air Quality Station (Adriance Memorial Library). Photo by Julia Beeman

The Center for the Environmental Sciences and Humanities at Bard College (CESH) is thrilled to announce the launch of a new online tool that allows people in the Hudson Valley community to have better access to information about their air. CESH has partnered with JustAir, an environmental justice tech start-up, to create a platform that gives direct access to real-time, validated air quality data in an accessible format.

Joining the platform offers Hudson Valley residents the option to subscribe to “favorite” monitors based on locale. Subscribing enables users to receive updates on their phones when air quality reaches unhealthy pollution levels so people can take precautions and protect their and their family’s health. This feature will also include guidance on ways people can help to reduce local air pollution levels during that time. For example, community members can know when to avoid wood burning or to limit car and other exhaust.

Large swaths of the United States, especially in rural regions like the Hudson Valley, have been identified as air quality monitoring deserts, relying on remote data from monitoring sites, which may be located far from the actual locations where people are living. This can result in misleading data that can be harmful to public health. People make day-to-day decisions that impact their health, like whether to exercise or wear a mask outdoors, based on inaccurate air quality readings.

The new Hudson Valley Community Air Network x JustAir platform provides far more accurate readings using validated, real-time data from Bard College Community Sciences Lab’s four Regional Air Quality Stations located at the Stevenson Library on Bard campus in Red Hook, Andy Murphy Neighborhood Center in Kingston, Adriance Library in Poughkeepsie, and Mount Saint Mary College in Newburgh. These stations are equipped with sensors from PurpleAir and QuantAQ which measure particulate matter concentrations in the air. The weather stations also collect weather data on rainfall, barometric pressure, temperature, wind direction, wind speed, and solar radiation.

Each regional air quality station will host a launch event where local community members can join and learn more about the impacts of air pollution on their lives. Event dates and details are listed below.

Since 2020, Bard College Community Sciences Lab has worked to establish Bard’s Hudson Valley Community Air Network (HVCAN), an outdoor air quality monitoring network of 45 street-level sensors spanning from Albany to Newburgh that capture data on a hyperlocal neighborhood level. Through the support of municipal, private, and community sponsors, Bard plans to implement the next phase of the JustAir platform resulting in the complete onboarding of HVCAN’s hyperlocal sensors, which will serve as a model for air quality monitoring that is functional for community needs and free from national-level tampering. The City of Kingston and Ulster County have already committed to sponsoring several street-level sensors, and more municipal involvement across the Hudson Valley is anticipated. The localized data provided through this app will be the first ground truthing—assessing the accuracy of remote sensing data—of air quality in the Hudson Valley.

“Knowledge is power, and access to real-time air quality data gives people the tools they need to protect their health and the health of their families,” said Ulster County Executive Jen Metzger. “This new platform empowers Hudson Valley residents to make informed decisions about their daily activities, whether it’s choosing when to exercise outdoors or taking precautions on high-pollution days. Ulster County is proud to be a partner in this initiative and we look forward to bringing our street-level sensors online so residents can access even more local data. Expanding air quality monitoring across the region is a crucial step toward ensuring cleaner air and a healthier future for all.”

“The City of Kingston has been proud to partner with the Bard College Community Sciences Lab and to host air quality monitors on one of our most prominent buildings in Kingston,” said Julie Noble, Project Manager and Sustainability Coordinator of the City of Kingston. “The new JustAir platform is going to be so valuable to our residents and continues to help us advance our sustainability as well as health and wellness goals for the City.”

“Introducing this seamless public access to real-time outdoor air quality comes after years of unique collaborations between Bard College and Hudson Valley leaders. Although we often don’t think about it, clean air is a precious resource that needs to be protected in the same way we protect our beautiful waterways,” stated Eli Dueker, Associate Professor of Bard Environmental Studies and Director of the Center for Environmental Sciences and Humanities. “Bard students and faculty are thrilled to participate in ongoing community work to equitably address both indoor and outdoor air quality in our region – forming the Hudson Valley Community Air Network is a big step in this process.”

“In Newburgh, we face serious environmental challenges and often lack the information needed to protect our health. This platform changes that. It gives our community real-time air quality data so families can make informed decisions. At Outdoor Promise, we believe knowledge leads to action, and this partnership with Bard and JustAir puts that power in the hands of the people,” said Ronald Zorilla, cofounder and CEO of Outdoor Promise in Newburgh.

“The Poughkeepsie Public Library District is thrilled to be part of this important quality-of-life program offered through a collaboration with Bard College. Public libraries play a critical role in providing information, and this is another innovative way in which we can bring the information to our residents,” said Tom Lawrence, director of the Adriance Memorial Library in Poughkeepsie.

“The Just Air app is an exciting next step in our collaborative efforts to protect air quality, residents' health, and the health of our environment,” said Lorraine Farina, coordinator of HVAQ. “During these times of increased wildfire activity, knowledge is increasing that fine particulate matter, from wildfires and from local wood burning, are major challenges to these goals. This app will make it more apparent and easier for people to keep track of their air quality and to recognize we have control of local contributions to poor air quality.”

“We at JustAir are proud to be partnering with Bard College's Community Sciences Lab to publicly launch the Hudson Valley Community Air Network,” said Darren Riley, cofounder and CEO of Just Air. “In this project, our platform will support the work that residents and researchers with the Hudson Valley Air Quality Coalition have been doing in their communities for years. We expect this data will further encourage community science and provide a basis for actions to improve residents’ health. We look forward to where this partnership will lead.”

Bard College Community Sciences Lab’s work is conducted with the idea that academic institutions can be powerful community partners in developing climate resilience locally. One focus of the lab is quantifying and tracking energy-related aerosols linked to activities such as commercial and residential heating, construction, and transportation at the local scale. Bard collaborates with communities by providing them the data they need in order to move forward on the development and implementation of unified community response to pollutants that may pose a public health concern. The JustAir Bard College Community Sciences Lab platform builds on prior projects including the Kingston Air Quality Initiative (KAQI), which released a four-year air quality study report with the city of Kingston last year.

Bard College is grateful to work in partnership and collaboration with Hudson Valley Air Quality Coalition, Outdoor Promise, City of Kingston, Poughkeepsie Adriance Memorial Library, Mount Saint Mary’s College, Ulster County, Kingston Air Quality Initiative, Town of Red Hook, and all of the libraries participating in the Hudson Valley Library Air Quality Network.

JustAir Bard College Community Sciences Lab Launch Events

Poughkeepsie JustAir Launch Event
Tuesday, June 24
5:30 to 7:30 pm
Adriance Memorial Library
93 Market Street, Poughkeepsie, NY 12601

Newburgh JustAir Launch Event
Wednesday, June 25
5:30 to 7:30 pm
Desmond Center at Mount Saint Mary College
330 Powell Avenue, Newburgh, NY 12550

Kingston JustAir Launch Event
Thursday, June 26
5:30 to 7:30 pm
Andy Murphy Midtown Neighborhood Center
467 Broadway, Kingston, NY 12401

Further reading:
What’s the air quality in the Hudson Valley? There’s a tool for that. [originally published in Times Union]
How Clean is Our Air? in The Highland Currents

Learn more about HVCAN and join the JustAir x Bard platform

Post Date: 06-10-2025

Sustainability News by Date

Results 1-20 of 427

July 2025

07-08-2025

June 2025

06-26-2025

Neighborhood-level air quality monitoring, through the fast-developing Hudson Valley Library Air Quality Network. Using outdoor real-time air quality monitoring devices stationed at public libraries, air quality data is free and accessible online. If any libraries are interested in joining, please reach out to [email protected].
In partnership with SUNY-Albany and the EPA, conducting indoor and outdoor air quality monitoring in homes with woodsmoke, mold and structurally-related air quality challenges.
In partnership with SUNY-Albany, tracking air pollutants such as Ozone, Black and Brown Carbon, and VOC’s from HVCAN’s four Hudson Valley regional air quality stations.

Photo: Bard Community Sciences Lab Tech Julia Beeman (masked) and SUNY Albany PhD student James Nimo (from Dr. Aynul Bari’s lab) install monitors measuring air quality on Kingston’s Andy Murphy Neighborhood Center roof. Photo by Desirée Lyle
Meta: Type(s): General | Subject(s): Bard Undergraduate Programs,Biology Program,Center for Environmental Sciences and Humanities (CESH),Community Science Coalition,Division of Science, Math, and Computing,Environmental and Urban Studies Program,Environmental/Sustainability | Institutes(s): Bard Undergraduate Programs,Center for Environmental Sciences and Humanities |

06-10-2025

April 2025

04-08-2025

04-02-2025

a lush green garden with Italianate architecture

Bard College’s Friends of Blithewood Garden and the Garden Conservancy are pleased to announce that the firm Tom Stuart-Smith, a renowned landscape design practice with an international reputation for making gardens that combine naturalism and modernity, will be commissioned for the planting plan phase of the Blithewood Garden rehabilitation project.

Once the current architectural rehabilitation phase at Blithewood is complete, the Stuart-Smith team will help reimagine the garden and the surrounding landscape to fit seamlessly into the space. The team will coordinate with the preservation architect and review historical records, photographs, and prior reports to inform the new design. They will also work with Bard College to integrate educational and opportunities for students and the broader community throughout the process. Once complete, Blithewood’s landscape will be Stuart-Smith’s only public garden in the United States.

“After almost a decade of planning for Blithewood’s return to glory, I’m thrilled to be collaborating with Tom Stuart-Smith’s team to rethink and refresh Blithewood’s plantings,” said Amy Parrella, director of Horticulture and Arboretum at Bard. “Gardens are dynamic living art works that are at their best when they are reinterpreted from a current lens, while still maintaining their cultural and design integrity.”

“The most enduring historic gardens continue to evolve,” said Pamela Governale, director of preservation at the Garden Conservancy. “By engaging the renowned landscape practice of Tom Stuart-Smith, we are embracing a living future for Blithewood—one that honors its past while reimagining its plantings for challenges of the decades ahead. This is preservation not as stasis, but as cultural continuity. The restoration of Blithewood Garden is a powerful example of what happens when visionary institutions and world-class designers come together to steward a nationally significant landscape.”

Blithewood Garden is considered a nationally significant Beaux Arts, Italianate garden with significant connections to the evolution of American landscape design and is one of the few intact Hudson River estate gardens that remain from the Gilded Age. Situated on a steeply sloping bluff approximately 130 feet above the Hudson River, Blithewood is a 45-acre section of Bard’s campus that was once part of a historic estate comprising a manor house, outbuildings, drives, gardens, lawns, and meadows. Bard College has partnered with the Garden Conservancy, a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to preserve and share America’s gardens, on the restoration of Blithewood Garden.

Blithewood Garden is open to the public from dawn to dusk every day. For more information, visit https://www.bard.edu/arboretum/gardens/blithewood/

Meta: Type(s): Faculty,Staff | Subject(s): Arboretum and Horticulture,Campus and Facilities,Environmental/Sustainability,Faculty,Levy Economics Institute | Institutes(s): Levy Economics Institute |

March 2025

03-31-2025

December 2024

12-17-2024

Brooke Jude Discusses Her Collaboration with Microbiologist Anne Madden to Save Amphibians

Associate Professor of Biology Brooke Jude spoke to The Scientist magazine about her collaboration with microbiologist Anne Madden, who is founder and chief scientific officer of The Microbe Institute. Their collaboration, Find Purple, Frog-Saving Microbes, is a participatory science (citizen science) and community bioart project to conserve amphibians. Their project focuses on finding and understanding the biogeography of naturally purple-pigmented bacteria that help amphibians fight off a pandemic caused by a deadly fungus that is decimating unique populations of frogs, toads, salamanders, axolotls, and newts. Jude explains how the two scientists began to work together on this project: “We started thinking that a lot of our work overlapped in interesting ways, that some of the things that [Anne] was doing in The Microbe Institute, in terms of communicating about these projects that the general public could truly understand and sink their teeth into and enjoy and be passionate about. How do you get that word out?” Part of their project involved citizen science, which encouraged science enthusiasts to sample local waterways, grow microbes, and upload data on whether they found purple-pigmented bacteria. They also received funding from National Geographic to develop educational materials about purple microbes for middle and high school students.

Read about Jude's collaboration with Madden in The Scientist

Photo: Violacein, a purple pigment produced by bacteria, which Jude discovered in a water sample from the Hudson River Valley watershed and studies in her labs. Photo by Karl Rabe
Meta: Type(s): Faculty | Subject(s): Bard Undergraduate Programs,Biology Program,Division of Science, Math, and Computing,Environmental and Urban Studies Program,Environmental/Sustainability | Institutes(s): Bard Undergraduate Programs,Center for Environmental Sciences and Humanities |

November 2024

11-26-2024

Stevenson Library Converts to Geothermal Heating and Cooling

Bard celebrates the completion of a major project to convert the Charles P. Stevenson Jr. Library’s outdated fossil fuel–fired heating system to a state-of-the-art geothermal heating and cooling system. A leader and early adopter of geothermal technologies, Bard College has ground source heat exchange systems on campus dating to the 1980s. Almost 50% of buildings on the main campus utilize geothermal technology for heating and cooling, and it is the default for all new construction projects on campus including the north campus residence buildings and the Maya Lin Performing Arts Studio.

The geothermal and HVAC renovation of the 60,000-square-foot Stevenson Library is Bard’s first conversion of an existing building from fossil fuels to geothermal. The College partnered with Brightcore as the turnkey provider of the library 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 library’s geothermal conversion will eliminate burning approximately 14,000 gallons of fuel oil and reduce 127 tons of carbon emissions per year. This conversion, along with Bard’s other sustainability-driven initiatives including its commitment to renewable solar and hydro energy, LED lighting, and LEEDs certifications, are significant steps toward fulfilling the College’s pledge to achieve carbon neutrality by 2035.

Further reading:
Bard College Continues Switch to Geothermal

Stevenson Library's new geothermal and HVAC system. Photo by Joseph Nartey ’26

Photo: Ribbon-cutting for the Stevenson Library's new geothermal and HVAC system. Photo by Joseph Nartey ’26
Meta: Type(s): General | Subject(s): Environmental/Sustainability |

October 2024

10-29-2024

September 2024

09-30-2024

09-24-2024

A class of warmly dressed Bard College students smiling and standing outside of stone building at Stone Barns Center.

Bard Associate Professor of Biology Gabriel G. Perron and Bard Associate Professor of Chemistry Swapan S. Jain have received $46,000 from the Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture to study the impact of farming practices on the nutritional content and microbial diversity of fermented vegetables, which complements existing funds of $50,000 from Hudson Valley Farm Hub to study soil health. “Getting support from such an important organization not only enables us to continue our work on agroecology, but also gives us visibility at the national level,” said Gabriel G. Perron. Both Perron and Jain are also associated with the Center for Environmental Sciences and Humanities at Bard.

The Stone Barns Center funds will be used to study and document the impact of frost on the nutritional value of raw and fermented cabbage. Perron and Jain will also be investigating how frost impacts the microbial communities developing during fermentation, which affects the probiotic qualities of fermented cabbage (e.g. sauerkraut). This project will be conducted in collaboration with farmers at Stone Barns, chefs at Blue Hill at Stone Barns, and Bard College researchers Perron and Jain. Former Bard student Pearson Lau ’19, who recently published his Senior Project on the effect of chlorination on sourdough starter cultures, will also be part of the research team. Professors Perron and Jain plan to involve current Bard undergraduates in their research project. This collaboration has also made it possible to bring students from Bard and Bard NYC to visit Stone Barns and Blue Hill at Stone Barns as part of their respective classes.

“We are very excited about this wonderful collaboration with farmers and chefs in our local community. This work will help us in addressing important questions related to nutrition and the overall health of our food ecosystem,” said Swapan S. Jain.

Photo: Bard College Food Microbiology class visits the Stone Barns Center.
Meta: Type(s): Faculty | Subject(s): Biology Program,Center for Environmental Sciences and Humanities (CESH),Chemistry Program,Division of Science, Math, and Computing,Environmental/Sustainability | Institutes(s): Bard Undergraduate Programs,Center for Environmental Sciences and Humanities |

June 2024

06-18-2024

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.

Photo: Bard students in the Montgomery Place greenhouse. Photo by China Jorrin ’86

Meta: Type(s): General | Subject(s): Arboretum and Horticulture,Center for Environmental Sciences and Humanities (CESH),Environmental/Sustainability,Grants | Institutes(s): Bard Undergraduate Programs |

April 2024

04-16-2024

04-11-2024

March 2024

03-05-2024

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. 

Photo: Wallkill River showing HABs and kayaker. Photo by Emily Vail
Meta: Type(s): General | Subject(s): Biology Program,Center for Environmental Sciences and Humanities (CESH),Division of Science, Math, and Computing,Environmental and Urban Studies Program,Environmental/Sustainability,Office of Institutional Support (OIS) |

February 2024

02-28-2024

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.

Full Story in BusinessWire

January 2024

01-28-2024

Bard College Receives $80,379 Grant from New York State Department of Conservation to Support Removal of Invasive Plant Species on Campus

Bard College has received an $80,379 grant as part of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s (NYS DEC) Invasive Species Grant Program that provides funding for aquatic and terrestrial invasive species spread prevention, early detection and rapid response, lake management planning, research, and education and outreach. Bard’s grant will support the removal and prevent the spread of invasive species from the College’s Annandale campus in the field between the Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts and Robbins House on North Campus. Invasive species including the tree of heaven (Ailanthus altissima), a rapidly growing deciduous tree native to China, and oriental bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus), an aggressive climbing perennial vine, are destroying the meadow by outcompeting and displacing native plant species. The NYS DEC grant will fund a project to remove the invasive woody plant material, which will be cut, chemically treated, and dug out. Then, the meadow will be replanted with a mix of native grasses and wildflowers. This meadow restoration project will begin in the summer of 2024 and is expected to take one to two years to fully complete.

“Bard is incredibly grateful to restore our beautiful meadow back to its prior glory. Its overall appearance and the quantity of ecosystem services it can offer will be immediately enhanced with this unique opportunity to reclaim a central landscape on the Bard campus,” said Bard’s Director of Horticulture and Arboretum Amy Parrella. “Meadows serve as important habitat and provide food for a number of pollinators and mammals; serve as natural reservoirs for water, capture and store carbon from the atmosphere, and help maintain biodiversity in our environment. Unfortunately, invasive plants tend to be aggressive and would eventually take over our meadow in a matter of a few years. This grant will allow Bard to proactively halt this invasion and reverse the damage that has already occurred.”

“We are committed to protecting New York’s waterways, forest lands, and agricultural crops from dangerous invasive species,” Governor Kathy Hochul said. “This funding supports projects across the state that will help prevent the spread of invasive species in New York, protecting our natural resources, economy and public health from the negative impacts of this threat.”

This grant is supported by the NYS 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 the EPF funding at $400 million, the highest level of funding in the program’s history.

Photo: Meadow on North Campus of Bard College.
Meta: Subject(s): Arboretum and Horticulture,Environmental/Sustainability,Grants,Office of Institutional Support (OIS) |

December 2023

12-21-2023

Bard College Center for Environmental Sciences and Humanities Receives $44,892 EPA Grant to Improve Air Quality and Public Health Across Underserved Neighborhoods in New York State

The Center for Environmental Sciences and Humanities (CESH) at Bard College has received a $44,892 sub-award through the Research Foundation for SUNY Albany as part of a federal grant with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The grant will support a project with the overarching goal of improving air quality and public health across underserved neighborhoods in New York State by establishing a community driven network platform to enhance understanding of sustainable outdoor and indoor air quality. The Principal Investigator for this grant is Dr. Aynul Bari at SUNY Albany.

Through the Community Sciences Lab within CESH, Bard will provide technical and analytical support for the project over two years for study sites in the Hudson Valley, including sites in Kingston, Red Hook, Annandale-on-Hudson, Newburgh, and Poughkeepsie. Specifically, CESH will provide and install weather stations, with air quality and meteorology sensors, at Newburgh and Poughkeepsie sites; and support Dr. Bari’s group in monitoring indoor and outdoor air quality in 40 homes in the Hudson Valley over the next three years—testing for a broad range of air pollutants, including black carbon, volatile organic compounds, ultrafine particles, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and ozone. Bard student involvement will include supporting monitoring efforts (indoor and out) and using the air quality data to assess air quality challenges in the Hudson Valley in classes.

“We are incredibly thankful to Dr. Aynul Bari and the Research Foundation for SUNY Albany for including us in this EPA grant,” said M. Elias Dueker, associate professor of Environmental and Urban Studies at Bard. “We look forward to using these funds to expand our indoor and outdoor air quality work with groups like the Kingston Air Quality Initiative and the Hudson Valley Air Quality Coalition. The right to breathe clean air inside and outside our homes is not something we can take for granted as we wrestle with important climate-based challenges, including increased wildfire smoke plumes from other parts of the country, flood-induced molding of our aging housing stock, and increased wood burning in our valley communities.”

The Community Sciences Lab (CSL) was created to support the work conducted by CESH. Built on the success of the Bard Water Lab and its partnership with the Saw Kill Watershed Community (SKWC), CSL expands CESH’s reach by allowing us to refocus our work on projects that address the interconnectedness of land, air, water, and communities. CSL projects include: Saw Kill Monitoring Program, Roe Jan Monitoring Program, Kingston Air Quality Initiative, Bard Campus Station, Hudsonia Eel Project, and Amphibian Migration.

Photo: Dr. Eli Dueker installing a MetOne 212-2 particle profiler atop the Andy Murphy Neighborhood Center in Midtown Kingston. Courtesy City of Kingston
Meta: Type(s): General | Subject(s): Division of Science, Math, and Computing,Environmental and Urban Studies Program,Environmental/Sustainability,Giving,Grants | Institutes(s): Center for Environmental Sciences and Humanities |

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