News and Events

Sara Xing Eisenberg grew up in Manhattan and attended the Bard High School Early College (BHSEC). After four years immersed in BHSEC's advanced curriculum, she knew Bard was the next step. “I already had a sense of the academic life, with the small classes at BHSEC and great professors, so I wanted to continue that type of education.” All of Sara’s credits transferred to Bard, which opened up opportunities in her course schedule and even allowed her to work on her Senior Project abroad. Sara is now completing a joint major in Environmental and Urban Studies (EUS) and Asian Studies.

Sara chose EUS in part because she grew up in a sustainably conscious, vegetarian household. “Protecting the environment has always been present and important in my life." She wanted to connect her interests in the environment, Chinese language, and Asian cultures. Undertaking the joint major allowed her to take classes in all these areas.

When asked what surprised her the most about Bard, Sara spoke about the prominence of the international population. “I really love that there are so many international students. I have so many international friends. Being a person who loves to travel, it is helpful to have friends all over the world!” Even coming from Manhattan, she was struck by the diversity of Bard's campus. Sara credits Bard for her newfound independence and sense of responsibility. She reflects, “The most rewarding part of Bard is the freedom I have to write what I want to write and do the projects I want to do, both inside and outside of the classroom.”
 
Sara has participated in a number of clubs, activities, and programs during her time at Bard. During winter break of her first year, Sara joined the tropical ecology program on the Caribbean island of Montserrat with Bard College at Simon's Rock. While there, she was able to delve into her love for fieldwork and a hands-on approach to learning, while exploring the outdoors through hiking and snorkeling. She has been active in the Harvesting Justice TLS project, which aims to help small farms in the Hudson Valley by working with the Freedom Food Alliance to address social inequalities. She also held internships with Hudsonia, an environmental research group based in the Hudson Valley, and with the Jane Goodall Institute in Beijing, China. Additionally, she has competed as a member of the soccer, track, equestrian, and rugby teams at Bard.

Sara’s Senior Project expands on Professor Chris Coggins's research on the culture, landscape, and wildlife of the Southeast Uplands in China. She credits her biology courses at Bard for giving her the blueprint to create her Senior Project. Her research explores the species richness in four dominant habitat types in Meihuashan Nature Reserve in Fujian Province. Her project also investigates the land use management, forest composition, and hunting regulations in the reserve. She set up 20 camera traps to collect data on the number of individual species detected within each habitat type and the relative abundance of each species. She is simultaneously interviewing local villagers and reserve officials in order to collect data on the cultural ecology and local perceptions of hunting and wildlife in Meihuashan.

Sara hopes to live in China after graduating from Bard. After interning there twice, she wants to return and become fluent in Chinese. She looks forward to continuing her environmental work and expanding her knowledge of Chinese culture.

Professor Felicia Keesing's research on tick-borne illnesses with fellow ecologist Rick Ostfeld appeared in two of the 10 most popular global health and development stories of the year.

Bard Professor Gideon Eshel is the lead author on a new study published in Nature that provides a model for sustainable U.S. beef production.

In Iowa and elsewhere, runoff from fertilized fields pollutes drinking water and creates dead zones. Yet straightforward solutions exist.

The Hudson River Watershed Alliance (HRWA) has honored Bard College with its 2017 Watershed WaveMaker award for an organization working to protect, conserve, and restore Hudson River water resources. The alliance cited Bard for its commitment to launching and organizing the Saw Kill Watershed Community to draw attention and awareness to protection of the Saw Kill, use of the Bard Water Lab to improve the understanding of regional water quality issues, leadership in implementing the Hudson River Subwatershed and Tributary Research Network (THuRST), and academic excellence demonstrated in the College’s Environmental and Urban Studies Program and Center for Environmental Policy. Bard will be presented with the award at HRWA’s Toast to the Tribs Awards Benefit on Tuesday, December 5, at The Falcon in Marlboro, New York, from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. For tickets and more information, visit hudsonwatershed.org.

Working to study, protect, and teach others about the Saw Kill Creek and its watershed, the Saw Kill Watershed Community (SKWC)is made up of Bard faculty, staff, and students; members of the conservation advisory councils of the towns of Red Hook, Rhinebeck, and Milan; local, county, and state officials; representatives of the Hudson River National Estuarine Research Reserve, the Hudson River Estuary Program, and Cornell Cooperative Extension (Dutchess County); and several nonprofits, including Riverkeeper, Scenic Hudson, and the Hudson River Watershed Alliance. For more information, visit sawkillwatershed.wordpress.com. Another water quality initiative at Bard is the Bard Regional Green Infrastructure Demonstration Project, which transformed a compacted gravel parking lot using a low impact development approach to manage more than 10 acres of storm-water runoff. The project, which received funding support from the New York State Environmental Facilities Corporation and design inspiration from a graduate student in the Bard Center for Environmental Policy, serves as a living lab for Bard students. In addition, Bard is currently working with the private sector and environmental organizations as part of a NYSERDA grant to evaluate the feasibility of very small hydropower systems on dams located on campus. Over the next year, this work will be available on a public website that starts to answer the intractable question of how various stakeholders can sustainably approach the more than 7,000 dams across the state. Bard students are contributing to this work. For more information on sustainability initiatives at Bard, please visit bard.edu/sustainability.

The Hudson River Watershed Alliance (HRWA) has honored Bard College with its 2017 Watershed WaveMaker award for an organization working to protect, conserve, and restore Hudson River water resources. The alliance cited Bard for its commitment to launching and organizing the Saw Kill Watershed Community to draw attention and awareness to protection of the Saw Kill, use of the Bard Water Lab to improve the understanding of regional water quality issues, leadership in implementing the Hudson River Subwatershed and Tributary Research Network (THuRST), and academic excellence demonstrated in the College’s Environmental and Urban Studies Program and Center for Environmental Policy. Bard will be presented with the award at HRWA’s Toast to the Tribs Awards Benefit on Tuesday, December 5, at The Falcon in Marlboro, New York, from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. For tickets and more information, visit hudsonwatershed.org.

The Saw Kill Watershed Community brings together Bard College students and area residents to protect the watershed through science, education, and advocacy.

Eban Goodstein discusses how the Bard MBA in Sustainability operates at the forefront of training the next generation of leaders in sustainable business.

The study, "Trojan Females and Judas Goats: Evolutionary Traps as Tools in Wildlife Management," brings together the science from the pest-control, eco-evolutionary, and conservation communities to create a conceptual framework by which evolutionary traps can be repurposed as tools of deception to eliminate or control target pest species.

Warren Wilson College students in environmental studies can now enroll in a dual bachelor’s and master’s program with Bard College’s Graduate Programs in Sustainability.

A project by Bard College and the Saw Kill Watershed Community is among 19 Hudson River Estuary plans to share about $1.1 million in funding from the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation.

The first of four discussions in the Hudson Valley Climate Salon Series takes place this Sunday, October 29. Bard College and the Good Work Institute will copresent the series over four Sundays in October and November at Montgomery Place. These sessions will provide a clear and honest assessment of the local risks and challenges that come with changing climate. The Hudson Valley Climate Change Salon Series will be hosted on Sunday October 29, November 5, November 12, and November 19, from 2:30 pm to 5:30 pm at Bard College: The Montgomery Place Campus. This series is made possible with support from Dandelion and Hudson Solar.

While shooting for NBC’s The Blacklist, Boone wanted to advance her studies and passion for climate activism, so she enrolled in Bard’s MBA in Sustainability.

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) has awarded Bard College a three-year Invasive Species Rapid Response and Control Grant that will support a plan to use goats to clear invasive plant overgrowth from a 1.5-acre hillside near Blithewood Manor.
 
In order to maintain scenic views from the gardens and grounds of the estate, the hillside vistas must occasionally be cleared of vegetative overgrowth, a process that is complicated by steep slopes and irregular terrain, and, in recent years, the appearance of fast-growing invasive plant species that are displacing native meadow plants and need more frequent removal. The hillside has quickly become dominated by the invasive Tree of Heaven (Ailanthus altissima) and Common Reed (Phragmites australis) as well as Japanese Knotweed (Fallopia japonica).  As a sustainable alternative to fossil fuel-emitting mowers, weedwhackers, and chainsaws, Bard successfully experimented in summer 2016 with contracting a local herd of goats to graze and clear the northern vista. The hillside was enclosed with temporary fencing, and the herd remained for several weeks until all vegetation was stripped.
 
“The goats do what they love best—eating brush, being outdoors, and standing on hills—requiring only daily fresh water, and some human assistance to topple the Ailanthus that have become too tall and thick for the goats to topple themselves,” says Bard Energy Manager Dan Smith, who comanages the project with Horticulture Supervisor and Director of the Bard Arboretum Amy Parrella. “The DEC grant will enable us to continue and expand this project and sustainably address invasive plant species and maintain these historic vistas,” added Parrella.
 
The $56,920 DEC grant will provide cost-share funding to host the goats for the 2017, 2018, and 2019 growing seasons, and to expand the area grazed by the goats to the southern vista, increasing the area of impact by 50 percent. The grant also includes funding for student stipends to assist with daily watering and monitoring of the herd. At the end of the third season, the vistas will be rehabilitated with stump grinding, grading, and seeding with native wildflower mix to restore the hillside to pre-invasive conditions.

Wide eyed, white-footed mice are the primary carriers of Lyme Disease in the Northeast. According to the Cary Institute Tick Project, the key to protecting human health is to take measures to control the white-footed mouse population. 

Michael Specter explores why some deny scientific evidence, such as the safety of vaccines and GMOs, or climate change. He says denying can provide a sense of control in an unsure world.

Bard professor Gidon Eshel is on a team of researchers from four American universities that says the key to reducing harmful greenhouse gases (GHG) in the short term is more likely to be found on the dinner plate than at the gas pump.

Professor Cathy Collins has been awarded a $371,652 NSF grant to study "how landscape fragmentation interferes with plant-pathogen interactions that maintain local plant diversity."

Professor Keesing talks about her research into preventing tick-borne diseases, and the appearance of new and sometimes deadly infections in recent years.