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Events at Smith

Exhibit- BUS: A Teacher in Transit
April 8, 2024
Smith College visiting professor of creative writing and Joan Leiman Jacobson Writer-in-Residence Russ Rymer presents an essay in photographs and wall text about the experience of teaching, the nature of reality and perception, and the conjoined arts of science and writing – all told through Rymer’s experience commuting to Northampton on the intercity bus. The ten images in the show, shot with a rudimentary camera during those commutes and blown up to enormous size, capture the magical light show infusing his bus rides, rides Rymer likens to “blasting through space in a kaleidoscope.” The exhibit is presented by the Smith College Office of the Arts, in partnership with the Department of English Language and Literature, and Clark Science Center. The exhibit will be on display from March 13 to May 1.
McConnell Hall Lobby Gallery
8:00 am to 6:00 pm

Mill River Panel: Northampton and Williamsburg, MA
April 8, 2024
Part of the spring semester Landscape Studies LSS 100 speakers program.
Hillyer Art Complex, Graham Hall
3:05 pm

Geothermal Project Tour
April 9, 2024
Would you like to know more about what all the construction around campus is about? Have you wanted to know more about what the college is doing to mitigate its carbon footprint? This is your chance to get answers to these questions and more during one of our student-run Geothermal Project Tours! Rain date is 4/11 at the same time. Open to all Smith community members.
Meet at the Elm St entrance to the Campus Center
3:00 pm to 4:00 pm

'Carrying Capacity' An Exhibition by Gaye Chan
April 11, 2024
This exhibition is a durational project Gaye Chan began in 2012 that stemmed from a chance encounter at a produce distribution company. As commodities move across the globe, baling straps are used once and discarded into the waste stream. Chan gave herself the task of figuring out how to reuse them. Eleven years and over a thousand weaved baskets later, she continues to extend the life of this ‘waste’ material. "Carrying Capacity" will be on display in the Oresman Gallery, March 28 - May 9, Monday - Friday, 8:30 am - 4:30 pm.
Hillyer Hall, Brown Fine Arts Center
8:30 am to 4:30 pm

Building a Transatlantic Climate Activist Bridge
April 11, 2024
Using the fight against fossil gas as a case study, Prof. Sabine von Mering (Brandeis University) will speak about grassroots climate activism spanning the Atlantic. US and European climate activists’ ongoing resistance efforts against new shipping infrastructures for liquefied fossil gas (LNG) highlights the possibilities and the challenges for transnational grassroots activism, now and in the future. Prof. von Mering is co-editor of the forthcoming Routledge Handbook of Grassroots Climate Activism, translator of Beginning to End the Climate Crisis (2023), and a Public Voices Fellow on the Climate Crisis (The OpEd Project/Yale Program on Climate Change Communication). She is an activist, a Professor of German and Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies, and the Director of the Center for German and European Studies at Brandeis University.
Dewey Common Room
4:15 pm

Plugging into Renewable Energies: A Discussion About Building Renewable Communities
April 12, 2024
Dakota Law '24 looks at examples of how communities around Massachusetts have come together to invest in renewable energy--and then shares how you might be able to do that in your own spaces. Open to faculty, staff, and students; lunch provided.
CEEDS
12:15 pm

Collaborating with Other Beings: a workshop with Ashley Eliza Williams
April 12, 2024
Do you like writing about the natural world? What does it mean to collaborate with other beings in the world? Here's a description in Williams' own words: "This workshop is focused on interspecies collaboration and understanding. We will engage with a series of open-ended questions focused on the practice of interacting with, learning from, and collaborating with non-human beings. Is it possible for a human to collaborate with an insect? A tree? A mushroom? A leaf? A sunbeam? A rock? What would these collaborations look like?" We will meet at the Boutelle-Day Poetry Center, located in Wright Hall, at 1:30 p.m. and we'll head over to the Mill River (back near the President's House) shortly after. You should bring a notebook and a pencil— we'll provide any other materials. Rain date is April 19. Space is limited to 12 participants, so we urge you to sign up early!
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Boutelle-Day Poetry Center
1:30 pm

Field Station Friday: Nature Journaling
April 12, 2024
Nature journaling--collecting your observations of the world around you through writing and drawing--is a wonderful way to connect with the natural world and give your brain a break from studying. You don't need to be an artist or a writer to get started! All materials will be provided. Meet at 4:15 pm at Sage Hall Circle for pick up; sign up for a spot in the van at the link below.
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MacLeish Field Station - Meet at Sage Hall Circle
4:15 pm to 6:30 pm

Ecopoetics: Works of Action and Restoration (SOFA Day of Art)
April 13, 2024
In the fall of 2023, the students of ENG 318: American Poetry and Social Movements embarked on a hands-on ecopoetic making workshop at the MacLeish with poet-scholar Margaret Ronda. The workshop, called "Ecopoetics: Attention, Contact, Action," built on readings throughout the course to culminate in a "day of making." Using a series of guided prompts focusing their attention on their embodied perceptions of the environment at the MacLeish Field Station, students developed both creative work and critical reflections that are on display here today.
CEEDS
2:00 pm to 3:00 pm

Events Off Campus

Spatial Optimization and Conservation Biology
April 11, 2024
Richard Church of the University of California – Santa Barbara will deliver a Rachel Carson Distinguished Lecture via Zoom. Dr. Richard Church is a leading interdisciplinary scientist and Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Geography at the University of California – Santa Barbara. He has conducted pioneering research on spatial optimization and Geographic Information Science applied to urban systems, environmental and natural resource protection, forest operations, transportation systems, and location theory and modeling. His outstanding accomplishments have been recognized by numerous prestigious honors and awards. For instance, he is an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences, Fellow of the Regional Science Association International, Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, recipient of the University Consortium for Geographical Information Science Research Award and The William Alonso Memorial Prize for Innovative Work in Regional Science.
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Webinar - register at link above
9:00 am

Drivers of the Biodiversity Crisus: America at a Crossroads
April 12, 2024
Defenders of Wildlife’s Center for Conservation Innovation recently released a report on the five leading drivers of biodiversity loss in the United States. This symposium is the first in a national series of webinars to present and showcase those challenges. Florida has the unfortunate distinction of being the state that faces the most severe biodiversity threats. But at the same time, meaningful actions are occurring in Florida to address some of the leading drivers of biodiversity decline. Join us as we highlight the biodiversity crisis and its leading drivers, as well as helpful actions already underway. Attendees will come away more knowledgeable and able to support action in the field, in Tallahassee and on Capitol Hill to meet current and future challenges facing biodiversity.
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Webinar - register at link above
11:30 am to 1:00 pm

Climate Adaptive Gardening Series: No-till Practices for Soil Health
April 13, 2024
Join local GFN farmer and educator Rose Cherneff at Grow Food Northampton's Organic Community Garden to learn about all things soil! Whether you're a seasoned gardener or just starting out, this event is perfect for anyone figuring out how to grow food in the time of climate change. This hands-on workshop will begin with an introduction to soil health – learning how to assess our soil using both our innate senses and carbon-proxy tests, as well as how to interpret chemical soil test results from the UMASS soil lab. We will then move into learning about no-till gardening techniques to enhance soil health such as planting, tarping, and crimping cover crops, lasagna gardening, and living mulches! This workshop is offered on a sliding scale fee of $0-20. Sign up at link.
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Grow Food Northampton Community Garden, 140 Meadow St, Florence, MA
1:00 pm to 3:00 pm

Events at Smith

Exhibit- BUS: A Teacher in Transit
April 15, 2024
Smith College visiting professor of creative writing and Joan Leiman Jacobson Writer-in-Residence Russ Rymer presents an essay in photographs and wall text about the experience of teaching, the nature of reality and perception, and the conjoined arts of science and writing – all told through Rymer’s experience commuting to Northampton on the intercity bus. The ten images in the show, shot with a rudimentary camera during those commutes and blown up to enormous size, capture the magical light show infusing his bus rides, rides Rymer likens to “blasting through space in a kaleidoscope.” The exhibit is presented by the Smith College Office of the Arts, in partnership with the Department of English Language and Literature, and Clark Science Center. The exhibit will be on display from March 13 to May 1.
McConnell Hall Lobby Gallery
8:00 am to 6:00 pm

Lecture with Nick dePace, Critic, Landscape Architecture, RISD
April 15, 2024
Part of the spring semester Landscape Studies LSS 100 speakers program.
Hillyer Art Complex, Graham Hall
3:05 pm

Trans-Indigenous/Trans-Hemispheric Intimacies: Standing Rock Water Protectors & Naxal Forest Keepers
April 15, 2024
Join Dr. Basuli Deb for a lecture on how trans-indigenous/trans-hemispheric discursive formations generate insurgent critical synergies for the formation of indigenous solidarity politics across hemispheres to unsettle linked settler colonial sites as part of a machinery of transnational structural racism. Dr. Basuli Deb is the co-editor of a new special issue of Meridians journal entitled "Indigenous Feminisms Across the World," out now. She is a Visiting Scholar at the Institute for the Study of Human Rights (Columbia University), a Lifetime Scholar at the Institute for Research on Women (Rutgers University), and Research Associate at SOAS University of London.
Campus Center 103/104
4:00 pm

Capsule Wardrobe Challenge
April 16, 2024
Join the Earth Week Capsule Wardrobe Challenge with the Eco Reps! Choose 12 items (excluding shoes and undergarments) to wear over two weeks, and get a chance to be feature on the Sustainable Smith Instagram page. Challenge runs 4/16-4/26. Sign up at the link below.
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Lifecycle cost analysis with carbon pricing
April 16, 2024
Susan Sayre, CEEDS Faculty Fellow and Associate Professor of Economics, will share the results of work with students to redesign the Smith College Proxy Carbon Lifecycle Calculator to improve flexibility and usability. Join us for refreshments and to learn how this spreadsheet based calculator can help incorporate carbon reduction into financial analysis on campus, in the classroom, and beyond.
CEEDS
4:15 pm

'Carrying Capacity' An Exhibition by Gaye Chan
April 18, 2024
This exhibition is a durational project Gaye Chan began in 2012 that stemmed from a chance encounter at a produce distribution company. As commodities move across the globe, baling straps are used once and discarded into the waste stream. Chan gave herself the task of figuring out how to reuse them. Eleven years and over a thousand weaved baskets later, she continues to extend the life of this ‘waste’ material. "Carrying Capacity" will be on display in the Oresman Gallery, March 28 - May 9, Monday - Friday, 8:30 am - 4:30 pm.
Hillyer Hall, Brown Fine Arts Center
8:30 am to 4:30 pm

Cities of Hope: Adaptation to Climate Change in Massachusetts
April 18, 2024
Camille Washington-Ottombre, CEEDS Faculty Fellow and Associate Professor of Environmental Science and Policy and Una Fonte'26 will share the results of work that they have conducted on the Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness Program, an innovative policy that facilitates adaptation to climate change throughout the state. Learn how cities will be confronted with climate change and how this policy applies principles of participatory planning and climate justice to enhance local resilience in Massachusetts and beyond. Refreshments provided.
CEEDS
4:15 pm

Lights Out!
April 18, 2024
Join the Eco Reps for this popular Earth Week event! We will be turning off all the exterior lights on the Quad. Enjoy beautiful stargazing, pizza, and s'mores with us! All students welcome-- bring a friend!
Quad
9:00 pm to 11:00 pm

All Our Relations: Listening to Stories with the Land
April 20, 2024
Join an Earth Day walk on land historically stewarded by the Norwottuck (MacLeish) with Rich Holschuh and Tom Wessels. Rich Holschuh is a resident of Wantastegok (Brattleboro, VT) and is immersed in the stories layered within this landscape. He serves as Chair for the Vermont Commission on Native American Affairs and is a public liaison and Tribal Historic Preservation Officer for the Elnu Abenaki, members of the contemporary northeastern Native community. Rich is founder and co-director of the Atowi Project. His work draws upon history, linguistics, geography, and culture to share beneficial ways of seeing and being in relationship with place. Tom Wessels is a terrestrial ecologist and professor emeritus at Antioch University where he founded the master's degree program in Conservation Biology. He has conducted programs and workshops on ecology and sustainability throughout the country for over three decades. Tom is the author of six books, including his latest, New England's Roadside Ecology: Explore 30 of the Region's Unique Natural Areas. Members of the Smith community can get more information and sign up to join the event at the link.
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MacLeish Field Station

Events Off Campus

Microplastics Symposium: Exploring Impacts, Solutions, and Policy Perspectives
April 17, 2024
This online event will bring together leading experts, including Dr. Lorena Rios Mendoza, Dr. Baoshan Xing, Dr. Wan-Ting (Grace) Chen, Dr. Jason A. Somarelli, and Dr. Susie Dai. They will provide in-depth insights into the origins, fate, and innovative solutions for microplastic pollution. Organized by the Massachusetts Water Resources Research Center at UMass Amherst. Register to join at the link.
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Online (Zoom)
11:30 am to 1:00 pm

Lunch & Learn session: Your Health and Your Environment
April 18, 2024
Learn about "Water IS Life" - water contamination from "Forever Chemicals" especially those in fracking operations, lead from water supply pipes, and what people can do to mitigate the harms from these contaminants. Hosted by Chatham University in partnership with the Black Appalachian Coalition and the Ohio River Valley Institute. Register at link
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Online
12:00 pm to 1:30 pm

Events at Smith

Lecture with Maura Coughlin, Art Historian, Northeastern
April 22, 2024
Part of the spring semester Landscape Studies LSS 100 speakers program.
Hillyer Art Complex, Graham Hall
3:05 pm to 4:45 pm

The Himalayan (m)Anthropocene
April 22, 2024
Guest speaker Ritodhi Chakraborty’s research explores the promises and pitfalls of Ecological Masculinity in the Indian Himalayas. Working through more than a decade of engagement with rural communities in Uttarakhand state, using feminist and radical epistemic perspectives, he draws upon interviews, oral histories, visual ethnographies, social media data, surveys and participatory mapping to ask questions such as: Is Ecological Masculinity a sustainable and inclusive response to the (m)Anthropocene? Does it support or challenge historical (ongoing) mobilizations towards environmental and social justice in the region? And what are the ways in which the production of regional climate knowledge mirrors the existing intersections of elite and non-elite patriarchy? Sponsored by Environmental Science & Policy with support from Study of Women and Gender.
CEEDS, Wright Hall 005
6:00 pm

Geothermal Project Tour
April 23, 2024
Would you like to know more about what all the construction around campus is about? Have you wanted to know more about what the college is doing to mitigate its carbon footprint? This is your chance to get answers to these questions and more during one of our student-run Geothermal Project Tours! Rain date is 4/25 at the same time. Open to all Smith community members.
Meet at the Elm St entrance to the Campus Center
3:00 pm to 4:00 pm

Film and Q&A- Inhabitants: Indigenous Perspectives on Restoring our World
April 24, 2024
All are welcome at this screening of an essential film for everyone concerned about our environment. The film follows five Native American communities as they restore their traditional land management practices in the face of a changing climate. As the climate crisis escalates, these time-tested practices of North America's original inhabitants are becoming increasingly essential. The film will be followed by a Q&A with Ben-Alex Dupris, enrolled member of the Colville Confederated Tribes. A featured speaker in the film, Dupris has worked in commercial entertainment, tribal language preservation, youth media training, and most recently, documenting front-line environmental activism. Co-sponsored by the American Studies department, the Environmental Science & Policy program, the Center for the Environment, Ecological Design, and Sustainability, and the Office of Equity and Inclusion.
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Weinstein Auditorium
6:30 pm

'Carrying Capacity' An Exhibition by Gaye Chan
April 25, 2024
This exhibition is a durational project Gaye Chan began in 2012 that stemmed from a chance encounter at a produce distribution company. As commodities move across the globe, baling straps are used once and discarded into the waste stream. Chan gave herself the task of figuring out how to reuse them. Eleven years and over a thousand weaved baskets later, she continues to extend the life of this ‘waste’ material. "Carrying Capacity" will be on display in the Oresman Gallery, March 28 - May 9, Monday - Friday, 8:30 am - 4:30 pm.
Hillyer Hall, Brown Fine Arts Center
8:30 am to 4:30 pm

Chair Fair
April 25, 2024
Test out and provide feedback on the furniture you would like to see for the restoration on Davis Lawn! First 100 people to attend get apple cider donuts.
Chapin Lawn
11:00 am to 2:00 pm

What Museum Specimens Tell Us About the Living World
April 25, 2024
Mason Heberling is an Associate Curator of Botany at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. His talk is the third of a three-part botany talk series in honor of John Burk as part of the Spring 2024 Mary Elizabeth Dickason King M.D. Annual Lecture Series in the Life Sciences in Memory of Professor Howard Parshley. Light snacks will be served at 4:15 p.m.; talk to begin at 4:30 p.m. Free and open to the public.
McConnell 103
4:30 pm

Field Station Friday: Freestyle Friday with Optional Guided Hike
April 26, 2024
Enjoy a gorgeous spring day up at MacLeish Field Station! Study, picnic, bring a book, or join us for an optional guided hike. Meet at 4:15 pm at Sage Hall Circle for pick up; sign up for a spot in the van at the link below.
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MacLeish Field Station - Meet at Sage Hall Circle
4:15 pm to 6:30 pm

Events Off Campus

International Coral Reef Society (ICRS) Indigenous & Local Coral Scientists Panel
April 23, 2024
The International Coral Reef Society (ICRS) Student and Early Career Chapter (SECC) Skills and Professional Development (SPD) and Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) committees are excited to present the ICRS Indigenous & Local Coral Scientists Panel. This workshop aims to explore and celebrate the contributions of scientists who are indigenous and local to coral reef-inhabited regions, and learn about the consequences of parachute science.
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Webinar - register at link above
6:00 pm to 7:30 pm

Protecting Foundations of Critical Infrastructure in Permafrost Regions
April 25, 2024
The Permafrost Discovery Gateway invites you to join the next webinar of our monthly series. This spring, our webinar series addresses using big geospatial data and remote sensing for community planning applications across permafrost regions. Speaker: Natalie Wagner, PE, USDA.
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Webinar - link above
1:00 pm