Sustainability Featured Faculty Member: Dr. Craig Milewski

by Kate Glenn | Feb 3, 2022 | Uncategorized

By Ariah Mitchell, Center for Sustainability Communications and Outreach Assistant.

Sustainability efforts at Paul Smith’s College are bolstered by our many wonderful
faculty members that work with students to create a more resilient campus. One individual that
has led the college to make leaps and bounds in our current sustainability endeavors is Dr. Craig
Milewski, Coordinator of the Ecological Restoration program. Because of his amazing efforts on
campus, the Center for Sustainability has named him the Sustainability Featured Faculty
Member for the month of January. We met for an interview to discuss what sort of projects are in
the works to get high levels of student involvement in restoration efforts on campus.

First on the agenda were the Meadow Restoration Sites, also known as Low-Mow Zones. Many of these low mow zones can be found around campus, and not only are they used by a wide variety of classes as demonstration sites, but they result in benefits all the way down the food chain. The taller native vegetation, as well as the increased depth of leaf litter, provide a perfect environment for pollinators and other invertebrates. There is cover and a larger food supply available for small mammals, and the top predators benefit from this. Pollinator plots make sense for the ecology of our wildlife on campus, as well as the socio-cultural aspects of the student community.  After all, why would the places that students don’t use be mowed down, when they can instead be turned to rich areas of biodiversity that can be assessed as a part of studies on campus? Plant cover type, soil density, and root biomass are just a few examples of opportunities for study within these plots. Meadow restoration sites can be utilized outside the North Country as well for a variety of benefits, as less energy is put into maintaining pollinator plots as opposed to regular turf, and the dangers of fertilizer runoff are minimized.

Click HERE to Learn More about Low-Mow Zones on Campus 

Another beneficial restoration project on campus that Craig leads is the shoreline
restoration project, a small study with big lessons. The fragmentation of the shoreline on Lower
St. Regis Lake has resulted in the destruction of natural vegetation, has which disturbed the
communities of organisms that belong there and degraded the natural aquatic transition zones.
Not only has this fragmented the physical land, but it has also caused a disconnect from the
creativity and fascination associated with the greater biodiversity of flora and fauna. Putting life
back into the shoreline has been an effort beyond just physical restoration, as Craig explained.
It’s about the stirring of an ecological conscience, about reconnecting people to other people just
as much as reconnecting the land and water. For this reason, Craig is a strong believer that
ecological restoration belongs as one of the signature programs of Paul Smith’s, as our model of
experiential education here is unparalleled, and truly sets the benchmark for other establishments
of higher learning.

These projects are not about one-and-done restoration. Maintenance plans provide
endless opportunities for students into the future, and this perpetual involvement has allowed and
will continue to allow hundreds of students at Paul Smith’s College to get hands-on, valuable
experience that gives back to the land and their education. Beyond the scientific applications of
these projects, humanities are an integral aspect as well. Ecological restoration on campus is both
earth-friendly and people-friendly, an indispensable and often rare combination. I would like to
thank Craig for sharing his enthusiasm in promoting such valuable projects to students. Smitties
are very lucky to have someone so knowledgeable and inspiring as a faculty member, and the
Center for Sustainability commends him for the hard work he continues to put in to better our
campus and community.

Dr. Craig Milewski

Click HERE more information on the Shoreline Restoration Project and the Sustainability Grant program 

Casella Climate Resilience Fellows

by Kate Glenn | Feb 2, 2022 | Uncategorized

This semester we’ve hired two new Casella Climate Resiliency Fellows, Zoe Bullock and Danielle Knight. Zoe is earning a BA in Environmental Studies and is from Cincinnati Ohio. Her hobbies include Hiking and Photography. Danielle (Dee) is earning a BS in Sustainability, is from Chatham, New York and her hobbies include ice skating, crafting and making flower arrangements.

Zoe Bullock
Casella Climate Resiliency Fellow

Danielle Knight (& Chance)
Casella Climate Resilience Fellow

These students will be working on a variety of projects which will help make our campus and community more resilient in the face of climate change. Zoe will be focusing on strengthening and expanding our recycling and food waste composting Program, she will be overseeing our new student compost program though the PSC Packbasket Bookstore. The bookstore is now a “Swap” location for compost buckets and students can now purchase buckets at a 25% discount. Danielle will be working on providing support for our Sustainability Grant program. In addition to writing several grants herself to support sustainable transportation on campus, she will also be working with students and the Smitty Sustainability Committee to develop a variety of campus sustainability projects. Please feel free to reach out to our Casella Climate Resiliency Fellows (See contact info above).

These positions were made possible by a generous gift from Casella Waste Systems. See link below for more information about our Casella Fellowship program.