Sustainability fellows put the ‘green’ in Evergreen
Evergreen’s 2018 graduate sustainability fellows Eden Thorkildsen, Jamie Milletary, and Lucy Pierce, are spending their winter and spring quarters helping the Office of Sustainability and Center for Sustainable Infrastructure (CSI) research, educate, and otherwise advance new and ongoing sustainability initiatives at the college.
As the CSI fellow, Eden Thorkildsen (pictured middle) is currently creating an interactive Geographic Information System (GIS) map that will highlight examples of innovative water, waste, transportation, and other energy-related projects in Washington.
"I'm really enjoying learning about all the different environmental projects going on in Washington State,” says Thorkildsen, a second-year student in Evergreen’s Master of Environmental Studies (MES) program.
Also a second-year MES student, Lucy Pierce (pictured left) serves as the carbon offsets fellow in Evergreen’s sustainability office. “I’ve been really drawn to the work because it looks at the impacts Evergreen is having on the environment,” she says.
Pierce, who previously served as a climate action planning fellow, spends much of her fellowship hours researching on-going carbon offset projects and markets, and considering what alternative energy mechanisms might improve space heating on campus. She is also helping facilitate campus discussions about what offsets the college should be pursuing.
“I think this experience will be super helpful after I graduate,” Pierce says. “I’ll have a good working understanding of this important issue.”
Jamie Milletary (pictured right), a second-year Master of Public Administration (MPA) student, is serving as the sustainability outreach fellow. Similar to Thorkildsen, she applied for the position because of her interest in working on sustainability issues.
“I wanted to challenge myself,” Milletary explains. “It sounded like a really good experience and like it could help me grow in what I understand about sustainability.”
This winter, Milletary is tasked with developing durable educational outreach content and structures for on-line and in-class learning about sustainability issues on and off campus. She will also be organizing a sustainability speaker series.
Though she is still new to the field, Milletary hopes to continue on her work in sustainability after earning her MPA. “I tend to just take risks,” she says. “I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I’ll be very happy if my future goes in a sustainable direction.”
Evergreen’s graduate sustainability fellowships accept applications in November. Please visit the program page for more information about the positions and application procedures.