News & Views is a In this issue:
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Apply Now for Fall 2006 Sterling College provides a depth of learning and intensity of interaction distinctive in higher education. Our environmental focus, our commitment to experiential learning, and our community is not for everyone, but it may be right for you. |
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Global Field Studies: Belize A tropical destination in the depths of January—why not? Sterling College students and faculty diversify their northern Sterling experience with research oriented coursework in Belize every January. Partnering with Wee Wee Caye and the Belize Foundation for Research and Environmental Education (BFREE), non-profit biological research stations, Sterling students have the opportunity to explore the impacts of land use on the Monkey River watershed and a coral reef. |
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| For the third year running, students are compiling data in order to monitor the effects over time of land use practices on the Monkey River watershed. BFREE, located within the protected Bladen Nature Reserve, offers students an opportunity to explore and observe various aspects of the natural communities in a pristine location. Bladen Nature Reserve is only accessible to researchers; it is protected by wardens from tourists, hunters, and loggers. As students travel from the headwaters to the depositional zone of the Bladen River and Monkey River, they begin to monitor the effects of a banana plantation, Monkey River Town, and a shrimp farm on the vegetation, soils, wildlife, and water quality of the watershed. This year, students shared their findings with local Belizeans and heard from the locals themselves the ecological changes that they have witnessed over the years. One student, Tim Wilson ’06 of Chicago, Illinois, felt that the experience of exchanging information with the Belizeans was a highlight of the trip |  |
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Tim also appreciated meeting people of various ethnic backgrounds. Mayans, Creoles, and the Garifuna make up the intriguing Belizean culture. People in Belize speak English, which made it simple for the students to ask a lot of questions. Students also partnered up or individually stayed in people’s homes throughout the trip. |
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Sterling Seminar SeriesInterested in learning more about ecopsychology? The land rights struggles of indigenous peoples? Recovery of the Arctic tundra after fire? Then join us for the 2006 Sterling Seminar Series. We have opened our doors to a diversity of guest speakers who will be facilitating discussion and presenting information on a number of topics that relate to the Sterling College curriculum. All seminars are open to the public. Everyone is encouraged to share ideas, listen, and join in the conversation. Click here for a listing of all our guest speakers. |
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Who Goes Here? Princess MacLean '07 |
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To begin with, let’s clear up the number one question most people have when they first meet Princess MacLean—Princess is her real name. She explains, “My parents let my older sister name me. She was four at the time.” Her fairy tale name, as it turns out, holds a small bit of irony. This dairy-farming Princess is usually Carhartt-clad and sporting knee high rubber boots. It is a stretch of the imagination to believe that Princess grew up in the Boston area, far away from the mountains |
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and small farms of northeastern Vermont. A love for animals inspired this city-dweller to study agriculture in northern Vermont. It was Princess’ appreciation of animals that led to an awareness of modern farming practices. Her interest in the ethics of food production soon extended not only to conventional animal farming practices, but also to monoculture farming and how it effects the environment and society as a whole. These concerns made her realize that it wasn’t right for her to simply be a consumer. Princess wanted to have a say in how food was grown and raised. She wanted to become a farmer. When Princess first heard about Sterling College, she immediately knew it was the right place for her. She recalls how excited she was when she learned about the College, “The focus on community, the location tucked away up north, I couldn’t have imagined a better place.” Princess admits that the learning curve from her aspirations as a city-bred-teen to the realities of farming in Northern Vermont has been steep. “First of all, I didn’t even know what farming was,” Princess laughs. “I had no idea about the amount of skill required and how much work it takes to simply grow a potato, bake a loaf of bread, or make a pair of socks from start to finish.” Since her arrival at Sterling College in the fall of 2002, Princess has learned much about farming. In addition to working on the campus farm, Princess works for a number of farmers in and around Craftsbury: |
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The more I learn about agriculture the more I realize how little I know. Cheese making is a perfect example of that. People have been making cheese for thousands of years, but that knowledge is being lost. It’s not as simple as following a recipe—there is temperature, humidity, acidity, microbial diversity, and a hundred other tiny considerations to take into account. That’s true with everything in farming. If it is not passed down from generation to generation, it’s much harder to learn. This past fall, Princess was the teaching assistant for Fiber Arts. Being a teaching assistant for this 3-credit course fed her passion for “making land-based, functional crafts out of local, ethically produced materials.” (a.k.a. knitting, felting, and spinning wool) Through this experience Princess was reminded of the importance of teaching and learning through community. “It’s much easier to learn how to felt or spin from a person than a book,” she comments. Princess is currently a senior. She has begun work on her Senior Applied Research Project in which she plans on studying the role artisanal quality crafts can play in supporting local economies. She is also working part time at a dairy and cheese making farm called Jasper Hill Farm in Greensboro, Vermont. This work ties into her plans to maintain a flock of sheep and other creatures on her own farm someday. After graduating from Sterling, Princess plans to continue working on farms in order to learn more and work towards buying land to begin applying all she has learned. |
 Fiber Arts (3 credits) The use of animal and plant fibers, both wild and cultivated, has ancient and world-wide roots. Products carefully and lovingly made from the fiber resources at hand have served people well for millennia; every region of the world has a rich folk tradition of fiber use. This course explores historical and current day uses of natural fibers. Students practice techniques as they are introduced, such as producing cordage, spinning yarn, knitting hats, felting mittens, and weaving belts. |
| Faculty Spotlight: Farley A. Brown As a part-time professor at Sterling College, Farley Brown combines her love of teaching college students with her passions for conserving Vermont’s forested landscapes and working with Vermont landowners. Often, Farley is seen exploring the hydrologic processes of lakes and rivers throughout northern Vermont with Sterling College students in Watersheds Ecosystem Analysis. Occasionally, she is noticed visiting the state house in Montpelier with students in Environmental Policy and Law to expose them to the inner workings of the Vermont State Legislature. For two weeks in January Farley can’t be found on campus at all, as she is leading Sterling’s global field study to Belize. However, most days, one can find Farley in the Vermont Covert’s office—nestled behind the Stardust Café, just a short walk from campus—organizing educational workshops for landowners throughout the state. |
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After earning a M.S. in Natural Resource Planning, Farley was hired as the Executive Director of the Vermont Woodlands Association, where she provided educational workshops for both industrial and non-industrial woodland owners. She also managed the Vermont Tree Farm Program, which recognizes landowners who practice sustainable forestry. (Sterling College holds a current Tree Farm certification.) Additionally, Farley spent three years lobbying the Vermont Legislature on behalf of the interests of both industrial and non-industrial woodlot owners. |
Alumni Profile: Asa Twombly '02 It is no surprise that Asa Twombly fell in love with the science behind avalanches. Born and raised in Roxbury, Vermont, Asa grew up as an avid skier. Skiing at nearby Mad River Glen and Sugarbush, Asa had the chance to play in the snow his whole life. This penchant for snow led him to embark on the Sterling West program as a student in 1996. Sterling West, a domestic precursor to our current Global Field Study offerings, focused on the science of avalanche forecasting and snow physics as well as the economics of recreational areas and alternative building. |
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With the opportunity to tour and ski the backcountry of Colorado’s San Juan Mountains, some of the most avalanche prone mountains in the United States, students completed an intense, three week study of a very dynamic snow pack. Analyzing the layers of snow, the students collected data on weather, snow crystal formation, snow pack density, and water content. This opportunity served as the catalyst for Asa’s focus throughout his undergraduate years. After Asa completed the Sterling West program and received his level 2 avalanche certification, he was asked to help teach the course on snow physics during the following year. He eagerly accepted this offer to return to Colorado. |
With two semesters of studying snowpack in the San Juans under his belt, Asa took his knowledge to the next level. His Senior Applied Research Project (SARP) was sponsored by NASA and allowed him to work alongside researchers from CRREL (Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory in New Hampshire) and NASA. Asa, once again, went back to Colorado to study the Earth’s cryosphere (seasonal or permanent layer of snow and ice on the Earth’s surface). The project, CLPX or Cold Land Processes Experiment, involved gathering hard data of the snow pack and comparing it to the data collected by NASA’s high tech radars and satellites. Asa conducted his studies by digging snow pits and collecting “ground truth” data on snow density and water content. The information collected was to help improve forecasts of spring melts and water supply in the dry climate of Colorado. The snow pack is very important to the west, where a good amount of the annual precipitation is in the form of snow. By determining the amount of water in the snow, scientists can predict seasonal droughts and make other predictions on both ecological and agricultural issues. After graduating from Sterling College in 2002, Asa was hired to conduct further studies for CRREL and NASA. This time he was asked to collect soil samples and determine moisture content and soil density. He was able to study how water percolates through the soils and how it is stored by looking at the size of soil particulates (sand, silt and clay). Although his work with CRREL and NASA did not involve any forecasting of avalanches, it did give him more technical skills and knowledge of snow properties. Asa is hoping he can work for CRREL again on more projects involving the science of snow. Asa is very grateful for his time spent at Sterling College and the knowledge he gained from the Sterling West program (now Mountain Cultures Semester). His dream is to return to the western slope of Colorado and find work with an avalanche forecast center. For now, he is working and living in Maine with his partner, Haley, and daughter Ava. |
