Onyx Fall-Winter 2017

with sustainability. In fact, that is the point of such an interdisciplinary, liberal arts-based degree: there are things we can all do in our lives and careers to make a difference. Those opportunities extend to alumni. Tarasi is forming a climate action plan with members of the Sisters of Providence, faculty and staff of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College, and others in the larger community. Tarasi hopes that the action steps identified by the climate action plan will be carried about by all in the SMWC community, even alumni. Swickard hopes to see more alumni help with Ring Day and Founders Day cleanup projects, the Wabashiki cleanup and Week of Service this year. Tarasi, for one, is relishing his experience working in the unique environment at Saint Mary-of-the- Woods College. “Our size gives our students and alumni opportunities to be advocates,” he says, looking out his window. “We get the chance to work on something greater than ourselves.” dad

The sustainability unit in the WC 100 class and the campus projects created by WC 402 students (Tichenor built a pollinator garden behind Hulman Hall) has students looking for more ways to incorporate sustainability in their academic life. Enter Tarasi again —the environmental science major and minor are attracting students from across the campus, mainly because of the applied nature of the degree. Tarasi, himself an ecologist, sees great value in environmental science. “Environmental science is broader than ecology. It’s interdisciplinary and applied,” Tarasi says. “We think about how these ecology and science issues relate to humans, and we want to expose students to broad perspectives. Our majors are thinking about how our world is working, and that opens up new avenues to understand our world in a different way.” While environmental science is thriving at The Woods (an outdoor classroom will soon be built next to Le Fer Lake), just like Swickard and Tichenor, you don’t have to be a scientist to make a difference

lead, how to delegate and then how to execute. They take joy in getting people to be enthusiastic about these programs.” That execution extends beyond The Woods. When McKayla Tichenor, who will graduate in May, took the sustainability capstone—or Woods Core 402—she didn’t expect that it would change the way her rural Vigo County family would deal with trash. But, after learning about sustainability in WC 402, she realized how sustainability affects all aspects of life. “I had no idea how sustainability was connected to social justice, for example,” Tichenor says. “Sustainability isn’t just about going green. People think it’s some daunting thing, but throughout the class we learned how our small choices added up.” Tichenor explains that since her family lives far out in the country, they used to burn their trash. But after the class? “We’re taking the time to separate our trash and recycle the plastics, aluminum cans and cardboard,” she explains. “We made the decision to make a conscious effort.”

Top: McKayla Tichenor of Pimento, Ind., Jordyn Lloyd of Grand Forks, N.D., Caitlyn Granfield ’17 of Kokomo, Ind., and Assistant Professor of Ecology Dennis Tarasi, Ph.D., work on preparing the ground for the pollinator garden behind Hulman Hall.

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