Tackling the Future

ALLARM image

"The college's Alliance for Aquatic Resource Monitoring (ALLARM) is a prime example of grassroots action at its best," says Rob Lovlace, Trade Union Sustainable Development Unit senior fellow. "ALLARM has trained and supported a state-wide network of volunteer water quality monitors since 1986."

Huffington Post highlights Dickinson as a sustainable-development leader

Dickinson is one of just a few "forward-thinking" institutions preparing future leaders to tackle the challenge of sustainable development, according to Rob Lovelace, a Trade Union Sustainable Development Unit senior fellow. In his recent Huffington Post piece, "Size Matters: Finding Sustainable Solutions in Smaller Places," Lovelace argues that Dickinson's "living laboratory" approach to sustainability education could hold global importance.

Noting that the college committed to green initiatives long before it was popularized, Lovelace says that "Dickinson is proving that with the right mix of foresight and commitment a comparatively small institution can have a big impact."

As a national leader, the college has made sustainability a defining characteristic of a Dickinson education with more than 100 sustainability courses, integrated throughout the curriculum and across every major. Students prepare by studying sustainability in the classroom and abroad, conducting research, advancing campus greening efforts, practicing sustainable-living skills, working in internships and serving communities. 

Using the campus as a living laboratory, students gain hands-on experience addressing and solving sustainability issues through initiatives such as the student-introduced Idea Fund, the Center for Sustainable Living, LEED Gold buildings, an organic farm, water monitoring, recycling and composting programs, and renewable-energy efforts. 

Learn More 

"Size Matters: Finding Sustainable Solutions in Smaller Places," Huffington Post

Dickinson's Center for Sustainability Education

The Alliance for Aquatic Resources Monitoring

Dickinson's Living Laboratory Model

Published February 19, 2014