Getting to Know Yo(u)rk: How Can I Get Involved in Environmental Efforts on Campus?

Written by: Nathan Leakway '24

College can be a confusing place, but it doesn’t have to be. In Getting to Know Yo(u)rk, we speak to members of the York College community to shed light on various aspects of the college experience.

With Earth Day ‘24 fast approaching, it seemed a good time to look at the environmental work York College students and faculty are doing around campus and how campus community members can get involved.

Students in Environmental Horticulture and Other Majors 

Kaitlin Dannenberg ‘25 (Long Island, NY) is a double major in Environmental Horticulture and Environmental and Sustainability Studies. As President of the York College Beekeeping Club and an avid gardener and environmentalist, she is heavily involved in environmental initiatives on campus. One of her recent projects was a Pollinator Awareness Fair on April 19. On that day, Wolf Lawn was taken over by various stands for local vendors and student groups. Dr. Kay McAdams, faculty advisor to the Beekeeping Club, arranged for local beekeepers to attend and offer local honey for sale. The Anime Club offered origami workshops, and Rhapsody, the student acapella group, sang nature-themed songs. There was a nature-themed art show, where students sold paintings, sculptures, and other works. Ninety percent of the proceeds of the event went to the vendors and artists, while 10 percent went to environmental initiatives on campus.

Kaitlin hopes students from across majors will attend and consider becoming part of a growing community of environmentally conscious students. “It’s a good community to be involved in,” she says. “Even if it’s not your major, pollination matters to us all. I think we all want clean water and clean air to breathe, and I think we all want a nice campus that we can be proud of.”

Hannah Zinn ‘24 (Baltimore, MD) has been a member of this growing community since she was a first-year student, but her love for nature goes back to childhood. “I did a lot of nature camps as a kid, and I remember just absolutely loving it,” she says. “I loved being around it all, seeing the flowers, chasing the butterflies. I just think there is such beauty to everything around us, and I think my love for it comes from a place of appreciation and admiration.” Hannah, an Environmental Horticulture major, knows it’s important to translate that admiration into action. She is the Vice President of the Beekeeping Club and often works closely with Dannenberg to organize environmental initiatives.

Hannah is a Student Ambassador and has seen an encouraging interest among incoming first-year students. “We’re a group of folks who care about the environment, and I see that echoed in a lot of the incoming first-year students. A lot of the people I’ve talked to really do care about sustainability initiatives on campus.” Both Kaitlin and Hannah are always encouraging students to join the Beekeeping Club (interested students can reach out to Kaitlin Dannenberg for information), but they also want to encourage students who may not have the time to join clubs to find other ways of becoming involved in sustainability initiatives on campus. “On the Spartan Volunteer Network, there are a number of environmental projects that students can volunteer for,” says Hannah. She also encourages students to consider more local and sustainable sources for their books and school supplies.

Graham Innovation Fellow Branden Goromaru ‘25

It’s not just Environmental Science and Horticulture majors who are involved in environmental work on campus. Branden Goromaru ‘25 (Lancaster, PA) is a Mechanical Engineering student who, following an eye-opening trip to Greece with the Graham Innovation Fellows his first year, discovered a passionate interest in sustainability. Branden is currently working with a group of three other Graham Innovation Fellows to come up with ways to improve the mental and emotional health of York College students.

“We came up with various solutions to this problem but settled on the idea of creating a community green space and garden,” he says. “We focused on creating a ‘third space,’ where students can go between classes or in their free time to take a break from their busy schedules and the concrete buildings around them. We wanted this space to function as an area for community collaboration for classes and as a space for clubs and organizations to meet other than classrooms.” At the end of last semester, the group pitched their idea to the President and the Provost. “We were met with a good response,” he says. “This semester, we have been working with Facilities and other clubs, such as the Plant and Garden Club and the Beekeeping Club, to make the idea a reality. We hope to create a prototype by the end of this semester to test the idea and then hopefully expand to make a few green spaces around campus so that as many people can benefit from them as possible.”

Branden has some advice for other Engineering students interested in getting involved. “Simply talk with as many people as possible on the topic and don’t solely focus on working with engineers. Sustainability is an extremely interdisciplinary field and requires you to work with people from all branches. Find a problem you’re passionate about and a way to work with others to solve it,” he says.

Faculty Teaching About and Organizing Environmental Efforts

Passionate faculty are behind the students committed to this type of work. Dr. Bridgette Hagerty, Associate Professor of Biology, has been helping students engage with environmental issues on and around campus since she first came to YCP 13 years ago. “There are lots of opportunities to get involved," says Dr. Hagerty. “Sometimes, just thinking about these issues and talking about them with your friends is really important. Hopefully, the more people start talking about these things, the more opportunities will come up.”

Dr. Hagerty co-teaches a project-based course called Ecological Action with Dr. Jessica Nolan that has students work with a community partner to solve an environmental problem in the area. For the last few years, those classes have worked on a proposal to restore parts of the Tyler Run stream, which flows through campus.

Dr. Hagerty is also a faculty mentor for the Tyler Run Stream Team, a group of students who collect data about the water quality of Tyler Run and organize a cleanup each semester. The most recent cleanup was organized by Environmental Science major and member of Stream Team Gracie Radcliff ‘24 (Brookfield, CT). “A lot of trash ends up in the stream,” says Gracie. “Anyone can join us and help us clean up.”

Sustainability Coordinator Daniel Kreiman

Sustainability Coordinator Daniel Kreiman, who assumed the new role at the College in November 2023, has been hard at work behind the scenes coordinating with clubs and finding new ways to get students involved in sustainability initiatives on campus. His challenge, however, is making students aware of his position. A recent survey conducted by Kreiman showed that up to 70 percent of the student body is unaware that the College has a Sustainability Coordinator.

But Kreiman is working tirelessly to change that. He recently moved his office to the second floor of the Humanities Building so he could be in an area with heavy student traffic. “I’m here. Please, come meet me,” he says. “I want to help.”

Kreiman has a few big things planned for the near future. He has enrolled the College in The 2024 Campus Eco Challenge, which “provides a unique opportunity to put your sustainability skills into practice and will include a competition within YCP,” he says. “The Eco Challenge is a fun and social way to take measurable action on the sustainability-related issues you care about.” Students who participate will get to decide which commitments they wish to take on, and prizes will be awarded to the top three finishers.

Kreiman is also working on collecting environmental data so that an actionable plan can be put in place. “I am working to gather all of our carbon footprint data so that I can submit that, and then we can compare ourselves to schools around the country,” he says. Using that data, the College will be able to “create a climate action plan and set realistic, achievable goals that weave into campus master plans.” Kreiman is also working to restart the Climate Action Task Force. “But first, getting the data is important. Then we can see where we are and try to improve it.”

Other Events

On May 3, the Environmental Horticulture program will host a plant sale from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Succulents, perennials, annuals, herbs, and vegetables grown by students will be available.