New Year’s Day Ice Walk— 12:30 to 3 pm   The arctic cold delivers a bonus point that is seldom redeemed—we get to walk on rivers and brooks! A very rare treat— Few walking experiences are as fun and defamiliarizing as walking river ice, first because the ice shapes are weird and magical, second because...Continue Reading

Our Place goes to Central Park! Wednesday, December 27: 7:30 am – 7 pm We’ll be in the heart of the best part of NYC, doing a few hours at the AMNH (emphasis on evolution by natural selection), a few hours at the Met (exploring the Classical era so when students return home they’ll understand...Continue Reading

Now Voyager Four Corners Sun.-Sun. March 11-18 and Sun.-Sun. March 18-25   Expeditions to Utah’s Grand Staircase and Bears Ears National Monuments Explore a wilderness that might vanish— More information.  Continue Reading

1) The problem: what invasives are, botanically and culturally Weeds are plants that grow where we don’t want them to, and invasives are weeds we spread without control, altering ecosystems to such an extent that, sometimes, native species are crowded out and go extinct. Invasives are expressions of our colonial culture; we bring them—and cats,...Continue Reading

Field: This word comes from ecology, and the term “field study.” It is based on the distinction between research done indoors, in the lab, and research done outdoors, in the field. Environmental: “environment” means that which encloses. Philosophy: means love (philo) of wisdom (sophy). Field Environmental Philosophy (FEP) is a pedagogy that takes students outdoors...Continue Reading

Now Voyager Tuition and Logistics From December 27, 2016 to January 6, 2017, Now Voyager takes college students (& 18+ year olds) on an ecstatic journey through South-Central Chile, following the path of water from the Pacific Ocean in Pichilemu across the Central Range, the agricultural Central Valley, and onto the high Andean peaks of...Continue Reading

The Life Riparian (Cross-posted from Hilltown Families) Riparian is a strange sounding word that denotes “river bank”: the meeting point of river and land. We enter the “riparian zone” when we get close to a river. It is a place we want to be, because it brims with exuberant sounds and smells, and because it...Continue Reading

I do get excited about maps like this one, which shows new areas in Chesterfield and Westhampton the USFWS is proposing for conservation. Here are the comments I sent USFWS, supporting “CCP Alternative C”: Dear US Fish and Wildlife Service, As a resident of Westhampton, Massachusetts, and director of the Westhampton-based 501(c)3 Biocitizen School of Environmental...Continue Reading

This month’s Ripple cross-posted from Hilltown Families: Life Will Return to Our Rivers! The challenge we (who value these nonhuman lives) face is to turn the immense powers we have to obstruct life into powers that liberate it. Sweet as maple syrup, the thaw is coming. Sea lamprey, shad, herring, alewives, eels, sturgeon and the...Continue Reading

Aesthetic value is a keystone of environmental philosophy. We love, and take care of, things we find beautiful. Biocitizen and HCC professor John Calhoun have made a commitment to work together for a year, walking together, learning, and creating art that is beautiful, that expresses important moments in, and facets of, Holyoke’s biocultural history. You...Continue Reading