U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse to issue a call to action on climate change and launch a student-led Conservation Corps at Roger Williams University on March 31

Curtis, Lynda

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RWU to Lead Effort to Create Environmental Impact Against Climate Change

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Roger Williams UniversityDOCS@RWUFeatured News Story The Week at Roger3-21-2016RWU to Lead Effort to Create EnvironmentalImpact Against Climate ChangeLynda CurtisFollow this and additional works at: https://docs.rwu.edu/weekatroger_featured_newsPart of the Higher Education CommonsThis News Article is brought to you for free and open access by the The Week at Roger at DOCS@RWU. It has been accepted for inclusion in FeaturedNews Story by an authorized administrator of DOCS@RWU. For more information, please contact mwu@rwu.edu.Recommended CitationCurtis, Lynda, "RWU to Lead Effort to Create Environmental Impact Against Climate Change" (2016). Featured News Story. 607.https://docs.rwu.edu/weekatroger_featured_news/607 News ArchiveRWU to Lead E ort to Create Environmental ImpactAgainst Climate ChangeU.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse to issue a call to action on climate change andlaunch a student-led Conservation Corps at Roger Williams University on March 31March 21, 2016 Lynda CurtisBRISTOL, R.I. – Building on sustained e orts to combat human-induced climate change and createmeasurable environmental impact via reforestation projects across Rhode Island, Roger WilliamsUniversity today announced a multi-year initiative to launch a student-led Conservation Corps thatwould initially serve Rhode Island and the region. The new initiative will unite leaders from federal,state, municipal and academic sectors to develop and implement forestry-related programs that, overtime, will measurably improve the local environment and ultimately drive climate change policy andlegislative action.United States Senator Sheldon Whitehouse will o cially launch the project on March 31 when hedelivers the University’s inaugural Macro Lecture, “Time to Wake Up: How College Students CanChange the Climate Change Debate.” There, the Senator will issue a formal call to action to encouragecollege students and community partners to help him address climate change with achievable actionWCAI and WGBH Radio science correspondent Heather Goldstone, whose weekly live show LivingLab is a trusted source of information on the intersection of science and culture, will join the senator fora Q&A segment following his speech. “I applaud the students and faculty of Roger Williams University for taking action right here at home tocounter the threat of climate change,” said Senator Whitehouse. “By working to make a di erence inour state and across the region, the Conservation Corps can in uence national climate policy andglobal climate outcomes.”The creation of the Conservation Corps builds on a number of ongoing community partnerships andenvironmental service projects spearheaded by the University’s Center for Macro Projects andDiplomacy. Last fall, RWU launched a new partnership pairing students from the School ofArchitecture, Art and Historic Preservation and the School of Education with the Newport TreeSociety to collaborate on several projects, including supporting the development of Newport’scitywide arboretum and street tree program; a children’s arboretum and associated forest ecologycurriculum at Claiborne Pell Elementary School; and work on general tree planting and maintenancee orts around the city.To date, RWU has deployed hundreds of student volunteers to more than a dozen Rhode Island citiesand towns to plant trees and remove invasive species by partnering with the Rhode Island Tree Council.The University also recently became an internationally accredited arboretum, and is one of only twocollege campuses in Rhode Island to earn the ArbNet accreditation. The diverse collection ofenvironmental service projects illustrates the University’s commitment to ful lling its core purpose – tostrengthen society through engaged teaching and learning – with a particular emphasis on the RhodeIsland community.The University will seek to partner with leaders from the City of Providence, Rhode Island Tree Council,Newport Tree Society, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), U.S. Fish and Wildlife,Rhode Island Audubon Society and National Grid, among others, to begin to identify opportunities forcollaboration that will inform the initial project work in the Conservation Corps’ multi-year plan.“The University and the City of Providence developed studies 10-years ago that demonstrate plantingnew trees can help restore oxygen and absorb carbon emissions, and reduce urban heat island e ect.Through the reforestation e orts undertaken by our initial volunteer corps and others, it is possible toquantify the positive environmental impact tree-by-tree,” said Stephen White, Director, Center forMacro Projects and Diplomacy, Dean of the School of Architecture, Art and Historic Preservation. “Bycoupling the enthusiasm and will of our large student community with the expertise and resources ofRhode Island’s environmental advocates to create an active Conservation Corps, we can createmeaningful change in the e ort to improve our environment, one locale at a time.”At 21 million strong, the current generation of college students values volunteerism, is interested inpolitics and is motivated to create the change it desires in areas such as environmental policy,campaign  nance or social justice reform. While a Conservation Corps will collaborate with municipal,state and federal o cials, among other partners, it is Roger Williams students who initially will lead thephysical reforestation work with the ultimate goal of bringing together college students from acrossRhode Island and inspiring regional and national e orts of the same caliber.Roger Williams University graduate student Christian Johnson believes college students represent anunderutilized resource that could have a signi cant impact in helping to improve the environment.“There is an untapped workforce of college students who are ready to get involved and to make adi erence in response to climate change,” says Johnson. “I think its important for more people tounderstand that you don’t have to invest in things like solar panels or other expensive technology whenyou think of sustainability or green initiatives. We can  x some of the problems facing our environmentsimply by planting a tree.”The March 31 presentation will take place in the Campus Recreation Center on the University’s Bristolcampus at One Old Ferry Road. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the event will begin at 7 p.m. The eventis free and open to the public; no tickets are required. For more information, call (401) 254-3166.The Macro Lecture is o ered in honor of Frank P. Davidson, founding advisor of the Center for MacroProjects and Diplomacy at Roger Williams University. Mr. Davidson was an early member of the CivilianConservation Corps – a national reforestation e ort that planted more than 3 billion trees across theU.S. in the 1930s – who went on to co-found the English Channel Tunnel as a means of connectingGreat Britain to the continent as part of the reconstruction and reuni cation of Europe following theSecond World War. The Macro Lecture seeks to focus on projects that achieve the greatest “macro”bene t for the state, the region and the world, through project plans and diplomacy to achieveimplementation.

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RWU to Lead Effort to Create Environmental Impact Against Climate Change

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