2021
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Wednesday, January 20, 2021 |
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Wednesday, January 13, 2021 |
Professor Eli Dueker Writes: To Judge Coney Barrett from Your Transgender Sorority Vice President: Keep Your Pledge
Eli Dueker, associate professor of environmental and urban studies at Bard College, remembers Supreme Court judicial nominee Amy Coney Barrett as “whip-smart and incredibly kind,” back when they were Kappa Delta sorority sisters at Rhodes College in the 1990s. Professor Dueker has since come out as a transgender man and become an environmental microbiologist, devoting his professional life to addressing environmental racism in the United States. As Coney Barrett faces a contentious nomination process to the Supreme Court, Professor Dueker questions her commitment to the ideals they pledged to at Kappa Delta: integrity, honor, and uplifting of other women.
Professor Eli Dueker Writes: To Judge Coney Barrett from Your Transgender Sorority Vice President: Keep Your Pledge
Post Date: 10-21-2020
Bard Center for the Study of Land, Air & Water Partners with City of Kingston to Monitor Air Quality
“Although Kingston's air quality is, for the most part, doing well, we know that increased traffic, train activity, wood burning, and household heating systems can contribute to short-term air quality issues and long-term health issues if not appropriately managed,” said Eli Dueker, director of the Center for the Study of Land, Air, & Water, which partnered with the City of Kingston’s Conservation Advisory Council’s Air Quality Sub-Committee to form the Kingston Air Quality Initiative. “This research addresses what Kingston needs to be able to meet its sustainability goals long-term.”Bard Center for the Study of Land, Air & Water Partners with City of Kingston to Monitor Air Quality
Post Date: 09-01-2020
Bard College Human Rights Professor and Students Study Urban Displacement and Gentrification with Kingston Housing Lab
This spring, Bard College Professor Kwame Holmes and 13 of his students collected information on hundreds of properties in Kingston’s Midtown section in an effort to study the hidden geography of property ownership in the city. The class, Urban Abandonment: A Housing Justice Lab, was a collaboration of Bard’s Environmental and Urban Studies and Human Rights programs and part of the Bard Center for Civic Engagement Engaged Liberal Arts and Sciences (ELAS) Program.Bard College Human Rights Professor and Students Study Urban Displacement and Gentrification with Kingston Housing Lab
Using property tax information from Ulster County Real Property Tax Service Agency, Holmes and his students found that, of the 481 properties they studied in one section of Midtown Kingston, 275 were owned by non-local owners, those who did not have an address within the neighborhood area. Non-resident owner addresses were geocoded, revealing the importance of Saugerties, Westchester County, and New York City to Kingston’s land market. Non-resident owners could be found as far as California, Texas, and Florida. Eighty-seven properties were owned by Limited Liability Corporations, 10 of which shared names with corporate landlords operating in states across the country. These dynamics, the class realized, illustrate the extent to which land in Kingston is a site of profit extraction, and very little of that capital directly benefits local residents.
Furthermore, gathering information from Airbnb, Holmes’s class found that there were 110 vacation rentals available in Kingston, compared to 43 advertisements for regular long-term rentals available on Craigslist. The average rent per bedroom per month on Airbnb was $4,187, a price over 300% more expensive than a regular monthly rental. Holmes, who recently presented the class’s findings to the Kingston Common Council’s housing committee, said the Kingston Housing Lab was born out of an interest in transforming how communities talk about housing inequality and scarcity in small towns.
“Rather than focus on ‘the most affected population’ and recite statistics about rent as a percentage of median income, we wanted to shine a light on home owners and land ownership as an economic and cultural phenomenon and explore their impact on housing availability, quality, and pricing,” said Holmes, scholar-in-residence, Bard Human Rights Program, and faculty advisor, Bard Prison Initiative. “Housing security, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, is a public health issue. We’re interested to learn the impact of ownership from afar upon living conditions of renters, particularly in working class areas. Are non-local landowners more likely to sell for an immediate profit, exposing renters to an involuntary displacement? More transparency in and analysis of ownership patterns are essential for the maintenance of public health.”
Holmes, who is slated to talk about present his class’s results on Radio Kingston and make a presentation to the Kingston Land Trust this week, said he plans to expand the Kingston Housing Lab project, working with students to gather information on all of Kingston’s properties, as well as reach out directly to non-local property owners—particularly those who own three or more residential properties in a neighborhood—to better understand how they interact with their properties and relate to the communities wherein they own.
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(6.23.20)Post Date: 06-23-2020
More EUS News
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Lindsey Lusher Shute MS ’07 Talks to Mother Jones about Farming in the Face of Climate Change
Lindsey Lusher Shute MS ’07 Talks to Mother Jones about Farming in the Face of Climate Change
Shute, founder of the National Young Farmers Coalition, was interviewed by the Mother Jones food podcast Bite about the challenges faced by the rising generation of American farmers, including more extreme weather, stratospheric land prices, enduring legacies of racism, and corporate domination of food markets that weighs down crop prices.
Post Date: 01-29-2020
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Bard College Presents Montgomery Place Fall Salon Series on Renewable Energies
Bard College Presents Montgomery Place Fall Salon Series on Renewable Energies
The Montgomery Place Fall Salon Series, Renewable Energies: Balancing Outputs and Historic Landscapes, presents two sessions highlighting how a local community balances the implementation of renewable energies within an historically significant landscape. Session 1: Solar Energy takes place on Tuesday, November 12, 3–5 p.m. and Session 2: Hydro Energy, on Tuesday, December 3, 3–5 p.m. Programs are free and open to the public. Seating is limited; registration required. For more information and to register send an email to montgomeryplace@bard.edu or call 845-758-7505.
“The Town of Red Hook has areas that have been recognized locally, statewide, and nationally both as a scenic region, and for having significant historic architecture, landscapes, and viewsheds,” says Emily Majer, Town of Red Hook historian. “These attributes, along with the firm commitment to agriculture and open space, are character defining features of the town which contribute to the quality of life, and economic vitality. Consequently, it is important to be sensitive in the placement of ground and roof-mounted solar panels in designated historic districts and on historic structures, and to protect the viability of important agricultural land and built structures within the town.” Local Law 143-37 “Solar Energy Systems” spells out what kind, size, and placement of array is allowable in each zoning district in order to maximize the utilization of this renewable energy source, while preserving the historic and bucolic nature of the town.
“Small-scale hydropower was historically an important energy source in this area that may see a resurgence as we work to reduce our dependence on fossil fuel-based energy sources that are driving the climate crisis,” says Robyn Smyth, assistant professor of environmental and urban studies, Bard College.
The Town of Red Hook is home to the Hudson River National Historic Landmark District, the most prestigious designation of historic resources in the nation.
Panel Speakers
Session 1: Solar Energy
November 12, 3–5 p.m.
Emily Majer ’95, Town of Red Hook historian and deputy mayor, Village of Tivoli
Audrey Friedrichsen, land use and environmental advocacy attorney, Scenic Hudson
Jeff Irish, vice president, SunCommon
Moderated by Ben Hoen CEP ’06, research scientist, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Session 2: Hydro Energy
December 3, 3–5 p.m.
Emily Majer ’95, Town of Red Hook historian and deputy mayor, Village of Tivoli
Jan Borchert, head of hydro facility design and permitting, Current Hydro
Tracy Brown, restoration manager, Connecticut and New York Northeast Coldwater Habitat Program, Trout Unlimited
Weston Davey, historic site restoration coordinator, New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation
Moderated by Robyn Smyth, assistant professor of environmental and urban studies, Bard College
For more information and to register send an email to montgomeryplace@bard.edu or call 845-758-7505.
Post Date: 12-01-2019
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The Fisher Center Presents A Talk By Chef Sean Sherman: The (R)evolution of Indigenous Food Systems of North America
The Fisher Center Presents A Talk By Chef Sean Sherman: The (R)evolution of Indigenous Food Systems of North America
James Beard Award–winning Chef Sean Sherman, Oglala Lakota from the Pine Ridge reservation and founder of the company The Sioux Chef, is committed to revitalizing Native American cuisine. Chef Sean comes to the Fisher Center to discuss The (R)evolution of Indigenous Food Systems of North America, Tuesday, October 29, in the LUMA Theater at 5 p.m. The talk will be followed by a question and answer period and book signing. Admission is free; to reserve tickets and for additional information visit fishercenter.bard.edu or call the Fisher Center box office at 845-758-7900.
Through his research Chef Sean has uncovered and mapped out the foundations of the indigenous food systems through an indigenous perspective. His book, The Sioux Chef’s Indigenous Kitchen, earned a 2018 James Beard Award and was a top 10 cookbook of 2017. He has become renowned nationally and internationally in the culinary movement of indigenous foods and is leading a movement to completely redefine North American cuisine.
Copies of The Sioux Chef’s Indigenous Kitchen will be available for purchase in the lobby of LUMA Theater courtesy of Oblong Books. In addition, Ken Greene from Seedshed will be showcasing Haudenosaunee crops grown in the Native American Seed Sanctuary, a collaborative initiative with the St. Regis Mohawk tribe Seedshed and The Hudson Valley Farm Hub.
This event is sponsored by Bard College’s Center for the Study of Land, Air and Water, American Studies, Environmental and Urban Studies, Bard Farm, Bard Office of Sustainability, Experimental Humanities, The Bard Center for Civic Engagement, Trustee Leader Scholar Program, and Oblong Books. The Fisher Center’s presentation of the event is in tandem with the upcoming Live Arts Bard Biennial, Where No Wall Remains: An International Festival About Borders, November 21–24, 2019.
Chef Sean Sherman, Oglala Lakota, born in Pine Ridge, SD, has been cooking across the US and Mexico over the past 30 years, and has become renowned nationally and internationally in the culinary movement of indigenous foods. Chef Sean has studied extensively to determine the foundations of Native American indigenous foods systems to bring back a sense of Native American cuisine to today’s world. In 2014, he opened the business titled The Sioux Chef as a caterer and food educator in the Minneapolis/Saint Paul area. He and his business partner Dana Thompson also designed and opened the Tatanka Truck, which featured pre-contact foods of the Dakota and Minnesota territories.
In October 2017, Sean was able to perform the first decolonized dinner at the James Beard House in Manhattan along with his team. His first book, The Sioux Chef’s Indigenous Kitchen was awarded the James Beard medal for Best American Cookbook for 2018 and was chosen as one of the top ten cookbooks of 2017 by the LA Times, San Francisco Chronicle, as well as the Smithsonian Magazine. This year, Chef Sean was selected as a Bush Fellow, as well as receiving the 2019 Leadership Award by the James Beard Foundation. The Sioux Chef team of twelve people continues with their mission to help educate and make indigenous foods more accessible to as many communities as possible through the recently founded nonprofit North American Traditional Indigenous Food Systems (NATIFS). Learn more: natifs.org.
The Fisher Center develops, produces, and presents performing arts across disciplines through new productions and context-rich programs that challenge and inspire. At once a premier professional performing arts center and a hub for research and education, the Fisher Center supports artists, students, and audiences in the development and examination of artistic ideas and perspectives from the past, present, and future. The organization’s home is the Fisher Center for the Performing Arts, designed by Frank Gehry and located on the campus of Bard College in New York’s Hudson Valley. The Fisher Center offers outstanding programs to many communities, including the students and faculty of Bard, and audiences in the Hudson Valley, New York City, across the country and around the world. The Fisher Center illustrates Bard’s commitment to the performing arts as a cultural and educational necessity. Building on a 150-year history as a competitive and innovative undergraduate institution, Bard is committed to enriching culture, public life, and democratic discourse by training tomorrow’s thought leaders.
Post Date: 10-08-2019
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Award-Winning Author Isabella Tree Presents Her New Book Wilding: returning nature to our farm
Award-Winning Author Isabella Tree Presents Her New Book Wilding: returning nature to our farm
On Thursday, October 10, Bard College features author Isabella Tree presenting her new work Wilding: returning nature to our farm (New York Review Books, 2019), winner of the 2019 Richard Jefferies prize for nature writing and chosen by Smithsonian as a top 10 science book for 2018. The event takes place at 5 p.m., in Weis Cinema, Bertelsmann Campus Center. Admission is free and no reservations are necessary. Books will be available for purchase at this event courtesy of Oblong Books & Music.
The event is sponsored by the Bard Center for Civic Engagement, Office of Sustainability, Environmental and Urban Studies Program, and Lifetime Learning Institute.
About the Author
Isabella Tree writes for publications such as National Geographic, Granta, and the Guardian, and is the author of five nonfiction books. Her articles have been selected for the Best American Travel Writing and Reader’s Digest Today’s Best Non-Fiction, and she was Overall Winner of the Travelex Travel Writer Awards. Her latest book Wilding: returning nature to our farm charts the story of the pioneering rewilding project in West Sussex where she lives with her husband Charlie Burrell. Forced to accept that intensive farming on the heavy Sussex clay was economically ruinous, they decided to step back and let nature take over. By introducing free-roaming herbivores—proxies of the large animals that once roamed Britain—the Burrells’ degraded agricultural land has become a functioning ecosystem again. In less than 20 years, wildlife has rocketed and numerous endangered species have made Knepp their home. The Knepp experience challenges conventional ideas about our past and present landscapes, and points the way to a wilder, richer future—one that benefits farming, nature, and us.
For more information about the book, visit nyrb.com.
For more information about the author and Knepp Castle Estate, visit isabellatree.com and knepp.co.uk.
Post Date: 09-20-2019
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Professor Gidon Eshel: We Are Fundamentally Altering Earth via Food Production
Professor Gidon Eshel: We Are Fundamentally Altering Earth via Food Production
Professor Eshel writes that if Americans choose to reduce meat consumption, it would improve water quality, biodiversity, soil health, and food security, as well as slowing climate change.
Post Date: 08-27-2019
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Bard College Student Lindsey Drew CEP ’20 Receives 2019 McHenry Award from the Open Space Institute
Bard College Student Lindsey Drew CEP ’20 Receives 2019 McHenry Award from the Open Space Institute
The annual McHenry Awards recognize exceptional young leaders who are working to protect and enhance the Hudson River Valley. Lindsey Drew CEP ’20, who is pursuing an MS in environmental policy at the Bard Center for Environmental Policy, was recognized for her work with the Woodstock Land Conservancy to assess and address impacts in Ulster County’s Sawkill Creek watershed.
Post Date: 08-27-2019
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