Living in "paradise" everyday, we are reminded how precious our environment is and how privileged we are to be faithful stewards of that environment. The College's mission statement includes these values, "We are dedicated to scholarship, academic achievement, creative accomplishment, cultural enrichment, social responsibility, and environmental stewardship."

Sustainability has been an active cornerstone of the curriculum since 1986 when the first Sustainable Development class was taught. This class evolved into a Sustainable Development Minor in 1999. Students began in 1999 to oversee the campus' recycling program which is still active to this date and has renamed itself the Sustainability Program. And work in facilities to reduce energy consumption has been significant.

For more information, contact the Chief Sustainability Officer, Scott Bitikofer, or Chair of the Environmental Studies Department, Lee Lines.

Rollins College Campus Master Plan Update 2011 - Sustainable Plan Principles

Painting a Greener Rollins

A portrait of our planet would likely depict vivid blue seas and swirling white clouds, but no accurate likeness of Earth can omit human beings from the picture. Think of this: it wasn’t until approximately 1800 that the world’s population reached one billion, but it took only 130 years to add the next billion, 30 years to add the third, and 15 years to add the fourth. In four more years, the world’s population is anticipated to reach 14 billion. The pressure of such a sizeable human presence can be either a powerful source of positive change or a potential source of destruction. Rollins students and faculty are passionate about facing the challenge and about leaving future generations with a landscape brighter than their own. What they are learning in Rollins classrooms and experiencing on the Rollins campus is helping them to paint that greener tomorrow. Continue reading the article from the Spring 2009 issue of Rollins Magazine (which was printed with soy-based ink on recycled paper), or flip through an electronic version of the magazine.

The enjoyment of scenery employs the mind without fatigue and yet exercises it; tranquilizes it and yet enlivens it; and thus, through the influence of the mind over the body gives the effect of refreshing rest and reinvigoration to the whole system.

Frederick Law Olmsted

  Rollins students and staff visit to Recycle America's single stream facility.