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Department of Environmental Studies

Current Students

Rollins College has been engaged in local and global communities for years. The College and Department of Environmental Studies are deeply committed to fostering a lifelong commitment in every member of the Rollins community to sustainability issues, social justice and responsibility, civic urbanism and being stewards of the environment.

Student Organizations and Programs

Sustainability Program and EcoRollins

The student-run Sustainability Program and student organization EcoRollins of Rollins College promote environmental stewardship and awareness of our effect on the environment to the campus community.

Rollins College student-run Sustainability Program

Over many years, student sustainability coordinators have been in close collaboration with Facilities Services and Sodexo to promote better recycling on campus. They have focused on monitoring recycling and trash bins, creating easy to understand labels, and hosting a “Take Back the Tap Campaign” to reduce the use of plastic bottles.

The Sustainability House, which houses 7 environmentally passionate students, developed a community garden that contains herbs, vegetables, and native plants for everyone to enjoy.

Academic year 2019-2020 will be the 11th year of the Bike Program run by the sustainability coordinators.  There are 44 bikes in the fleet, of which many can be adopted abandoned bikes that have been refurbished and are being reused for the program.  In most academic years, bikes are checked out over 1000 times for 3-day rentals! The program is self-funded and open to the whole campus for use in the local community.

In 2013, Rollins College was designated as a Fair Trade campus which was highlighted in 2016 by The Princeton Reviews’ choice of Rollins as a Green College!  Since then, the Sustainability Program has been promoting Fair Trade products sold on campus in the campus bookstore, dining facilities, museum gift shop and even in Athletics.

The Sustainability Program also collaborated with Pew Charitable Trusts on a campaign to save Bluefin Tuna, coming in second place out of over 100 participating schools. Because of her work, a sustainability coordinator was invited to Washington, D.C. to join Pew in presenting the photomosaic of the petition comments to NOAA.