Latest News:

Sustainability Team and Community Design Collaborate for Nature Preserve

Students on the Sustainability Team partnered with seniors enrolled in Community Design this spring to create original, eye-catching signs, maps, and stickers promoting the Purchase Nature Preserve.
Major Reforestation Grant Benefits Campus and Students

Associate Professor of Environmental Studies Allyson Jackson secured close to $500,000 from New York State’s Department of Environmental Conservation.
ENV undergrads at the Northeast Natural History Conference

Environmental Studies students and professors presented at the 2025 Northeast Natural History Conference in Springfield, MA.
Guide to Sustainability Team Social Media

We have so much going on that isn’t shown on the website. Keep up to date on projects happening on campus by following any of these instagram accounts
River otters photographed on campus for the first time!

For the first time, we have images and video of river otters enjoying the Blind Brook Forest right here on campus!
Volunteer or intern with the Sustainability Team

Anyone can join the Sustainability Team, no matter what your major or position with the college.
ENV is hiring Invasive Species Technicians for summer 2025

Summer job opportunity! Help be part of the team restoring the Blind Brook forest. Over the three year period of this grant, we hope to set the forest on a trajectory of recovery that will last for future generations. Learn skills that can help you get a full time job in the conservation field.
The Journal of Ecology Showcases Research

The fall 2024 Wildlife Ecology class worked together to plan, generate hypotheses, and collect data on novel research ideas.
Inside Environmental Studies

Take a look at what it’s like to study Environmental Studies at Purchase.
Purchase’s Spotted Lanternflies

While Spotted Lanternflies may have disappeared for now, they will be back!
Wildlife Ecology Poster Session

Students in Professor Allyson Jackson’s Wildlife Ecology class answered questions about their research at this mini-symposium.
Sustainability team looking for volunteers and interns

Anyone can join the Sustainability Team, no matter what your major or position with the college.
New Cohort of Interns Busy in the Field

Welcome to our Land Stewardship and Invasive Species interns for 2024–2025.
2nd Annual BioBlitz Records 347 Species

National Geographic defines a BioBlitz as “an event that focuses on finding and identifying as many species as possible in a specific area over a short period of time.”
Spotted Lanternfly Trapping

The Environmental Studies Department is installing Spotted Lanternfly traps around campus this year.
Take a Hike With The Purchase Outdoors Club

Vice President Robyn Graygor shares why the club is an essential Purchase experience.
Purchase Receives Second Invasive Species Grant

Professor George Kraemer and student Maura Vander Putten will study invasive species along hiking trails in the Catskills next summer.
Purchase Receives DEC Grant for Invasive Species Prevention

Allyson Jackson, Associate Professor of Environmental Studies, was awarded the $99,480 grant to empower students to help protect the environment.
First Annual BioBlitz Records 317 Different Species

A collaboration between the Environmental Studies program and the Sustainability Office sparked a search for species on the Purchase campus.
Crossover Goals: Pollinator Garden Signage

The interpretive signs in the Purchase Native Pollinator Garden resulted from collaboration between environmental studies, arts management, and graphic design.
New edition of the Purchase College Journal of Ecology published

Research articles published by Wildlife Ecology students in the 6th volume of the Purchase College Journal of Ecology.
Purchase Helps Divert Unwanted Paint from Landfills

Working with GreenSheen, a leader in paint recycling, thousands of cans were dropped off by community members.
Purchase students inducted to Sigma Xi Scientific Research Honor Society

This spring, the Purchase College Chapter of Sigma Xi nominated eight seniors to be inducted into this scientific research honor society.
Students Present at NENHC 2023

Six students and two faculty mentors attended the 2023 Northeast Natural History Conference in Burlington, VT in April to present their senior project research.
ENV students present at the NSS Senior Symposium

The NSS Senior Research Symposium was back in person this year and the Environmental Studies department had 4 seniors present their research.
ENV attends Northeast Natural History Conference

The Environmental Studies department traveled to Albany to attend the 2022 Northeast Natural History Conference on April 23-24.
2021 Purchase College Journal of Ecology published

The 5th volume of the Purchase College Journal of Ecology is available to read!
Creating Space for the Birds: Nest Boxes

Have you noticed the new bird nest boxes around campus? The Environmental Studies department is using these boxes to monitor and conserve bird species in our area.
New research published by Dr. Allyson Jackson

A new article was published this month in the journal Ecology and Evolution by Dr. Allyson Jackson, titled “Differential reliance on aquatic prey subsidies influences mercury exposure in riparian arachnids and songbirds.”
2021 ENV Award winners

Special congrats to the ENV award winners this year:

Outstanding Senior: Tiffani Rushford

Outstanding Junior: Julie Gifford
ENV seniors present their research

We are incredibly proud of the three seniors who presented their senior project research at the the 2021 NSS Student Research Symposium. Congrats to André Selino, Tiffani Rushford, and Gabby Mendez!
Congrats to Dr. Ryan Taylor!

Dr. Ryan Taylor wins Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Faculty Service
ENV Students Experience a Scientific Conference
Two Purchase Authors Among Most Notable for 2020

Books by Carl Safina ’77 and Garth Greenwell ’01 landed on The New York Times list of “100 Most Notable Books of 2020.”
Congrats to the 2020 ENV Award Winners

Environmental Studies would like to congratulate all of the students who completed a truly extraordinary semester, and especially the winners of the 2020 awards. We wish we could celebrate everyone in person!
Environmental Benefits of Telecommuting

The Sustainability Advisory and Outreach Committee (SAOC) gathered members’ transportation data to show the positive environmental impact from telecommuting due to COVID
Erin Sullivan ’12 Delivers a TED Talk

Travel photographer, writer, and advocate talks about putting down the camera and being present.
Carl Safina ’77 featured in The New York Times

Alumnus Carl Safina, PhD was featured in The New York Times on October 21st. The article, “Carl Safina Is Certain Your Dog Loves You,” recounts a conversation in which Safina provides the basis for his conclusion that animals have rich emotional lives.
Georgie Humphries ’19 & April McIlwaine ’19 Receive Awards

Alumni awarded for work in environmental studies and biology at the WCA Entrepreneurship in the Sciences event.
Commencement 2019