Inside Furman is published quarterly by the Furman University Department of Marketing and Public Relations. For story ideas, e-mail John Roberts, editor.
“Year of Environment” programming will help chart new course for Furman, says Wilkins
By Jason Strand, Alumni Fellow
Furman's “Year of the Environment” kicked off September 13 during Opening Convocation with a stirring call to action from keynote speaker Brad Wyche, founder of Upstate Forever. Wyche's call for revolution in our approach to the environment bolstered the mission charted in the 2006 President's Report, which highlights Furman's programs and goals for sustainability.
But who will keep the university on track? Who will help define sustainability and chronicle the university's efforts?
James Wilkins
This may seem like a lot of pressure for Furman's new environmental intern, but Wilkins, who joined the university staff this summer after earning a master's degree in science and environmental studies from Antioch New England in Keene , N.H. , appears to be up to the challenge. At Antioch Wilkins studied under Mitchell Thomashow, an environmentalist whose book Ecological Identity: Becoming a Reflective Environmentalist is a formative influence on Wilkins.
Thomashow promotes an approach that he calls “education for the sublime.” This involves developing a sense of wonder toward the natural processes taking place around us. Through this sense of wonder, we begin to understand the measurable importance of living a sustainable life.
For Wilkins, “education for the sublime” is about relating information about the natural world to the real world. After graduating from Clemson, where he majored in mathematics and minored in forestry, Wilkins taught at Ashley Hall School in Charleston . Teaching math and physics to ninth graders, Wilkins had a knack for creating ways to take his students outdoors, applying the basics of algebra and pre-calculus to the surrounding ecosystem.
Although teaching was rewarding, Wilkins wanted to devote more time to his real passion: the environment. He began taking night classes at the College of Charleston , where a professor's simple question — “What are you doing?” — prompted him to realize that he needed more education.
Wilkins soon enrolled in the environmental education program at Antioch New England. Now, he is in a position where his constant reflections on the environment find outlets each day.
Like his moment in the College of Charleston classroom, Wilkins sees the “Year of the Environment” at Furman as a turning point that will set the university permanently on the path to sustainability. But what is sustainability?
“Everyone has an idea of sustainability,” he says, “but when a community begins to make organized efforts towards sustainability, it is obvious why definitions are important.”
Wilkins feels his presence over the next year will help shape Furman's approach to environmental stewardship. He offers one definition from the book 147 Practical Tips for Teaching Sustainability : “Sustainability is achieving a balanced union of ecological harmony, social respect and economic vitality.”
“I'd like people to come here and really feel there is a culture of sustainability,” Wilkins explains. “Whether it's noticing its forms in the academic sense of sustainability — the so-called ‘triple bottom line' of economics, environment and society — or just the mindfulness of students, staff and faculty, who are aware of the choices they make.”
Among many projects, Wilkins is working with members of the Environmental Action Group to establish an organic garden near the tennis courts on the north side of campus. The students will choose what is planted.
“I'm very excited about working with EAG students,” says Wilkins. “Their initiatives are well thought out. These are high-level environmentalists.”
He has also injected renewed energy into the university's recycling program. Student move-in days were perfect opportunities to redouble recycling efforts. Several tons of cardboard were collected and diverted from the waste stream.
Furman has also emphasized sustainability at the university's most popular community event: home football games. Wilkins is working with the athletic department on a campaign that features special banners, recorded announcements by athletes to encourage recycling, and the presence of a Garner's organic foods stand as a healthy concessions alternative.
“They are really putting their brains behind this,” says Wilkins enthusiastically. “The teamwork is great.”
Wilkins sees football games and other the “Year of Environment” initiatives as shining examples of how to spread the gospel of sustainability.
“Education is the key to encouraging people to live a sustainable life,” he says. “Higher education can be the perfect model for sustainable efforts. It's the perfect marriage of education and real-world experience.”
Toward a better campus environment
By David Shi
The university community should embrace Furman's energy-use policy because it is the right thing to do.