J-Term Course Presents a Conservation Plan for the Town of Middlebury

For any environmental studies or geography major who has been subject to the dreaded “cone of silence” of Middlebury’s Geographic Information Systems (GIS) course, it is hard to imagine a Middlebury class revolving around GIS could be “fun.” Yet when you are no longer forbidden to talk to your classmates, but actually encouraged to work together to solve a relevant, local issue, much of the stress formerly associated with GIS becomes funneled into a new creative and collaborative energy.

Such is the case with the new Winter Term class Conservation Planning taught by Amy Sheldon. For the past four weeks, students in Amy’s class have been working together to propose a conservation plan for the town of Middlebury, bringing their expertise from a diverse array of majors into a coherent vision for identifying and prioritizing conservation land in Middlebury. The final plan will be presented to the Middlebury Planning Commission at the Ilsley Public Library Meeting Room tonight  at 7:00 pm. This presentation is open to the public, so members of the local community and students at the college alike are encouraged to join.