Honoring the Environment Through Year-Long Awareness, Action
April 25, 2024
Dear Campus Community,
Our recent campus celebration of Earthstock and the commemoration of Earth Day invited each of us to take some time to appreciate the wonders of our planet while reflecting on what we can do to protect it for ourselves and future generations.
Last spring as we celebrated Earthstock, Stony Brook announced it would take the steps necessary to more formally protect the Ashley Schiff Preserve from development. We recently received the survey documentation that identifies the preserve’s official boundaries and can now move forward to protect the property. Our next steps will include obtaining a resolution from the Stony Brook Council to officially name the preserve, followed by a request to the SUNY Board of Trustees to name the preserve and maintain its status as such. We will keep the campus community updated on this progress as well as plans for celebrating and recognizing the preserve.
Our active conservation work was recently recognized for the eleventh consecutive year by the Arbor Day Foundation, which designated Stony Brook University as a “Tree Campus Higher Education Institution” for promoting healthy trees and engaging students and staff in the spirit of conservation. Since 2009, Stony Brook has planted hundreds of trees on campus – some of which were cultivated in the University’s own greenhouses – through a robust planting program designed to manage the University’s tree care and beautify the campus.
To advance our leadership in climate research and solutions, several critical appointments were announced this past fall. Heather Lynch was named as the director of the Collaborative for the Earth, which has active working groups on environmental justice, decarbonization, and the health risks of extreme heat. The Collaborative recently hosted its first Stony Brook Global Environmental Forum where more than one hundred students, faculty, and community members explored the rapidly expanding offshore wind industry anchored right off Long Island’s shores.
Kevin Reed, who played a key role for Stony Brook in the development of The New York Climate Exchange (NYCE) proposal, was named associate provost for climate and sustainability programming, and The Exchange appointed its CEO, Stephen Hammer. Several NYCE initiatives are underway, including a number of student-focused programs. Interdisciplinary teams of Stony Brook students will compete with peers representing other New York Climate Exchange partners in developing stormwater management solutions for New York City through the Climate Exchange AI Innovation Challenge. The Exchange’s inaugural cohort of undergraduate interns, including representatives from Stony Brook, will conduct project-based work with one of The Exchange’s non-profit community partners this summer.
We look forward to welcoming author and advocate Linda Villarosa to campus for this evening's Presidential Lecture. She will talk about her book, Under the Skin: The Hidden Toll of Racism on American Lives and on the Health of Our Nation, and will discuss health equity and the impact of climate on health.
Here at Stony Brook, our commitment to sustainability and conservation is evident every day of the year and has long been an essential component of our academic and research mission. As a global leader in the fight for our environment, it is our responsibility to work together to build and maintain a more sustainable world all year long.
Sincerely,
Maurie McInnis
President