Current and On-going Green Fund Projects

This project increases opportunities for experiential learning for the Tufts community, which is part of the ExCollege mission. It is a direct way for students to not only get experience identifying birds, but learn about community data collection, climate change, and the environment. Project Feederwatch is a citizen science project run by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, where participants count birds at feeders and collect data which helps scientists track population trends, climate change, environmental factors, and more. On count days, participants come to the count site, are given an introduction to the project and bird identification, and then count birds for as little as 10 minutes or as long as two hours, allowing for flexibility and the ability to participate multiple times. The project runs from November through April and count days occur weekly.

This project will help reduce purchasing costs and overall hazardous waste production at Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine. Formalin is the most commonly used fixative for diagnostic specimens submitted to the Cummings Veterinary Diagnostic Lab (CVDL). The CVDL must routinely purchase formalin for fixing specimens that require disease diagnosis. However, formalin is a hazardous chemical, and additional cost and effort are required to properly and legally dispose of it. This presents an opportunity for improved sustainability and an educational opportunity, as formalin purchasing and use- associated costs and resources must be utilized continuously to maintain supply and manage disposal. This project aims to reduce total hazardous waste use and disposal by recycling formalin into formalin that is appropriate for re-use. Doing so will encourage and educate our school about ways to reduce the environmental impact of diagnostic and research specimens.

This project will teach the Tufts community bike riding so that they can navigate in a safe, sustainable and more efficient way on campus. There are numerous bike services on campus: bike check-outs from Tisch, a free bike repair shop, and numerous bike racks all over campus. However, all these programs can only serve a limited population: those that already know how to ride bikes. The project aims to bridge the gap between those who have had the opportunity to learn biking at a young age and those who have not. The Green Fund selection committee awarded Bos to Bikers $4,110 for safety equipment, helmets, trainings on teaching biking, and compensation for biking teachers. 

The Double Arrows project will work with artist Elizabeth James Perry, a member of the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head - Aquinnah, to do a restorative planting garden with an emphasis on natural dye plants at the Indigenous Center in conjunction with her solo exhibition at Tufts University Art Galleries. It will extend the Galleries' project into a long-term engagement with the Tufts community through building outdoor container gardens and planters with Native plants conducive to natural dye, weaving and basketry practices. Double Arrows' gardens will continue to be stewarded by the Indigenous Center students through a manageable caretaking plan for the next three years. The group will create one or two container gardens at the Indigenous Center. Perry will do a workshop with students in advance of planting to share natural dye planting and weaving techniques and interested students can join her in the transplanting seedlings to the plot in May 2023. The Green Fund selection committee awarded Double Arrows $5,750 for container planters, facilities needs, seeds, plants, soil, gardening supplies, workshop supplies, an artist honorarium, and student stipends for project management and caretaking.

The Boston Campus Community Garden Project will create a Boston Community Garden on the Tufts Boston campus to provide a space for the community to come together and connect with one another and the land through the act of gardening. The garden aims to provide a beautiful green space within the city campus and be open for enjoyment by students and faculty alike. The garden will consist of a 10x10 plot of arable land within the Posner Courtyard. They also 
hope to add hardy native flowering perennials to the outskirts of the Jaharis Courtyard. Managed by the students, they hope the garden will provide the coming generations of Health-Sciences students with healthy produce and act as a symbol for Tufts’ commitment to sustainability. The Green Fund selection committee awarded the Boston Campus Community Garden Project $621 for fertilizer, garden tools, seeds, a watering can, travel costs, and food and water for work days. 

The 16th annual Tufts Nutrition Data Symposium (theme: Sustainability NOW! Action-Oriented Solutions for Food Systems, Nutrition, and Diet) is a student-driven event that aims to empower the next generation of professionals in nutrition, public health, and data science. Held from March 8-10th, 2023, TNDS will feature hands-on workshops, student research, networking, exploration of solutions, and learning from experts. It will promote sustainability across multiple domains while highlighting solutions and action in the nutrition sustainability space; expose important topics, provide hands-on analytical and technical workshops, and opportunities to practice communicating findings; and advance student careers by connecting students with new ideas and other researchers. The Green Fund selection committee awarded the TNDS Leadership Committee $3,600 to support operational and technical costs, awards, giveaways, and honoraria for external keynote speakers. 

This project will support conversion of most of Tufts Center for Conservation Medicine’s Grafton Campus wildlife camera array, known as Cummings Critter Cams, from battery to solar power. The Cummings Critter Cam project helps train MS students, but is also used for ongoing research projects, local outreach, and to give the Tufts community a greater appreciation for the wildlife around the Grafton campus. Solar conversion will minimize use of disposable and rechargeable batteries and allow for fewer camera checks, thereby lowering human disturbance. By powering cameras indefinitely, it will save time, money, and the impact of human traffic in the forest for checking the cameras. The Green Fund selection committee awarded the team of students and professors $2,600 to cover costs of solar packs, security cable locks, and retrofitting.

This team will organize a recurring symposium for the development and exchange of ideas in the Environmental Humanities, leading to future collaborations and place-based projects on our university’s campuses. Tufts faculty, students, and staff across schools, as well as local activists and Indigenous residents, will be invited to participate in the symposium and lead discussions to unpack pressing topics and take active part in defining questions, conversations, and hands-on projects. The symposium will include a panel and roundtable that reimagines a particular challenge on the Tufts campus by using Environmental Humanities frameworks. A session will focus on the widespread use of monoculture lawns on the Medford Campus, and the event will conclude with a proposal for the Medford campus. Graduate and undergraduate students will contribute to planning, promotion, event moderation, and participation. The team will partner with student clubs and academic courses to foster knowledge creation and community building around the Environmental Humanities both in and outside the classroom. The Green Fund selection committee awarded the team $5,700 to cover speaker honoraria and transportation, marketing, printing, and food for attendees.

Environmental Humanities Symposium draws interdisciplinary crowd | Center for the Humanities at Tufts | Tufts University

The Tufts Craft Center is a student-volunteer-run space on the Medford Campus. By investing in a Craft Center Box, it would give student groups access to a set of shared craft supplies for use at campus events, especially at times of high demand for the center’s supplies. This box will be available for student organizations and identity centers to borrow the box for workshops. The Green Fund selection committee awarded the team $693 to fund storage bins, scissors, markers, glue sticks, rulers, and replacement materials.

The Green Exercise Initiative will install an energy producing treadmill in the Steve Tisch Sports and Fitness Center to work towards a carbon-neutral Tufts and promote a healthier herd. The treadmill will produce clean energy while increasing awareness of CO2 production. Energy produced will result in a profit of $138/year. After the pilot project is completed, success will be reviewed, and Tufts Athletics may explore the possibility of replacing all gym equipment with energy-producing equivalents. The Green Fund selection committee awarded the team $5,382 to fund an energy-producing treadmill, freight, and installation.

This project aims to get the Medford/Somerville campus certified as a Tree Campus Higher Education by the National Arbor Day Foundation. This will create opportunities for Tufts community members to get involved with urban forestry and build a support system for maintaining and expanding our canopy while drawing attention to the need for intentional tree protection. Long-term, the team hopes to create opportunities for students to volunteer and intern with the cities of Medford and Somerville. The Green Fund selection committee awarded the team $8,050 to fund trees, Arbor Tree event costs, tree inventory supplies and analysis, t-shirts, and identification signs.