Goucher College Foregrounds Environmental Sustainability

Goucher College has reinforced its commitment to addressing global warming and supporting environmental sustainability through a new clean energy master plan, forest management, and green campus initiatives. The comprehensive approach to environmental sustainability features projects that include solar panel installation, invasive species removal, a focus on biodiversity, enhanced wooded trails, curricular and co-curricular programming, and sustainable dining and waste management. By implementing a series of energy-saving initiatives, Goucher is working toward becoming a net-zero campus by 2035.

“Sustainability is embedded in much of the work we do, and the college is working to achieve sustainability goals and priorities throughout its planning for buildings, landscape, mobility, and infrastructure,” said Brian Hutzley, Goucher College chief financial officer and senior vice president for finance & operations.

To address the challenges posed by global warming, Goucher has committed to being a responsible steward of its 287-acre wooded campus, lowering its carbon footprint, and reducing its greenhouse gas emissions. As part of the college’s campus master plan, released in 2022, Goucher College committed to achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2035 to coincide with the college’s 150th anniversary and underscores its commitment to longevity and environmental stewardship.

Energy Projects

To help the college achieve its goals, Goucher is currently working with the Maryland Clean Energy Center and The Efficiency Network (TEN) to create a clean energy master plan that will serve as the primary roadmap, translating high-level sustainability commitments into actionable, phased, and financially grounded strategies.

Initial green energy projects will include the installation of roof-mounted solar photovoltaic panels on nine buildings across campus. This initiative also includes various roof upgrades across a mix of residential, academic, and administrative buildings on campus. The college will also work to ensure that every light across campus has been upgraded to the latest, most energy-efficient LED fixture.

The college has secured $3.6 million in federal and state grant funding from the U.S. Department of Energy and the Maryland Energy Administration to help partially underwrite these efforts. Later stages of the environmental sustainability initiatives will include transitioning the college’s all-gas fleet of vehicles to electric vehicles, upgrading building systems and controls, and, over time, converting the current natural gas-powered HVAC plants to geothermal.

Forest Management

While the college upgrades its energy infrastructure for greater efficiency and to reduce its carbon footprint, it is also expanding its efforts toward becoming a more sustainable and resilient campus by partnering with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to implement a 10-year forest management plan. As part of this sustainability effort, DNR will provide recommendations to address invasive species on campus, improve wooded trails, and promote greater biodiversity across the 130-plus acres of forested land.

The reforestation of Goucher’s campus will include a diverse variety of native tree species, such as beech, maple, oak, walnut, sycamore, and ash, in addition to the yellow poplar that predominates the current forest landscape. Goucher also partnered with the Gunpowder Valley Conservancy to plant 200 native trees on campus in the past year.

Green Campus

Continued green campus efforts also include making the campus safer and more pedestrian-friendly, as the college will upgrade walking paths and wooded trails for use by the larger community. The college has received $870,000 from Baltimore County to upgrade sidewalk, running paths, and wooded trails on Goucher’s campus and recently secured an additional $1 million to continue enhancing pedestrian access and addressing long-standing accessibility issues that will make the campus more welcoming and usable for all. Goucher also plans to implement the latest grounds maintenance best practices to reduce environmental impact.

Goucher’s commitment to carbon neutrality extends beyond sustainable development and adapting campus landscapes to also prioritizing the promotion of physical, emotional, and mental well-being. For example, Goucher’s dining program incorporates sustainability at all levels through sourcing, farm-to-fork partners, animal welfare, waste management, and education, as well as food recovery and education programming. As the campus works to minimize waste through campus operations, it will expand efforts to incorporate education and applied learning opportunities in all aspects of sustainability.

Curriculum  

Goucher’s focus on environmental sustainability also extends into the classroom. As part of the Goucher Commons curriculum, all undergraduate students are required to take a course that focuses on questions concerning environmental sustainability, social justice, and our relationship to the natural world. The college’s growing undergraduate program includes a major and minor in environmental studies, with the option to concentrate on environmental science or environment and society. Goucher also offers an M.A. in environmental sustainability and management, a graduate program that combines natural and social science courses into a cohesive framework.

To learn more, please visit Goucher’s environmental sustainability website.