Environmental

Student walk outdoors in Crum woods. Green circle with plant logo in top left corner.

Environmental well-being involves developing a positive relationship with your natural and built environments, from your local community to the planet as a whole. Environmental well-being encourages you to incorporate principles of environmental justice and shared responsibility for community health and safety in your sphere of living, and to be a steward for the environment through the sustainable use of resources.

You can contribute to your environmental well-being by:

  • spending time outdoors walking in the Crum Woods, laying on Parrish Beach, enjoying the green space on campus, or having a picnic in the gardens
  • taking care of outdoor spaces while recognizing one’s relationship to the land and Lenape indigenous knowledge
  • limiting and diverting waste by reusing items whenever possible and recycling and composting items appropriately
  • conserving natural resources like energy and water and making other environmentally-minded decisions
  • spending time in spaces that are safe and comfortable and that contribute to your growth, and treating yourself and fellow residents on campus with respect and compassion
  • unplugging from technology, reducing screen time, and regulating your intake of social media

Some resources at Swarthmore to support your environmental well-being include: the Office of Sustainability, the Scott Arboretum, the Worthmore Free Store, the Environmental Studies Program, and the Crum Woods Stewardship Committee.