Environment & Water

At home and abroad, our students are on the front lines of creating a new ecology of care. Sustainability students are involved in reforestation projects in Haiti and Kenya, replanting efforts in Puerto Rico (shown here) following the destruction wrought by Hurricane Maria, mapping marine protected areas in the Turks & Caicos Islands, ... and, closer to home, evaluating the carbon sequestration potential of campus trees, developing pollinator conservation plans, and designing rain gardens and water catchment systems for campus buildings.

Principia College is comprised of 2600 acres of mostly woodland habitat, of which 100 acres has been developed to support an exceptional residential academic program. With few exceptions (e.g., Chapel Green, athletic fields), the College does not water or chemically treat its grounds, creating the perfect setting for native perennials that nourish the soil, sustain populations of songbirds and pollinators, and beautify the landscape! "A grateful heart a garden is, / Where there is always room / For every lovely, Godlike grace / To come to perfect bloom." ~ Christian Science Hymnal, No. 3

Without these tiny service workers we face a world without food or flower. Pollinators contribute $200+ billion annually to global agricultural systems, and some 90% of flowering plant species rely on animal pollination. Principia College's Pollinator Conservation Plan prioritizes native plants that nourish pollinators, many of which are "keystone species" (because they are species upon which others depend) and are rare or endangered. The largest native planting on campus is at the Science Center, fed by drip irrigation on a solar timer. Learn more.

Our native grassland ecosystems have evolved over millions of years under frequent disturbance regimes - mostly in the form of prairie fires that cleanse the landscape and make room for new growth. These rare ecosystems need active management in order to thrive. The Land Stewardship Office, embedded in the Biology & Natural Resources department, provides valuable experience to students participating in controlled burns, including training in wildland firefighting. Students also have the opportunity to participate in long-term studies of grassland and wetland ecology. Learn more.

Sustainability embraces the built environment, too! The Principia College Historic District was designed by Bernard Maybeck (1862-1957), an American architect in the Arts and Crafts Movement of the early 20th century. The Principia College Historic District was designated a National Historic Landmark District in 1993 "for its outstanding historical significance", and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places that same year. These unique buildings are living laboratories for students of sustainability, and are admired by professional and lay visitors alike.

At the trifluence of the Mississippi, Missouri, and Illinois rivers we are deeply aware of the need for water conservation, including its efficient use in buildings and in the products we buy, and for tackling local flooding and pollution issues. Principia owns and operates its sewage and storm water collection systems, and our Waste Water Treatment Plant is often nominated "Plant of the Year" for our careful attention to local water systems. Students have the opportunity to research conservation technologies, develop cost-benefit analyses, and exercise leadership in encouraging their peers to be water wise.