新高地奖学金筹款活动

从 2019年秋季刊 的续集

这些年来，气候变暖了. 毫不夸张地说.

In 2016, Bethany Garretson set off for a record thru-hike of the Adirondacks’ 46 High Peaks with some added inspiration – to draw attention to climate change while raising funds for her alma mater.

Her record attempt fell short in a somewhat befitting manner when temperatures soared well into the 90s on the fourth day 和 would continue to do so for the week to follow. 然而，筹款活动仍在继续. Garretson modified her personal itinerary, finishing the 46 over the course of two weeks. 与此同时, donors pledged dollar amounts for every mountain climbed by a member of the Paul Smith’s College community.

使用#climbit4climate标签, 学生和员工利用他们的“人力”赚了大约30美元,000 for student scholarships 和 sustainability programming at the college. In the end, the message meant more than the record, 和 so it evolved.

去年冬天, Climb it 4 Climate went from the highest points in New York to those in Africa 和 South America when President Cathy 鸽子 set out for Mount 乞力马扎罗 in Tanzania 和 Garretson for Aconcagua in Argentina. 这两者都是世界“七大峰会”的组成部分,或者每块大陆的最高点和里程碑式的攀登目标.

鸽子 stood atop 乞力马扎罗, Paul Smith’s College pennant in h和, on January 1. 一个月后, a high-altitude rescue mission for a teammate cut Garretson’s expedition short, 她对事件的复述发表在《宝盈bbin官方网站》杂志上. 同时在阿迪朗达克山脉, 一群自称为游骑兵队的学生——奥黛丽·爱默生, 约旦Spordone, 达蒙爱默生, 格雷格•戴维森, r·j·门罗和凯莉·格兰杰都是24岁,一周内总海拔增加742英尺.

到第三年结束时, Climb it 4 Climate已经筹集了70多美元,它的信息已在电视上播出, 在该地区的印刷品和演讲活动中.

“我爬山有很多原因，”加勒森说. “意识、倡导、赋权，是的，还有乐趣. In 2019, I was inspired to raise funds for students with the potential to be change makers 和 leaders in the environmental both at home 和 across the world.”

部分灵感来自阿琳·布鲁姆, often overlooked in the science 和 mountaineering worlds because she was a Jewish woman, Garretson too decided to act outside the traditional scientific box 和 instead focus on advocacy 和 storytelling. 两个气候研究金得到了资助, allowing students Sean Jackson 和 Ryan Novak to conduct international interviews 和 research, 今年秋天将他们的发现带回学院.

加勒森补充说:“攀登它。气候是很多东西。. “这是一次攀登. It’s interviews, a discussion, an expedition, a community movement, a speech. 下一个, we’ll be working with Kathm和u National College [in Nepal] to collect climate data in the Himalayas.”

鸽子 also touched on climate change through an international lens following her trip to Africa, noting that 乞力马扎罗 is one of many places around the world where climate change can be seen by the naked eye.

“由于它的冰原迅速缩小, it has been recognized as a very visible indicator of global climate change,多芬在加勒森网站上发表的一篇短文中说, bethanyclimbs.com. “我对Climb it 4 Climate了解得越多, it became clear that I had the unique opportunity to merge a long-st和ing goal of climbing one of the world’s highest peaks with providing support for this great initiative.”

在8天的过程中, 鸽子, 一个由10名登山者组成的团队, 和 accompaniment of guides 和 porters navigated through six different ecological zones ranging from rainforest to barren arctic. 一路走来, guides explained how the l和scape had changed since they began leading trips a decade ago. 山上的冰原, 它曾经为该地区提供了丰富的水资源, 至少要小50%, 尤其是在农业方面. Hydroelectic power has become increasingly unavailable while the tourism industry too faces a threat. 鸽子:

“These conversations with our remarkable guides were in my mind as we climbed further up the mountain. 2019年1月1日黎明时分，我登上了黄山山顶. 乞力马扎罗. The bitter cold 和 wind did not detract from the incredible beauty 和 breathtaking views seen from the ‘Roof of Africa’. 不幸的是，从山顶上可以清楚地看到最小的冰盖. Those that remained were fragmented 和 one could almost see them cracking during the short time we were at the summit. 当我走下(到目前为止最糟糕的一段)时!)，我考虑到形势的严重性. While ‘Hakuna Matata’ (Swahili for ‘no worries’) – is the Tanzanian outlook on life; it is clear that there is legitimate concern about the significant current 和 future impact of climate change. The Tanzanians, nor any country, can solve this problem in isolation. We each must join a unified, global community to raise awareness 和 create solutions. I’m proud that the Paul Smith’s community is playing a leadership role in addressing one of the world’s greatest challenges.”

“攀登4号气候”的信息已经跨越了大洋, 它的核心信息继续在当地引起共鸣. 在最初的一年里，徒步旅行者的数量达到了三位数, 戴上手环，在社交媒体上传播这一信息. 在奥斯古德农场, 位于主校区的北部，在同名的水体上, money raised helped establish the irrigation for the horse-plowed fields 和 students undertook a variety of sustainability projects 和 barn restoration. The site continues to be a home base for programming for Garretson’s classes, 奥斯古德俱乐部, 和 programming/demonstrations coinciding with events such as the annual Adirondack Rural Skills 和 Homesteading Festival. Garretson has also presented work for the Youth Climate Summit 和 SAM Fest audiences.

As Garretson moves forward exploring future climbing expeditions (Denali, 北美的最高点, 她的下一个潜在目标是什么, she’s careful in weighing the balance between the tool she uses for messaging – mountain climbing – 和 the impact such an activity can have. “I acknowledge that I’m part of the problem 和 also part of the solution,” Garretson said while referring to the carbon footprint associated with some of the travel she’s taken part in. 然而，最后，加勒森认为这项工作是一个净收益. 随着意识的增强, 学生人数也是如此, 努力做出改变的毕业生和社区成员. “That’s why I encourage students to be change agents 和 also focus on their local communities. 宝盈bbin官方登录都可以做出积极的改变.”