Environmental Studies Summer Youth Institute

ESSYI is unique among environmental studies programs in its focus on the interdisciplinary nature of environmental issues and the complexity of potential solutions. By connecting students with over 18 college faculty from a myriad of disciplines, the ESSYI empowers students in ways that catalyze real personal growth. 

Students find specific topics, sessions, and ideas that resonate with them individually, but are also exposed to other ideas and ways of thinking about environmental issues that broaden their framework for developing solutions when working with others.  Environmental problem solving is rocket science and ESSYI is an excellent first step towards a sustainable future. Participants will conduct research with faculty members in a variety of locations: on the HWS William F. Scandling (a 65-foot vessel on Seneca Lake), in streams, quaking bogs, the Adirondack Mountains, and the Colleges science laboratories.

Working in the field, in laboratories, in classrooms, and on a four-day camping trip, you will explore a range of topics in environmental policy, economics, and ethics, and come to see the natural world through the eyes of artists, historians, philosophers, and scientists. program is designed as an introduction to a variety of environmental issues and perspectives on nature and our environment.