Paulson Ecology of Place Initiative

We are inspiring and preparing Wellesley College students across disciplines to value sense of place and connection to nature in order to enrich their academic experience, well-being, and community, and become change agents who cultivate sustainable landscapes and communities around the globe.

Learn more about the work of the Paulson Ecology of Place Initiative in our 2022-23 Year in Review, in our Blue Heron Quarterly, a journal to engage the reader in the Wellesley College landscape and beyond, and follow us on Instagram!

The Paulson Initiative is committed to anti-racism and decolonization in our work. We are partnering with student leaders associated with the Frost Center for the Environment, the Botanic Gardens, and Environmental Studies Department to support Students for Intersectional Environmental Justice (SIEJ). This group, led by paid student leaders and facilitated by Frost Center for the Enviornment Program Coordinator Kayli Hattley '21, plan and implement changes across and within our units.

Find calm by connecting more deeply with nature outside your door with our Nature Wellness Practices.

 

Wellesley College Land Acknowledgement

We acknowledge that Wellesley College is built on ancestral and traditional land of the Massachusett people. We also recognize that the United States’ removal, termination, and assimilation policies and practices resulted in the forced settlement of Indigenous lands and the attempted erasure of Indigenous cultures and languages. We further acknowledge the oppression, injustices, and discrimination that Indigenous people have endured and that there is much work to be done on the important journey to reconciliation. We commit to strengthen our understanding of the history and contemporary lives of Indigenous peoples and to steward this land. 
 
We further recognize the many Indigenous people living here today—including the Massachusett, Wampanoag, and Nipmuc nations—who have rich ancestral histories in Wellesley and its surrounding communities. Today, their descendants remind us that they are still here, where they maintain a vital and visible presence. We honor and respect the enduring relationship between these peoples and this land, as well as the strength of Indigenous culture and knowledge, the continued existence of tribal sovereignty, and the principle of tribal self-determination.

Contact Us

Suzanne Langridge, PhD, Director

781.283.3431

slangrid@wellesley.edu