Co-Curricular Opportunities
Co-curricular opportunities take place outside the regular classroom. These activities, programs, and learning experiences complement and enhance the academic curriculum.
The Berry Forum is an open and inclusive space for ecological education, exploration, and transformation.
Students are getting hands-on experience in courses across our curriculum.
- Environmental Science (BIO 125): Students from Dr. Christina Andruk’s Environmental Science classes are working on campus composting that is later used to help beautify the University's grounds.
- Consulting Strategies and Ethics (BUS 410): Dr. Bret Sanner’s students worked with the Sheldrake Environmental Center to understand who the Center should market to and how, pilot a marketing process for increasing community awareness and engagement, and develop a process and plan to continue to increase outreach after the project is complete.
- Religion in the Natural World (RST 213): Dr. James Robinson works with a number of community partners to help inform his students about the universe story. These partners include; The Catholic Worker, Freedom Farms and The Agape Community in Massachusetts.
- Introduction to Ideation and Design Thinking (ENT 301): Students from professor Rob Kissner’s entrepreneurial course have the opportunity to do research with a community partner focused on eco-system mapping.
The Office of Mission & Ministry hosts regular volunteer opportunities to make our local community a greener place. Past trips have involved invasive species removal, trash pick-up at local parks such as Sheldrake and the Bronx River Parkway Reservation, and volunteering in community gardens.
The mission of the Sustainability Gardens is to teach students about sustainable food production and ecological resiliency through organic farming. The gardens consist of three 4x12-foot raised garden beds, which were constructed out of cedar and filled with a combination of compost, topsoil and perlite.
Providing a highly visible and impactful statement of Iona’s commitment to environmental initiatives, the Sustainability Gardens have the potential to impact hundreds of students annually by providing hands-on-learning and research projects for biology, chemistry, environmental science/studies and students in the environmentally-themed freshman experience courses, Earth Columba Cornerstone. The edible goods produced in the garden are also distributed around campus, thereby increasing awareness of Iona’s commitment to sustainability and local food production.
With funding from Con Edison, the University was able to purchase necessary supplies and fund two student interns throughout the growing season.
The National Honors Council also provided a grant to add an additional raised bed, managed by Honors students, which will be planted with herbs and plants typical of a medieval monastic kitchen garden.
We are working to make our campus more sustainable in an entrepreneurial framework. Are you interested in getting involved? Please contact Christina Andruk for more information at candruk@iona.edu.