A number of theses authored by Environmental Studies students will be available online. When an abstract was included in the original paper, it is printed here after the title of the paper. It was not always possible to include original photos, drawings, graphs, charts or other images. References to images that are not available on-line have been deleted from the on-line text to avoid confusion to the web page reader. Further information about any paper can be obtained by e-mailing Norman.J.Parker@Williams.edu. This page should be considered a work in progress, as it is continually updated.

January, 2005

Relocation, Renovation, and Redesign of Kellogg House: A Case Study of the Center for Environmental Studies at Williams College
Laura Cavin, '05

This thesis investigates the possibilities of integrating environmental design features into the relocation and renovations of Kellogg, and proposes ways to create a healthier building. This research has been started in the hope that professionals can continue the process of a holistic design approach as an educational tool, but also as a step towards sustainability.

THINK GLOBALLY, EAT LOCALLY: An Analysis of Williams College's Food Consumption
Jocelyn Bauer Gardner '05

From the Author's Introduction: .... Where does food really come from? How is it produced? And what are the impacts of its production? Not only do people not know the answers to these questions, but many people have forgotten even to think about asking them. This thesis strives to address some of these issues in the context of Williams College’s food consumption.

The Dairy Farming Paradox: The Coexistence of the Image and Reality
Katherine Eleanor Stevens, '05

From the Author's Note: .... A complicated narrative of farmers and onlookers, and all who become mesmerized by the power of the rural Northeast landscape and the farming culture that inhabits it. It is a story that emerges like the making of an impressionist painting: one I can now see, stepping back, because of the deliberate and varied brushstrokes that compose it. The strokes are the details I first observed from the scene and then re-told on the canvas; details whose meaning cannot be understood until integrated into the whole painting. This story is about both the substance of dairy farming in the area and the myth that surrounds it, unraveling inconsistencies, ironies, and contradictions at the junction of the two.

April, 2004

MOHAWKS, MODEL Ts, AND MONUMENTS: The Formulation of an Unlikely Regional Identity in Western Massachusetts
Robert I Quay, '04.

The author discusses the history of the term, "Mohawk Trail" and the significance it has to various aspects of Western Massachussetts.

May, 1977

A Vegetation History of Williamstown 1752 - 1977
Kathryn A. Satterson, '77.

Abstract: A study was made of the distribution and abundance of the tree species recorded in the original lot surveys of Williamstown, Massachusetts (1752-1788), and of early historical accounts, in order to construct a map of the town's presettlement forest types. A map of the town's present forest cover was constructed, and the composition of 77 plots was compared to the presettlement composition .

The presettlement vegetation seems to have included five forest types. About 75 of the town supported a "Northern Hardwood - Hemlock" forest in which the principle tree species were beech, sugar maple, and hemlock, with secondary species including white pine, red oak, ashes, birches and basswood. Elevations above 2000 feet on Mt. Greylock and the Taconic Crest, tended to be a "Spruce-Fir-Northern Hardwood" forest, with beech and maple as the most abundant hardwoods. An "Oak-Hickory-Northern Hardwoods" for- est probably covered the dry, northeast corner of town. The low, sandy area, in the same part of town, was covered with a "White Pine-Oak" forest. The lowlands along the rivers and streams supported a "Hemlock-Lowland Hardwood" forest, with elm, basswood, and butternut as the dominant hardwoods.

The most abundant species in the presettlement forests were beech and maple. About 42 of the trees noted in the surveys were beech, while about 18 were maple. The present forest composition shows that maple has increased to about 35 of the basal area while beech has decreased to 18. An increase in the abundance of birches and ash was also noted. These changes were related to the history of land-use in Williamstown. An increase in human disturbance has caused the present forest's mosaic of secondary successions, and the related increase in earlier successional species abundance along with a decrease in the late successional beech.

The elevation, slope and aspect distribution of species in the presettlement and present forests were compared. The late successional beech and sugar maple are presently most abundant over 1500 feet, where there is least human disturbance. The earlier successional birches, ash and aspen are most abundant be low 1500 feet, where there is more human disturbance and secondary succession. Some morphological and physiological characteristics of the predominant species were briefly examined, in order to better understand the distribution patterns in both the presettlement and present forests.