Dyson College of Arts and Sciences

D Y S O N C O L L E G E O F A R T S A N D S C I E N C E S 11 and research to advance environmental knowledge, ecosystem protection, wildlife conservation, and sma decision-making in the Lower Hudson Valley and New York City regions, with an emphasis on the just development of healthy and diverse communities. Cultivating Justice On May 2, 2025, 25 Pace students, staff, faculty, and community members gathered at the Pace Land and Labor Acknowledgment Farm. Lauren Peters of the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe led the group in a series of traditional practices, handed down by generations, to plant corn and later plant beans, squash, and sunflowers at the site. This was the final of four Cultivating Justice events held at the Farm, funded by the Pace Center for Wellbeing. The Farm is a collaboration among Pace's Anti-Racism Advocates, Office of Multicultural Affairs, the Pace Sustainability Initiative, and the Depa ment of Environmental Studies and Science. The Pace Land and Labor Acknowledgment Urban Farm is a new initiative at Pace University's New York City campus launching in fall 2025. It's pa of a larger effo to incorporate land and labor acknowledgments into the university's curriculum and campus spaces. Native Plant Propagation Project On Ea h Day 2025, the Center launched the Native Plant Propagation Project, an educational program to showcase the diversity of local native plants and their benefits to the biodiversity of a region. This project will serve as an educational resource for the Pace community and the public to learn about native grassland and pollinator plants. The plants will be used for environmental science coursework, labs, and research projects for pollinator insect monitoring and native plant growth monitoring. The Center has been named one of Xerces Society for Inve ebrate Conservation's 2025 Pollinator Habitat Project pa ners. Through this pa nership, Pace University received hundreds of native pollinator plants to be used throughout the Center. In addition, Hilltop Hanover Farm and Environmental Center donated 100 plant sta s to the Native Plant Propagation Project. Rockefeller State Park Preserve staff and local volunteers helped Pace staff dig the planting plots for this project and helped plant approximately 600 native plants in the Center. Nesting Boxes As pa of a unique collaboration of the Center, wooden bird nesting boxes were installed in various locations of the campus. The Center is an officially recognized NestWatch Chapter, which allows for organizations to train individuals in the techniques needed to successfully collect nesting data and educate the public on the impo ance of the program. These boxes are being monitored for breeding bird activity, and the recorded data is submi ed to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology NestWatch program. This is a pa icipatory science program that allows the public to submit valuable data on breeding birds, their movements, and their behavior. From renaming the Suburban Biodiversity Conservation Center to launching hands-on projects, Dyson College is leading inclusive environmental initiatives across its campuses. Volunteers at the Conservation Center

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