Our symposium is titled Common Ground: Justice, Diversity, and Inclusivity in the Environment. We hope to use the symposium to stress the need for more inclusive approaches to environmental activism. Such perspectives can address the pervasive forms of marginalization that continue to cause many to feel left out of conversations related to the environment. The symposium will aim to establish the importance of lived experiences in driving justice in order to expand these vital yet often narrowly framed conversations.

We have been working hard this past year to facilitate connections and collaborations among activist groups, cultural organizations, and myriad other campus networks by identifying intersectionalities and shared goals and values. By doing so we hope to create an environmental space on campus that unifies and welcomes all community members.

Many members of the Sunday Night Environmental Group are involved in planning this event. This symposium is primarily being executed by members of the Diversity and Inclusivity Committee as part of the club; it came out of the need to address the whiteness and exclusivity of our own club and as an extension of Middlebury environmentalism.