McDaniel College introduces new environmental center

McDaniel College hosted the official unveiling Sept. 29 of the McDaniel Environmental Center, an outdoor learning lab developed by students to engage in hands-on educational opportunities in agriculture, conservation, and environmental sciences, as well as community building.

Known as the MEC, the property is located in New Windsor, Maryland, about 15 minutes from McDaniel's Westminster campus.

The MEC's 58 acres provide McDaniel students with opportunities to engage in research and course-based experiences, lab-based experiential learning, community service projects and independent study work.

McDaniel College President Julia Jasken spoke about the impact the MEC is having not just on McDaniel, but also in the larger community, while announcing that the college has received $2.3 million from the State of Maryland for educational environmental spaces, both at the MEC and on McDaniel’s campus. This includes renovations to the campus greenhouse and the transformation of Harvey Stone Pavilion into an outdoor living learning laboratory.

She also introduced the new bachelor’s degree in Food Studies that launched this fall. An interdisciplinary field that examines the relationship between food and the human experience, the program combines coursework from various departments on campus.

Other speakers at the event included Environmental Studies faculty Jason Scullion and Elly Engle, Jessie Titus, a 2022 graduate of McDaniel who majored in Environmental Studies and was involved as a Food Fellow, and Sarah Koser from the Chesapeake Bay Trust, who has supported the establishment of the MEC.

Visit www.mcdaniel.edu for more information about McDaniel College.