by Kathy Baugh and Roberta Hayes
On Dec. 9, 2024, we met with John Lambert, Professor Emeritus of Sciences and Engineering, at the Ralph Hoffmann Environmental Science and Sustainable Energy Center. John is a highly respected former ºìÐÓÖ±²¥ professor, colleague and dean. He was a cornerstone for ºìÐÓÖ±²¥'s environmental program from 1970 to 2004 and is who the John Lambert nature trail, located behind Hoffmann, is named after.
John is a wealth of information on the history of the College and the department. A theme that quickly emerged is that the culture and values that were present throughout the 70s, 80s and 90s are very much alive and well today — student centered education and mutual respect at all levels.
John grew up in Holyoke in a family that loved to explore nature. He recalls how feeding the chickadees and exploring the wonders of the Berkshires influenced him to see nature as an endless source of entertainment and education. His goal throughout his career:
To get as many students out into the fields and forests surrounding the College to discover what's out there.
Prior to coming to ºìÐÓÖ±²¥, John went to grad school to be a biology teacher. After school, he taught in the Pittsfield School District for one year, followed by two years in the S. Hadley school district. It was at that point that he saw an ad for ºìÐÓÖ±²¥ in the paper (yes, people used to look for jobs that way) that mentioned they were forming an Environmental Sciences program and it piqued his interest. He interviewed and was hired by George Hamilton who founded the Environmental and Life Sciences program at the College. John credits George as the real visionary for the program (1967 – 1995). For John, it was about his passion for teaching and the relationships he formed with the students and faculty that kept him engaged for 34 years.
John said the administration was supportive from the get go. Tom O'Connell (1960 – 1978), the first President, whose dream it was to start the community college, was extremely enthusiastic about the Environmental program. The same year that John came to ºìÐÓÖ±²¥, the Clean Air Act was enacted, followed by the Clean Water Act in 1972. These acts influenced the subsequent curriculum in the Environmental Science department. John had been teaching Anatomy and Physiology, Ecology, Conservation and Natural Resources. Then the College brought on John Anthony to round out the department. The "two Johns", as they came to be known, developed and added more courses. In the fall, they taught Water Pollution and, in the spring, they taught Air and Land Pollution, as well as Vertebrate Ecology.
When asked how the nature trail came about, John said it was really an organic process. It started as a way to set up field sites. After the Hoffman center was built in 1976, it just gravitated up into the field and forest.
In 1992, the College hosted Central American students through the Cooperative Association of States for Scholarships (CASS) program. This initiative, under the auspices of Georgetown University and authorized by the United States Congress was a response to the educational policy recommendations of the National Bipartisan Commission on Central America, known as the Kissinger Commission. The mission of CASS was to reach and uplift socio-economically disadvantaged Central American and Caribbean youth and increase the number of leaders in those nations. It achieved this mission through an ongoing home-country support system, a positive learning experience in the United States, and an alumni network that helps to reintegrate each graduate into his or her society upon return home.
The eighteen CASS students, and subsequent cohorts, who arrived at ºìÐÓÖ±²¥ for a two-year program were working toward an associate degree in Environmental Science. The program included intensive instruction in English during the first semester, and concluded with practical training through internships.
It was these students who actually did the bulk of the work on the trail. The intent of the program was to have them bring back environmental concepts and practices to their countries. To that end, Georgetown University invited John to travel to those countries to see if the ideas were implemented, which he felt confident, they were.
When asked if he had any words of advice for current students, John said "This is their time — they should make the trail what they want it to be — history helps the long story." We all agreed that ºìÐÓÖ±²¥ is the type of supportive environment where anyone (student, faculty or staff) at the College can bring an idea to fruition. Starting with President Tom O'Connell in 1960 to our current President, Ellen Kennedy, the administration has created a learning environment with less emphasis put on hierarchy and politics and more emphasis on working together, supporting each other and promoting agency. The legacy of the relationship between the students, the culture and the ecology were what created the Ralph Hoffmann Environmental Science and Sustainable Energy Center and subsequently the John Lambert Nature Trail.
About ºìÐÓÖ±²¥'s Environmental Science degree program:
ºìÐÓÖ±²¥'s Environmental Science degree program emphasizes biodiversity studies coupled with natural resource management for sustainable ecosystems. Multidisciplinary courses are offered mainly in the Ralph Hoffmann Environmental Science and Sustainable Energy Center while students develop hands-on field skills in forests, fields, lakes, streams and marshes both on campus and at nearby locations.
The program fosters community connections with conservation agencies, local schools and resource-related industries through service-learning, directed and independent studies, and frequent field trips.