Press Release: Ithaca College Students Partner with The History Center to Explore the Environmental History of Local Transportation

Monday, April 28, 2025

7:00pm 

The History Center in Tompkins County 

Ithaca College Students Partner with The History Center to Explore the Environmental History of Local Transportation

On Monday, April 28, The History Center is proud to present the work of Ithaca College environmental history students, who have been working with material in our archives to examine transportation in Tompkins County through the lens of environmental history.  Their work offers new insights into the environmental and ecological implications of the ways Tompkins County residents have moved around since the nineteenth century.  Railroads, aviation, boating, trolleys, and automobiles will each receive attention.

Michael Smith, Professor of History and Environment Humanities at Ithaca College, has developed a course in environmental history requiring students to use local historical resources to study an event in the greater Ithaca area.  In doing so, it is his hope that students will develop a sense of “ecological citizenship” and an understanding that they are a part of the community they are studying. 

Each of the groups will present a synopsis of their findings on Monday, the 28th, from 7-9 p.m. at The History Center.  For more information please contact community@thehistorycenter.net