Twelve first-year students recently participated in the fourth year of SustainabLEHIGH, the preLUsion program offered through the Office of Sustainability.
PreLUsion programs are themed, three-day experiences where first-year students can meet others with similar interests before their orientation begins. In SustainabLEHIGH, students learn about sustainability through activities on campus and throughout the Lehigh Valley. The program started in 2011.
This year, the students kicked off their college experience with a biking and canoeing trip along the Lehigh River to their very own island, where they camped overnight. The trip was guided by the Wildlands Conservancy.
After canoeing and biking back to campus the next day, they continued their adventure in Lehighton, PA. They first visited Spring Mountain Farms, a family owned and operated farm that uses sustainable practices for produce, meat and eggs. The afternoon was spent touring the farm and picking blueberries, followed by a dinner of food from the farm and hang time at a nearby cabin.
On the last day of the trip, the students visited the watershed where Bethlehem receives its water from – water that would soon be coming out of their dorm faucets. The group then returned to Bethlehem for the remainder of the trip. They first stopped at Hampton Winds, Northampton Community College’s gourmet restaurant run by students in their Culinary Arts program. The final stop of the trip was Lehigh’s community garden up on Goodman Campus.
To learn more about SustainabLEHIGH, visit http://sustainability.lehigh.edu/node/15.
To learn more about specific activities from the trip, visit:
Wildlands Conservancy Bike & Boat: http://www.wildlandspa.org/education-and-recreation/bike-boat-adventures/
Spring Mountain Farms: http://springmountainfarms.com/
Hampton Winds: http://www.northampton.edu/campus-life/hampton-winds.htm
Community Garden: http://sustainability.lehigh.edu/community-gardens