Middlebury College
Environmental Council Sustainability Grants Proposal ’07 -‘08
Proposal Cover Sheet
Date: November 28, 2007
Project Title: Rural Heritage and the Environment in Central Spain (FINAL VERSION)
Brief Description (3-4 sentences):
The conversion from agricultural and livestock farming to speculative land-development is taking a toll on the environment in Spain. Manually built stone and wood structures from past centuries are falling into disrepair at a rapid rate erasing both the visual and functional environmental history that characterizes the central plain in Spain called Castile. Following the concept of the Barn Census projects in the United States, this project calls for students to apply their knowledge of the Spanish language and Spanish culture to locate, via GPS technology, identify, and analyze the ancient rural structures in a specific area. They will also collect oral histories on environmental practices (water management, wind and solar power and use, grazing practices) as well as analyzing the data collected within historical, architectural, environmental, and linguistic parameters.
Amount Requested: $2,500 (1,660€) (exchange rate 1€/$1,50)
Primary Contact (Name, email, telephone, address):
Kim Griffin
Director
Middlebury College School in Spain
C/Prim, 19
28004 Madrid Spain
el: 011-34-319-8188 land line-Midd in Spain
Project Collaborators:
___Kim Griffin______
NameSignature
___Francisco Seijo______
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______Peter Ryan ______
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Environmental Council Sustainability Grants Proposal ’07 - ‘08
Full Name(s) of Proposers: Kim Griffin
Email Addresses and phone numbers: 011-34-616-477-697 cell
Name of Project: Rural Heritage and the Environment in Central Spain
Project Description. If applicable, please highlight any collaborative or innovative aspects of your proposal (use back or second page if more space needed):
The project is based on an extended definition of the Middlebury College campus to include areas of the world in which Middlebury runs study abroad programs. In Vermont, programs such as the Barn Census ( call attention to the degradation of historical buildings that at one time served a human environmental need. Such degradation produced by socio-economic changes (conversion from agriculture to land-development) is modifying at an extremely rapid rate, the visual and natural landscape and resources in Spain. There are no big, red barns in Spain, but there is an extraordinary number of ancient stone and wood buildings that were once functional (and still are, in many cases), that have been built by hand using the immediate materials, resources, and natural landscape. Water management based on the Roman and Moorish systems and administered by local authorities according to community norms and laws, rotational and free grazing to control wildfires, animal-power, positioning of the buildings to control temperatures (cold and heat); all relate to these stone structures called “tenados”.
Students who study at the Middlebury College School in Spain, would spend 3 days in a rural community, identifying “tenados”, collecting oral histories regarding ancient farming and livestock raising that are still in practice today, and registering historical, environmental practices. With guidance from MC in Spain faculty and collaboration with faculty on campus in Vermont, the data gathered will be related to current environmental issues and sustainable development practices in the area. History, architecture, language, and anthropology will also be included in the data analysis.
The collaborative aspect of this proposal entails the work carried out by faculty in Spain, faculty in Vermont, and students on a study abroad program. The innovative aspect is taking a group of students and integrating them into a rural community and having them use the language and knowledge of the culture to generate interest in rural heritage that is not their own, personal heritage, but rather a more global heritage. This could also be related to work being carried out in Vermont.
Timeline for implementation of project (start and end date): Start in January 2008 and finish in May 2008
Budget and amount to be requested (please provide a detailed line-item budget showing anticipated expenses and any other revenues from other sources and/or in-kind labor, materials, etc..):
Rural Heritage and the Environment in Central SpainBudget
Two nights/three days at Bed and Breakfast with full board / 80€ x 3 students / 640 €
80€ x 1 faculty members
Transportation / Madrid-El Tiemblo-Madrid / 20€ x 4people / 80 €
to rural sites / 50€ x 2 days / 100 €
Material / photographical / 50€ x 3 students / 150 €
other / 20€ x 3 students / 60 €
Web site / design and implementation, / 630 €
Diffusion of results
1.660 €
($2,500)
Brief rationale of how this will advance the College’s sustainability leadership:
Middlebury College is now recognized in the United States for its sustainable leadership. Projects such as this one will place Middlebury in position for sustainable leadership beyond U.S. borders.
Students will create a web page in English and Spanish with recommendations for preservation of the “tenados” to restore and generate sustainable environmental practices. When students return to Vermont after their semester in Spain, presentations will be made on campus with the results of the project as an example of Middlebury´s theme of “liberal arts-global action”.
Please send this form to Jack Byrne, Campus Sustainability Coordinator, via email at , or by campus mail to 531 Hillcrest #109 no later than midnight November 30, 2007 . Proposals can range from $25 up to $2,500. For more info call x 5043.