St. Paul, Minn. –Chris Wells, associate professor of environmental studies at Macalester, and George Vrtis, assistant professor of environmental studies and history at Carleton College, have received a grant of $102,522 from the Minnesota Historical Society (MHS) to advance research focused on the environmental history of Minnesota.

As a result of the grant, Macalester, Carleton and the Minnesota Historical Society will jointly convene a conference June 13-15, 2012, on the state’s environmental history.  The conference will be at the Minnesota Historical Society in St. Paul.

Eighteen participants from colleges and universities around the country will present papers that will then be discussed at the conference.  

The goal of the conference is to explore and advance the current state of Minnesota’s environmental history. Topics of interests include but are not limited to:  exploration and settlement, urban growth, infrastructure, and suburbanization; environmental justice; conservation and environmentalism; urban-rural linkages; urban agriculture; open space, parks, and recreation; energy, waterways, and resource flows; waste; transportation and infrastructure; and comparative work on Minnesota and the upper Midwest.

Research presented at the conference will be revised and adapted to form the core of an edited volume on the subject.

This project has been made possible by the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund through the vote of Minnesotans on November 4, 2008. Administered by the Minnesota Historical Society.

Macalester College, founded in 1874, is a national liberal arts college with a full-time enrollment of 1,958 students. Macalester is nationally recognized for its long-standing commitment to academic excellence, internationalism, multiculturalism and civic engagement. Learn more at macalester.edu