This is only our third publication, and the first without Jeff Kemnitz ‘03¬who created the magazine-directing the operation. As I looked through our first two editions, trying to figure out what I wanted to say in this letter, I was inspired by what he said in his first letter from the editor: “I want the magazine to evolve into the face of environmentalism at Dartmouth.” I was also a little overwhelmed-that’s quite a task.

We’ve toyed with the idea of having a focus for each issue of the magazine since its inception. In putting together this issue, I saw two themes emerging. This is our first autumn installment, and, keeping Jeff’s goal in mind, it made sense to me to focus on welcoming interested freshmen to the greener side of Dartmouth and let this magazine be the first environmental face they encounter here. With Sue Dubois’ energy-filled introduction to environmentally minded clubs and activities, fall-focused updates, my piece on upcoming local agriculture projects, and Jackie Burnett’s features on the Dartmouth Organic Farm, I hope this issue will offer new students-and those with an emerging interest in environmental issues-an introduction to environmentalism at Dartmouth that inspires active involvement.

You may also notice a bit of an agricultural theme running through the magazine. As an editor I was a little anxious about having multiple farming pieces (which actually was not planned), and the DOF “has been done” by other campus publications before. But as I did research for my own piece, it all began to fit together perfectly. The fact is, right now, agriculture is news at Dartmouth-news to freshmen who may be surprised to learn that we have our own farm and want to learn more, news to those who just don’t know much about it, and news in that Dartmouth and its students are connecting to the local farming community in ways that are, well, new. Even if you’ve been here a while and think you’ve heard enough about our farm and our food service, read on-it’s exciting stuff.

Finally, I’m quite pleased to bring the idea of sense of place back into this publication. Dartmouth had an environmental magazine in the 1990s which was called Sense of Place-the title suits the topic well. As I thought about what I wanted freshmen to get out of this issue, I wanted a piece that dealt with the idea of displacement, of moving and leaving one physical environment for another. So I asked Freya Sachs–a fellow sense of place enthusiast–to write me one. This is the essence of the adventure of going to college, and it is integral to understanding many of the environmental issues we are faced with today. I hope that this magazine maintains a place-based perspective in its pages in future issues, and that it finds its own sense of place in the Dartmouth environmental community.