The Nation Magazine: "How Can We Reimagine Higher Education in the Age of Climate Change?"

"What might it mean to reimagine higher education in the face of climate change? How will colleges adapt, not just to environmental catastrophe but all the other challenges to civic life: from AI and increasing automation to deepening political divides and wealth inequality. The Massachusetts-based Gull Island Institute offers an education that attempts to answer some of these questions. Its mission is to prepare a new generation for democratic citizenship on a changing planet through place-based learning rooted in rigorous academics, physical labor, and student self-governance. To this end, students participate in seminars focused on Western and Indigenous traditions and the history and ecology of the region, alongside daily labor rotations including aquaculture, land conservation, cooking, and sustainable gardening. Tuition and room-and-board are free of charge to students.

The Nation spoke with Ana Keilson and Justin Reynolds, who founded the Gull Island Institute in 2022. We discussed the crisis of higher education today and how the Gull Island Institute seeks to provide solutions to it, as well as the long-term future of place-based education. This interview has been edited for length and clarity."

—Daniel Steinmetz-Jenkins